Authors

Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook was one of the major Torah personalities of the early 20th century and an influential leader in both Lithuania and the land of Israel. A master of many facets of Jewish literature, he wrote halakhic and aggadic works, philosophical and mystical tracts, responsa, and commentaries. His voluminous correspondence also covers a wide range of topics. In 1904, he moved to the land of Israel to serve as the chief rabbi of Jaffa. He organized a famous tour of leading rabbis of the Old Yishuv to see firsthand the developing communities of the pioneers of the New Yishuv. He also strongly promoted Jewish return to agriculture, giving further halakhic support to an earlier ruling allowing Jews to work the land in the sabbatical year as long as it was sold to non-Jews for that year. In 1914, he travelled to Europe to attend the world Agudat Yisrael convention and was stranded there when World War I broke out. He spent the war in Switzerland and England and had a great impact upon the Jewish communities in those places. Upon his return to the land of Israel after the war, in 1917, he was appointed rabbi of Jerusalem and, in 1921, the first chief rabbi of the land of Israel. He also founded the yeshiva known today as Merkaz Harav to train a new cadre of scholars who would be conversant in prevalent cultural modes, capable of explicating Jewish practice, and teaching in a manner that would speak to the young, nationalist, passionate, but religiously disassociated pioneers.

Avraham ben Meir ibn Ezra, better known simply as Ibn Ezra, was a medieval Spanish Torah commentator, poet, philosopher, and grammarian. A polymath, he wrote on grammar, philosophy, astronomy, medicine, and mathematics. He is most famous for his biblical commentaries, which, alongside those of Rashi, are ubiquitous and indispensable. His commentaries focus on rational, grammatical explanations and the peshat (plain sense) meaning of the text. He is often critical of other commentators and especially of Karaites, a group of Jews who rejected the Oral Torah and rabbinic teachings. He maintained a deep friendship with the contemporary Spanish philosopher, Judah Halevi, and quotes some of his interpretations in his commentaries. His poetry is still read and sung as part of the regular liturgy. Ibn Ezra knew great poverty and traveled widely, almost incessantly, teaching and making connections with fellow scholars, notably Rabbenu Tam in France.

Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg lectures on the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic thought at academic, psychoanalytic, and Jewish educational institutions around the world. In 1995, she received the National Jewish Book Award for Genesis: The Beginning of Desire. She lives in Jerusalem.

Yisroel (Israel) ben Eliezer, better known as the Ba'al Shem Tov or by the acronym Besht, was the founder of the Chasidut. Of humble and obscure origins, he was introduced to the secrets of Kabbalah by Rabbi Adam Ba'al Shem of Ropczyce and other masters of practical Kabbalah. In 1734, he presented himself to the world as a ba'al shem, a "Master of the (divine) Name," the title used for holy men who could work miracles. His teachings made Kabbalah more accessible to the common Jew and emphasized ways of drawing closer to the Divine beyond the traditional framework of Torah study. As leader of the nascent Chasidic movement, he gained followers, most notably Rabbi Dov Baer, known as the Maggid of Mezeritch.

Ben Sira, also known as Simeon ben Jeshua ben Eleazar ben Sirach, was a second-century BCE Hellenistic Jewish scribe and sage from Seleucid-controlled Jerusalem. He wrote the book of Ben Sira, also known as Ecclesiasticus, an apocryphal poetic book of guidance for living a wise, ethical, and God-fearing life.

Chief disciple of the Ba'al Shem Tov and his successor as leader of the Chasidic movement, known for his scholarship, piety, and asceticism. After the passing of the Ba'al Shem Tov, his son Tzvi briefly replaced his father, but relinquished it to Dov Baer after one year. The center of the movement then moved from Medzhibuzh to Mezeritch. He was the last universal leader of the movement, and upon his death, it split into different factions, each ruled by a different one of his disciples, each of whom became pillars of the movement in their own right and were the cause of the widespread influence of Chasidism throughout Eastern Europe. His primary disciples were: his son Avraham HaMalakh (The Angel), Nachum of Chernobyl, Elimelekh of Lizhensk, Zusha of Hanipol, Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, Barukh of Medzhibuzh, Aaron of Karlin, Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg and Shneur Zalman of Liadi. He left no writings of his own, but his many teachings were recorded and published by his students. These works include: Maggid Devarav LeYaakov, Likkutei Yekarim, Ohr Torah, Ohr HaEmet, Kitvei Kodesh, and Shemuah Tovah.

Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Berkovits was one of the most important Jewish scholars and philosophers of the 20th century. He wrote broadly on subjects of Jewish thought, contemporary Halakhah and communal interest. Collaborating with Sefaria, his family enthusiastically released much of his work into the commons, in order to make these seminal works available to all.

One of the prime students of the Maggid of Mezeritch and founder of Chasidism in Poland. He was drawn to Chasidut by his brother, the famed Rebbe Zusha of Hanipol, who traveled with him to the Maggid. They both accepted upon themselves three years of exile, wandering from place to place while spreading the teachings of their master wherever they passed. After the Maggid's death, Elimelekh settled in Lizhensk, which became a focal point of the movement's spread into Galicia and Poland. He did not write his own material, but his Sabbath lectures were recorded by his disciples and collected by his son Elazar and published a year after his death under the title "Noam Elimelekh". He also wrote "Tzetl Katan", a small handbook containing a seventeen-point program of spiritual improvement, as well as "Hanhagot HaAdam", a list of customs for all pious Jews to follow. His grave in Leżajsk, Poland, is a popular pilgrimage site visited by thousands, particularly on the anniversary of his death on the 21st of the Hebrew month of Adar

Dr. Erica Brown is an award-winning educator, speaker, and prolific author on a range of topics related to Bible and Jewish thought. Among other roles, she has served as director of the Mayberg Center for Jewish Education and Leadership and as associate professor of curriculum and pedagogy at the George Washington University. In 2021, Dr. Brown was appointed as vice provost of Values and Leadership and inaugural director of the Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Center for Values and Leadership. She has held many scholar-in-residence positions and is a faculty member of the Wexner Foundation.

Modern Hebrew poet.

Hayyim Yosef David Azulai (Chida) was a rabbinic scholar, prolific writer, publisher, pioneering biographer, and bibliographer. A great-great grandson of R. Avraham Azulai (the author of an important commentary on the Zohar), he was educated by some of the greatest rabbis of his generation, including Or HaChayyim Hakadosh (R. Chayyim ibn Attar) and R. Shalom Sharabi. He mastered Talmud, kabbalah and Jewish history at an early age. Though born and raised in Jerusalem, he spent much of his life as an emissary from the land of Israel traveling throughout the Jewish communities of Europe and raising funds for the support of communities in the land of Israel. His scholarship, knowledge of multiple languages, physical resilience, and bravery made him an ideal candidate for the task of emissary, on whose success the survival of the Jewish community of Chevron depended. Wherever he went, he visited famous libraries and examined books and manuscripts that he later described in Shem Gedolim, his unique and indispensable bibliographic dictionary. He read widely, seemingly remembered everything, and wrote and published numerous works on almost every imaginable Torah topic.

Don Isaac Abarbanel, often referred to simply as Abarbanel, was a Bible commentator, philosopher, apologist, financier and statesman. Born in Portugal, he displayed a great mastery of both Jewish and secular learning from his youth. His precocious abilities in financial matters attracted the attention of King Alfonso V of Portugal, who appointed him royal treasurer. He used his great wealth and position to help free Jews sold into slavery in Morocco. When Alfonso died in 1483 and Abarbanel was falsely accused of conspiring against the king, he fled for his life to Toledo in Castille, leaving behind a large fortune which had been confiscated. There he devoted himself to composing his famous Biblical commentary. He also answered the call of Queen Isabella and contracted as supplier of the royal army and tax farmer, lending significant sums to help fund the Moorish war. When the Edict of Expulsion was issued, he strove mightily to have it rescinded, offering a fortune to the crown to no avail. He left with his brethren and settled in Naples. When that city was overtaken by the French, he again was forced to leave without his possessions, following his patron to Sicily, Corfu, and finally, to Venice. His apologetic works argued for the Jewish idea of the Mashiach, his exegetical works were unique in that they took social and political issues into consideration, and in his philosophical works he severely criticizes many of his Jewish philosophical predecessors.

