Editing Rashi (section)

==Biography==
===Birth and early life===
Rashi was an only child born at [[Troyes]], [[County of Champagne|Champagne]], in northern France. His mother's brother was [[Simeon bar Isaac]], rabbi of [[Mainz]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishgen.org/rabbinic/infofiles/avotaynu.htm |title=Index to Articles on Rabbinic Genealogy in ''Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy'' |access-date=2008-06-11 |website=Avotaynu |archive-date=2023-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603103922/https://www.jewishgen.org/Rabbinic/infofiles/avotaynu.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[[s:he:שבת פה ב#רש"י|Shabbat 85b]]: "And I found support on the foundation of Rabbi Simon the Elder, my mother's brother."</ref> Simon was a disciple of [[Gershom ben Judah]],<ref>See Rashi's comments in ''[[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]]'' 85b.</ref> who died that same year. On his father's side, Rashi has been claimed to be a 33rd-generation descendant of [[Johanan HaSandlar]],<ref name=heilprin/> who was a fourth-generation descendant of [[Gamaliel]],  who was reputedly descended from the [[Davidic line]].<ref name=heilprin>{{Cite web|title=Rabbi Yehiel Ben Shlomo Heilprin - (Circa 5420-5506; 1660-1746)|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112344/jewish/Rabbi-Yehiel-Ben-Shlomo-Heilprin.htm|access-date=2020-06-28|website=www.chabad.org|language=en|archive-date=2020-06-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200628203224/https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112344/jewish/Rabbi-Yehiel-Ben-Shlomo-Heilprin.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In his voluminous writings, Rashi himself made no such claim at all. The main early rabbinical source about his ancestry, Responsum No. 29 by [[Solomon Luria]], makes no such claim either.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hurwitz |first=Simon |author-link=Solomon Luria |title=The Responsa of Solomon Luria |language=en| year=1938 |location=New York, New York |pages=146–151}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Can We Prove Descent from King David?|journal=Avotaynu|year=1992|first=David|last=Einsiedler|volume=VIII|issue=3(Fall)|page=29|url=http://www.jewishgen.org/Rabbinic/journal/descent.htm|access-date=2008-06-11|archive-date=2023-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203172425/https://www.jewishgen.org/Rabbinic/journal/descent.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Legends===
His fame later made him the subject of many legends. One tradition contends that his parents were childless for many years. Rashi's father, Yitzhak, a poor [[winemaker]], once found a precious jewel and was approached by non-Jews who wished to buy it to adorn their idol. Yitzhak agreed to travel with them to their land, but en route, he cast the gem into the sea. Afterwards he was visited by either the [[Voice of God]] or the prophet [[Elijah]], who told him that he would be rewarded with the birth of a noble son "who would illuminate the world with his Torah knowledge."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://torahdownloads.com/shiur-19191.html|title=Shiur 08 - Rashi, Tosfos, And The Development Of Ashkenazi Jewry - Rabbi Menachem Levine - TD19191|website=torahdownloads.com|access-date=2018-12-17|archive-date=2018-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217154640/http://torahdownloads.com/shiur-19191.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another legend also states that Rashi's parents moved to [[Worms, Germany]] while Rashi's mother was pregnant. As she walked down one of the narrow streets in the Jewish quarter, she was imperiled by two oncoming carriages. She turned and pressed herself against a wall, which opened to receive her. This miraculous niche is still visible in the wall of the [[Worms Synagogue]].<ref>Liber, Maurice. [https://books.google.com/books?id=KzG4TzOlaVQC&q=Rashi ''Rashi''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407220359/https://books.google.com/books?id=KzG4TzOlaVQC&q=Rashi |date=2023-04-07 }}, Kessinger Publishing, 2004. pg. 18–19. {{ISBN|1-4191-4396-4}}</ref>

