Authors

Since 1999, Rabbi Dr. Yehuda (Ronnie) Warburg has served as a dayan (rabbinical judge) on various battei din panels in the Chasidic, Modern Orthodox, Sephardic, and Yeshiva communities in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. For over two decades, Rabbi Warburg has taught classes is Yeshiva Rabbi Issac Elchanan's semikha (rabbinic ordination) students.

Fourth leader of the Karlin-Stolin dynasty, known as the "Beit Aharon," the title of his book. At age 25, he succeeded his father, Asher I, as Rebbe of Karlin. However, as a result of a dispute with a wealthy family in Karlin, he was compelled to relocate to nearby Stolin. He died in 1872, en route to his granddaughter's wedding, and was buried in Mohilev.

Rabbi Aaron Berakhiah ben Moshe, born in 1549 in Modena, was an Italian rabbi and kabbalist. He is best known for his liturgical guide, Ma’avar Yabbok, written to assist the work of the local chevra kadisha (Jewish burial society) on behalf of the dying and deceased, and also containing deathbed prayers and guidance. He had previously composed another collection of prayers, Ashmoret HaBoker, at the request of a local group whose members would rise early for extra prayer. Berakhiah also wrote a number of other works, including kabbalistic treatises and commentaries.

Rabbi Aaron HaLevi Horowitz began studying with the founder of Chabad Chasidut, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, as a teenager. He grew close with the rabbi and with his son and eventual successor, Rabbi Dov Baer, but a rift developed between them, and Rabbi Horowitz left Liadi. He founded an independent Chasidic dynasty in Strashelye, but it was short-lived. After the death of Horowitz’s son who succeeded him as rebbe, many Strashelye Chasidim rejoined the followers of Rabbi Dov Baer and his successors. Despite Horowitz’s split, his works are respected by many as elucidations of Lurianic Kabbalah and of Chabad Chasidut.

Author of Beur HaRe'em on Midrash.

Aaron ben Jacob HaKohen was a 13th–14th century rabbi from Provence and later Majorca, author of the halakhic compendium Orchot Chaim.

French talmudic scholar in the early 13th century who was at the forefront of the opposition to the study of philosophy. He corresponded with many of his contemporaries, most notably Rashba, who took up his cause and signed a proclamation banning the study of philosophy prior to age 25. Abba Mari published his correspondence under the name "Minchat Kenaot."

Publisher and commentator of the complete version of Sefer Yereim.

Rabbi Abraham Gombiner (Magen Avraham) was a Polish rabbi and legal authority whose rulings have had a decisive impact on Ashkenazi practice. His extreme humility prevented his great Torah learning from gaining him wider recognition, and only when Shabbetai HaKohen (better known as the Shach) visited his town and revealed his greatness did Rabbi Gombiner assume a more senior rabbinic position. His great work, Magen Avraham, on the first section of the Shulchan Arukh, was published posthumously because he lacked the means to publish it during his lifetime.

Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia, a 13th-century Spanish scholar, taught what he called “Prophetic Kabbalah” or “Kabbalah of Names,” the pursuit of prophetic enlightenment through meditation and manipulations of letters and divine names. He claimed to have had several prophetic experiences as well as a possible messianic role. Opposition from Rashba, a kabbalist of the “sefirot” school and a respected legal authority, sidelined Abulafia, especially in Spain. Abulafia's works, however, were still copied, studied, and quoted, often not by name. Support from Chida in the 18th century helped restore public favor, and many of Abulafia’s works have since been printed.

Halakhic authority in Constantinople around the middle of the 17th century. Author of Lev Sameach, a commentary on Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot, that aims to defend Rambam's positions from Ramban's objections. His responsa under the same title was published in Thessaloniki in 1793. His commentary on Tur has never been published.

Author of several kabbalistic works, most notably Chesed LeAvraham. Born in Morocco, Abraham actualized his dream of emigrating to the land of Israel in 1610. Upon arrival in Egypt, the ship he had traveled with sank after all the passengers had disembarked. In commemoration of this miracle, the signature he used from that point on was in the shape of a ship. He had many prominent descendants, the most famous of whom was the Chida (Hayyim Yosef David Azulai) — his great-great-grandson.

Abraham Cohen was a Jewish-British scholar who had a Ph.D. from the University of London. He was one of the editors for the Soncino books of the bible, and participated in the Soncino translation of the Talmud and Midrash Rabbah. He also served as rabbi of the Singers Hill Synagogue.

Rabbi Abraham Danzig was a halakhic codifier, and the author of Chayei Adam and Chochmat Adam. He was born in Danzig, and studied in Prague under R. Ezekiel Landau. After completing his studies, he was offered a rabbinic position in Vilna, but he declined, preferring instead to occupy himself as a merchant. However, later in life, circumstances compelled him to accept the position. His other works are: Zichru Torat Moshe, a summary of the laws of the Sabbath; Kitzur Sefer Charedim, an abridgement of the classic Sefer Charedim by R. Elazar Ezkari; and Toldot Adam, a commentary on the Passover Haggadah.

Chasidic rabbi and legal decisor in 18–19th century Galicia, also known as the Eshel Avraham, the title of his commentary to Shulchan Arukh Orach Ḥayyim. At age 20, he became rabbi of Yazlovets, where he became acquainted with the Chasidic masters R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev and R. Moshe Leib of Sassov, who introduced him to Chasidism. In 1813, he succeeded his late father-in-law, the author of responsa Neta Sha'ashuim, as rabbi of Butchatch and retained this position until his death. He wrote the following works: Da'at Ḳedoshim, a commentary on Shulchan Arukh Yoreh Deah; Divrei Avot, acommentary on Pirkei Avot; Birkat David, an aggadic commentary on Genesis; Machazeh Avraham, a commentary on the Torah; Chazon David, on the other biblical books; "Amarot Ṭehorot," on the purification of Niddah and vessels, in Judeo-German; Tefillah LeDavid, on benediction and prayer; and Tehillah LeDavid, on Psalms.

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.

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 Saba was a Spanish teacher and exegete who spent much of his life fleeing persecution. He was born and raised in Castille, and with the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, fled to Portugal, only to be expelled again in 1497. His two sons were taken from him and forcibly baptized as Christians. He was arrested in Lisbon and tortured, but eventually escaped to Fez in Morocco. He had to flee without being able to recover his writings, which he had buried under an olive tree in Lisbon to avoid the punishment of death decreed on anyone possessing books or tefillin. He later rewrote from memory the works he had to abandon, and those versions were published and gained him renown.

Rabbi and rosh yeshiva in 16th-century Greece. Author of the comprehensive commentary Lechem Mishneh on Rambam's Mishneh Torah. He also wrote novellae on the Talmud, of which his commentary on Bava Kamma has been published, as well as responsa entitled Lechem Rav. He died at age 43 during a plague in Saloniki.

Achai Gaon, also known as Achai of Shabcha was an eighth-century Babylonian scholar and the author of the Sheiltot, the first known Jewish book published after the completion of the Talmud. The title “gaon” attached to his name is somewhat of a misnomer. Though he was widely regarded as fit to take on the position of gaon (president) of the talmudic academy in Pumbedita, he was slighted by the ruling exilarch, who held a personal grudge against Achai and selected Achai’s pupil instead. Achai emigrated to the land of Israel following this incident, where he lived for the remainder of his life.

Rav Achikam Keshet lives in Jerusalem and teaches daf yomi at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav. A student of Rabbi Avraham Shapira, he has served as a researcher at Machon Orot HaYerushalmi and a teacher at Yeshivat Shalom Banayikh. Keshet is the author of several books on talmudic concepts and thought.

Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz (1937–2020) was a rabbi, educator, scholar, chasid, philosopher, social critic, and prolific author, translator, and commentator on many works. Born in Jerusalem to a secular Jewish family, he studied science at the Hebrew University alongside his Torah study. In addition to the many works he published, he also established several schools, a yeshiva, and a Jewish university in the former Soviet Union. His most famous work is the translation of the Talmud into modern Hebrew, known as the Steinsaltz edition.

A student of Ramban and a grandson of R. Zerachiah HaLevi (the Ba'al HaMaor), he was involved in the talmudic discussions of the Spanish rabbis of his time. This led him to write a gloss on Rashba's Torat HaBayit called Bedek HaBayit and commentaries on several volumes of the Talmud. Most scholars deny the claim that he was the anonymous author of Sefer HaChinukh.

Aharon Meir Altshuler was a 19th-century scholar, ritual slaughterer in Mariupol, and descendant of the kabbalist Rabbi Klonymous Kalman of Chausy. Altshuler published Kelalei Hatchalat HaChokhmah, a work of his great-grandfather, as well as Keren Shachar, his own compilation of assorted laws related to daily living.

Aharon Shmuel ben Israel Kaidanover was a 17th century Polish-Lithuanian rabbi. Among his works were responsa, annotations on the talmudic tractates of Kodashim, a commentary on "Piskei HaRosh," and a partly kabbalistic commentary on the Torah. He was the rabbi of Cracow at the time of his death.

Noted for his brilliance as a child, he became a scholar of halakhah and was the rabbi of the large Jewish community of Posen for the last twenty years of his life. He was a staunch opponent of the nascent Reform movement and the introduction of secular studies into Jewish schools, but he is best known for his many sharp comments on the Talmud and on the Shulchan Arukh. He adopted his uncle's last name to honor him for teaching him Torah early in life.

Alexander Sender Schorr was an 18th-century Polish talmudist and rabbi for a period in Hovnov, Belz district. He made a living selling vodka and is known for his works Simlah Chadashah, Tevuot Shor, and Bekhor Shor.

Alexander Ziskind of Grodno was a leading Lithuanian scholar and kabbalist known for humility and dedication to Torah study that precluded his acceptance of a rabbinic position. He similarly cautioned his children not to accept such leadership positions and shared further guidance in an ethical will that was published in the year of his death. His best-known work is the often-printed Yesod VeShoresh HaAvodah, a detailed guide to prayer and other religious practices.

Amram Gaon, or Amram of Sheshna, was a ninth-century gaon, or head of the talmudic academy in Sura, Babylonia. He authored responsa and was the first known author to compile a set liturgy to be recited in prayer services. This work, known as Siddur Rav Amram or Seder Rav Amram, was an important influence on the development of Jewish liturgy.

A contemporary Canadian rabbi and writer about halakhah, living and teaching in Israel.

Rabbi Aryeh Leib Gunzberg was a prominent 18th-century rabbinic figure. He founded and served as head of a yeshiva in Minsk, rabbi in Volozhin, and av beit din and head of a yeshiva in Metz. He is known as the Sha’agat Aryeh for his halakhic work of that name and as the Turei Even after his Talmud commentary.

Galician rabbi and Talmud scholar, author of two major halakhic works on Shulchan Arukh, Ketzot HaChoshen on Choshen Mishpat and Avnei Meluim on Even HaEzer. In his youth, he authored Shev Shemateta, a profound discussion of various talmudic topics. He served as rabbi of Stry, then in Galicia, from 1788 until 1812.

Rabbi Aryeh Leib Lifkin was a community rabbi, author, and publisher in 19th-century Lithuania.

Rabbi of Minsk, Belarus. Author of "Marganita Tava" on Rambam's Sefer Hamitzvot.

Israeli educator who was one of the builders of the relgious Zionist school system. He played an important role in the development of contemporary Israeli religious literature.

Asher ben Abraham Crescas lived in Provence in the first half of the 15th century. He is known for his commentary on Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. Little else is known of his life. Other works have been attributed to him, including liturgical works and Avvat Nefesh, a supercommentary on Abraham ibn Ezra’s Torah commentary, but these attributions are subject to dispute.

Avigdor Shinan is a contemporary Jewish scholar living in Israel. He is a professor emeritus in the departments of Hebrew Literature, Yiddish, and Comparative Jewish Folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Shinan has also served as head of the departments of General Studies and of Hebrew Literature, and as dean of the university. His work focuses on Jewish literature produced during the first six centuries of the first millennium CE.

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.

Avraham Bornstein was a leading posek (legal decisor) in late nineteenth-century Europe and the founder and first Rebbe of the Sochatchover Chasidic dynasty. He is known as the Avnei Nezer ("Stones of the Crown") after the title of his posthumously-published set of Torah responsa, which is widely acknowledged as a halakhic classic. A child prodigy, he was a close student of the Kotzker Rebbe, and eventually became his son-in-law. After the Kotzker Rebbe's death, Bornstein became a Chasid of his uncle, Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter, known as the Chiddushei HaRim of Ger. Following the latter's death in 1866, he became a Chasid of Rabbi Chanoch Henoch of Alexander. Bornstein’s main interest was his learning, and his Avnie Nezer covers all four sections of the Shulchan Arukh. His other work is Eglei Tal about the 39 categories of prohibited labor on Shabbat. Other works on the Torah have been collected and printed. His only son, Shmuel, author of Shem MiShmuel, succeeded him as rebbe.

Rabbi Avraham Dov Baer of Ovruch (1765–1840), a Chasidic rebbe in Europe for 40 years and in Safed for ten, was a disciple of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev and of the first two rebbes of the Chernobyl dynasty.

Early 19th-century scholar and author.

Avraham Oppenheim was an early 19th-century Hungarian rabbi who died at the young age of 28. He was the author of Har Evel, on ritual regulations on visiting the sick and mourning customs, and of a treatise entitled Nishmat Chaim, about the immortality of the soul. Both books were published by Oppenheim’s relative, Simon Oppenheim, a rabbinic judge in Budapest.

Rabbi Avraham Remer was a 20th-century Israeli scholar and educator. He learned at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav and was influenced by his relationship with Rav Tzvi Yehuda Kook. Among other works, Remer wrote a series of books on the early Prophets. They bear the imprint of his approach to Bible studies, which focused on the realistic aspects of biblical events and sought out the timeless messages buried in biblical stories.

Chasidic leader, founder of the Apt-Zinkov-Kopishnitz dynasty, disciple of R. Elimelekh of Lizhensk and R. Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov. He served as rabbi in Kolbuszowa and later in Apt (Opatów), as a result of which he is always referred to as the Apter Rav, although he held many other rabbinic positions. As a result of communal strife, he was forced to leave his rabbinic post, and subsequently settled in Mezhbizh, the home of the Ba'al Shem Tov and the center of Chasidut, where he devoted himself completely to the study and dissemination of Chasidut. His legendary love for the Jewish people earned him the title Ohev Yisrael ("Lover of Israel"), the name of his Torah commentary.

Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Sperling was a shochet (kosher animal slaughterer) in Lvov with a deep interest in the details, origins, and explanations of Jewish practices. He collected material from a wide variety of texts and published his research in the popular book Ta’amei HaMinhagim, a lifelong project that included several revised and expanded editions. The author’s six sons and one daughter, along with most of their children, were killed in the Holocaust. One surviving grandson, Rabbi Moshe Sperling, continued his grandfather’s legacy by publishing a reorganized Israeli edition.

Avraham followed in his father's footsteps and took over all of his father's duties at 18, when his father died. Thus he became leader of the Jewish community (naggid) and court physician in Egypt. His was able to use his great talents in these capacities, as well as in the writing of many works, foremost among them a defense of Rambam's writings.

Avraham ben Nachman Chazan was a Breslover rabbi known for his extreme asceticism. The son of a close disciple of R. Natan of Nemirov (Rebbe Nachman's amanuensis), Avraham ben Nachman assumed the leadership of the Breslov Chasidic community in Uman after R. Natan's death. After his father's death in 1884, he began committing to writing many of Breslov's oral traditions, ultimately publishing them in his work Kokhvei Or. In 1894, he moved to Jerusalem but returned to Uman in Ukraine annually for the gathering of Breslov Chasidim at the grave of Rebbe Nachman on Rosh Hashanah. One journey took him to Radzin, where, as result of his meeting with R. Gershon Henech Leiner (Ba'al HaTekhelet), some Breslov Chasidim began putting tekhelet (blue strands) on their tzitzit. During his trip to Uman in 1914, World War I broke out, and he was forced to remain in Russia, where he remained until his death.

