Aharon ben Joseph haLevi (‎; c. 1235 – c. 1303), known by his

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

''Ra'AH'' (), was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

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 of t ...

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic scholar and

Halakhist ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

. Aharon haLevi was born in

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

(present-day

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

) in 1235 to his father Joseph haLevi, son of Benveniste haLevi, son of Rabbi Joseph haLevi, who was the son of Rabbi Zerachiah haLevi of Girona Baal Hamaor. Ra'AH's mother Clara was a granddaughter of Aaron of Lunel, who was the son of Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel. Aharon haLevi studied under his father Joseph haLevi and brother Pinchas ben Joseph haLevi, as well as

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

, and was a colleague of Shlomo ben Aderet (1235–1310). He published critical notes on the Rashba's ''Torat HaBayit'', which he entitled ''Bedeq HaBayit''. He also wrote a commentary on the

, select parts of which have been published.

Gedaliah ibn Yaḥyah Gedaliah ( or ; ''Gəḏalyyā)'' was a person from the Bible who was a governor of Yehud province. He was also the son of Ahikam, who saved the prophet Jeremiah. Names Gedaliah ( or ; ''Gəḏalyyā'' or ''Gəḏalyyāhū''; also written G ...

suggested that haLevi might also be the anonymous "Levite of Barcelona" who wrote the '' Sefer haHinukh'', but this theory has been rejected due to discrepancies between opinions expressed, and the authorities cited, in the ''Bedeq HaBayit'' and the ''Hinukh''.''The 613 mitzvot: a contemporary guide to the commandments of Judaism'' R. L. Eisenberg - 2005 "Sefer ha-Chinuch (Book of Education), which is attributed to the 13th- century Aaron Ha-Levi of Barcelona," Yom Tov Asevilli was one of Aharon HaLevi's students.

Works

* ''Bedeq haBayit''
Sefaria
* Commentaries to Berakhot
Sefaria
, Sukkah, Beitzah, Taanit, Ḥullin, Ketubbot, and Avodah Zarah have been printed. The ''Novellae of Ra'AH to Qiddushin'' are not his. Some fragments of his ''Novellae'' to Pesaḥim survive in manuscript
link
, and others are quoted by Joseph ben Saul Kimhi in
Mezuqqaq Shiv'atayim
' f. 47v-48r.

Sources

13th-century Catalan rabbis 1235 births 1290 deaths Rabbis from Girona Levites Authors of books on Jewish law Year of death uncertain {{Judaism-bio-stub