Rashi

c. 1040 – 13 July 1105

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, c. 1040 - 1105) was a medieval French rabbi whose comprehensive commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and the Babylonian Talmud remain the foundational study texts of both works. Born and based in Troyes, Champagne, he studied in the great Rhineland yeshivas of Worms and Mainz before founding his own academy in Troyes, all while earning his living, according to tradition, as a vintner.

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Life events

Born in Troyes, Champagne, in northern France
c. 1040

Rashi was born around 1040 into a family of Jewish scholars in Troyes.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Studied at the yeshiva of Yaakov ben Yakar in Worms
c. 1055

As a young man, around 1055, Rashi traveled to the Rhineland to study under Yaakov ben Yakar, whom he regarded as his principal teacher.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Continued studies at the yeshiva of Mainz
c. 1060

Rashi later studied in Mainz under Isaac ben Judah, absorbing the traditions of the great Rhineland academies founded by Gershom ben Judah.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Returned to Troyes
c. 1065

Around 1065 Rashi returned to his native Troyes, where he joined the rabbinical court and, according to tradition, supported himself as a vintner.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Founded his own yeshiva in Troyes
c. 1067

Around 1067 Rashi established an academy in Troyes that attracted students from across France and Germany and became a leading center of Jewish learning.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Composed his commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and the Babylonian Talmud
c. 1070 – c. 1105

Over decades of work Rashi wrote clear, concise running commentaries covering nearly the entire Tanakh and Talmud, which became inseparable from the study of both texts.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Witnessed the aftermath of the First Crusade massacres of Rhineland Jews
1096

The 1096 Crusader massacres devastated the Rhineland communities where Rashi had studied, and he responded with responsa permitting forced converts to return to Judaism.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Died in Troyes
13 July 1105

Rashi died on 13 July 1105; his teachings were carried on by his grandsons and students, the Tosafists.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