A kabbalist who lived in Safed, he wrote several works.

The translator and editor of the Metsudah Judaica series.

Azriel of Gerona was an important 13th-century kabbalist. He was a student of Isaac the Blind, a younger contemporary of Ezra ben Solomon, and Ramban’s Kabbalah teacher. He supported and contributed to the open propagation of kabbalistic teaching, to which his teacher Isaac the Blind objected, which we know from a surviving letter. All of his writing is on Kabbalah and has a particular style and distinct terminology. Until recently, he and his works were often confused with those of Ezra ben Solomon.

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.

Bachya ben Asher ibn Halawa (Rabbenu Bachya) was a Spanish rabbi, scholar, and biblical commentator. He was a student of Rashba and modeled his exegetical style on that of Ramban. He built his Torah commentary on the four principles denoted by the letters PaRDeS, "Peshat, Remez, Drush, Sod," or 1) the plain text; 2) a deeper, more philosophical approach to the text; 3) a homiletical approach to the text; and 4) a mystical kabbalistic interpretation of the text. He also work an ethical work, Kad HaKemach.

Bachya ibn Pekudah was a Spanish rabbi, philosopher, and moralist who lived in Saragossa, where he served as a judge on the Jewish court. In addition to a comprehensive knowledge of Jewish literature, he had a wide knowledge of secular literature and frequently quoted non-Jewish moral philosophers. He wrote his great work, Chovot HaLevavot ("Duties of the Heart"), to fill what he perceived as a need for bringing together the many ethical teachings scattered throughout Jewish literature in a systematic work. He argued forcefully for investing in the inner content of Jewish practice, as opposed to singularly focusing on outward observance. His works displayed the rare combination of tremendous emotion, vivid poetic imagination, powerful eloquence, and a penetrating intellect.

A prolific talmudist and rabbi in Central Europe. Among his writings is Barukh Ta'am, a commentary on the Talmud.

Barukh HaLevi Epstein was a Lithuanian scholar who is best known for his popular Torah commentary, Torah Temimah. The son of R. Yechiel Michel Epstein (author of Arukh HaShulchan), he was a prodigious learner and a student at the Volozhin Yeshiva, where he studied with his illustrious uncle, R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin. Though he received rabbinic ordination, he had no desire to work as a rabbi and instead became an accountant and a banker in Pinsk. When the dire financial situation of Pinsk during WWI made it impossible for him to concentrate on his Talmud studies, he wrote a four volume memoir entitled Mekor Barukh, which reflects on many of the greatest Jewish figures of the 19th century. Part of the memoir was translated into English and published under the title, "My Uncle, the Netziv." He also wrote Tosefot Beracha, insights on the weekly Torah portion and Barukh SheAmar, a commentary on the daily liturgy.

Barukh ben Isaac of Worms was born in France around 1140 and is sometimes referred to as Barukh ben Isaac the Frenchman (HaTzarfati). He is often confused with another Barukh ben Isaac of the same period, who was born in Worms but lived in Regensburg. A member of the Franco-German school of tosafists, he is credited as author of some portions of the Tosafot commentary printed in the Vilna edition of the Babylonian Talmud. He also wrote Sefer HaTerumah, among the first practical codes of Jewish law in Germany.

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.

An important groundbreaking religious judge who dealt with many issues of modernity and the new state of Israel. He was Israel's first Sephardic chief rabbi.

19th-century rabbi and preacher in Warsaw. Author of Efod Bad, a commentary on the Passover Haggadah; Avnet Bad on ethics; and Dovev Siftei Yesheinim — a eulogy he delivered upon the passing of R. Dov Berish Meisels, chief rabbi of Warsaw.

Rabbi Benjamin ben Saul Katzenellenbogen was an 18th-century author and head of the rabbinical courts in Samter (Prussia), Krotoschin, Krojanke and Gelnhausen.

Rabbi Benjamin Motal was a scholar in 17th-century Constantinople. He published the book Tumat Yesharim, a compilation of several earlier compositions, among them notes on the Rif’s Talmud commentary and a booklet on talmudic concepts.

A Hungarian rabbi and a colleague and friend of Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Chatam Sofer). He was chosen as the first rabbi of Budapest, but his rabbinate became contested, which led him to take on a smaller rabbinate in Bonyhad instead.

Benno Jacob was a German Reform rabbi and Bible commentator. He earned a doctoral degree from the University of Breslau and served as a rabbi in a number of communities until 1929, when he turned his attentions to completing his Bible commentary. He was prominent in the fight against antisemitism, and he often wrote articles and spoke out publicly on the topic. He was also an opponent of Zionism, which he saw as leading to secularization and loss of faith. His work has not been translated from German. Those familiar with his insightful and often unique takes on biblical passages were in many cases introduced to his work by Nechama Leibowitz, who greatly admired his work and quoted his commentaries frequently.

Betzalel ben Avraham Ashkenazi was an Egyptian rabbi and talmudist. He was a student of Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (known as, Radbaz), and Rabbi Isaac Luria (known as, Arizal) was his student. Toward the end of his life, he travelled to the land of Israel and served as chief rabbi in Jerusalem, where he a serious dispute between different communities there.

Preacher in Mohilev (Mahilyow), Russia. Author of commentary Pat Lechem on Chovot HaLevavot.

Chaim Chaykl (Chaika) Levin of Amdur (ca. 1730–1787), also known as the Amdurer Rebbe, was an 18th-century Chasidic rebbe and one of the earliest founders of Lithuanian Chasidut. A leading disciple of Dov Baer (the Maggid) of Mezeritch, in 1773, he founded the Amdur Chasidic dynasty in Indura, Belarus, where he faced fierce opposition from local mitnagdim, the opponents of Chasidut. His Torah insights were published posthumously in 1891 in Warsaw under the title Chayyim VaChesed.

Chaim Ibn Attar, better known as the Ohr HaChaim after his most famous work, was a North African rabbi, Torah commentator, halakhic decisor, and kabbalist. In 1733, he left his native Morocco for the land of Israel. On the way, he passed through Italy, where the community of Livorno pressed him to stay. He founded a yeshiva and had a number of his works printed, which gained him renown in Europe as well as in his native Morocco. He eventually arrived in the land of Israel, where he made a great impression on his student, Hayyim Joseph David Azulai, better known as Chida. His eponymous Torah commentary, Ohr HaChaim, is very original, blending kabbalistic teachings with deeply insightful and original readings. He was held in especially high esteem by the early Chasidim.

An American modern Orthodox rabbi, dayyan, and writer. He is an expert on divorce law and has written a great deal about contemporary halakhah more generally, and on other topics.

18–19th century rabbi of Bestritzki and Dubno in Ukraine, author of "Sha'arei Teshuvah," a commentary on Shulchan Arukh Orach Chaim.

Chaim Paltiel was a 13th-century French Bible commentator. Though nothing is known of his life, it is clear from the style of his work that he was thoroughly familiar with the Talmud and various midrashic traditions. He writes in the manner of other prominent rishonim.

Rebbe Chaim ben Solomon Tyrer was an early Chasidic leader, author, and disciple of Yechiel of Zlotshow. Reb Chaim served as rabbi of Czernowitz, Ukraine, for 23 years and other communities for shorter periods. He emigrated to Israel in 1813 and settled in Safed, where he is buried. His magnum opus is Be'er Mayim Chaim, a work of Chasidic insights on the Torah. His other works include Sha'ar HaTefillah on prayer; Sidduro Shel Shabbat on the holiness of Shabbat, a number of halakhic essays; and Eretz HaChaim on Prophets and aggadah.

Rabbi Chaim ben Joseph Vital was the foremost disciple of Rabbi Isaac Luria (known as the Arizal) of Safed, whose teachings he recorded and edited. They were later reedited by his son, Rabbi Samuel Vital, in the eight-volume work Shemonah Shearim (Eight Gates). He also wrote many of his own works, including commentaries, responsa, and works of practical Kabbalah.

Rabbi Chaim ben Betzalel of Friedberg, older brother of the famed Maharal of Prague (Yehuda Loew ben Betzalel), was born in Poland then moved to Germany in 1549, where he studied in Worms for about fifteen years before relocating to Friedberg. He was a teacher and community leader in Friedberg, even as he never accepted a formal position as a judge or local rabbi. A colleague of the Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles), Rabbi Chaim disagreed sharply with Rema’s efforts to publish a simplified guide to Jewish law, publishing his objections in a work titled Vikuach Mayim Chaim. He also wrote on ethics, Hebrew grammar, philosophy, and other subjects.

Chaim of Volozhin, popularly known as Reb Chaim Volozhiner, was the foremost disciple of the Vilna Gaon and the founder of the Volozhin Yeshiva. The yeshiva taught the Gaon's study method of penetrating analysis of the Talmud, a unique style which was then copied by all of the great Lithuanian yeshivas. Reb Chaim himself was also considered one of the greatest Talmudic scholars of his age. His major work is Nefesh HaChaim, an explication of Jewish belief.

Chana Safrai (1946–2008) was a natural linguist who taught at the Shalom Hartman Institute, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem, as well as a founder of the Kolech movement for Orthodox feminists. Along with her father, Professor Shmuel Safrai, and brother, Professor Ze’ev Safra, she helped compile Mishnat Eretz Yisrael, a socio-historical commentary to the Mishnah.

Chananel ben Chushiel (Rabbeinu Chananel) was a North African rabbi and talmudist. He is considered one of the first rishonim and studied under the last of the geonim. His family was very likely from Italy and migrated to Kairouan, where he ultimately attained great renown. He served as rosh yeshiva in Kairouan after the passing of his father. He maintained a lively correspondence with the heads of the great yeshivot in Babylonia. He was also successful in business and attained great wealth. His is the earliest comprehensive commentary on the Talmud.

Italian scholar, Rabbi of Florence, Italy. Author of "Kinat Soferim" - commentary on Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot, and "Chok L'Yisrael" - on Shulchan Arukh Yoreh Deah. He also wrote responsa, but these were never published.

Rebbe Chanokh Zvi HaKohen Levin was a son-in-law and advisor of the Gerer rebbe, Rebbe Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. He was also the rabbi of the Jewish community of Bendin, a Polish community that dated back to the 13th century, and a leader of Polish Jewry. Most of his writings were lost in the Holocaust.

Chanokh Zundel ben Yosef was a 19th-century talmudist from Bialystok. He wrote commentaries on Ein Ya’akov and Midrash Rabbah, among other works. His writing consists of summaries of earlier commentaries, alongside which he also incorporated his own novel interpretations.

Charles Augustus Briggs, an American scholar of Hebrew and theology, was born in New York and graduated from the University of Virginia and the Union Theological Seminary. He served in the New York Militia during the Civil War and then continued his studies at the University of Berlin, after which he was appointed pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Roselle, New Jersey. He was a professor at Union Theological Seminary for several decades, holding various positions, despite being tried and excommunicated for heresy by the Presbyterian Church during that time – a move some felt was influenced by the tone and not only the content of controversial ideas Briggs had expressed. After being ousted from the Presbyterian Church, he was ordained as a priest of the Protestant Episcopal Church. Briggs was awarded a number of honorary doctorates in recognition of his biblical scholarship, work which included collaborating with Francis Brown and S.R. Driver on the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon among many other publications.

Chizkiah ben Manoach lived in the 13th century, probably in France. The details of his biography are unknown. He is the author of "Chizkuni," a popular commentary on the Torah, which is actually a compilation of insights culled from Midrash, alongside the writings of 20 rishonim, including Rashi, Rashbam and Ibn Ezra. However, with the notable exception of Rashi, Chizkuni does not name any of his sources, as he felt that one should focus on the message rather than the messenger.

David ben Yosef Abudarham (mid-14th century) was a Spanish rabbi and commentator on Jewish liturgy. His best known work is Sefer Abudarham, one of the earliest and most widely accepted commentaries on Jewish liturgy. He was closely connected to Rabbenu Asher ben Yechiel and his son, R. Jacob ben Asher.

David Altshuler was an 18th-century biblical commentator. Originally from the Iberian peninsula, his wanderings led him to Eastern Europe, where he served as rabbi of Jaworów, Poland. His notes and writings on Tanakh were assembled by his son, Yechiel Hillel, and were published in a two-part commentary. The parts are "Metzudat Zion," which explains specific words and terms. The second part is "Metzudat David" and explains the text in more depth.

Rabbi David ben Naphtali Frankel was a leading rabbinic figure in 18th-century Germany. Born in Berlin to the chief rabbi of the city, Rabbi Frankel served as rabbi of Dessau before returning to Berlin to serve as chief rabbi in 1742. He is known for his running explanatory commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud, Korban HaEdah, which he composed at a time when serious study of the Jerusalem Talmud was not widespread even among Torah scholars. Rabbi Frankel also composed the Sheyarei Korban, a work of more detailed analytic commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud.

Rabbi David Gruenhut was a German talmudist and kabbalist in the 17th and 18th centuries.

David Halevi Segal, known as the Taz after the name of his most famous work, was a Polish rabbi, halachic scholar and Talmudic commentator. His best-known work, Turei Zahav, is one of the basic commentaries on the Shulchan Arukh (on all four sections, most prominently on Yoreh Deah and Orach Chayyim). He responded to Shach's critiques of his expositions and decisions in a separate work, and also authored Divrei David, a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. R. Yoel Sirkes (Bach) was his father-in-law.

Rabbi David Luria (Radal) was born in 1798 to a wealthy family descended from Rabbi Shlomo Luria (Maharshal). Known for his exceptional memory, he was a prolific legal expert, kabbalist, and linguist whose writings included commentaries on many talmudic, gaonic, and medieval texts. He studied in Vilna, where he entered an arranged marriage at the age of 13, but returned after several years to his home of Bykhov and helped found Jewish schools there. Active in communal affairs, Rabbi Luria was falsely accused of fostering rebellion against the Czar, but was released after six months in prison.

David Nieto was born in 1654 in Venice. He studied medicine and philosophy as well as Jewish texts, and his first work focused on calendrical calculations and errors. After serving as a physician and rabbi in Italy, he moved to London to lead its Spanish and Portuguese community. There, Nieto shared views about the relationship between God and nature that earned him accusations of heresy; he was eventually cleared with further explanation and the support of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi (Chakham Tzvi). Nieto argued for the legitimacy of rabbinic tradition in his Matteh Dan (Kuzari Part II) and against Sabbateanism in his Esh Dat.

Rabbi Dovid Oppenheim was a scholar in the 17th and 18th centuries who served as chief rabbi of Nikolsburg and later of Prague. He authored over 20 works, among them books of Torah and Talmud commentary, responsa, and theology. Oppenheim was known as an avid collector of Hebrew and Yiddish books and manuscripts, and his vast collection is housed at Oxford University’s Bodleian Library.

Rabbi David Pardo, an 18th-century Italian rabbi and liturgical poet who led several Sephardic communities, is best known for his commentaries. His first work was a commentary on the Mishnah (Shoshanim LeDavid). He also wrote on other classic works often neglected by other scholars, such as the Tosefta (Chasdei David) and the Sifrei (Sifrei DeVei Rav), as well as on Rashi’s commentary (Maskil LeDavid). Rabbi Pardo’s writings demonstrate critical thinking on his part and as a value he imparted to his students, whose efforts at legal analysis he encouraged and quoted in his own responsa.