Additional legends, particularly in [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic]] literature, postulate that Rashi's tremendous works and accomplishments were inspired by the [[Holy Spirit]], the ''Shekhinah,'' as no mere human could produce such immense works. One text goes so far as to claim that Rashi was beyond human; the author proposes that he never died a natural death, but rather ascended to Heaven alive like the immortal prophet [[Elijah]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiesel |first=Elie |title=Rashi: A Portrait |publisher=Schocken Books Inc |year=2009 |isbn=9780805242546 |location=New York, NY |pages=1–14 |language=English}}</ref>

===Yeshiva studies===
[[Image:V10p325001 Rashi Synagogue.jpg|thumb|130px|[[Rashi Shul|Rashi Synagogue]], [[Worms, Germany|Worms]]]]
According to tradition, Rashi was first brought to learn Torah by his father on [[Shavuot]] day at the age of five. His father was his main Torah teacher until his death when Rashi was still a youth. At the age of 17 he married and soon after went to learn in the [[yeshiva]] of [[Yaakov ben Yakar]] in [[Worms, Germany|Worms]], returning to his wife three times yearly, for the [[Days of Awe]], [[Passover]] and [[Shavuot]]. When Yaakov died in 1064, Rashi continued learning in Worms for another year in the yeshiva of his relative, [[Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi]], who was also chief rabbi of Worms. Then he moved to [[Mainz]], where he studied under another of his relatives, Isaac ben Judah, the rabbinic head of Mainz and one of the leading sages of the [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]] region straddling France and Germany.

Rashi's teachers were students of [[Rabbeinu Gershom]] and [[Eliezer Hagadol]], leading Talmudists of the previous generation. From his teachers, Rashi imbibed the oral traditions pertaining to the Talmud as they had been passed down for centuries, as well as an understanding of the Talmud's  logic and forms of argument. Rashi took concise, copious notes from what he learned in yeshiva, incorporating this material in his commentaries. He was also greatly influenced by the exegetical principles of [[Menahem Kara]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Grossman|first=Avraham|title=4. Menahem ben Helbo|date=2000-11-12|url=https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/abs/10.13109/9783666535079.331|work=Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. I: From the Beginnings to the Middle Ages (Until 1300). Part 2: The Middle Ages|volume=Band 001|pages=331–332|series=Hebrew Bible / Old Testament|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|doi=10.13109/9783666535079.331|isbn=978-3-525-53507-3|access-date=2020-06-17|archive-date=2022-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808030739/https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/abs/10.13109/9783666535079.331|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Career===
He returned to Troyes at the age of 25, after which time his mother died, and he was asked to join the Troyes ''[[Beth din]]'' (rabbinical court). He also began answering [[Halakha|halakhic]] questions. Upon the death of the head of the ''Bet din'', [[Zerach ben Abraham]], Rashi assumed the court's leadership and answered hundreds of halakhic queries.

