person · P0232
Rashi רש"י
The teacher of all Israel: his commentary accompanies virtually every printed Chumash and every page of the Talmud Bavli. Born and died at Troyes; studied in the Rhineland academies of Mainz (under R' Yaakov ben Yakar) and Worms (under R' Yitzchak HaLevi), heirs of Rabbeinu Gershom — making him the third generation of Ashkenaz's new chain. His last years were shadowed by the First Crusade's massacre of the very communities that had taught him.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רש"י
- Also known as
- Shlomo ben Yitzchak, Shlomo Yitzchaki
- Era
- rishonim
- Received the mesorah from
- Yaakov ben Yakar, Yitzchak HaLevi (of Worms)
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Rashbam
- Teachers
- Yaakov ben Yakar, Yitzchak HaLevi (of Worms)
- Students
- Rashbam
II. When
- Traditional
- 4800–4865 AM
- Academic
- 1040–1105 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈65 years
- Precision
- exact
III. Where
- Places
- Troyes, Worms, Mainz
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| He studied at Mainz under R' Yaakov ben Yakar — whom he calls "my old teacher" — and at Worms under R' Yitzchak HaLevi, and his responsa and commentaries transmit rulings in both their names; both were of Rabbeinu Gershom's academy. | tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| His Torah commentary opens with R' Yitzchak's question — why does the Torah not begin from "This month is for you"? — announcing its method: the verse settled by its plainest sense and by the aggadah that answers to it. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| His grandson the Rashbam attests their direct exchange: "and also Rabbeinu Shlomo, my mother's father, illuminator of the eyes of the exile... I debated with him and before him, and he admitted to me" — reception inside one family, documented in the student's own words. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| His running commentary on the Talmud Bavli — printed beside the text on virtually every page since the earliest editions — is the direct record of his lifelong engagement with the written Talmud, and the basis of the writings-reception edge drawn here. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Shlomo ben Yitzchak; born at Troyes c. 1040 CE and died there 29 Tammuz 4865 (July 1105).
The death date is well fixed in the tradition; the birth year is an estimate.
|
tradition | ★★★★☆ |
|
| Derived income from viticulture; his responsa and glosses discuss the practicalities of his own winemaking.
The occupation is widely accepted from these passages; the research pass could not verify a specific responsum number and did not guess one.
|
rabbinic | ★★★☆☆ |
|
| Had three daughters and no sons; his sons-in-law were Meir ben Shmuel and Yehudah ben Natan, and his grandsons through Yocheved included Rashbam and Rabbeinu Tam.
Yocheved and Miriam are firmly attested; the third daughter Rachel is attested but with less supporting detail.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ |
|
| His Talmud commentary was left unfinished at his death; printed editions carry a note at Bava Batra 29a and at Makkot 19b marking where his commentary ends and a successor's begins.
The transition notes sit in the Rashi commentary layer, not the Talmud text; the sefaria refs were pointed at the commentary layer at ingest per the research source's own warning.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Lived through the First Crusade massacres of the Rhineland communities in 1096 and composed selichot lamenting them.
That he lived through the period is certain; the specific selichot attributions are less secure.
|
rabbinic | ★★★☆☆ |
|