person · P0239
The Rosh רבנו אשר (הרא"ש)
The Maharam of Rothenburg's foremost student and the living merger of the two great lines: fleeing Germany after his teacher's imprisonment, he became rav of Toledo in 1305 — Ashkenazic Tosafist method presiding over Sefarad. His halakhic compendium (Piskei HaRosh) joined the Rif and Rambam as the third of Karo's "pillars of hora'ah"; his son Yaakov built the Tur on his rulings.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבנו אשר (הרא"ש)
- Also known as
- Asher ben Yechiel, Rabbeinu Asher
- Era
- rishonim
- Received the mesorah from
- Maharam of Rothenburg
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Yaakov ben Asher (the Tur)
- Teachers
- Maharam of Rothenburg
- Children
- Yaakov ben Asher (the Tur)
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 5010–5088 AM
- Academic
- c. 1250–1327 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈78 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Toledo, Worms
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| He was the leading disciple of the Maharam of Rothenburg and his recognized successor in Ashkenaz before fleeing to Spain — the reception behind this atlas's only drawn edge from the Tosafist world into Sefarad. | tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| His Piskei HaRosh, following the Rif's format while absorbing Tosafist analysis, became one of the three pillars on which R' Yosef Karo declared "the house of Israel leans" in deciding law. | rabbinic tradition | ★★★★★ | |
| Asher ben Yechiel, born in the Rhineland c. 1250; fled the Empire in 1303 following the aftermath of Maharam of Rothenburg's imprisonment, in which he had been involved as a guarantor.
The research pass could not verify the exact klal and siman and have not guessed one.
|
rabbinic | ★★★☆☆ |
|
| Held the chief rabbinate of Toledo from c. 1305 until his death on 9 Cheshvan 5088 (1327 CE), and was buried there. | rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ |
|
| Did not command the local vernacular on arriving in Castile and conducted judicial proceedings through interpreters, as he states in his own responsa.
The statement is well known and quoted in the literature, but the research pass could not verify the klal number; do not ingest a specific siman on the research pass's authority.
|
rabbinic | ★★☆☆☆ |
|
| Had eight sons, of whom Yehudah and Yaakov (author of the Arba'ah Turim) are the best documented.
The count of eight is standard; not all eight are individually named in sources I can verify.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★☆☆ |
|