[[File:Anbau_des_vormaligen_Frauenbethauses_der_Synagoge_Worms_(a).jpg|thumb|left|200px|Exterior of Rashi's Synagogue, Worms, Germany]]
At some time around 1070 he founded a yeshiva, which attracted many disciples. Jewish oral tradition contends that he was a vintner.<ref>Maurice Liber, ''Rashi'', trans. Adele Szold (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1906), p 56; Irving Agus, ''The Heroic Age of Franco-German Jewry'' (New York: Yeshiva University Press, 1969), 173; Israel S. Elfenbein, "Rashi in His Responsa", in ''Rashi, His Teachings and Personality'', ed. [[Simon Federbusch]] (New York: Cultural Division of the World Jewish Congress, 1958), p 67; Salo W. Baron, "Rashi and the Community of Troyes", in ''Rashi Anniversary Volume'', ed. H. L. Ginsberg (New York: American Academy for Jewish Research, 1941), p 60. "Rashi was a vintner who grew grapes and sold wine."</ref> There is no evidence for this, although Rashi shows an extensive knowledge of winemaking utensils and process.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://seforimblog.com/2007/08/mayer-i-gruber-how-did-rashi-make/ |title=How Did Rashi Make a Living? |author=Mayer I. Gruber |date=13 August 2007 |publisher=the Seforim blog |access-date=2023-09-03 |archive-date=2023-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903172229/https://seforimblog.com/2007/08/mayer-i-gruber-how-did-rashi-make/ |url-status=live}}</ref> One responsum from his school refers to a barrel of wine marked with Rashi's import seal.<ref>Oxford Bodleian Ms. Oppenheim 276, p. 35a, "פעם אחת באו ב' חביות חתומות חות' (=חותם) בתוך חות', ונאנסו סוסי העגלה ונשארו ביד גוי ח' ימים, האחת של ר' (=רבי, רש"י) היתה ובמקום מוצנע היתה מונחת וחותמיה קיימים, והשניה מונחת במקום התורפה. וניטל חותם העליון והדסקיא נקרעת ומקצת' נשתיירה מן הסולמות ולמטה, ועדין רושם האותיות נכר בפי הברזות ופי החבית שקו' בונדין סתום יפה ודחוק, אבל אין שם חותם. וצלעות החבית אין בהם נקב. והתירו זקן אחד על יד סימני' הללו. ומלא ר' דבריו והתיר... וברזא אחת הית' שם שלא נכר האות יפה בו... ואמ' ר' כי הכותב לא היה יכול לכוין ידו ולאמן ולחבר ידו והפך, שאילו הוציא הגוי הברזא בחודו של סכין וחזר והכניסה להפך, הלא הסכין פוגמה והיה נכר. ומתחלה לא רצה הר' לפתוח בהתר, אלא לאחר שהורה הזקן, וחס על ממון ישר'. וחזיתיה לדעתיה דאילו איתרמיא בדידיה הוה בדיל מיני'." Cited by [[Avraham Grossman]], ''The Early Sages of France'', 132; 135, n. 45. See [[Haym Soloveitchik]], ''Jews and the Wine Trade'' pp. 50-52.</ref>  The soil around Troyes is not suited to growing grapes, but some vineyards are known to have existed anyway, due to the great local demand for wine.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Soloveitchik |first=Haym |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jews_and_the_Wine_Trade_in_Medieval_Euro/gvAGEQAAQBAJ |title=Jews and the Wine Trade in Medieval Europe: Principles and Pressures |date=2024 |publisher=Liverpool University Press |isbn=978-1-80207-115-3 |pages=91 |language=en}}</ref>

Although there are many legends about his travels, Rashi likely never went further than from the [[Seine]] to the [[Rhine]]; his furthest destinations were the yeshivas of Lorraine.

In 1096, the [[People's Crusade]] swept through the Lorraine, murdering 12,000 Jews and uprooting whole communities. Among those murdered in Worms were the three sons of Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi, Rashi's teacher. Rashi wrote several ''[[Selichot]]'' (penitential poems) mourning the slaughter and the destruction of the region's great yeshivot. Seven of Rashi's ''Selichot'' still exist,<ref>R. Halperin, ''Rashi: Chayav u'Ferushav'', vol. 1 (Tel Aviv: Hekdesh Ruach Yaakov, 1997), 107-22. Referred to in Yonatan Kolatch, ''Masters of the Word: Traditional Jewish Bible Commentary from the First Through Tenth Centuries'' (Brooklyn NY: KTAV Publishing House, Inc., 2006), 18. {{ISBN|088125939X}}, 9780881259391</ref> including ''Adonai Elohei Hatz'vaot'', which is recited on the eve of [[Rosh Hashanah]], and ''Az Terem Nimtehu'', which is recited on the [[Fast of Gedalia]].

