Alfasi, Isaac ben Jacob Ha-Kohen (of Fez, hence the Arabic Alfasi), called also RIF (from the initials of Rabbi Isaac Fasi), one of the most distinguished Talmudists of the Middle Ages, was born in Kalat ibn Hamad, a village near Fez, Northern Africa, 1013; died in Lucena, Spain, 1013.
Alfasi received his education in the not distant city of Kairwan - then a famous center of Jewish learning and culture - where he came under the influence of the renowned rabbinical authorities Rabbenu Nissim and, in particular, Rabbenu Hananeel. Afterward he returned to Fez, where he probably occupied a high communal position.
In 1088, at the age of 75, he was forced to flee to Spain because he had been denounced to the government on an unknown charge by two informers. After a brief stay in Cordova and Granada, he went to Lucena in 1089, succeeding Isaac ibn Ghayyat as head of the community. There he established a famous academy which he headed until his death. Among his pupils were the eminent Talmudist Joseph ibn Migas, and probably also the great poets Judah Halevi (Diwan, edit. Brody, vol. 2, p. 100) and Moses ibn Ezra (Diwan, edit. Bialik, vol. 1, p. 74), both of whom composed elegies in honor of their master. On his deathbed, Alfasi appointed Ibn Migas as his successor, although his own son, Jacob was a noted scholar.
The undying fame of Alfasi rests upon his Halachoth, often referred to simply as the Alfes, which is a codifying compendium of the Talmud. He wrote it while he was living in Fez. His work follows the order of the Talmud tractates, but he omits all Haggadic passages and all laws which are of historical or Messianic significance only. Such matters as are not dealt with in separate tractates but are scattered throughout a number of them, he groups together under the name of Halachoth Ketanoth (Minor Laws). He lets the Talmud speak for itself, but the deft addition of a word or two from his masterly pen is often sufficient to illumine and deepen an otherwise abstruse passage.
At first glance Halachoth Gedoloth appears to be an abbreviated Talmud; closer inspection reveals the titanic labor of sifting, arranging and deciding involved in producing a work of such magnitude. Alfasi had to evolve certain methodological rules, by which to guide his interpretation of the material of the Talmud. These rules became very important to future codifiers. For example, he rearranges the Gemara's discussion of the Mishnah into a logical sequence, and at times he adheres to the strict, literal meaning of the Mishnah, disregarding the scholastic interpretation of the Gemara. If a certain passage is repeated, he discusses it at length in the more important source, and he either omits or mentions it casually in the less important source. He includes no ethical maxims or stories unless they directly lead to a practical rule of conduct.
When citing the Yerushalmi, he follows the example of the Geonim, who admit it as an authority when it is not contradicted by Babylonian Talmud. Alfasi displays a wide acquaintance with the writings of the Geonim, whose opinions he often records; yet he had no hesitancy in disagreeing with them. When he alludes to "the Gaon" without further identification, he means Hai, regarded in Kaiwan as the great authority, although in few cases the term refers to Samuel ben Hofni.
Even before Alfasi left Fez, his Halahoth had already begun to exert tremendous influence in the schools where it was carefully studied. In their enthusiasm for the work some declared that he must have had divine inspiration in its composition. Maimonides, a pupil of Alfasi's pupil, had a high regard for Alfasi, whom he calls "my teacher" (Hilchoth Sheelach Ufekadon 5:6), as well as for the Halachoth, to which he started to prepare notes and corrections, but was unable to complete them (Responsa, edit. A. Freimann, 1934, p.318). He declares that the work is almost perfect, and that at most there are only ten mistakes (Commentary to the Mishnah, introduction, edit. Hamburger, p. 59); he further advised his pupils to study it diligently and to compare it with his own Yad Hazakah (Birchath Abraham, 1859, p. xi).
Naturally, a work of such comprehensive scope was subject to criticism. The earliest critic was a certain Ephraim, disciple of Alfasi; later, Zerahiah ben Isaac Halevi, in his Hamaor (The Luminary). Abraham ben David of Posquieres replied to many of Zerahiah's strictures but at the same time discovered new objections. Nahmanides defended Alfasi against the attacks of Zerahiah in his Milhamoth Adonai (Wars of the Lord) and against those of Abraham ben David in his Sefer Hazechuth.
The main commentators of the Alfes are: Jonah Gerondi, Nissim ben Reuben, Joseph ibn Habib, and Jonathan ben David of Lunel. Rabbi Meshullam ben Moses (13th cent.), in his Sefer Hahashlamah (Paris, 1885 and 1908; Berlin, 1893), supplemented the code of Alfasi by adding some minor laws of daily practice. Menahem Azariah da Fano wrote an abridgement of part of the Alfes entitled Hilchoth Alfasi Zuta (printed in part in 1886; 1898), which omits everything but the final Halachic decisions.
The veneration in which the scholars of succeeding generations held Alfasi is evidenced by fact that many of them mention him with the title "Gaon", a mark of profound respect, since he did not live in the Gaonic period. Alfasi's code still maintains its importance in the curricula of modern Yeshivas; thus Elijah Vilna instructed his pupils to devote certain portion of each day to its study (Maase Rab, section 60).
It appears that Alfasi made some revisions in his work, which explains the variant readings in the manuscripts. The first edition was issued at Constantinople in 1509; since then the Halachoth have been printed many times with numerous commentaries. The latest and most authoritative edition (Vilna, 1881, Romm) is appended to the regular editions of the Talmud, an eloquent testimony to the popularity and value of Alfasi's compilation.
In four places Alfasi departed from his usual concise method and composed separately, in Arabic, lengthy Halachic disquisitions. The one passage in Shebyoth was published by Landauer (Letterbode, vol. 2, 1876); the three passages in Kethuboth have been translated into Hebrew a few times, the latest being that of Boaz Cohen in 1929.
Alfasi wrote also a number of responsa, the largest collection of which contains 320 (Leghorn, 1781, and later editions). Many of them appear in Harkavy's Zichron Lerishonim, vol. 4; many more are found in manuscript and in the collecteana of his pupils. These responsa, mostly written in Lucena, were for the most part originally in Arabic and were later translated into Hebrew. Alfasi's style is the same here as in his larger work: terse, succint and to the point; in fact, his answers are the shortest in the entire responsa literature. In addition to interpreting difficult Biblical and Talmudic sections, he deals with various questions of grammar (no. 1), definitions, and the rationalization of Talmudic legends (nos. 313-14). In his modesty he sometimes refused to decide between the opinions of two great men (no. 25), and he was not ashamed to admit a mistake (Zichron, p. 258).
Alfasi justly towers as a unique figure in Talmudic learning. Born a contemporary of the last Babylonian Geonim, a disciple of the wise men of Kairwain, and a teacher in the academies of Spain, he indissolubly interwove into his work the Torah of Sura and Pumbeditha, of Northern Africa and Spain. With a seldom paraleled singularity of purpose - he did not dabble in philosophy, science, poetry or grammar - with indefatigable energy, he consecrated his long life to the understanding of the Halachah. Although 76 years old when he finally settled in Lucena, he revivified the study of the Talmud in Spain. Posessing a sound critical mind, he was strongly independent in judgement, and once convinced of the correctness of his stand, he deferred to no one. He was the first critically to appraise the efforts of Geonim. Later codifiers accept his opinions against those of the Geonim; when Joseph Caro compiled his Shulchan Aruch to become the definitive code of Judaism, he chose Alfasi as one of the three standard authorities, together with Maimonides and Asher ben Jehiel.
Alfasi's nobility of character, described by his pupils, is illustrated in the following incident:
When Isaac Albalia, who had had some severe disputes with Alfasi, was on his deathbed, he instructed his 17 year old son, Baruch to tell Alfasi that he had forgiven him and that his last wish had been that he should instruct his son. When Alfasi heard of this, he burst into tears, took the boy into his home as one of the members of his family, and taught him to the day of his death (Neubauer, A., Medieval Jewish Chronicles, vol. 1, 1887, p. 77).
Author: Hirshel Revel
Riva (di Trento, Italy): Antoni Bruin and Joseph
b. Nathan Ottolenghi, 1558.
Sources:
This text was reproduced by Michael E.
Alfes from "The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia".
The image was reproduced from the Jacob M. Lowy Collection
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