Isaac Luria — also known by the acronyms Ari HaKadosh or Arizal — was a rabbi and mystic who taught in Egypt and Safed in the sixteenth century. He is considered the forefather of modern Kabbalah, also known as Lurianic Kabbalah. Born in Jerusalem, but educated in Egypt under the auspices of the David bin Abi Zimra (Radbaz) and Bezalel Ashkenazi, Luria became one of the Radbaz's leading students. He lived a life of seclusion on an island in the Nile but was eventually forced to turn to commerce. It was during this period of seclusion that he developed his famous system of kabbalistic ideas. After moving to Safed, Luria taught his system to many followers, who copied down and interpreted his ideas. Shrouded in secrecy, many legends developed about his life, which were only furthered after his death at a young age. Luria’s students mostly memorized his teachings and put them in writing. Among the transmitters of Luria’s kabbalistic ideas were Eleazer Azikri, Israel Sarug, Elijah de Vidas, Abraham Galante, Moses Jonah, Menahem Azariah Fano, Joseph ibn Ṭabul and Joseph Solomon Delmedigo. None of them, however, was as instrumental in disseminating Luria’s teachings as his closest disciple, Chaim Vital. The Lurianic version of Kabbalah, far as it was from Luria’s original teaching, became the mainstream form of Kabbalah. Its popularity in the Jewish world, even in circles that had never before practiced Kabbalah, contributed to the surge of messianism that set the ground for the messianic movement Shabbtai Tzvi and his followers in the seventeenth century.

Joseph Ber Soloveitchik was a major 20th Century American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist, and modern Jewish ‎philosopher. He was a scion of the Lithuanian Jewish Soloveitchik rabbinic dynasty. As a Rosh ‎Yeshiva of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University in New York City, The ‎Rav, as he came to be known, ordained close to 2,000 rabbis over the course of almost half a ‎century. He served as an advisor, guide, mentor, and role-model for tens of thousands of Jews, ‎both as a Talmudic scholar and as a religious leader. He is regarded as a seminal figure by Modern ‎Orthodox Judaism. During his tenure at Yeshiva University, in addition to his Talmudic lectures, ‎Soloveitchik deepened the system of "synthesis" whereby the best of religious Torah scholarship ‎would be combined with the best secular scholarship in Western civilization. In his major non-‎Talmudic publications, which altered the landscape of Jewish philosophy and Jewish theology, ‎Soloveitchik stresses the normative and intellectual centrality of the halakhic corpus. In The Lonely ‎Man of Faith, Halakhic Man, and Halakhic Mind is a four-part analysis of the historical correlation ‎between science and philosophy. Only in its fourth and last part does the author introduce the ‎consequences on the Halakha of the analysis performed in the previous three parts.‎

Joseph Karo, expelled from Spain as a child, was a rabbi, talmudist, mystic, and preemiment halakhic codifier. His best-known work, the Shulchan Arukh, was accepted in his lifetime and formally recognized thereafter as the definitive statement of Jewish legal and religious practice. He also wrote basic commentaries on Rambam's Mishneh Torah and Jacob ben Ashe's Arba'ah Turim, both of which were major sources for his own Shulchan Arukh. As a mystic, he also received heavenly revelations. Some of these were set down in writing and contributed to his decision to migrate to the land of Israel. There, he lived in Safed, where he supported the effort of his teacher, Rabbi Yaakov Berav, to revive traditional rabbinic ordination (Hebrew: semikhah).

First-century scholar and historian. He initially fought against the Romans during the first Jewish-Roman war but ultimately defected to the Roman side, becoming an advisor to the Roman emperor's son. Josephus's works are an important source of information on Jewish history during the first century and the wars that took place in that period.

Rabbi Dr. Joshua Kulp is the rosh yeshiva at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem. Rabbi Kulp was born in New York City, grew up in Margate, New Jersey, and attended college at the University of Michigan. In 1994, he moved to Israel, and in 1995, he founded the Conservative Yeshiva, where he has been teaching ever since. He is the author of two books, The Schechter Haggadah and Reconstructing the Talmud. He is the author of the Mishnah Yomit English commentary on the entire Mishnah and the Daf Shevui commentary on the Talmud, which so far covers tractates Sukkah, Megillah, and the beginning of Ketubot. Kulp lives with his wife and children in Modi'in.

Judah Halevi was a Spanish poet and philosopher. He is considered to this day to be one of the greatest Hebrew poets of all time, and his liturgical poetry appears in several prayer rites. He had a comprehensive education, including both secular and Torah subjects. Many are of the opinion that he was a direct student of the Rif. He also served as court physician to the king of Castile, and due to an enthusiastic patron, was well-received in wide circles. He was especially close to Abraham Ibn Ezra, who quotes him a number of times in his commentaries. His philosophical work, the Kuzari, is one of the great masterpieces of Jewish philosophy and apologetics. He felt a particularly strong yearning for the land of Israel towards the end of his life, which led him to travel first to Egypt, and then to board a boat to Israel. Although legend attributes his demise to the hooves of a military mount in Jerusalem, there is no conclusive contemporary evidence as to what befell him and whether he actually reached the land of Israel.