David Solomon Eibenschutz was an 18th-century Russian scholar. He served as rabbi of the shtetl of Chorostkov, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, of Soroki, Bessarbia, and of Jassy, Romania. Toward the end of his life, he emigrated to Safed, Israel, where he lived for three years until his death. He authored many legal and kabbalistic works, some of which still exist in manuscript form. Among his more known works are: Levushei Serad, consisting of commentary on the Shulchan Arukh and on the Turei Zahav and Magen Avraham, Arvei Nachal, consisting of chasidic commentary on the Torah and sermons, and Neot Desha, a compilation of responsa.

David Zvi Hoffman was a German rabbi, posek, and biblical commentator. In addition to his rabbinical training under Rabbi Moshe Schick and Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, he also studied philosophy, history and Oriental languages at various universities, completing his doctorate in 1871. He taught under Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in Frankfurt and succeeded Rabbi Hildesheimer as head of the rabbinical seminary in Berlin. He was an expert in midrash halakhah and the foremost halakhic authority in Germany in his generation. He was a man of great piety, one of the original members of Moetzet Gedolei Hatorah, and, at the same time, employed a critical approach in certain areas of Jewish study. He is well known for his strident literary opposition to the Graf-Wellhausen theories of biblical origin, while on the other hand, he quotes prominent Wissenschaft figures in his research on the Mishnah and Talmud. Some see him as a prototype for the contemporary Orthodox scholar.

David ben Solomon ibn Zimra (Radbaz) was a Spanish born Rabbi whose adult life was spent in Fes, Israel and Cairo. He was appointed Hakham Bashi or Chief Rabbi of Egypt, a title he held for forty years. Cairene Jewry at the time encompassed an indigenous Jewish community and several communities of Jews from other localities, each with its own traditions. He used his authority to unify many of the disparate practices. Late he moved to Jerusalem where he was appointed judge of the community before finally settling in Safed where he died aged 93 or 94. He was independently wealthy and strongly objected to rabbis taking even a minimal salary. He therefore tried to use his position to affect a more equitable distribution of the tax burden whilst he was judge in Jerusalem. A prolific writer he wrote close to 3,000 responsa which a known both for their brevity and careful consideration of the impact on the lives of the people it affected. His two most noted students were Bezalel Ashkenazi and Isaac Luria. He also composed liturgical poetry of which his Keter Malkhut (The Royal Crown) has been incorporated into the Heidenheim edition of the prayer book for Yom Kippur.

Dr. Deena R. Zimmerman MD MPH IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) is a pediatrician for Maccabi Health Services and TEREM-Immediate Medical Care in Israel and is a medical advisor to the Jerusalem Breastfeeding Center. She received her BA from Yale University and MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency, chief residency, and Masters in Public Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where she also served on the faculty as Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics for four years. Dr. Zimmerman is one of the first graduates of Nishmat's Keren Ariel Program as a yoetzet halakhah (a women's halakhic advisor). She has written several articles on women's health issues and Jewish law. She lectures extensively on medicine, women's health and Jewish law, and Jewish medical ethics.

Rabbi Dov Baer Schneuri was the second rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Born in 1773 in modern-day Belarus to Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founding rebbe of Chabad, Schneuri was named after his father’s teacher, Rabbi Dov Baer of Mezeritch. Following his father’s death in 1812, he moved to the town of Lubavitch (or Lyubavichi), from which the movement would take its name. The majority of his father’s followers moved with him, and Schneuri began filling the role of rebbe and established a yeshiva there. He was active in helping the Jews of Russia develop economically in the face of growing restrictions under Russian czars, and founded several Jewish agricultural colonies. He authored several books on Chasidut and Kabbalah, the most famous of which is Sha’ar HaYichud.

Author of "Shivchei Ba'al Shem." Dov Baer was a son-in-law of the Ba'al Shem Tov's secretary, Alexander Shochet, a source of many of the tales recounted in the book.

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.

Born in Prague, Elazar was a student of Yechezkel Landau, the Noda BiYehuda. He then served as rabbi in Goitein, Moravia for four years, after which he returned to Prague and served as a judge in the rabbinical court of R. Landau. He was a fierce opponent of the Sabbateans and suffered greatly from their retaliations. He wrote several works, among them his responsa, entitled "Teshuvah MeAhava."

Rabbi Elazar Rokeach was a scholar in the first half of the 18th-century. He served as a rabbinic judge in Krakow, Poland, and as community rabbi in Rakow, then Brody, and then Amsterdam. In 1740, he emigrated to Safed, becoming the head of a small community for the remainder of his life. Rokeach was a vocal opponent of Sabbateanism, and was involved in several conflicts with adherents of Shabbatai Tzvi over the course of his life.

Elazar ben Moshe Azikri was a kabbalist, preacher and poet of the Land of Israel. He lived and taught in Tzfat during its zenith in the 16th century. He came from a family that had been expelled from Spain. He was one of a handful of rabbis to receive the renewed rabbinic semichah initiated by Rabbi Yaakov Berav. In 1588, he launched an effort called Sukkat Shalom, which sought to rouse many people to the penitence needed to hurry the redemption. His famous work Sefer Charedim was a part of that effort. The book blends a halachic enumeration of the mitzvot with Kabbalist ethics, and is one of the central works of it genre. His poem Yedid Nefesh, published in Sefer Charedim, is one of the most well known and beloved Hebrew poems. He also wrote talmudic commentaries.

Rav Elchanan Cherlow is a rosh yeshiva at Yeshivat Otniel in Israel and works as a guidance counselor.

Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymos, also known as Eleazar of Worms or Eleazar Rokeach, was a major Talmud scholar, mystic, and the last major member of the Hasidei Ashkenaz. He was a prolific author, providing most of the movement's extant pietistic and ethical literature. He also wrote Tosafot to many Talmudic tractates, which were referred to by Bezalel Ashkenazi in his Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet.

Israeli poet writer and life-long kibbutz member, he spent much of his days as a shepherd. He also spent many years studying Judaism and attempting to incoroporate it into his ultimately secular worldview, while distancing himself from traditional religion.

Elias Levita, also known as Eliyahu HaBachur, was a Hebrew grammarian, scholar, and poet. He was one of the foremost teachers of Christian clergy, nobility, and intellectuals in Hebrew and in Jewish mysticism during the Renaissance.

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.

Rabbi Eliezer Foah was a 17th-century Italian rabbi and author from the city of Reggio. He was a disciple of Rabbi Menachem Azariah of Fano, a respected member of the Italian school of Kabbalah, and served as chief rabbi of the duchy of Modena. Foah founded a society in Reggio called “Chevrat HaAluvim” (“Association of the Modest Ones”), that would later publish his Haggadah commentary. He also compiled a book of sermons on the weekly Torah portion, a commentary on Pirkei Avot, and a book of essays on repentance.

Born to the Beit El rosh yeshiva, Zalman Baruch Melamed, he followed in his father's footsteps to study for several years with his father's teacher, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook. After teaching for many years in Beit El, he eventually established his own yeshiva in Har Berakhah. A noted educator, his Peninei Halakha series on Jewish law is widely used throughout the Jewish world.

Eliezer Papo was a noted scholar who authored books on halacha, homiletics, and musar (ethics). He is best known for his ethical work "Pele Yoetz", a highly popular book that deals with a wide variety of day-to-day topics of Jewish living. He served as the rabbi of Silistra, Bulgaria, until his untimely death at age 41, during a plague in the city in 1828 . His grave in Silistra is a popular pilgrimage site.

Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg was a rabbi and dayan on the Supreme Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem and the foremost authority on medicine and halacha. He was known as the Tzitz Eliezer, after his monumental halachic treatise by that name, covering everything from Jewish ritual to medical ethics. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest halachic works of the 20th century.

Rabbi Eliezer bar Yehudah of Pintshov was an av beit din (head of the rabbinical court) in Pintshov. He wrote a commentary on Midrash Rabbah as well as commentaries on talmudic stories.

12th century Tosafist, renowned for his Halakhic and ethical work on the 613 commandments, "Sefer Yerei'im". His Tosafot to Talmud are mentioned by later authorities but are no longer extant. He was a prime student of Rabeinu Tam and teacher of Ra'avyah and R' Elazar, author of "Rokeach."

Elijah Benamozegh, was a 19th-century Italian Sephardic Orthodox rabbi and a renowned kabbalist, philosopher, and biblical commentator. He began working in commerce, spending his leisure time studying, but soon abandoned his commercial career to fully focus on his scholarship. Benamozegh served as rabbi of Livorno, Italy, for 50 years, and established a printing press there. He was known for his use of non-Jewish religious and academic sources in his writing, and some of his published works elicited fierce controversy.

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

Rabbi Eliyahu Chazan was born in Smyrna in the mid-19th century. After settling in Jerusalem in his youth, his scholarly reputation grew, and he was appointed secretary and then judge of the Sephardic rabbinic court. While on a fundraising trip, he agreed to remain as rabbi in Tripoli, where he stayed for 14 years and helped develop key community institutions, including an organized Jewish educational system that included languages and other studies he believed were essential to modern life. Chazan then served as chief rabbi in Alexandria for 20 years until his death. He was influential in developing these communities, especially regarding maintaining traditional Jewish life in a changing world.

Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Teomim, known by his acronym "Aderet", was a Lithuanian rabbi and Talmudist who served, toward the end of his life, as leader of the Ashkenazic community in Jerusalem. He wrote many works filled with original insights in all areas of Torah. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook was his son-in-law.

Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler was an Orthodox rabbi, Talmudic scholar, and ethicist of the 20th century. His father was a close student of R' Simcha Zissel Ziv, known as the "Alter of Kelm", and his mother was a granddaughter of the founder of the Mussar movement, R' Yisroel Salanter. He was taught by private tutors and at the age of 14 became one of the youngest students in the yeshiva of Kelm, which was then led by Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Braude, the Alter's son-in-law. He received Semikha from his uncle Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Eventually he served as a rabbi in London’s East End and later in Dalston, Northeast London. In the early 1940s, Rabbi Dessler assumed leadership of the newly formed Gateshead Kollel. In the late 1940s, the leadership of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Berak convinced Rabbi Dessler to assume the role of Mashgiah Ruchani (spiritual counsellor and lecturer on ethical issues). He relocated to Israel and again gathered a small circle of students around him. Upon his death his students published six-volumes containing his lectures and writings, called Mikhtav me-Eliyahu ("Letter from Elijah"), later translated into English and published as "Strive for Truth".

Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher was a 19th-century talmudic scholar, kabbalist, and active supporter of the early Zionist movement. Born in Borek in the district of Posen, he entered the talmudic academy of Rabbi Akiva Eger at age 19 and became a disciple of Eger’s. He served as rabbi in Pleschen and later in Graetz (Grodzisk Wielkopolski), and composed commentaries on the Talmud and Shulchan Arukh, responsa, and works of kabbalistic thought.

Eliyahu ben Shlomo Avraham HaKohen was a rabbi, kabbalist, and preacher in 17–18th century Izmir (Smyrna). He wrote more than 30 works, many of which are still unpublished. He is best known for his ethical work Shevet Musar, which has been reprinted in over 45 editions and translated into several languages.

Eliyahu ben Avraham Mizrachi was a talmudic and biblical commentator and posek (legal decisor) who served as chief rabbi (chakham bashi) of Turkey. In addition to his mastery of Torah literature, he knew Greek and Arabic, and was well-tutored in secular subject, particularly astronomy and mathematics. He is credited with devising a method of finding cube roots. He was born in Constantinople and studied under R. Eliyahu Zaken of Constantinople and R. Yehuda Mintz of Padua. In 1500, he succeeded R. Moshe Capsali as chief rabbi of Turkey and was appointed by the sultan to continue his predecessor's practice of adjudicating disputes between Jews. Although he cancelled the prohibition against teaching Talmud to Karaite students and was known for his great tolerance, he nevertheless opposed intermarriage with Karaites. He also opposed what he considered foolish customs and maintained that they were not binding. He worked tirelessly for communal welfare despite his own frail constitution, especially assisting the wave of Spanish Jews who came to the Ottoman Empire with the Spanish expulsion in 1492. His most famous work is his super commentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. Other works are "Tosafei SeMaG" on the SeMaG, his responsa "Teshuvot Re'em," and a work on mathematics entitled "Sefer HaMispar."

A student of Rabbi Avraham Gombiner (author of Magen Avraham), he was a rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Prague. Though many of his writings got destroyed, he is most known for his important Eliyah Rabbah commentary on Shulchan Arukh.

Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas (1518–1587) was a rabbi in Ottoman Palestine, disciple of the Ramak (Rabbis Moshe ben Yaakov Cordovero) and the Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria), and one of a group of prominent kabbalists living in Hebron during the late 16th and early 17th-century. He wrote Reshit Chochmah ("The Beginning of Wisdom") a popular kabbalistic work on ideal character traits, largely based on the Zohar.

A Turkish rabbi of the 18th century, and a prolific writer. He is most known for his commentary on Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi's classic supercommentary on Rashi.

Rabbi Ephraim Navon was a rabbi and rabbinical court judge in the 17th and 18th centuries. Born in Constantinople, he emigrated to Jerusalem as an adult, later returning to Constantinople as an emissary raising money for Jerusalem’s Torah institutions. He remained in Constantinople for the rest of his life, and there he composed his widely-recognized commentary on the Mishneh Torah, Machaneh Ephraim.

18-19th century preeminent Torah scholar and author. Born in Brody, he served as rabbi of Uhniv for a short time, but after becoming wealthy in business he gave up the position and devoted his time to Torah study and correspondence. Among his works are: "Bet Efrayim" - commentary on Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh De'ah; Responsa Bet Efrayim, "Yad Efrayim" commentary on Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim, "Sha'arei Efrayim" on the laws pertaining to the reading of the Torah in the synagogue; "Shem Efrayim" commentary on the Torah; "Tiv Gittin" on the proper spelling of names in divorce documents; and "Mateh Efrayim" on the laws to be observed from the beginning of the month of Elul until after Sukkot, as well as the regulations regarding the Kaddish of orphans.

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.

Ernest David Klein was a Hungarian-born Romanian-Canadian linguist, author, and rabbi. He spent time in his youth teaching himself new languages, and by the end of his life knew 40 languages. In addition to rabbinical studies, Klein studied languages, philology and exact philosophy at the University of Budapest and the University of Vienna, receiving his Doctorate of Philosophy from the latter in 1925. He served as the rabbi of the Nové Zámky community, Czechoslovakia from 1931 to 1944, when he was deported to Auschwitz and Dachau. After the war, he served briefly as the rabbi in his hometown of Satu Mare, before emigrating to France, where he served a rabbi of a synagogue in Paris. He emigrated to Canada in 1951 and served as rabbi of Congregation Beth Yitshak in Toronto.

Everett Fox is a scholar and translator of the Hebrew Bible. He is currently the Allen M. Glick Professor of Judaic and Biblical Studies and director of the program in Jewish Studies at Clark University.

Rabbi Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona was one of the leading kabbalists of his day. His works show the influence of his teacher Isaac the Blind, and he, in turn, greatly influenced his contemporaries and the kabbalists of the 13th and 14th centuries, who quoted his works frequently. He wrote a commentary on the Song of Songs and commentaries on talmudic legends and prayers. Until recently, his own writings were often confused with those of his younger contemporary Azriel of Gerona.

Francis Brown was an American Semitics scholar with a particular interest in linguistic and lexical studies. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the ecumenical Union Theological Seminary who later studied in Berlin, Brown’s publications earned him several honorary doctorates. He is perhaps best known as the lead author of the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, a renowned resource for biblical scholarship.

Francis Nataf is a well known writer, scholar, editor and translator. He has held senior educational positions in many different contexts in Israel and the United States. He has written three books, published many articles, and serves as Associate Editor for the Jewish Bible Quarterly. When not writing, translating or teaching, he is a sought-after speaker, having organized lecture tours on four continents and counting.

A teacher, writer and playwright, he moved several times until he eventually established himself as a fixture of the Yiddishist immigrant community of New York.

Gershom ben Yehudah (Rabbenu Gershom), was a talmudist and halakhist. One of the first rabbis of Ashkenaz, he founded a yeshiva in Mainz, which became the first European yeshiva to rival the great academies of Babylonia. It produced the leading scholars European Jewry, including Yaakov ben Yakar, the teacher of Rashi. Around the year 1000, Rabbenu Gershom called assembly of rabbis to deal with complex, pressing issues of the day, during which he instituted various laws and bans. These include the prohibition against polygamy, the requirement of a wife to consent to divorce, the requirement to accept any Jew who had been forced to convert to Christianity and wishes to return, and the ban against opening and reading another person's mail. Asher ben Yechiel (Rosh) said about these laws that they became "such permanent fixtures that they are treated as if handed down on Mount Sinai." The title "Ma'or Hagolah" (Light of the Exile) was reverently appended to his name.

Son of the "Beit Yaakov" of Izhbitz and author of numerous works, he is known primarily for his efforts in identifying the Chilazon fish from which Techeilet is manufactured, and strongly encouraged the renewal of it's usage in the mitzvah of Tzitzit. He also compiled his father's and grandfather's teachings, and authored an introduction to their works.

Hai ben Sherira (Hai Gaon) was a theologian, scholar and the last of the Babylonian Geonim. He received his rabbinical training from his father, Sherira ben Hanina, who appointed him to be his successor as the Gaon (head) of the Yeshiva of Pumbedita. Prior to his appointment he also served with his father in the capacity of av bet din, jointly issuing rulings on halachic questions received from all corners of the Jewish world. He is credited with over 800 responsa, containing explanations of halachot and aggadata. He was familiar with the works of Plato and Aristotle as well as the Quran and the Hadit, but he strongly advised against the study of general philosophy.

Hasdai ben Avraham Crescas (grandson of the talmudist Hasdai ben Judah Crescas) was a Catalonian rabbi, halakhic deciser (posek), poet, philosopher, and statesman. He was a member of the royal household of King John I and Queen Violante of Aragon before being appointed crown rabbi of Saragossa in 1389. With royal support, he was able to save the Jewish communities of Aragon and Roussillon during the anti-Jewish riots of 1391, as well as send thousands of conversos to Northern Africa and to the land of Israel. He may also have been the first European philosopher to argue against Aristotelian philosophy. Though only recently translated into English, his arguments had a great impact on the development of Western philosophy due to their influence on Baruch Spinoza.

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.

Rabbi Hayyim Palache was the chief rabbi in Izmir, Turkey, then known as Smyrna, in the 19th-century . Born to a distinguished Turkish-Jewish family, he served as head of the rabbinical court and in other rabbinic roles before being appointed chakham bashi (the Turkish term for an area’s chief rabbi) at the age of 77. Palache authored more than 70 books, among them works of biblical interpretation, talmudic analysis, ethical works, legal responsa, and more.

Heinrich Guggenheimer was a renowned mathematician who specialized in topography, as well as a historian, grammarian, and linguist who read at least 30 languages. He was born in Germany, studied in Switzerland, and taught at universities in Israel and then throughout the United States. Guggenheimer spent the last 20 years of his life composing a scholarly translation and commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud.

Avraham Yehoshua ben Yaakov Heschel (the rebbe, Rebbe Heschel) was a Talmud scholar and teacher in Poland and Lithuania. He served as rosh yeshiva first in Lublin and then in Cracow, where he succeed Yom Tov Lippman Heller. He was the teacher of a number of great rabbis, including Shabbetai HaKohen, Aharon Shmuel Kaidanover, Gershon Ashkenazi, among others. Some of his writings have been lost, and others remain in manuscript. Teachings of his are preserved in the writings of contemporaries and students. Some of his writings on the weekly Torah portions were gathered and printed posthumously.

Rabbi Hezekiah da Silva was a 17th-century scholar. Born in Livorno in 1659, he emigrated to Jerusalem at age 20. There he learned in the yeshiva of Rabbi Moses Galante for 10 years, after which he took on the position of head of the yeshiva there upon Galante’s death. De Silva is known for his Pri Chadash, a celebrated legal work on the Shulchan Arukh, a version of which is printed in most standard editions of the Shulchan Arukh.

A disciple of the Vilna Gaon, he is credited with having revitalized the Ashkenazi community in what is now Israel — but was then the Ottoman province of Palestine — by immigrating to Jerusalem in 1809 along with some other students of the Vilna Gaon. He is the author of the esoteric work "Kol HaTor", which presents an analysis of the process of future redemption that he received from the Vilna Gaon.

Hillel Zeitlin was a prolific, passionate author of articles, books, and poetry on a wide range of topics. Born in 1871 to a Chabad Chasidic family, he veered towards secular philosophy and literature as a young adult, studying Nietzsche, Spinoza, and others. These interests continued even as he returned to his roots and began to shape a neo-Chasidic approach, striving to reenergize the core “treasures'' of Chasidut that he felt many Chasidim lacked, such as all-encompassing love for God, Torah, and other people. He was also politically active and supported territorialist Zionism. Zeitlin was killed by Nazis, reportedly while wrapped in his tallit and tefillin, his beloved Zohar in hand.

A prolific Italian rabbi, kabbalist and merchant, he spent several years in Palestine studying from the great kabbalist rabbis there. Among his writings was the Mishnat Hasidim, a reformulation of Kabbalistic concepts according to the organization of the Mishnah.

Immanuel of Rome, or Manoello Giudeo (“the Jew”), was a 13th-14th-century scholar and poet. His biblical commentaries, few of which were printed, include linguistic, symbolic, and philosophical perspectives, similar to Jewish and non-Jewish works of the time. He is best known for his Machbarot, a poetic work on topics ranging from love and friendship to religion, that displays the combined influence of Jewish Sephardic poetry and of Italian literature. The poem Yigdal, included in the daily prayer book, is likely an adaptation of part of this work.

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 ben Moses Arama was a Spanish rosh yeshiva, talmudic commentator, preacher, and philosophically-oriented exegete. He served as rosh yeshiva in Zamora and later as chief rabbi of Tarragona. The poor inhabitants of that city could not support a beit midrash but implored him to give public lessons and sermons. His sermonic style, fusing didactic philosophical and ethical teachings, served as a model for generations of darshanim, or preachers. These sermons formed the basis of his masterpiece, "Akedat Yitzchak." Later, he served as chief rabbi in other cities. When the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, he moved with his son, Meir, to Portugal and then from there to southern Italy. He greatly admired Rambam but felt that the philosophical commentators who succeed him took Rambam's philosophical approach in directions he never intended. Arama's teachings are brought so consistently, and often without attributation, by Isaac Abarbanel in his commentaries that Meir Arama accused Abarbanel of plagiarizing his father's works.

Isaac ben Jacob Canpanton the head of the yeshiva in Zamora, in western Spain, in the 15th century, before the Jews were expelled from Spain. He seems also to have been a kabbalist, and miracles are attributed to him. His only extant work is his oft-reprinted work on the methodology of the Talmud and its commentaries. This work is known both as "Darkhei HaGemara" and "Darkhei HaTalmud." Capanton was blessed with a long life of 103 years.

Isaac ben Joseph Karo was a Spanish rosh yeshiva, halakhic decisor, preacher, and physician. He was a student of R. Isaac Canpanton in Toledo and later moved to Lisbon and opened a yeshiva. He adopted his nephew, R. Joseph Karo, the famed author of the Shulchan Arukh, and his nephew consulted him on halakhic matters. A few years before the Jews were expelled from Spain, he moved his yeshiva to Portugal. And when the Jews were expelled from Portugal in 1497, he escaped to Turkey, where he served as a rabbi in Constantinople and published his quite popular commentary on the Torah "Toledot Yitzchak" in 1518. Some of his writings of his are included in other works of Joseph Karo, and others have been lost. While he wrote that he hoped to one day settle in the land of Israel, it is unknown whether he ever made it there.

Isaac Leon ibn Tzur 16th-century Italian scholar and author of "Megillat Esther" — a commentary on Rambam's Sefer HaMitzvot. His father, Eliezer, was also a scholar of note.

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.

A rabbi who lived most of his life in poverty in Izmir. He is most famous for his Sha'ar HaMelekh commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

Isaac Samuel Reggio, also known as the YaShaR (an acronym of his Hebrew initials), was a linguist, scholar and religious philosopher who applied the principles of enlightenment philosophy to the understanding of Torah. He helped establish a rabbinical seminary in Italy and promoted the teaching of Hebrew to the masses. Partly to that end, he translated the Pentateuch into Italian and provided his own Hebrew commentary.

Isaac ben Abba Mari was a 12th-century French rabbi often referred to as “Ba’al HaIttur,” (“Author of the Ittur”) for his magnum opus, Sefer HaIttur. From a family of notable rabbinic scholars, Isaac began writing legal works at the age of seventeen. In addition to his impactful Sefer HaIttur, he also wrote comments on Rabbi Isaac Alfasi’s Sefer Halakhot, entitled Meah Shearim.

Isaac ben Moses HaLevi (known as the Efodi) was a Jewish physician and scholar who took the name Profiat Duran when forced to convert to Christianity in 1391. After he escaped Spain, he resumed his Jewish practice and engaged in anti-Christian polemics. He wrote The Shame of the Nations and the satirical Be Not Like Thy Fathers, which some Christian leaders originally mistook as support for Christianity. Other works include a commentary on Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed, and Ma’aseh Efod, on Hebrew grammar, often cited by later scholars. The name Efod is an acronym of his Christian name, prefaced by the Hebrew word “ani,” “I.”

One of the foremost tosafists, frequently quoted throughout the pages of the tosafot commentaries on the Talmud. On his father's side he was a grandson of R. Simchah ben Samuel of Vitry, author of the Machzor Vitry. And on his mother's side, he was a great-grandson of Rashi and a nephew of Rabbeinu Tam, Rashbam, and Rivam. He was surnamed "HaZaken" (the elder) to distinguish him from his disciple, Isaac ben Abraham "HaBachur" (the younger), also a Tosafist.

Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet, also known by the acronym "Rivash" was a 14th-century Spanish halakhic authority. Born in Barcelona, he was a primary disciple of Rabbeinu Nissim, and in 1370, he was imprisoned in Barcelona on false charges together with his teacher and five others. After they were acquitted, he left Barcelona and accepted a rabbinic position in Saragossa. However the city was beset by strife, which prompted him to leave and settle in Valencia where he directed a talmudic academy. The Valencian historical record indicates that he was forced to convert to Christianity on the ninth of Av, 1391. Some 18 months later, he escaped Spain to Algeria, where he was received with much honor and was — after some contention — appointed community rabbi. Many of his legal writings take up questions of forced conversation. His halakhic work is oft cited in the Shulchan Arukh. He also wrote commentaries on parts of the Talmud and the Torah.

Isaac de Leon — who was born in Toledo — was a kabbalist and the author of Ma'aseh Nissim, was a native of Leon, ‎and the pupil of Isaac Campanton. He was part of the kabbalistic circles that produced the work "‎Sefer HaMeshiv." An opponent of philosophy, he nonetheless studied Aristotelian logic as part of ‎the formal approach to halakhah of the school of Isaac Campanton. Joseph Karo and others ‎honored him with the title of "the great teacher." He was more than 70 years of age at his ‎death, which occurred shortly before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain.‎

Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil was a 13th-century tosafist, and the son-in-law and student of R. Yechiel of Paris. Author of the famed halakhic compendium, "Sefer Mitzvot Katzar," known by the acronym, Semak.

Isaac ben Meir HaLevi of Dueren was one of the leading talmudic authorities of the second half of the 13th century. His work Sha'arei Dura was the authoritative legal work on the dietary laws and family purity practices for the Jews of Germany and France until the rise to prominence of the 16th-century Shulchan Arukh and R. Moses Isserlis' complement.

Yitzchak Sagi Nahor (Isaac the Blind) was a Provençal rabbi and kabbalist. He was the son of Ra'avad, and was active at the time that "Sefer HaBahir" was first emerging in public. In some circles, he was considered its author. His students, Rabbi Azriel and Rabbi Ezra, taught Kabbalah to Ramban. Rabbeinu Bachya calls him "the father of Kabbalah."

Berlin, a German scholar and author, lived most of his life as a private individual, but accepted the Rabbinate in Breslau at a late age. He wrote numerous works, but is best known for his annotations to the Talmud which are printed in the standard Vilna Shas. He added the surname of his father-in-law, Pik, in appreciation of the financial support he received from him.

Isaiah ben Jacob HaLevi Horowitz was a Polish rabbi and kabbalist. He was the most illustrious member of the distinguished Horowitz family, a family that descended from R. Zerachiah HaLevi of Gerona. He was born in Prague and studied with his father and the greatest rabbis of his day. After serving in various communities, he returned to the city of his birth as chief rabbi. In 1621, he moved to the land of Israel, where he was appointed chief rabbi of the Ashkenazic community in Jerusalem. He moved to Safed and Tiberias shortly after being ransomed from captivity in 1625, during which time, he further immersed himself in kabbalistic study. His great work, Shenei Luchot HaBrit ("The Two Tablets of the Law"), published by his son, is almost unparalleled in its impact on Ashkenazic Jewish life, having played an enormous role in the spread and popularization of kabbalistic ideas. He had a significant impact on the emergence of Chasidut, which sprang up soon after his passing, through his teachings and his descendants, some of whom became great Chasidic leaders.

Isaiah d'Trani was a prominent Italian tosafist and prolific author, sometimes referred to as Rid HaZaken (the elder) or Rid HaRishon (the first) to differentiate him from his grandson known by the same acronym. He is best known for his Talmudic commentary, Tosafot Rid, of which he composed as many as six editions to some tractates. He also wrote: Piskei Rid, a legal digest; Sefer HaMakhria, essays on Jewish law; and a commentary to the Torah, which was discovered and printed by Chida in his Pnei David. His writings mention other works as well, which have never been published.

Chassidic leader in 18-19th century Poland, founder of the Kozhnitz dynasty. Born to his father Shabbetai at an advanced age, after having received a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov. Studied under R' Shmelke of Nikolsberg, and later under the Mezeritcher Maggid and R' Elimelech of Lizhensk. Known as the "Kozhnitzer Maggid (preacher)" for the sermons he frequently delivered in Kozhnitz. He authored many works, including: Avodat Yisrael and Yakar MiPaz on Torah, Chidushei Maggid Mishna on Mishnayot, Beit Yisrael on Talmud, Nezer Yisrael on Zohar, She'erit Yisrael on Midrash, Geulat Yisrael on Maharal's works, and others.

Israel Isserlein (Maharai) was the foremost talmudic authority of his time and the last great rabbi of medieval Austria. His great-grandfather was Israel of Krems, author of Haggahot Asheri. Isserlein was most famous for his books of responsa, Terumat HaDeshen and Pesakim Uketavim.

Author of the classic commentary "Tiferet Yisrael" on the Mishna. He served as Rabbi, first at Dessau and then at Danzig, and led the life of an ascetic, frequently fasting three days in succession. He also wrote "Shevilei de'Rakiya", an introduction to the principles of Rabbinical astronomy, and "Drush Ohr HaChayim", a treatise discussing the eternity of the soul and the age of the universe, in addition to other lengthy essays, many of which are appended to his Mishnah commentary. His ethical will contains twenty-eight paragraphs, consisting primarily of moral and ascetic precepts.

Rabbi Israel Meir (HaKohen) Kagan, also known as the Chafetz Chaim, was one of the foremost leaders of Ashkenazi Jewry, whose seminal works, Sefer Chafetz Chaim and Shemirat HaLashon, have come to define the rules of proper speech. He also composed the Mishnah Berurah, a popular six-volume commentary on the first section of the Shulchan Arukh, in addition to many smaller works on Jewish law and ethics. He served briefly as the rabbi of Radun (Poland/Belarus) but resigned in order to found the Radun Yeshiva, which became world famous under his leadership.

Rabbi Israel Salanter was a famed 19th-century Lithuanian rosh yeshiva and founder of the Musar movement, which promoted ethical and spiritual introspection among eastern European Jews and became an integral part of the curriculum of the Lithuanian yeshivot. His family name was Lipkin, but he is known as Israel Salanter after the town of Salant, where he grew up and studied. At an early age, he came under the influence of Rabbi Zundel of Salant, a known Musar figure. He headed yeshivot in Vilna and other Lithuanian cities. After his death, his student Rabbi Isaac Blazer (known as Rabbi Itzele Peterburger) published his teachings and succeeded him as head of the Musar movement.

Galician scholar and philosopher. He authored several works, most notably "Tov HaLevanon" — a commentary on Chovot HaLevavot, and "Otzar Nechmad" on the Kuzari. From his Talmudic work "Netzach Yisrael" it is evident that he was proficient in many areas of worldly knowledge.

A student of Rabbi Moses Isserles (Remah), he is the author of the important commentary on Midrash Rabbah, Matanat Kehunah. There is a tradition that he spent his last few years in Palestine, studying with Rabbi Moshe Cordovero and finally dying in Hebron.

He studied with many of the great Eastern European rabbis of his time, including Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik and the Chafetz Chaim, and became the rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Slutsk. Always a supporter of the return to Zion, he eventually moved to Jerusalem, where he became one of its most important rabbis and the rosh yeshiva of the Etz Chaim yeshiva. He left his mark both through his many students and his important writings which include Evan HaEzel on Shulchan Arukh.

Rabbi Judah David Bleich is the rabbi of B'nei Yehuda Synagogue in Yorkville, NY. He is a renowned authority on Jewish law and ethics, especially Jewish medical ethics.

Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov ben Shmuel Chagiz was a 17th-century rabbi born into a Moroccan rabbinic family that was expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. As a young adult, Chagiz emigrated to Italy, where he published several books. In 1658, he moved to Jerusalem and, with the support for benefactors from his former Livorno, established Yeshivat Beit Ya’akov, the largest and most influential Jerusalem yeshiva of the century. Chagiz was a fierce and vocal opponent of Shabbetai Tzvi, the leader of a failed messianic movement, and led a successful charge to excommunicate him as a false messiah.

One of the early Chassidic masters in Poland, known as the "Chozeh" ("The Seer"), owing to his supernatural ability of perception. He was a student of the Maggid of Mezeritch and later of R' Shmelke of Nikolsburg and R' Elimelech of Lizhensk. He lived for a while in Lantzut before moving to Lublin, where he attracted thousands of followers, among them many well-known Chasidic luminaries. While in Lublin, he faced opposition from a prominent Mitnagdic rabbi, Ezriel Horowitz, known as the 'Eizener Kop'. His three works, all published posthumously, are: "Zikaron Zot", "Zot Zikaron'", and "Divrei Emet".

Senior disciple of the founder of Chassidut, the Baal Shem Tov, Jacob Joseph was one of the chief disseminators of his master's teachings through his published works. Born into a prominent rabbinical family, he was serving as rabbi in Sharograd, Western Ukraine, and was initially opposed to the fledgling Chasidic movement, but changed course after an inspirational meeting with the Baal Shem Tov. His embrace of Chasidism caused him to forfeit his position in Sharograd, whereupon he took up rabbinic posts in Rashkov (1748-1752), and then Nemirov (1752-1770), before finally settling in Polonne (1770-1782). His works, the titles of which all contain allusions to the author's name, are: "Toldot Yaakov Yosef", which was the first book of Chassidic teachings ever published; "Ben Porat Yosef"; "Tzofnat Paneach"; and "Ketonet Pasim". The Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch are frequently mentioned throughout Jacob Joseph's books, which are considered to be a prime source of their teachings.

Rabbi Jacob Joshua Falk was an early 19th-century scholar and rabbinic authority, known for his celebrated Talmud commentary, Penei Yehoshua. At the age of 22, Falk was trapped as the result of an explosion that killed his wife, child and mother. He vowed that if he made it out alive, he would intensify his study of the Talmud and its commentators, and the Penei Yehoshua was a result of the fulfillment of that promise. Falk subsequently remarried and had more children. He served as rabbi in several communities, including Lemberg, Berlin, Metz, and Frankfurt. Falk’s involvement in the controversy between Jacob Emden and Jonathan Eybeschutz compelled him to leave the pulpit in Frankfurt, and he spent several years wandering from place to place.

Rabbi Jacob Landau was a 15th-century German talmudist. He studied under his father, Judah, and then moved from Germany to Italy in the mid-15th century. In Italy, he worked as a proofreader in a new Hebrew printing press established in Naples and published his code Sefer HaAgur, for which he is known. At the end of Sefer HaAgur, Landau included a section entitled Sefer Chazon, which includes a series of questions related to Jewish law. Sefer Chazon was later published separately.

Jacob Nachum Epstein (1878-1952) was a professor of Talmud at Hebrew University who made a profound impact on the modern study of rabbinic literature. Born in Brest-Litovsk, Epstein studied with his father, at the Mir Yeshiva, and at universities in Vienne and Bernne. He received his doctorate from the latter and served as a lecturer in Berlin before taking a post at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. His magnum opus, Mavo LeNusach HaMishnah, is a foundational and comprehensive work on the textual history of the Mishnah.

Rabbi of Offenbach, Germany in late 18th century. Author of "Nachalat Yaakov", a commentary on the minor tractates, printed in the Vilna edition.

Austrian rabbi and author. Born in Prague, he was appointed as a dayan in that city before accepting a rabbinic position in Rzeszów in Galicia, deriving his surname Reischer from that city, which is known as 'Reische' among the Jews. His works include: Minchat Ya'akov, commentary on the Torat ha-Chatat of Moses Isserles; Torat ha-Shelamim, commentary on Yoreh De'ah, Hilchot Niddah; Chok Yaakov, commentary on Orach Chayyim, Hilchot Pesach; Solet le'Minchah, supplements to the Minchat Ya'akov and the Torat ha-Shelamim; Iyyun Ya'aḳov commentary on the Ein Ya'aḳov; and Responsa Shevut Yaakov.

Jacob ben Asher was born in Germany and lived most of his life in Spain. He is most famous for having composed the great law code, the Arba'ah Turim or "Four Pillars," upon which Rabbi Joseph Karo based his Shulchan Arukh. He also composed a Torah commentary that remained in manuscript for centuries, a small extract of which, known as the Ba'al HaTurim al HaTorah, is largely characterized as gematria-based associations — that is interpretations derived from the numerical value equivalents of Hebrew words. These interpretations served as introductions to the main body of this work, eventually published in full, that draws on the works of other commentators, especially that of Ramban.

Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi was a Polish rabbi and preacher in the late 16th and early 17th centuries who would travel to different towns and speak about the weekly Torah portion. He specialized in weaving together the biblical text along with homiletical interpretations from midrashic and other sources, as demonstrated in his most famous work, Tze’enah URe’enah, a Yiddish translation and commentary digest that was popular especially among Ashkenazi women.

Jacob ibn Habib was a rabbi and talmudist at the turn of the 16th century, best known as the author of Ein Ya’akov, a compilation of all the aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries. He was born in Zamora, Spain, then fled to Portugal when Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492, and ultimately settled in Salonica. There he composed Ein Ya’akov, availing himself of two large libraries to which he had access there. He also came to lead the large community of expelled Jews in Salonica.

13th-century scholar in Marvege, France. Most famous for his responsa entitled Shu"t Min HaShamayim, a series of questions addressed to the heavenly court by means of an inquiry of dreams.

Yedidiah Solomon ben Abraham Nortsi was an Italian rabbi, Biblical scholar and grammarian. He served as rabbi of Mantua for some thirty years. In order to collect the works and manuscripts necessary for his magisterial work Minchat Shai, he made many trips abroad from Italy, sparing no effort to gather all the variant readings of Biblical texts, no matter how seemingly minor.

Italian rabbi and scholar in the early 16th century. He was also an author, publisher, and writer of responsa. Widely known is his commentary on the festival prayer book according to the Roman rite, published anonymously under the title 'Kimcha D'Avishuna' (Bologna, 1540). He was extremely active as a proofreader of midrashic works and in the establishment of accurate readings of the tractates he studied with his pupils. His glosses to the Halakhot of R' Isaac Alfasi (Rif), his approbations to the works of his contemporaries, and his responsa, are extant today. He also compiled a commentary on the laws of kosher slaughter and the halakhot of issur v'heter of the Mordekhai by Mordekhai b. Hillel (Venice, 1550). His piyutim and poems are also known. Of his three sons the best known is Raphael Joseph who was a posek, as well as a book publisher.

Yonatan (Jonathan) Eybeschutz was a German rabbi, Talmudist, posek, kabbalist and homilist, writing prolifically in all of these fields. He was a child prodigy and his personality created a great impression upon people from early on. He spent many years as a rosh yeshiva and dayyan in Prague, but he was never appointed as chief rabbi of a city due to suspicions that he was secretly a Sabbatean. While he stridently denied the allegations, the suspicions continued, espoused especially by Rabbi Yaakov Emden, who deciphered cryptic names in amulets prepared by Rabbi Yonatan as being Sabbatean in nature, and believed to have found connections between his writings and those of an acquaintance. A contemporary rabbinical tribunal exonerated him of the allegations, and his works are widely studied to this day. In 1750, he was elected rabbi of the "Three Communities:" Altona, Hamburg, and Wandsbek. He was a preacher of great force and eloquence, and his collected homilies are amongst the most widely read today.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948–2020) was a global religious leader, philosopher, award-winning author, and respected moral voice. He was the laureate of the 2016 Templeton Prize in recognition of his “exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.” Described by HM King Charles III as “a light unto this nation” and by former UK Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair as “an intellectual giant,” Rabbi Sacks was a frequent and sought-after contributor to radio, television, and the press, both in Britain and around the world. He served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth for 22 years, between 1991 and 2013.

14-15th century Spanish rabbi and philosopher, disciple of R' Hasdai Crescas and author of "Sefer HaIkkarim" on Jewish philosophy and faith. Albo was one of the participants in the religious disputation in Tortosa, where he successfully defended the Talmud against the attacks of the apostate Joshua HaLurki. He was also proficient in medicine and other sciences.

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.‎

Rabbi of Tarnopol in Ukraine, and author of the Minchat Chinukh, a classic commentary on Sefer HaChinukh. He studied with his wife's brother, R' Chaim Halberstam of Tzanz.

Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, also known as the Beis HaLevi, was a rabbi and scholar and the first of the Soloveitchik dynasty. His mother, Rivke, was the granddaughter of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. R. Yosef Dov quickly became known for his great genius and kindness of heart. In 1854, he was invited to be co-Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva together with R. Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin. In 1865, he became Rabbi of Slutsk, where, upon discovering the impoverishment of the heder children, he instituted community sponsored lunches. Two of his pupils in Slutsk were R. Yosef Rosen – later known as the Rogatchover Gaon – and R. Zalman Sender Shapiro. In 1875, struggles with the Maskilim ultimately forced him to leave Slutsk. In 1878 he was offered the rabbinate of Brisk, a position he held until his death in 1892. Over his lifetime he produced numerous published works, including Talmud commentaries, halachic insights, responsa and sermons, which were all printed under the title "Beit HaLevi."

Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla was a Spanish rabbi and kabbalist. He was a student of Rabbi Abraham Abulafia and, like his teacher, focused on mystical combinations of letters, numbers, and divine names. Unlike his teacher, he tried to reconcile philosophy, of which he was quite knowledgeable, with Kabbalah. His work Sha'arei Orah, a dictionary of the kabbalistic symbolism of the sefirot, was considered a fundamental and even indispensable work by later sages.

Sometimes known by the acronym Ri Migash, Joseph ben Meir HaLevi Ibn Migash (sometimes, Megas) was a rabbi, legal decisor, and rosh yeshiva (head of the academy) in ‎Lucena. He studied under the renowned talmudist Isaac ‎Alfasi (Rif) before being appointed rosh yeshiva after the latter’s death. His most famous pupil was ‎Maimon, the father of Rambam. Although Rambam in his writings seems to indicate that he was himself a pupil of Ri, this is unlikely given that he was all of six years old when ‎Ibn Migash died. It is more likely that Rambam meant that he learned Ibn Migash's teachings from his own father. Ibn Migash wrote over 200 responsa in Judeo-Arabic that were later translated into Hebrew, and a commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, of which only his writings on ‎tractates Bava Batra and Shevuot are extant.‎

16th century Bible commentator, a member of the famous Ibn Yachia family which produced many great Torah scholars. He composed a commentary on the Five Megilot, and a book on Gan Eden and the afterlife called "Torah Ohr." Two other books, "Derech Ha-Chaim" and "Ner Mitzva" were lost during the burning of the Talmud in Padua in 1414. His son Gedaliah is the author of "Shalsheles HaKabbalah".

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).

12th century Bible commentator and grammarian. He was born in Spain, but religious persecution by the Mujahideen forced him to flee with his family to Provence, where he settled in Narbonne. He wrote a commentary on the Torah and several books on Hebrew grammar. He also translated important works from Arabic to Hebrew, notably: "Chovot haLevavot" by R' Bachya ibn Pakuda, and "Mivchar HaPeninim" by R' Shlomo Ibn Gabirol. His sons, R' Moshe and R' David (Radak), were also famous Biblical commentators.

One of the greatest and most original Jewish minds of the last few generations, he was connected to Chabad Chassidut throughout his life, but also studied under Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik in Slutzk. Hence he was universally accepted and answered a large quantity of responsa well beyond his responsibilities as the rabbi of the chassidic community of Dvinsk. His most famous work was his Tzafnat Paneach commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

Yosef ben Meir Teomim was a Polish/German posek and Talmud scholar. In 1744 he left Lemberg (Lvov) for Komarno, where he married and served as the town melamed, devoting many hours to learning and composing his various works. In 1767, he moved to Berlin in order to devote himself undisturbed to his studies and his writing, and it was there that he published some of his works. Upon the death of his father, the townspeople of Lemberg implored him to take the former's place. After several years, he finally agreed, and in 1774 he returned to serve as dayan, darshan (preacher) and rabbi of Lemberg. In 1781 he was appointed rabbi and av beit din in Frankfurt. Though he published several works on different Torah subjects, his fame derives from Pri Megadim, a comprehensive super-commentary on Shulchan Aruch and its early commentaries.

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.

A great Spanish-Italian expert in halakha, author of the Shiltei Giborim and several indispensable cross-referenicing arrangements in the Talmud.

Joshua ben Alexander HaCohen Falk was a posek and Talmud scholar. He learned with his relative Moses Isserles and with Solomon Luria, and later became the head of the Yeshiva of Lemberg. He is best known for his works Beit Yisrael, a commentary on Arba'ah Turim, and Sefer Me'irat Einayim (SM"A) on Shulchan Aruch.

