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Menachem HaMeiri
Menachem ben Solomon HaMeiri (Hebrew: מנחם בן שלמה המאירי; French: Don Vidal Solomon; 1249–1315), commonly referred to as HaMeiri, the Meiri, or just Meiri, was a famous medieval Catalan rabbi, and Talmudist. Though most of his expansive commentary, spanning 35 tractates of the Talmud, was not publicly available until the turn of the 19th century, it has since gained widespread renown and acceptance among Talmudic scholars.
Menachem HaMeiri was born in 1249 in Perpignan, which then formed part of the Principality of Catalonia. He was the student of Rabbi Reuven, the son of Chaim of Narbonne, France. In his writings, he refers to himself as HaMeiri ("the Meiri", or the Meirite; Hebrew: המאירי), presumably after one of his ancestors named Meir (Hebrew: מאיר), and that is how he is now known. Some have suggested that the reference is to Meir Detrancatleich, a student of the Raavad, who is mentioned in the Meiri's writings as one of his elders.
In his youth he was orphaned of his father, and his children were taken captive while he was still young, but no further details of these personal tragedies are known.
From the notorial certificates kept from Perpignan, it appears the Meiri made a living as a money lender, and his income was quite high.
The Meiri's principal teacher was Rabbi Reuven ben Chaim, and he kept a close correspondence and relationship with the Rashba, who was arguably the greatest Jewish rabbi of those times. Although the Meiri is known as one of the greatest scholars of his era, and despite his vast Torah knowledge and expertise, as testified to by many rabbis of his time and by his great expansive work Beit HaBechirah, there is no evidence he ever held a rabbinic position, or even a teaching position in a Yeshiva (Jewish school for religious studies). This may have been in accordance with the teaching of the Rambam, who spoke harshly against turning the rabbinate solely into a means of livelihood.
His commentary, the Beit HaBechirah (literally "The Chosen House," a play on an alternate name for the Temple in Jerusalem, implying that the Meiri's work selects specific content from the Talmud, omitting the discursive elements), is one of the most monumental works written on the Talmud. This work is less a commentary and more of a digest of all of the comments in the Talmud, arranged in a manner similar to the Talmud—presenting first the mishnah and then laying out the discussions that are raised concerning it. Haym Soloveitchik describes it as follows:
Unlike most rishonim, he frequently quotes the Jerusalem Talmud, including textual variants which are no longer extant in other sources.
Beit HaBechirah cites many of the major Rishonim, referring to them not by name but rather by distinguished titles. Specifically:
Menachem HaMeiri
Menachem ben Solomon HaMeiri (Hebrew: מנחם בן שלמה המאירי; French: Don Vidal Solomon; 1249–1315), commonly referred to as HaMeiri, the Meiri, or just Meiri, was a famous medieval Catalan rabbi, and Talmudist. Though most of his expansive commentary, spanning 35 tractates of the Talmud, was not publicly available until the turn of the 19th century, it has since gained widespread renown and acceptance among Talmudic scholars.
Menachem HaMeiri was born in 1249 in Perpignan, which then formed part of the Principality of Catalonia. He was the student of Rabbi Reuven, the son of Chaim of Narbonne, France. In his writings, he refers to himself as HaMeiri ("the Meiri", or the Meirite; Hebrew: המאירי), presumably after one of his ancestors named Meir (Hebrew: מאיר), and that is how he is now known. Some have suggested that the reference is to Meir Detrancatleich, a student of the Raavad, who is mentioned in the Meiri's writings as one of his elders.
In his youth he was orphaned of his father, and his children were taken captive while he was still young, but no further details of these personal tragedies are known.
From the notorial certificates kept from Perpignan, it appears the Meiri made a living as a money lender, and his income was quite high.
The Meiri's principal teacher was Rabbi Reuven ben Chaim, and he kept a close correspondence and relationship with the Rashba, who was arguably the greatest Jewish rabbi of those times. Although the Meiri is known as one of the greatest scholars of his era, and despite his vast Torah knowledge and expertise, as testified to by many rabbis of his time and by his great expansive work Beit HaBechirah, there is no evidence he ever held a rabbinic position, or even a teaching position in a Yeshiva (Jewish school for religious studies). This may have been in accordance with the teaching of the Rambam, who spoke harshly against turning the rabbinate solely into a means of livelihood.
His commentary, the Beit HaBechirah (literally "The Chosen House," a play on an alternate name for the Temple in Jerusalem, implying that the Meiri's work selects specific content from the Talmud, omitting the discursive elements), is one of the most monumental works written on the Talmud. This work is less a commentary and more of a digest of all of the comments in the Talmud, arranged in a manner similar to the Talmud—presenting first the mishnah and then laying out the discussions that are raised concerning it. Haym Soloveitchik describes it as follows:
Unlike most rishonim, he frequently quotes the Jerusalem Talmud, including textual variants which are no longer extant in other sources.
Beit HaBechirah cites many of the major Rishonim, referring to them not by name but rather by distinguished titles. Specifically: