Rashi Bhavishya by Param Pujya Guru Rajneesh Rishi Ji
Rashi Bhavishya by Param Pujya
Guru Rajneesh Rishi Ji,
World Famous Spiritual Guru in 133
Countries, Shani
Mandir Wale,
New Delhi India.
Connect with Guruji on
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and on Twitter @lordshani
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Shlomo Yitzhaki (
Hebrew:
רבי שלמה יצחקי), or in
Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi (Hebrew: רש"י,
RAbbi SHlomo Itzhaki;
February 22,
1040 -- July 13, 1104), was a medieval
French rabbi and long highly esteemed as a major contribution
Ashkenazi Jewry gave to
Torah study. He is famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh (
Hebrew Bible). He is considered the "father" of all commentaries that followed on the Talmud (i.e., the Baalei Tosafot) and the Tanakh (i.e.,
Ramban, Ibn
Ezra,
Ohr HaChaim, et al
.).[
1][2]
Acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise, lucid fashion, Rashi appeals to both learned scholars and beginning students, and his works remain a centerpiece of contemporary
Jewish study. His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the
Babylonian Talmud (a total of 30 tractates), has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing by
Daniel Bomberg in the 1520s. His commentary on Tanakh — especially his commentary on the
Chumash ("
Five Books of Moses") — is an indispensable aid to students of all levels. The latter commentary alone serves as the basis for more than
300 "supercommentaries" which analyze Rashi's choice of language and citations, penned by some of the greatest names in rabbinic literature.[2]
Rashi's surname Yitzhaki derives from his father's name, Yitzhak. The acronym is sometimes also fancifully expanded as Rabban Shel YIsrael (
Teacher of
Israel), or as Rabbenu SheYichyeh (Our
Rabbi, may he live). He may be cited in Hebrew and
Aramaic texts as (1) "
Shlomo son of Rabbi Yitzhak," (2) "Shlomo son of Yitzhak," (3) "Shlomo Yitzhaki," etc.[3]
In older literature, Rashi is sometimes referred to as
Jarchi or Yarhi (ירחי), his abbreviated name being interpreted as Rabbi Shlomo Yarhi. This was understood to refer to the
Hebrew name of
Lunel in
Provence, popularly derived from the French lune "moon", in Hebrew ירח,[4] in which Rashi was assumed to have lived at some time[5] or to have been born, or where his ancestors were supposed to have originated.[6]
Richard Simon[7] and Johann
Wilhelm Wolf[8] claimed out that only
Christian scholars referred to Rashi as Jarchi, and that this epithet was unknown to the
Jews.
Bernardo de Rossi, however, demonstrated that
Hebrew scholars also referred to Rashi as Yarhi.[9] In 1839,
Leopold Zunz[10] showed that the Hebrew usage of Jarchi was an erroneous propagation of the
error by Christian writers, instead interpreting the abbreviation as it is understood today: Rabbi Shlomo Yitchaki. In consequence, by the second half of the
19th century, the appellation Jarchi was considered obsolete.[11] The evolution of this term has been thoroughly traced.[12]
Rashi and his family survived the major anti-semitic outbreak when he was 45 years old;[13] many of his teachers who were some of Judaism's greatest
Ashkenazi sages and his mentors did not survive.
Following the burning of the Yeshivoth in Mainz and
Worms by the
Crusaders, Rashi started a successful school in
Troyes, which lasted for generations (until the second crusade). The Yeshivoth and community Rashi's teachers argued with in Speyer were also burned down during his lifetime.