Rabbi and Dayan in Lisa, late 18th century. Author of the commentary "Binyan Yehoshua" on the minor tractates, printed in the Vilna edition.

Rabbi Joshua Isaac Shapira was a prominent 19th-century Lithuanian rabbi. Having demonstrated remarkable learning skills at a young age, Shapira enrolled at the yeshiva in Minsk and is reported to have learned both the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds in their entirety 69 times. He was known as “eizel charif” (“sharp”) for his outstanding intellect. Shapira served as community rabbi in several communities, including in Slonim, Belarus, where he also served as the av beit din (head of the rabbinical court).

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.

American scholar and writer. Author of "Otzar Midrashim" — an encyclopedic compilation of Midrashim; "Otzar Yisrael" — A Jewish encyclopedia; and "Otzar Dinim uMinhagim" — a compilation of Jewish laws and customs.

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 apologetic. 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.

A rabbi, scholar and merchant who became chief rabbi of the Ottoman Empire. Among his most important works are Mishneh LeMelekh, a commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah, and the classic homelitic book, Parshat Derakhim. He was also known for his strong opposition to the Sabbateanism of his time.

Dr. Judith Hauptman is a Talmud scholar and professor at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Her work and research focuses on the history of the Talmud and how it came into being, as well as women’s roles in Judaic thought, bringing evaluation of the rabbinic period into conversation with contemporary issues. Hauptman is also the founder of Ohel Ayala, an outreach project for young Jews on the margins, named in memory of her mother.

Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira was the first Piaseczno Rebbe. Born in 1889 to a renowned chasidic family, he was appointed rabbi of Piaseczno, near Warsaw, in his early twenties and established the yeshiva Da'at Moshe in 1923. He was passionate about education, stressing positive methods that would create connection and joy, and authored several important educational works. Imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto, he took an active role in supporting Jewish life. His works from this period include Tzav VeZeruz, a personal diary, and Esh Kodesh, a collection of sermons that grapple with personal and communal suffering. Rabbi Shapira was killed in a mass shooting in the Trawniki work camp on November 3, 1943. His manuscripts were later discovered buried in a milk canister in the ghetto.

Founded in 1987, Kolel Eretz Hemdah was established in order to train Rabbis and religious leaders for the national-religious community in Israel and abroad. The Kolel responds to Halakhic inquiries received from rabbis in Jewish communities around the world. These fascinating responsa, many of which deal with our developing modern world, have been collected in a series of books entitled "B'Mareh HaBazak".

Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev was also known as "The Berditchever Rabbi" after the community he served for 25 years . A child prodigy from a prominent rabbinic family, he was drawn to Chasidism by R' Shmelka of Nikolsburg, who introduced him to the Maggid of Mezritch, under whom he studied for many years. His love of the Jewish people and his charitable interpretations of their actions before God are legendary, as was his fervor in prayer and enthusiastic dedication to mitzvot. He is the author of "Kedushat Levi", a collection of chasidic insights into the weekly Torah portion.

Louis Ginzberg was a Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative Movement. He was born in Kaunus, Vilna, to a religious family that traced its lineage to the Gaon of Vilna. He came to America in 1899 and began teaching Talmud in 1902 at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he remained until his death. He is best known for his commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi and for his 6-volume collection of aggadic literature, The Legends of the Jews.

Orphaned as an infant, he nevertheless followed in his father's footsteps, penning a shorter version of his father's Ohr Zarua. He also wrote many of his own responsa, sermons and halachic essays, while serving as a rabbinic leader in Germany and Austria for most of his life.

Late 16th century Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in several cities in Poland: Lemberg, Crakow and Lublin. Author of "Meir Einei Chachamim" - a commentary on many tractates of the Talmud, which was later printed in the Vilna Shas, under the heading "Maharam", together with Maharsha and Maharshal. His responsa "Manhir Einei Chachamim" was published posthumously by his sons.

Born in Germany, Rabbi Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen spent his youth in Prague before moving further south to study Torah in Padua. He then became rabbi of that community and the titular head of the community in Venice. He was involved in responsa, some of which were a part of his correspondence with Rabbi Moshe Isserles, one of his relatives, as well as an ill-fated publication of Rambam's Mishneh Torah that was copied by a rival printing house and caused great controversy.

Shmuel Eidels (Maharsha) was a Polish rabbi and Talmudist whose chiddushim (Talmudic novellae) on both halachic and aggadic passages are found in almost every edition of the Talmud. He was a child prodigy and initially rejected many marriage offers to devote himself entirely to Torah study. After marrying, he moved to Posen and established a yeshiva which was supported for twenty years by his mother-in-law, Eidel. He adopted her name as his surname in gratitude for her unstinting support. He was an active participant in the Council of Four Lands.

Solomon Luria, also known as the Maharshal, was a Polish rabbi, legal decisor (posek), and talmudic commentator. His prominent family claimed descent from Rashi. He served as the head of the yeshiva of the famed yeshiva in Lublin, Poland. He maintained a spirited correspondence with the Rama, to whom he was related. They disagreed pointedly on the importance of philosophy and grammar. He is known for his independence in Torah matters and his strident criticism of the approach of his contemporary scholars to talmudic commentary. His great halakhic work, the Yam shel Shlomo, was overshadowed by the contemporary Shulchan Arukh, the halakhic methodology of which he was highly critical.

Makhon Orot HaYerushalmi is a Jerusalem-based institution dedicated to reviving the study of “Torat Eretz Yisrael,” or Torah that is unique to the Land of Israel. The institution focuses on researching the Jerusalem Talmud and promoting its study.

Markus Horovitz was a Hungarian rabbi and historian. The descendant of a family of scholars, he pursued his rabbinical studies at the yeshivot of Ujhely, Verbé, and Eisenstadt (the last-named then under the auspices of Israel Hildesheimer). He studied (1868–71) philosophy and Orientalia at the universities of Vienna, Budapest, and Berlin, taking his PhD. degree at Tübingen. In December 1871, he was called as rabbi to Lauenburg in Pomerania; in 1874, to Gnesen, Prussian Posen; and in September 1878, to Frankfurt am Main. At Frankfurt he organized two model religious schools. Horovitz was a director of the Deutsche Rabbinerverband and president of the German Jewish orphanage in Jerusalem. Horovitz was rabbi in Frankfurt at a time when the disagreements between the Orthodox and Reform factions were reaching their peak. Horovitz was appointed to chair a committee on ritual to placate the Orthodox followers of Samson Raphael Hirsch, who were threatening to found a separate community, the Israelitische Religionsgesellschaft ("Religious Society of Israelites"). He was given authority over the entire community's religious institutions, and promoted the construction of a new Orthodox synagogue on the Börneplatz, which was dedicated on September 10, 1882. Horovitz promoted the coexistence between the different factions, maintaining that it was possible for a unified community to exist while both sides exercised autonomy over their own institutions.

Marcus Jastrow was a Talmudic scholar and author of the widely used Talmudic dictionary which bears his name in popular parlance. He was rabbi of the Orthodox congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia from 1866 to 1892. Under his leadership, the congregation acquired an organ and was initially allowed to join the Reform movement. However, after the Reform Movement rallied around its radical "Pittsburgh Platform," he withdrew his congregation from the movement.

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.

18th century Sephardi Chacham and spiritual leader of the Jewish community in Tripoli, Libya. He is the author of Ma'aseh Rokeach, a commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah. He studied under the great Turkish rabbis of Izmir, R' Chaim Abulafia and R' Yitzchak HaKohen Rappaport, after which he emigrated to Jerusalem together with the latter. He was subsequently sent as an emissary to North Africa in order to raise funds for the Jerusalem community. The Libyan Jewish community at that time was at a spiritual low point and they requested that he remain there and become their leader. He accepted and was appointed chief rabbi of Tripoli, a position he held for 20 years until his death in 1768. In addition to his work on Rambam, he wrote novellae on the Talmud and Five Megilot, as well as drashot (sermons), but these have never been published.

Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia, also known as the Ramah (Hebrew: הרמ"ה‎‎), was a major Sephardi Talmudist and Halakhic authority in mediaeval Spain. He was appointed to the Toledo Beth Din and head of an important yeshiva in Toledo. He was so highly esteemed that on his father's death in 1225 the latter's honorary title of Nasi (prince) was applied to him. A fierce opponent of philosophy, he first entered the controversy over the Guide for the Perplexed of Maimonides. However, over the years his opposition waned, and when the subject was reopened some thirty years later he refrained from getting involved. He was a prolific author and wrote a number of Talmud novellae, but only commentary on a few tractates are extant, entitled "Yad Ramah". He also wrote halakhic responsa, a commentary on the mystical book Sefer Yezirah and a book on the laws of writing a Torah scroll.

A child prodigy from a Chasidiic family in Poland, he was sent away to study Torah at an early age. Growing older, he drew close to the Sefat Emet of Ger and particularly to Rabbi Avrohom Bornsztain, the first Sochatchover Rebbe.He held the rabbinate of several communities while devoting much time to Jewish communal affairs more generally.

Meir ben Isaac Eisenstadt was an authority on halakha who was consulted by rabbis from Turkey, Germany and Italy. He served as dayan in Posen and rabbi in Szydłowiec, Poland before moving to Worms where he headed the yeshiva. When Worms was captured by the French in 1701 he moved to Prostějov (German: Prossnitz) as rabbi. He briefly returned to Szydłowiec before settling in Eisenstadt as rabbi of the Seven Communities. Eisenstadt greatly influenced the nature of the community and his yeshiva attracted students from far and near. His best known student is probably Jonathan Eybeschütz. His major works are; "Or ha-Ganuz", novellae on marriage law (Ketubot) and notes on Yoreh De'ah; "Panim Me'irot", responsa and novellae on various Talmudic treatises; "Kotnot Or", homiletic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Scrolls, (published, with the "Or Hadash" of his grandson, Eliezer Kalir, under the title "Meore Esh" the latter word being an abbreviation of "Eisenstadt").

Rabbi Meir HaLevi Rotenberg was nominated in 1809 to serve as a rabbi in Apt (Opatów) and, in 1815, in Stavnits (Stopnica). He was drawn to chasidism under his brother’s influence and considered Rabbi Yaakov Yitzcḥak Horowitz (the Seer of Lublin) his unequivocal mentor. Upon Horowitz’s death in 1815, he took on the role of a tsadik, and according to one tradition was officially appointed the Seer’s successor.

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.

A rabbi in Prussia, he became most famous for his Beit Meir gloss on the Shulchan Arukh. He held rabbinic positions in several larger Eastern European communities including Konigsburg, and his expertise in halacha was so renowned that he answered colleagues' questions from all over the region.

Meir Simchah HaKohen of Dvinsk — also known as the Ohr Sameach — was a Lithuanian rabbi and scholar. He was supported in his Torah education by his merchant father and later by his wife until, at the age of 40, he accepted a position as the rabbi of Dvinsk. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of philosophical and kabbalistic literature, and his commentaries on the Rambam's Mishneh Torah and on the Torah are noted for their originality and depth. His knowledge of the Jerusalem Talmud was so thorough that he was able to immediately determine that two supposedly "newly discovered" tractates were forgeries. He was very beloved by his congregation, and though he received offers of rabbinic posts in Jerusalem, New York, Kovno, and other cities, he retained his position in Dvinsk for almost forty years.

A rabbi of several important Eastern European communities, including Brisk. He was a prolific writer, focusing most of his energies on the Jerusalem Talmud and the Order of Kedoshim in the Babylonian Talmud

Meir ben Barukh of Rothenburg (Maharam) was a German talmudist and liturgist and one of the important ba'alei hatosafot, that is, author of a tosafist Talmud commentary. He also authored many responsa. His practices were carefully noted by his many disciples and had an unparalleled formative impact on subsequent Ashkenazic practice. Toward the end of his life, he was captured and held by German Christian authorities. His disciples raised the huge ransom demanded, but he refused to allow its payment, aware of the precedent it could set. He died in prison and was ransomed years later for Jewish burial. His most prominent disciple, Asher ben Yechiel (Rosh), fled to Spain in the wake of what befell his teacher.

Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai was a 16th-century kabbalist. He was born in Spain but forced to flee as a young boy during the Spanish Expulsion and eventually settled in Egypt. He wrote three important works on Kabbalah. At age 26, he wrote Tola'at Yaakov, a work of kabbalistic explanations of the prayers and blessings. His most popular work is Avodat HaKodesh, an introduction to the study of Kabbalah. His Derekh Emunah discusses the ten sefirot, or divine emanations, a foundational concept in Kabbalah.

Meir ben Jacob HaKohen Schiff was a German rabbi and talmudist. His father was Jacob Schiff. At the age of seventeen, he was appointed rabbi in Fulda, where he composed his commentary on the entire Talmud. He was a severe critic of pilpul (a method of talmudic study that became popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries), and attacked many of his contemporaries including Solomon Luria, Meir of Lublin, Samuel Edels, and also earlier authorities like Rashi, Isaac bar Sheshet and Mordekhai. Schiff also wrote sermons on the Torah. Much of his writings are lost, including notes on the Arba'ah Turim, his kabbalistic works, talmudic rulings.

Meir ben Shmuel was a French rabbi and one of the early Baa'lei HaTosfot. He was one of the founders of the Tosafot school and approach to Talmudic commentary. He was a son-in-law of Rashi, and three of his sons, Rashbam, Rivam and Rabbenu Tam, were amongst the greatest talmudists and tosafists, as well as leaders of their generation.

Talmudic scholar in 11th-century Germany, often cited by Rashi and other Rishonim. He was also a chazzan, which earned him the appellation "Shliach Tzibur", and composed many piyutim. He is most known for the piyut "Akdamut Milin" which is recited by most congregations before the Torah reading on the festival of Shavuot.

Menachem ben Solomon Meiri was one of Provence's most important scholars, he was a prolific writer, whose writings were largely only rediscovered in the early 20th century. Nevertheless, his famous liberal positions regarding Christians and Muslims were already known and influential before then.

17th-century Austrian rabbi and commentator. He studied in the yeshiva of R' Yoel Sirkes (Bach) in Krakow, eventually serving in that community as Dayan. His main work is "Ateret Zekenim", a commentary on Shulchan Aruch of which only the part on Orach Chaim has been published, appearing in most standard editions of Shulchan Aruch.

He studied under Rav Chaim Soloveitchik in Brisk and served as a rabbi in several communities, including Novardok. He wrote a comprehensive commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah, sermons and many articles.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Krengel was a Polish author and bibliographer from the city of Krakow. His main contribution to Jewish scholarship was his revised edition of Chaim Yosef David Azulai’s bibliographical work, Shem HaGedolim. Krengel added a biography of the author (known as the Chida), a bibliography of the Chida’s works, extensive annotations, and additional names of authors from Krakow that the Chida had omitted from Shem HaGedolim. Krengel was also involved in an extended controversy with Krakow’s rabbi over the eruv in Krakow, and published a work on the matter entitled “Torat Eruvin.”

Menachem Mendel Lefin (or Levin) was born in 1749 in Satanow, Podolia, in the region of present-day Ukraine. He received a traditional Jewish education and was introduced to the Jewish Enlightenment, or Haskalah, after meeting Moses Mendelssohn. Lefin believed, however, that it was possible to integrate traditional Judaism with secular study. He was a fierce opponent of chasidic thought and Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, preferring the rationalist approach of Maimonides. His writings included arguments against chasidism and in favor of studying natural sciences, and a translation of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed into Rabbinic Hebrew. His most well-known work is Cheshbon HaNefesh, a guide to systematic introspection and self-improvement.