===Death and burial site===
Rashi died on July 13, 1105 ([[Tammuz (Hebrew month)|Tammuz]] 29, 4865) at the age of 65.<ref>Grossman, Avraham (2012). ''Rashi'', p.12</ref> He was buried in Troyes. The approximate location of the cemetery in which he was buried was recorded in ''[[Seder ha-Dorot]]'', but over time the location of the cemetery was forgotten. A number of years ago, a [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] professor discovered an ancient map depicting the site of the cemetery, which lay under an open square in the city of Troyes. After this discovery, French Jews erected a large monument in the center of the square—a large, black and white globe featuring the three Hebrew letters of רשי artfully arranged counterclockwise in negative space, evoking the style of Hebrew [[Micrography|microcalligraphy]]. The granite base of the monument is engraved: ''Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki — Commentator and Guide''.

In 2005, [[Yisroel Meir Gabbai]] erected an additional plaque at this site marking the square as a burial ground. The plaque reads: "''The place you are standing on is the cemetery of the town of Troyes. Many [[Rishonim]] are buried here, among them Rabbi Shlomo, known as Rashi the holy, may his merit protect us''".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.chareidi.org/archives5765/mattos/MTS65features.htm |title=The Discovery of the Resting Places of Rashi and the Baalei Hatosfos |author=Y. Friedman |publisher=Dei'ah Vedibur |date=2005-07-25 |access-date=2013-07-12 |archive-date=2014-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326141413/http://www.chareidi.org/archives5765/mattos/MTS65features.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Descendants===
{{main|Rashi's daughters}}

Rashi had no sons. All of his [[Rashi's daughters|three children]] were girls, named Yocheved, Miriam and Rachel. He invested himself in their education; his writings and the legends which surround him suggest that his daughters were well-versed in the [[Torah]] and the [[Talmud]] (at a time when women were not expected to study) and would help him when he was too weak to write. His daughters married his disciples; most present-day [[Ashkenazi]] rabbinical dynasties can trace their lineage back to his daughters Miriam or Yocheved.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shereshevsky|first=Ezra|title=Rashi - the Man and His World|publisher=Sepher-Hermon|year=1982}}</ref>

A late-20th century legend claims that Rashi's daughters wore [[tefillin]]. While a few women in medieval Ashkenaz did wear tefillin, there is no evidence that Rashi's daughters did.<ref>[[Avraham Grossman]]. ''Pious and Rebellious: Jewish Women in Medieval Europe''. Brandeis University Press, 2004.)</ref>

* Rashi's oldest daughter, Yocheved, married [[Meir ben Samuel]]; their four sons were Shmuel ([[Rashbam]]; born 1080), Yitzchak ([[Rivam]]; born 1090), Jacob ([[Rabbeinu Tam]]; born 1100), and Shlomo the Grammarian, all of whom were among the most prolific [[List of Tosafists|Tosafists]]. Yocheved's daughter, [[Hannah bat Meir|Channah]], is reputed to have instructed the local women to recite the blessing after [[Shabbat candles|candle lighting]] (instead of before).
* Rashi's middle daughter, Miriam, married [[Judah ben Nathan]], who completed the commentary on the Talmud [[Makkot]].<ref>[[s:he:מכות יט ב#רש"י|Makkot 19b]]: One printed edition of the Talmud states: "Our master's body was pure, and his soul departed in purity, and he did not explain any more; from here on is the language of his student Rabbi Yehudah ben Nathan."</ref> Their daughter Alvina was a learned woman whose customs served as the basis for later halakhic decisions. Their son [[Yom Tov ben Judah of Falaise|Yom Tov]] later moved to Paris and headed a yeshiva there, together with his brothers Shimshon and Eliezer.
* Rashi's youngest daughter, Rachel, married (and divorced) Eliezer ben Shemiah. Little else is known about her.
It is reputed that the famous Polish Talmudist [[Moses Isserles]] (1530–1572) was a descendant of Rashi.<ref>Jacobi Papers, Vol 4, p. 8, B.5</ref>{{Rashi family tree}}