Yom Tov ben Abraham of Seville ( 1260 – 1320; also Asevilli, Assevilli, Ashbili) commonly known by the

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 ...

Ritva, ( Rabbi Yom Tov ben Avraham) was a medieval rabbi and

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

of the Yeshiva of Seville, known for his commentaries on the

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 ...

Biography

Asevilli was born in the city of

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

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 ...

around 1260. His name, ''Asevilli'' is itself a

topographic surname A toponymic surname or habitational surname or byname is a surname or byname derived from a place name,

that identifies him as being from Seville. He was the student of

Solomon ibn Adret Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet ( or Solomon son of Abraham son of Aderet) (1235 – 1310) was a medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarl ...

and Aaron ha-Levy. His works suggest that he spent some time studying in France. He spent most of his life in

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. He died between 1314 and 1328. He was the rabbi and head of the Yeshiva of Seville in Spain.

Writings

His commentary on the

was collected and published as a novellae entitled ''Chiddushei Ha-Ritva''. It is one of the most frequently referred-to Talmudic commentators today. Assevilli wrote two versions of his commentary, first an extended one and then a concise one. In general only the concise version survives. Controversially attributed works include: * Berakhot: Some thought it to be the work of Assevilli's father or

Bezalel Ashkenazi Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi () ( 1520 – 1592) was a rabbi and talmudist who lived in Ottoman Israel during the 16th century. He is best known as the author of the ''Shitah Mekubetzet'', a commentary on the Talmud. Among his disciples were ...

, however it is now assumed to be the genuine work of Assevilli himself. *

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

Nissim of Gerona Nissim ben Reuven (1290 – 9th of Shevat, 1376, ) of Girona, Catalonia was an influential talmudist and authority on Jewish law. He was one of the last of the great Spanish medieval Talmudic scholars. He is also known by his Hebrew acronym, the ...

's commentary was misattributed to Assevilli by the Saloniki printers, but the genuine commentary is widely available. *

Nedarim In Judaism, a neder (, plural ''nedarim'') is a kind of vow or oath. The neder may consist of performing some act in the future (either once or regularly) or abstaining from a particular type of activity of the person's choice. The concept of the ...

: Very controversial. See the introduction to the MhRK edition. *

Gittin Gittin (Hebrew: ) is a tractate of the Mishnah and the Talmud, and is part of the order of Nashim. The content of the tractate primarily deals with the legal provisions related to halakhic divorce, in particular, the laws relating to the ''Get ...

: The traditionally printed commentary is now known to be the work of

Crescas Vidal Don Crescas Vidal was a French Talmudist in the first half of the fourteenth century. Biography Vidal was probably born in Spain. Vidal went to Perpignan, France shortly before the outbreak of the fourth Maimonidian controversy, as acculturate ...

, with few detractors. A second commentary in manuscript has been printed by MhRK; they conclude it is genuine but some scholars disagree. * Kiddushin: Two separate commentaries have been attributed to Assevilli, but they are both suspicious and (at minimum) include large amounts of foreign material. *

Bava Metzia Bava Metzia (, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called ''Nezikin'' (torts or ...

: Two separate commentaries have been attributed to Assevilli. Both are extremely controversial, but both may be genuine. *

Shevu'ot Shevu'ot or Shevuot (Hebrew: שבועות, "Oaths") is a book of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the sixth volume of the book of Nezikin. Shevu'ot deals primarily with the laws of oaths in halakha (Jewish law). Mishnah The Mishnah to Shevu'ot cont ...

: Two separate commentaries have been attributed to Assevilli, one of which is traditionally printed. Apparently only the printed one is authentic, but the original

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

printers heavily corrupted the text to correspond to Talmudic printings. *

Niddah A niddah (alternative forms: nidda, nida, or nidah; ''nidá''), in traditional Judaism, is a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the ...

: Authentic through the seventh pereq, after which the printed text is the commentary of

Asher ben Jehiel Asher ben Jehiel (, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabbi Asher” or by the Hebrew ...

. He also wrote commentaries on the writings of

Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (1013–1103) (, ), also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym, the Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of halakha, Jewish law). He is best known for his work of '' ...

and certain works of

Nahmanides 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 ...

References

External links

“Ritva,” Rabbi Yom Tov ibn Asevilli
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yom Tov Asevilli Clergy from Seville 13th-century Castilian rabbis 1260s births 1330s deaths Authors of works on the Talmud Hebrew-language writers 14th-century Castilian rabbis Authors of books on Jewish law