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as "the Rebbe," was the last rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch Chasidut and a pioneer of Jewish outreach who led Chabad to become a major influence on worldwide Judaism. He succeeded his father-in-law as rebbe in 1951 and expanded the shelichut (representative) system his predecessor had established, sending yeshiva students to far-flung communities to reconnect Jews to their heritage. His international impact also included helping Iranian Jews during the 1979 revolution and providing for religious needs of Soviet Jews. Most of his vast published scholarship was culled by others from his talks, personal notes, and correspondence.

Menachem Mendel Schneersohn was the third rebbe of Chabad Chasidut (not to be confused with the later rebbe of the same name). He was raised by his grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the first rebbe, and succeeded his uncle, Rabbi Dov Baer, the second rebbe. A recognized authority on Jewish law, his responsa were published in the influential work by whose name he is also known, Tzemach Tzedek. He improved relations with leaders of the Mitnagdim (opponents of Chasidut) through their shared opposition to the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment), and played a large role in expanding the reach of Chabad.

One of the prime disciples of the Baal Shem Tov and colleague of the Maggid of Mezeritch. Emigrated to the Holy land together with Nachman of Horodenka and other students in 1764 and settled in Tiberias.

Early Chassidic leader, disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch and prime disseminator of Chasidut in White Russia and Lithuania. In the winter of 1772, he traveled with Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi to meet with the Vilna Gaon, with the aim of convincing him to rescind his ban on Chasidism, but they did not succeed in gaining entry to the Gaon and the meeting did not take place. In 1777, he headed the emigration of 300 of his followers to the Holy Land. He first settled in Safed, but facing persecution from the Turks, he relocated to Tiberias, where he is buried. The works containing his teachings are: "Pri Ha'Aretz", Pri Ha'eitz" and "Likutei Amarim".

Menachem Nochum Twersky of Chernobyl, also known as the "Meor Einayim," was a student of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch. He was a gifted and enthusiastic orator and one of the earliest disseminators of Chassidism in the Ukraine. He became the maggid of Chernobyl and the founder of the Chernobyl dynasty, which includes many famous scions of the Twersky family. He was the author of Meor Einayim, Chassidic insights into the weekly Torah portion and the holidays.

Menachem ben Binyamin Recanati was an Italian kabbalist and halakhic decisor. Very little is known about his life. He was one of the first well-known kabbalists in Italy, though he also was strongly influenced by the prominent Chasidei Ashkenaz, Rabbi Yehuda HeChasid and Rabbi Eleazar Rokeach. His kabbalistic commentary to the Torah was translated into Latin and played an important role in the emergence of Christian Kabbalah.

A 12th centruy Italian scholar and Hebrew grammarian, he is most well-known for his authorship of Midrash Sekhel Tov. He also composed another major work on Hebrew vocabulary and grammar, Evan Bohan, loosely based on the work Menachem ben Saruq.

Menachem ben Yosef was a second-generation chazzan (prayer leader) who lived in Troyes, a city in the Champagne region of France (home of Rashi, famous 11th-century exegete and legal authority), in the second half of the 13th century. He wrote Seder Troyes because he had received many questions about the details of local prayer customs and wanted to preserve the community’s traditions as his father had taught them.

Rabbi Menachem di Lonzano was a 16th-century rabbi, lexicographer, and kabbalist. He was born in Italy or Turkey, moved to Jerusalem as a young adult, and lived in Constantinople and Italy before returning to Jerusalem at the end of his life. He wrote works of poetry, a work discussing the masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, a dictionary of talmudic words, and notes on the Jerusalem Talmud, among other books.

A Bohemian rabbi who served in several communities before becoming the chief rabbi of the state. He was involved in several controversies as chief rabbi, trying to contain what he saw as moves towards reform. He wrote several works, including a commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

10th century Hebrew grammarian and poet, author of the "Machberet", an early dictionary of the Hebrew language. He served as assistant to the statesman Chasdai ibn Shaprut of Cordoba, at whose request he compiled the dictionary. However, not everyone agreed with his linguistics. Chief among his opponents was the philologist Dunash ben Labrat, who wrote an extensive criticism of Menachem's work. However, the Machberet did not lose its authority and is quoted frequently some 200 years later by such luminaries as Rashi and Rabbenu Tam.

Menasseh ben Israel was a 17th-century Portuguese rabbi, kabbalist, writer, diplomat, printer and publisher. Born into a family of conversos in the midst of the Inquisition, ben Israel established the first Hebrew printing press in Holland. He was also active in advocating for the return of expelled Jews to England, motivated in part by a belief that the settlement of Jews throughout the world would hasten the coming of the messiah.

Rabbi Meshullam Feivush Heller was a leader in the formative stages of the chasidic movement. Born in 1742 into a rabbinic family with illustrious lineage — Heller was a fifth-generation descendant of the Mishnah commentator, Rabbi Yom-Tov Lippman Heller, among others — Heller became a student of Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zloczow, who himself had been a student of the Ba’al Shem Tov. Heller is mainly known for his Yosher Divrei Emet, a work in the form of two long letters to a friend, detailing key chasidic teachings and practices.

Rabbanit Dr. Michal Tikochinsky is an Israeli scholar who shifted professions from civil law to Jewish text study and education. She studied at Matan Women's Institute and at Bar Ilan University, where she obtained a doctorate with a dissertation analyzing the Minchat Chinukh, a complex Jewish legal text. She has headed a number of advanced women’s learning programs and served in other leadership positions, including as the first woman on the religious board of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization. Rabbanit Tikochinsky has written extensively on many areas of Bible, Talmud, and Jewish law. A number of her essays on the weekly Torah portion were collected for publication under the title Karati Bekhol Lev.

A history, prolific writer and librarian who moved from France to Israel in 1949.

13th century German scholar, author of a Halachic compendium bearing the same name. Mordechai was a primary student of Maharam M'Rotenberg and a son-in-law of R' Yechiel of Paris. His work, known simply as "The Mordechai", is a compilation of Halakhic rulings and customs enacted by the great sages of that and preceding generations. It follows the order of Rif's "Sefer Halachot", and is printed immediately after the Rif in the Vilna Shas. Being that the author collected the material but did not actually publish it in final form, there are two vastly different versions of this work — the Rhenish edition and the Austrian edition. Our editions of Talmud contain the Rhenish version, which is the shorter of the two. Mordechai was martyred together with his entire family in 1298 during the "Rhindfleish" massacres in Nuremberg.

Rabbi Mordechai Jaffe was a rabbi, rosh yeshiva, and respected authority on Jewish law in several European communities in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. He is known for his ten-part work, Levush Malkhut, which includes volumes on Jewish law, philosophy, biblical interpretation, and kabbalah. Each volume has an independent title, with the word “Levush” (garment) followed by a descriptive term from Esther 8:15–16.

Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica was a Chasidic thinker and founder of the Izhbitza-Radzyn dynasty‏.‏‎ ‎He is best known for his work Mei Hashiloach, a compilation of his teachings by his grandson, in ‎which he expressed his belief in predeterminism. He was a disciple of Rabbi Simcha Bunim of Pshischa and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk. His leading disciple was Rabbi Yehuda Leib Eiger, the ‎grandson of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. His students included his own son, Rabbi ‎Yaakov Leiner and grandson, Rabbi Gershon Henoch Leiner of Radzyn‏, and Rabbi Zadok HaKohen of Lublin.

Rabbi Mordechai Yafeh Margaliyot was born in Hungary and served as rabbi in Kirchberg, Austria and later in Budapest, Hungary. His notes on the Jerusalem Talmud were originally published in the Vilna edition of the Jerusalem Talmud.

The great-grandson and namesake of the author of the Mei HaShiloach, he moved his followers to Warsaw, where he became an influential leader of global Orthodox Jewry. He wrote books defending his father's innovations, especially regarding the dye of tsitsit, as well as a book of his own original ideas on the holidays and parshat hashavua.

Rabbi Moses Almosnino, a 16th-century scholar born to a distinguished family of Spanish origin, was educated in general and Jewish studies and served as rabbi of two congregations in Salonica, then part of the Ottoman Empire. Fluent in several languages, Almosnino joined a 1565 delegation to Constantinople to obtain confirmation of Jewish rights from the sultan. While there, he composed an important historical and descriptive work on the city and its people. Almosnino’s legal opinions are preserved primarily through quotations, but many works on Bible, Talmud, philosophy, and other areas survive.

Moses Alshekh was a rabbi, preacher, and biblical commentator in the Ottoman Empire. He was a student of Rabbi Joseph Karo in Adrianople and of Rabbi Joseph Ṭaitazak in Salonica, and after moving to Safed in the land of Israel, counted Rabbi Chaim Vital amongst his pupils. He served as head of two different yeshivas and, according to his own testimony, devoted most of his time to the study and teaching of halakhah. It is well known that he would only begin to compose his famous Shabbat sermons a few hours before the start of Shabbat. Large crowds consistently attended these sermons, and his words were often repeated without attribution. To combat this and prevent others from committing the serious crime of Torah plagiarism, he published these sermons as a Torah commentary. He was one of the few scholars who received semikhah (rabbinic ordination) from his teacher, Rabbi Joseph Karo, after it had been renewed by Rabbi Jacob Berab. He was revered by his contemporaries and subsequent generations and is one of the very few sages to be referred to popularly as HaKadosh, "the holy."

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 Cordovero, also referred to as Ramak, was a leading kabbalist who lived and taught in Safed. His best-known work, Pardes Rimmonim, is a systematization of various school of kabbalistic thought. He authored many highly influential works, including a defense of Kabbalah, a highly regarded ethical work based on kabbalistic thought, and a comprehensive commentary on the Zohar. He had many disciples and was considered the premier kabbalistic authority until superseded by Isaac Luria shortly after his death.

Rabbi Moses ben Israel Isserles, known by the acronym Rema, was a renowned 16th-century Polish scholar and the primary halakhic authority for European Jewry, author of Sefer HaMappah (also known as Haggahot HaRema) on the Shulchan Arukh, and Darkhei Moshe on the Tur. He was born in Krakow to Yisrael, (also known as "Isserl", from which was fashioned the surname "Isserles"), and studied under Shalom Shachna of Lublin, who later became his father-in-law. He became rabbi in Krakow and established a yeshiva there, which he funded himself. He also served on the Council of the Four Lands. His other works include Torat Chatat on kosher dietary laws; Torat HaOlah, a philosophical explanation of the Temple and its sacrifices; Teshuvot Rema (responsa); and Mechir Yayin, an allegorical commentary on the book of Esther, which he wrote in his youth one Purim under difficult circumstances and gave to his family in lieu of mishloach manot.

Rabbi Moses Kimchi was a medieval biblical commentator and grammarian. He authored a popular grammar work entitled "Mahalakh Shevilei HaDa'at," and commentaries on the Books of Ezra, Nehemia, and Proverbs that were mistankenly attributed to Kimchi's more well-known contemporary, Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra. Kimchi taught and was instrumental in raising his younger brother, David Kimchi (known as “Radak”) after the passing of their father, Joseph Kimchi

Pupil of R' Meir of Rothenburg (14th century), author of Sefer HaParnas.

Rabbi Moshe Rivkes was born in Prague and settled, early in life, in Vilna, Lithuania. His father, R' Naphtali Hirsch Sofer of Vilna, was a scribe and a great Torah scholar. His mother, Rivkah, took upon herself the financial support of the family so her husband could devote himself to his studies, as a result of which the surname "Rivkes" was appended to her son's name, in deference to her. In 1655, when Cossack hordes descended upon Vilna and committed widespread massacres, Rabbi Moshe was forced to flee the city along with R' Shabtai Hacohen (the author of the Shach), R' Ephraim HaCohen (the author of Sha’ar Ephraim), and R' Aaron Shmuel Kaidanover (the author of Birkat HaZevach). They eventually found refuge in Amsterdam, where R' Moshe published his great work on the Shulchan Aruch, entitled "Be’er HaGolah". It indicates the various sources for the Halachic decisions of the Mechaber and Rama, along with brief comments by the author. Although he was accorded great respect in Amsterdam, Rabbi Moshe yearned to return to Vilna, his hometown, and he succeeded in doing so before his death. The Vilna Gaon was a descendant of R' Moshe and often cites him in his "Biur HaGra" on Shulchan Aruch.

Moses Sofer (Schreiber), better known by the name of his work "Chatam Sofer", was one of the leading Orthodox rabbis of Austro-Hungarian Jewry in the first half of the 19th century. He was a teacher to thousands and a powerful opponent to the Reform Movement in Judaism, which was attracting many people from the Jewish communities in the Austrian Empire and beyond. He was born in Frankfurt to R. Shmuel Sofer, and studied under R. Nathan Adler, and R. Pinchas Horowitz (Hafla'ah). After he married, he became head of the yeshiva in Prostějov, after which he accepted a rabbinical position in Strážnice, and subsequently in Mattersdorf. In 1807, he was appointed rabbi of Pressburg (Bratislava), where he also founded a large yeshiva that produced many students who themselves became rabbis of note. As rabbi of the city of Pressburg, he maintained a strong Orthodox Jewish perspective through communal life, first-class education, and uncompromising opposition to Reform, and radical change. Sofer published very little during his lifetime, but his posthumously published works include more than a thousand responsa, novellae on the Talmud, sermons, biblical and liturgical commentaries, and religious poetry. He is an oft-quoted authority in Orthodox Jewish scholarship and many of his responsa are required reading for semikha (rabbinic ordination) candidates. He had ten children with his second wife, the daughter of R. Akiva Eiger, two of whom became renowned rabbis in their own right. The eldest, Avraham Shmuel Binyamin, known as the Ketav Sofer, inherited his father's position as rabbi of Pressburg. His second son, Shimon, known as the Michtav Sofer, served as rabbi of Krakow.

Moshe ben Yitzchak Yehudah Lima was a Polish/Lithuanian rabbi and posek. He learned in Cracow and served as rabbi in Slonim before moving to Vilna and, at the end of his life, to Brisk. The Shach was a member of the beit din over which he presided. His work, Chelkat Mechokek, is one of the basic commentaries to Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer.

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.

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy was a French tosafist who lived in the first half of the 13th century, a disciple of R. Yehuda of Paris. He authored the halakhic code Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, known by its abbreviation Semag. He was a gifted orator and used his power of speech while traveling through France and Spain to rebuke the masses regarding their neglect in fulfilling various Jewish commandments, such as tefillin, tzitzit and mezuzah. In Spain, he was instrumental in convincing many who had intermarried to repent and give up their non-Jewish wives. In 1240, he was was one of the four rabbis who were required to defend the Talmud against the accusations of the apostate Nicholas Donin in a public disputation in Paris that led to the public burning of the Talmud in 1242. He also commented on the Talmud, and his commentar on tractate Yoma is printed in the Vilna Shas as "Tosafot Yeshanim."

Moses of Narbonne (Narboni) was a 14th-century Jewish physician and philosopher whose writings include commentaries on Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed and on several works by Averroes, whose rationalistic views he followed, as well as on medicine.

Early 20th century Hungarian scholar, author of "Brit Moshe", a comprehensive commentary on Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (SeMaG).

Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (1883-1946) was the chief rabbi of Antwerp and later of Tel Aviv, a noted Jewish philosopher, and a leader in the Mizrachi and religious-Zionist movements. He founded many schools and yeshivot (talmudic academies) in both Antwerp and Israel, some of which now carry his name. Among Rav Amiel’s many works are collections of sermons he delivered, a celebrated three-volume book on legal methodology, and essays outlining his perspective on contemporary Judaism.