Judah Loew ben Betzalel, better known as Maharal of Prague, was a Bohemian rabbi, talmudist, mystically inclined philosopher, and community leader, whose writings left an indelible impression on both his own generation and subsequent generations of Ashkenazic Jewry. His numerous philosophical works became cornerstones of Jewish thought and had a profound influence on Chasidic teaching and some of the most prominent thinkers of modern Orthodoxy, including Rav Kook. He also wrote halakhic works, including a commentary on the Arba'ah Turim. He had a close relationship with the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe. Among his students were Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller (known as, the Tosefot Yom Tov) and the historian Rabbi David Ganz (Tzemach David). In popular literature or later centuries, he is famously credited having created a golem.

Martin Buber was a Jewish scholar and philosopher best known for his existentialist work I and Thou (Ich und Du). He was born in an Orthodox home in Vienna and raised in Lvov, but later returned to Vienna to study modern philosophy. He was a scholar, translator and explicator of Hasidic lore, which he compiled in Tales of the Hasidim. He was an ardent Zionist, settling in Jerusalem in 1938, where he became a professor at the Hebrew University.

Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Weisser, known by the acronym Malbim (1809–1879) was a rabbi, Hebrew grammarian, halakhic scholar, and author of a uniquely creative and comprehensive Torah commentary. Known as the "ilui (prodigy) of Volhynia," he served in multiple rabbinic posts. Malbim’s staunch adherence to tradition put him in direct confrontation with Reformers of the Jewish Enlightenment over innovations in worship and other communal institutions, which compelled him to move several times. Even as he held the traditionalist line against the Reformers, he was nonetheless accused by some Chasidic leaders of introducing Enlightenment thought in his Torah commentary. He fell sick in Kiev on his way to accept a post in Krementchug and died on the first day of Rosh HaShanah.

Moses Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal) was an Italian rabbi, kabbalist, and philosopher who also wrote dramatic works and literary criticism. Gifted with an almost photographic memory, he wrote many works, some which became standards of Kabbalah and ethics. He was suspected of Sabbateanism but was exonerated by his teachers and colleagues with a warning to cease engaging in speculative kabbalistic writing. Toward the end of his life, he moved to the land of Israel.

Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Rambam, also known as Maimonides) was perhaps the greatest intellectual and spiritual figure of post-talmudic Judaism. He wrote indispensable works of philosophy, halakhah, commentary, and responsa. Born in Spain, his family fled while he was still a youth. After an extended period in Morocco, he settled in Egypt, where he became the naggid (leader) of the Jewish community. His works were all foundational in their field. He was the first to produce a comprehensive commentary on the entire Mishnah. His great work of philosophy, Moreh Nevukhim, spawned an entire discipline and had incalculable influence upon enthusiastic promoters and vehement opponents alike. His code of law, Mishneh Torah, is the first and unsurpassed comprehensive code of Jewish law and practice. He also served as court physician to the Muslim leader Saladin. All of his works were written in Judeo-Arabic except for Mishneh Torah, which was written in a magnificent Hebrew. The precision of his expression is legendary. His descendants served as the leaders of the Egyptian Jewish community for another four generations.

Moshe ben Nachman, also known as Ramban, was a leading Torah scholar of the middle ages who authored commentaries on Torah and the Talmud. He was a posek who wrote responsa and stand-alone works on Halachic topics, as well as works on mysticism, science and philosophy. Ramban's commentary on the Torah often critiques earlier commentaries and incorporates kabbalistic teachings. He was born in Gerona, Spain, where he established a large yeshiva which produced hundreds of disciples who became leaders of Spanish Jewry. In 1263 he took part in a debate in Barcelona with an apostate Jew named Pablo Christiani, at the behest of the Church. In 1267, at the age of 72, he immigrated to the Holy Land, where he settled in Akko (Acre). He died there at age 76.

Leading decisor of Jewish law of the 20th century and Rosh Yeshiva of Mesivta Tiferet Jerusalem in New York. Born in Uzda, Belarus, and served as rabbi in Luban for 16 years. After suffering from oppression under the Soviet regime, he moved with his family to New York City in 1937 where he lived for the remainder of his life. He authored the multivolume responsa "Igrot Moshe", as well as novellae on Talmud entitled "Dibrot Moshe".

