Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (died 1280) ( he, יצחק בן יוסף מקורבי"ל) was a 13th-century French

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

and

tosafist The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

, best known as the author of ''Sefer Mitzvot Ḳatan.''

Biography

Isaac was the son-in-law of R.

Yechiel of Paris Yechiel ben Joseph of Paris or Jehiel of Paris, called Sire Vives in French (Judeo-French: ) and Vivus Meldensis ("Vives of Meaux") in Latin, was a major Talmudic scholar and Tosafist from northern France, father-in-law of Isaac ben Joseph of Cor ...

, whose

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

he attended, and the pupil of the "Great Men of Évreux," notably Samuel of Évreux, whom he calls "the Prince" (שר) of

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. Geography The city is on the Iton river. Climate History In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named ...

. Isaac's conspicuous piety drew toward him many disciples, the best known of whom were

Perez ben Elijah Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil (died 1295) was a French tosafist, son of the Talmudist Elijah of Tours. In Talmudic literature he is designated by the abbreviations RaP (= Rabbeinu Perez), RaPaSh (= Rabbeinu Perez, may he live), and MaHaRPaSh (= our m ...

of Corbeil (Rabbeinu Perez), Baruch Ḥayyim ben Menahem of Niort, and his fellow citizen Joseph ben Abraham.

Works

In 1277 – encouraged by his pupils – he published Sefer Mitzvot Katan (ספר מצוות קטן - "Small book of commandments"; generally called "Semak" from the initials סמ"ק), an abridgment of

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy Rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, also known as Moses Mikkotsi ( he, משה בן יעקב מקוצי; la, Moses Kotsensis), was a French Tosafist and authority on Halakha (Jewish law). He is best known as the author of one of the earliest codific ...

's '' Sefer Mitzvot Gadol'' (called "Semag" from its initials סמ"ג). The work's official title is ''Ammudei haGolah'', and is written in the form of a poem. It is divided into 7 "pillars" as he says, "seven pillars corresponding the seven days of the week, and I have asked every man to read one pillar each day." It includes (contemporary)

Halacha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical comman ...

along with aggadic stories and mussar. Although based on the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, the work does not delve into the argument behind the legal decision. "Semaḳ" was "most favorably received" by the Ashkenazi communities (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

). It has often been edited and annotated, with most editions containing lengthy commentaries. Isaac also published ''Liḳḳuṭim'' (collectanea), and several small compilations containing his ritual decisions. The '' Kol Bo'' (No. 128) contains a long fragment of a Talmudic work of R. Isaac, with this superscription: קצת דינים מה"ר יצחק ז"ל.

References

Its bibliography: *

Eliakim Carmoly Eliakim Carmoly (5 August 1802 in Soultz-Haut-Rhin, France – 15 February 1875 in Frankfurt) was a French scholar. He was born at Soultz-Haut-Rhin, then in the French department of Haut-Rhin. His real name was ''Goschel David Behr'' (or ''Ba ...

, Biographics des Israélites de France, p. 45; *Rev. Et. Juives, iv. 213, vi. 168; *Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 563–565. {{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac Ben Joseph of Corbeil 13th-century French rabbis French Tosafists Exponents of Jewish law 1280 deaths Year of birth unknown Authors of books on Jewish law