Jehiel ben Joseph of Paris
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Yechiel ben Joseph of Paris or Jehiel of Paris, called Sire Vives in French (
Judeo-French Zarphatic, or Judeo-French (Zarphatic: ''Tzarfatit''), is an extinct Jewish language that was spoken by the French Jews of northern France and in parts of west-central Germany, such as Mainz, Frankfurt am Main and Aix-la-Chapelle. It was also ...
: ) 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 Corbeil. He was a disciple of Rabbi
Judah Messer Leon Judah ben Jehiel, ( he, יהודה בן יחיאל, 1420 to 1425 – c. 1498), more usually called Judah Messer Leon ( he, יהודה מסר לאון), was an Italian rabbi, teacher, physician, and philosopher. Through his works, assimilating a ...
, and succeeded him in 1225 as
head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...
of the Yeshiva of Paris, which then boasted some 300 students; his best known student was
Meir of Rothenburg Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfred J. ...
. He is the author of many Tosafot.


Disputation of Paris

Yechiel of Paris is best known as the main defender of Judaism in the 1240 Disputation of Paris held at the court of
Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...
, where he argued against the convert Nicholas Donin. This was the first formal Christian-Jewish disputation held in medieval Christendom. In defence of accusations of slanderous quotes in the Talmud against the founder of Christianity, Yechiel argued that the references to Yeshu in fact refer to different individuals. Yechiel delineates them as Jesus himself another "Yeshu haNotzri", also from
Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...
( Sanhedrin 107b), and a third "Yeshu" of the boiling excrement in Gittin 47a. Berger (1998) writes: "Whatever one thinks of the sincerity of the multiple Jesus theory, R. Yehiel found a way to neutralize some dangerous rabbinic statements, and yet the essential Ashkenazic evaluation of Jesus remains even in the text of this disputation." Yechiel's argument was followed by
Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
at the Disputation of Barcelona in 1263, but not by
Profiat Duran Profiat Duran (c. 1350 – c. 1415) (Hebrew: פרופייט דוראן), full Hebrew name Isaac ben Moses ha-Levi; was a Jewish apologist/polemicist, philosopher, physician, grammarian, and controversialist in the 14th century. He was later sometim ...
at the Disputation of Tortosa in 1413–14. Although the disputants were believed by at least some to have successfully defended Judaism, a decree was passed for the public burning of all available manuscripts of the Talmud—and on Friday, June 17, 1244, twenty-four carriage loads of written works were set alight. The arguments and the contents of the debate were published in
Thorn Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to: Botany * Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants * ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species Comics and literature * Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Com ...
in 1873 under the title ''Vikuaḥ Rabenu Yeḥiel mi Paris'' ( he, ויכוח רבינו יחיאל מפריס).


Disputed move to Acre

According to some sources, Yechiel arrived in Outremer around 1258 and settled in Acre, then ruled by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, along with his son, Messire Delicieux (מישירא דילשיש) and a large group of followers. He soon re-established the Great Academy of Paris (''Midrash haGadol d'Paris'') and is believed to have died there between 1265 and 1268. He was buried near Haifa, at
Mount Carmel Mount Carmel ( he, הַר הַכַּרְמֶל, Har haKarmel; ar, جبل الكرمل, Jabal al-Karmil), also known in Arabic as Mount Mar Elias ( ar, link=no, جبل مار إلياس, Jabal Mār Ilyās, lit=Mount Saint Elias/Elijah), is a c ...
. According to Simha Emanuel ehowever, he never emigrated and died in France, where a fragment of a funeral stone has been found bearing the inscription, מורנו י)יחיאל) לגן עד (translated: Our master Yehiel to the Paradise), which could be from Rabbi Yechiel.


Teachings

He was a tosafist. His tosafot are quoted as authoritative by
Peretz 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 ma ...
in "Kol Bo" and in "Mordechai".Mordechai, Hullin, No. 924 He is frequently quoted also in the edited tosafot.


See also

* Old Yishuv


References


External links


Rabbi Jehiel of Paris (Chabad.org)
{{Authority control 1260s deaths 13th-century French rabbis French Tosafists Clergy from Paris Jews and Judaism in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 13th-century rabbis from the Mamluk Sultanate Aliyah Jewish apologists Year of birth unknown