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was one of the most creative Chasidic masters, whose thought and teachings continue to resonate far beyond his immediate followers. He was a great-grandson of the founder of Chasidut, Rabbi Yisrael Ba'al Shem Tov, and a grandson of another early Chasidic master, Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka. Among his many works are a profound presentation of his Chasidic and mystical teaching, Likkutei Moharan, and a compilation of his intricate and powerfully evocative stories, Sippurei Ma'asiyot. Another work relates the events of his transformative journey to and from the land of Israel. He was severely criticized by certain contemporary Chasidic masters but was defended by the leading Chasidic master, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. He moved to Uman less than a year before he passed away from tuberculosis, and his grave there is a pilgrimage site to this day.

Naphtali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv) was a Lithuanian rabbi and one of the greatest scholars of his time. He was born into a family of Jewish scholars, a descendant on his mother's side of Meir Eisenstadt. His first wife was the granddaughter of R. Chaim Volozhin, and his second the daughter of R. Yechiel Michel Epstein. In 1854, he was appointed head of the Volozhin yeshiva, where he introduced a style of Talmud study based on broad knowledge of tannaitic and geonic literature as well as the rishonim. He also emphasized the importance of the study of Torah and the Prophets, giving a daily shiur on the weekly Torah reading. In 1894, the Russian government forced him to close the yeshiva and demanded that secular studies replace Talmud study until 3:00 pm each day. He was the father of R. Chaim Berlin and R. Meir Bar-Ilan (Berlin).

Rabbenu Nissim ben Reuven (Ran) of Gerona was a Spanish rabbi, talmudic commentator, philosopher, and the preeminent Spanish halakhic authority of his generation. His commentaries to the Talmud and to Hilkhot HaRif are central elements of a traditional yeshiva curriculum to this day. He was responsible for the establishment of the yeshiva and beit din in Barcelona. Like his predecessor, Rashba, Ran's renown extended to Jewish communities well beyond Spain, who addressed their questions to him and sought his guidance. He was not inclined toward Kabbalah and tended toward a more philosophical bent in his great ethical work, Derashot HaRan.

Ovadiah ben Ya'akov Seforno was an Italian rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, halakhic authority, and physician, who wrote commentaries on a good portion of the Tanakh. After an early period of wandering, he settled in Bologna, where he founded a yeshiva. Seforno was held in high regard by his contemporaries, Maharam Padua and Maharik Kolon, and is also quoted in responsa of contemporary authorities who consulted him on issues of halakhah. Seforno was admired for the breadth of his knowledge by King Henry II of France to whom he sent a Latin translation he prepared of his philosophical work, Ohr Amim.

Early first-century Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, Egypt.

Rabbeinu Asher ben (or "bar") Yechiel was a prominent talmudic commentator, legal decisor, and one of the ba'alei hatosafot, that is an author of a tosafist commentary on the Talmud. He was born, lived, and taught in Germany, fleeing with his family to Spain after the imprisonment and death of his teacher, Maharam of Rothenburg. He served as a leading authority in Spain alongside Rashba. Due to the tremendous impact of his work, Hilkhot HaRosh, his halakhic authority was so widely regarded that he was one of three major rabbinic legal authorities whose work was selected by Rabbi Joseph Karo to serve as the basis of the decisions contained in his authoritative Beit Yosef and Shulchan Arukh.

David Kimchi (Radak) was a Provencal rabbi, biblical commentator, grammarian and philosopher, born to a family of grammarians and commentators. His father, R. Yosef Kimchi, wrote a popular polemic work defending Judaism against Christian attacks and his brother, Moshe, was a well-known commentator. Radak himself participated in a number of public religious disputations to defend Judaism. He also took part in the disputes surrounding Rambam's philosophical works. Influenced by Ibn Ezra and the Rambam in philosophical matters, he sided with those who supported the permissibility of philosophic study. Radak cautioned, however, that it should be undertaken only by those whose faith was well-grounded. His commentaries on Tanakh display his grammatical mastery, and are amongst the most basic and commonly referenced.

Shmuel ben Meir (Rashbam) was a French Tosafist and Torah commentator. He was a son of Rashi's daughter, Yocheved, and older brother of the famous Tosafists, Isaac ben Meir (Rivam) and Jacob ben Meir (Rabbeinu Tam). His Torah commentary is concise, and hews strictly to the concept of the "peshat" or plain-sense meaning of the text, sometimes at the expense of received rabbinic traditions. He does not hesitate to argue with Rashi when he feels that his commentary strayed from the plain meaning of the verse. Rashbam also wrote a lengthier commentary on the Talmud, portions of which are printed in the Vilna Shas where no commentary of Rashi is available. Rashbam's opinions are also frequently mentioned in the Tosafot throughout Shas.

Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, best known by the acronym "Rashi," was an influential medieval Torah and Talmud commentator. Born in Troyes, France, he studied in the yeshivot of Worms and Mainz. At the age of 25, he returned to Troyes, where he later opened his own yeshiva. Rashi's commentaries on the Bible and Talmud are considered indispensable tools for Torah study. His biblical commentary incorporates literal explanations of the text alongside midrashic and rabbinic interpretations.

Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German scholar, rabbi, activist, and pioneer of the Torah Im Derekh Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. He received both a general and religious education as a youth, the latter taking place under the mentorship of Chakham Isaac Bernays and Rabbi Jacob Ettinger. He began studies at the University of Bonn but did not obtain a degree. At the age of 22, he became the chief rabbi of Oldenburg. Within eight years, he had published both his Nineteen Letters of Ben Uziel and Horeb, together presenting compelling intellectual explications of Orthodoxy and a defense of its precepts and institutions. He also served as rabbi in Emden, Nikolsburg (Moravia), and Frankfurt am Main. In each post, he used his considerable skills as an orator and writer to promote an Orthodoxy that could withstand the relentless challenge of the Reform movement. As chief rabbi of Moravia, he was politically active in the ultimately successful struggle for Jewish emancipation. Later, he was largely responsible for convincing the Prussian parliament to permit Jews to secede from the official state-recognized Jewish religious community, allowing break-off congregations to preserve their traditional, Orthodox character. His greatest legacy, however, is his philosophy of Torah Im Derekh Eretz, synthesizing Torah learning with secular learning, particularly of the sciences. His influence reached far beyond Germany, and his Torah commentary, which has been translated from the original German into Hebrew and English, is widely studied and often quoted.

Samuel David Luzzatto, also known as Shadal, was an Italian scholar, poet, philosopher, and Biblical commentator. With the help of Rabbi Isaac Samuel Reggio, he was appointed a professor at the rabbinical college of Padua, where he taught Bible, philology, philosophy, and Jewish history until his death. Though religiously observant and a defender of tradition, he applied critical scholarship to his Hebrew commentary of the Torah. He was a prolific writer, contributing to Hebrew and Jewish journals, and corresponding in Hebrew, Italian, French, and German with the major rabbis and scholars of his day. Some of this correspondence was later collected by his son and published as Iggerot Shadal.

Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Adret (Rashba) was a Spanish rabbi, talmudic commentator, legal decisor, and community leader in the 13th century. He lived his entire life in Barcelona. He is considered the most outstanding student of Ramban and continued his teacher's approach in talmudic exposition, authoring chiddushim (talmudic novellas) on many tractates which remain mainstays of Torah study to this day. His yeshiva drew exceptional students from throughout the Jewish world, including many from Germany. He functioned as chief rabbi of Spain and wrote over one thousand responsa to individuals and communities throughout the Jewish world. He was involved in opposition to Rambam's philosophical writings and prohibited the study of philosophy under the age of 25. He also defended Judaism to Christian and Muslim polemicists and vigorously opposed the activity of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia. He vigorously defended his own work, Torat HaBayit, against Rabbi Aharon Halevy's often strident comments.

The tosafists — ba'alei hatosafot — were members of a school of Torah and talmudic interpretation that flourished in 12th- and 13th-century France and Germany. Their roots are in the work of Rashi. Rashi's own sons-in-law and grandsons are counted among the founders and most influential tosafists. Their comments on almost every tractate of the Talmud were collected, edited, augmented, and passed on for generations. Their approach is analytical, comparative, and incisive. They also often take a critical stance regarding Rashi's commentary. They were amongst the first French and German rabbis to quote the Jerusalem Talmud extensively and the commentary of Rabbenu Chananel on the Babylonian Talmud. Other works also emerged from their school, notably Machzor Vitri and the Torah commentary, Da'at Zekenim.

Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag, also known as the Ba’al HaSulam, was a rabbi and kabbalist. Born in Poland, he emigrated to Israel in 1921 and was appointed rabbi of Givat Shaul, Jerusalem. He is best known for his work Talmud Eser Sefirot, a commentary on the work of Isaac Luria, as well as HaSulam, a commentary on the Zohar. While Kabbalah was traditionally treated as a body of secrets reserved for elite students, Ashlag believed it held the keys to finding meaning and achieving personal and social reform and should be made accessible to all. He and his students were instrumental in the contemporary popularization of the study of Kabbalah.