Author of the Chassidic classic "Degel Machaneh Ephraim." He was a son of the Baal Shem Tov's daughter Udel, and brother of R' Baruch of Medzhybizh. (His sister Faiga was the mother of R' Nachman of Breslov.) After his grandfather's death, he studied under the Maggid of Mezeritch and R' Jacob Joseph of Polonne. In 1780, he settled in Sudilkov (near Shepetivka) where he served as Maggid until 1785. He then returned to Medzhybizh and served as Rebbe there until his death in 1800. He is buried next to his grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, in Medzhybizh.

Rabbi of the Community Synagogue of Monsey, New York, and senior Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University's RIETS and Professor of Jewish Medical Ethics and Biology at Yeshiva College. He is a son-in-law of R' Moshe Feinstein, and himself a noted expert on Jewish medical ethics and their relationship to Halakha.

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".

Rabbi Moshe Margalit was an 18th-century Lithuanian rabbi and the author of two central commentaries on the Jerusalem Talmud, Penei Moshe and Mareh Panim. He served as the rabbi of the city in which he was born, Keidan, and traveled Europe in search of manuscripts and knowledge that would aid him in composing his commentaries. Rabbi Margalit also registered to study botany at a university in Brandenburg at the age of 70 in order to better inform his commentary on Seder Zeraim, the Order of the Talmud dealing with agricultural laws.

Rabbi Moshe ben Machir headed a yeshiva in Ein Zeitim, near Safed, during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Fundraising letters still extant portray it as a typical Sephardic yeshiva of the time, with students studying under one leading Chakham, or head rabbi. The yeshiva was influenced by the kabbalistic and messianic atmosphere in Safed and its curriculum included the Zohar, but it focused more on other areas of Torah study. Moshe ben Machir is best known for his work, Seder HaYom, which sets out a daily program of prayer and behavior to achieve spiritual and personal fulfillment.

Rabbi Moshe ben Yosef di Trani was a student of Rabbi Yaakov Beirab and was part of the kabbalistic circles of 16th-century Safed. He was appointed that community's rabbi at the age of 20 and continued in that role for the next 55 years. During that time, he authored many works, including two volumes of responsa and an important commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

Moshe de Leon was a Spanish rabbi and kabbalist. Though he wrote kabbalistic works which appeared under his name, his most famous association is with the Zohar, which is attributed to the Tanna, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Due to his intimate involvement in the emergence of the Zohar, some attribute its composition, in part or in its entirety, to him. This association figured in controversies surrounding the Zohar shortly after it became widely known. He was widely knowledgeable both in philosophy and Kabbalah, and he was a gifted writer with a flair for evocative turns of phrase. He dedicated two of his works to Todros HaLevi Abulafia. He spent most of his adult years in Guadalajara, before moving to Avila in his latter years.

Disciple of Rabeinu Asher (Rosh), author of Chazeh HaTenufah — an abbreviated compilation of his teacher's responsa.

Nachman Krochmal was a 19th-century Jewish philosopher, theologian, and historian. Born in Brody, Galicia, he studied Talmud and philosophy from a young age. He worked as a merchant and then a bookkeeper, refusing an invitation to the rabbinate of Berlin. Krochmal is known for the only book he wrote, Moreh Nevukhei HaZeman (Guide for the Perplexed of the Time), an influential work on the philosophy of Jewish History.

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.

Polish rabbi, writer and orator. He was involved in, and supportive of. the Zionist cause.

Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Horowitz studied with a variety of Jewish scholars, including the famed Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk and other chasidic masters. He began to attract followers of his own and became the first Ropshitzer Rebbe and an influential figure in Galician Chasidut as a whole. Rabbi Horowitz stressed classic Torah study as the essence and foundation of chassidic esoterica, and warned against laxity in details of Jewish observance. He was renowned for both wisdom and humor, often using jokes or stories to convey his lessons, as well as for his musical skills.

Rabbi Naftali Weinberger is an alumnus of Yeshivas Kol Torah of Yerushalyim, where he was a student of Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, and Yeshivas Mir Yerushalyim. He has authored biographies of Rav Chaim Kanievsky, Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky, and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman.

Naftali Hertz Ginzburg was a Polish rabbi who came from an illustrious family that produced nine generations of Rabbis. He was widely respected for his Torah knowledge.

A product of Enlightenment-era Germany, Wessely came from a wealthy family with business connections to many of the leaders of Europe. He studied Torah under Rabbi Yochanan Eybeschutz, but received a broad education as well. Later, he worked with Moses Mendelssohn on the Biur translation of the Torah into German, and also wrote many other works. He became controversial for his vigorous support for the study of German and secular studies in Jewish schools.

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).

Natan ben Yechiel of Rome was an Italian rabbi and lexicographer. His central work, the Aruch, was the first Talmudic dictionary and achieved a wide circulation soon after publication. He worked as a peddler of linen, until the opportunity came to devote himself entirely to Torah study. He travelled abroad to study with luminaries in Sicily and Narbonne, eventually returning to serve as head of the yeshiva in Rome.

Rabbi Natan ben Yehuda was a 13th-century scholar of Jewish law and served as a prayer leader. He wrote Sefer HaMachkim, a guide to the daily and holiday prayer service and customs, based on teachings of his father, great-grandfather, and others. He was also knowledgeable in other areas of Jewish law, and scholars such as the Rashba report corresponding with him on various topics.

Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler first studied Torah with his father, Chief Rabbi of Hanover, and later attended both yeshiva and university, with a focus on languages. In 1845, he became the first Chief Rabbi of the British Empire to hold both a PhD and rabbinic ordination. Rabbi Adler helped found Jews’ College and the United Synagogue, and worked on behalf of children and the poor, including assisting settlement in Israel. His best-known work is Netinah LaGer, a commentary on Targum Onkelos, an Aramaic translation of the Torah.

Rabbi Nathan Nota Spira was a Polish rabbi and kabbalist who served as chief rabbi of Krakow in the early 17th-century. He came from a long line of Torah scholars claiming descent from the celebrated 11th-century commentator Rashi. He led the Krakow community and its yeshiva but did not take a salary, as his in-laws supported him financially. Rabbi Spira focused on talmudic analysis with his yeshiva students, but his community sermons had mystical elements and inspired many listeners to study Kabbalah. His writings include a commentary on the Rif’s Halakhot and two works titled Megalleh Amukkot: a full Torah commentary and an extensive analysis offering 252 explanations of Moses’ prayer to enter the land of Israel.

Main disciple of R. Nachman of Breslov and leader of the movement after his death. However, he did not actually assume his teacher's position as Rebbe of Breslov, being that R. Nachman had not named a successor. R. Nathan is the one responsible for preserving R. Nachman's teachings by recording, publishing, and disseminating them. He also authored many of his own works, including the multivolume "Likutei Halakhot," an esoteric work which follows the order of the Shulchan Arukh.

Nathaniel Weil was a German rabbi and Talmudist born to Rabbi Naphtali Zvi Hirsch Weil. A child protégé he was quickly permitted to attend the lectures of R. Abraham Broda for advanced students. He was appointed Rabbi in Metz but after almost a decade returned to Prague where he taught Talmud and was the assistant rabbi. After being expelled from Prague, he was appointed to the rabbinate of Mühringen where he started his commentary on the Rosh before moving to Karlsruhe and completing it. His remaining writings were published posthumously.

Nehama Weingarten-Mintz is an Israeli lecturer, educator, and activist.

Rabbi Nissim Chaim Moshe Mizrachi was born in Jerusalem in 1690. Born with just the first name Moshe, his two other names were added when, as an adult, he was arrested by Turkish authorities hoping to extort money from the Jewish community. In 1744, he was appointed Rishon LeTzion, the title given to the chief rabbi of Jews living in the Land of Israel at the time. He served in the role for four years, until his death.

Nissim ben Jacob (Nissim Gaon) was a rabbi, Talmudic commentator and leader of the Jewish community of Kairwan, Tunisia. He learned primarily from his father, Rav Yaakov Gaon – a student of Hai Gaon – and Chushiel ben Elchanan. After his father's death, he was chosen by the Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbedita as his replacement as head of the academy of Kairwan. He maintained an active correspondence with Hai Gaon and with Shmuel Hanaggid, creating a channel of discourse between eastern and western schools of Jewish thought. His most famous student was Isaac Alfasi (Rif).

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.

Nosson Tzvi Finkel, also known as the Alter of Slobodka, was an influential Lithuanian Jewish leader of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe. He founded and led the Slobodka Yeshiva (Yeshivat Knesset Yisrael), shaping its identity as a flagship institution incorporating the study and practice of Musar. In 1924, he helped create a branch of his yeshiva in Hebron, ultimately relocating there himself for the final two years of his life. Many of his students became major leaders of Orthodox Judaism in the USA and Israel. His son, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, became the head of the Mir Yeshiva, the largest post-high school yeshiva in the world today.

Onkelos, according to tradition, was a Roman convert to Judaism who lived in the first or second century. He translated Tanach into Aramaic, the spoken language of the day. Some identify Onkelos with a convert named Aquilas who translated the Tanach into Greek. According to tradition, he was counseled by his uncle, the emperor, to succeed by buying low and selling high. He later explained his conversion to his incensed uncle by repeating to him his own advice from years past. Onkelos' translation became the standard Aramaic translation, used daily by Jews world-wide long after Aramaic ceased being a living language for most Jews.

Ora Wiskind-Elper holds a PhD in Hebrew Literature from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is the author of Hasidic Commentary on the Torah (2018), Wisdom of the Heart: The Teachings of Rabbi Ya’akov of Izbica-Radzyn (2010) and Tradition and Fantasy in the Tales of Reb Nahman of Bratslav (1998). She is associate professor in the Graduate Program in Jewish Thought at Michlalah Jerusalem College and at Ono Academic College, Israel.

Ovadiah MiBartenura was an Italian rabbi, banker, commentator on the Mishnah, and community leader. He studied under Maharik Kolon in Bologna. In 1485, upon the death of this wife, he began a 2.5 year journey to the land of Israel. He visited many communities along the way and eventually settled in Jerusalem, where he quickly rose to prominence and labored unceasingly to restore Jewish communal life, both material and spiritual. He was largely successful in his efforts; he reestablished a chevrah kaddisha (Jewish burial society), in which he actively served, and a yeshiva — upon the arrival of learned Spanish exiles. He was recognized as a halakhic authority, was recognized as the chief rabbi of Jewish by the Muslim authorities, succeeded in reducing the tax burden upon the community, and delivered his weekly Shabbat sermons in Hebrew and thereby revived its use. His commentary on Mishnah is basic, straightforward, and indispensable to this day.

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.

Ovadiah Yosef was the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983 and the greatest halachic authority for Sephardic Jewry in the modern era. He was born in Baghdad and made aliyah to Jerusalem with his family at the age of four. In 1950 he was appointed dayan to the rabbinical court of Petach Tikva, where he issued the first of many bold and innovative rulings that marked his career. In 1984 he became a notable figure in Israeli politics by founding the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi party Shas, serving as its spiritual leader until his death in 2013.

Late 13th century Tosafist, author of "Tosafot Rabbeinu Peretz" on the Talmud, of which only a few tractates are currently extant. He also authored glosses on "Sefer Mitzvot Katan" written by his teacher R' Isaac of Corbeil, and on "Sefer HaTashbetz" by his student R' Samson ben Tzadok. A Masoretic work entitled "Sefer Peretz" is no longer extant.

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

Rabbi Pinchas Shapiro, also known as the Rebbe of Koretz, was born to a long line of talmudic scholars. When the family moved from Shklow to Myropil, his father, Rabbi Abraham Abba Shapiro, who had been a staunch opponent of Chasidut, began to study with its founder, the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Pinchas followed suit, joining the Baal Shem Tov’s inner circle and becoming a respected chasidic leader in his own right. He was reputed to have written one manuscript, which was not printed, but many of his teachings were collected and published by students.

Pinchas ben Yosef Halevi was a brother of the famous Spanish Talmudist, R. Aharon Halevi. Little is known about the details of his life. Some recent scholars have argued that he was the author of the anonymous work often ascribed to his brother R' Aharon, Sefer HaChinukh.

Avraham ben David of Posquieres (Ra'avad) was a Provencal rabbi, talmudic commentator, and mystic. His best-known work consists of extensive critical comments on Rambam's Mishneh Torah, which are published alongside the Rambam's text in almost every version. He also engaged in written disputes via commentary with his younger contemporary, R. Zerachiah HaLevi, in defense of the Rif's Halakhot. He wrote talmudic commentaries that are quoted extensively by a number of Rishonim but have been lost for the most part. It was from his circle that kabbalah emerged in the 12th century, and the early prominent kabbalists cite his activity as central to that emergence.

Eliezer ben Natan (Ra'avan) was a German rabbi, posek and commentator. His contemporaries and successors refer to him as an authoritative transmitter and decisor of Jewish tradition and practice. Among his descendants and relatives were some of the great rabbinic figures of the next generations. He was one of the first Ashkenazic scholars to quote extensively from the Talmudic commentary of Rabbeynu Chananel. He was also the first German scholar to pen commentaries on piyyut (liturgical poetry).

Eliezer ben Yoel Halevi (Ra'avyah) was a German rabbi, posek and Talmudic scholar. Wandering between communities in Germany and France, he refused to serve in a formal rabbinic position until poverty compelled him to accept a rabbinic position in Cologne, where he became famous. His halachic works were considered authoritative and indispensable to his and subsequent generations. His brother's martyrdom caused him to grieve so intensely that his vision was impaired, and he dictated his later works to students. He was also active as as one of the Ba'alei HaTosafot.

Yonah Gerondi (Rabbeinu Yonah) was a Spanish rabbi, talmudist, and ethicist. His best-known work is Sha'arei Teshuvah (Gates of Repentance), a comprehensive work on repentance. He also wrote chiddushim (talmudic novellae) on a number of tractates, quoted by contemporaries and later authors. He was one of the most prominent opponents of Rambam's philosophical works. When the attacks on Rambam's works culminated in a public burning of wagonloads of Talmud by Christian authorities, Rabbeinu Yonah publicly admitted his error in involving non-Jews and gave Rambam a prominent and revered place in his teaching. It is surmised that this turn of events motivated Rabbeinu Yonah to write Sha'arei Teshuvah.

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.

A late 13th century scholar in Provence, he is most known for his important commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

Yaakov ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam) was a French rabbi, halachic authority, liturgical poet and one of the greatest of the Ba'alei HaTosafot. His renown extended from his native France and Germany to Spain and beyond. In his Tosafot commentary, he often disagrees with the opinion of his grandfather, Rashi. The best known of these disagreements is in regard to the order of the passages contained in the head-worn tefillin, and it continues to impact daily Jewish practice to this day. He narrowly escaped death at the hands of Crusaders. He befriended Ibn Ezra during the latter's stay in France, and they maintained a subsequent correspondence.

Yerucham ben Meshulam, better known as Rabbenu Yerucham, was a Spanish rabbi and halachist. He was a student of the Rosh. His two works of halacha, Sefer Meisharim and Sefer Toldot Adam v'Chavah, were published together and known popularly as "Rabbenu Yerucham". His rulings are quoted by R. Yosef Karo in his Beit Yosef. Popular legend has led to few editions of Rabbenu Yerucham's works being printed, as those who commented on or reproduced the work were reputed to have suffered.

Rabbi Eliyahu Ben Harush was a 19th century Moroccan rabbi. He was known for his great humility and constant devotion to Torah study. His sermons and poetry were also highly admired. He served briefly as the chief rabbi of Alkatzar, but did not find it to his liking and returned to his home of Sefrou after only a short time. He wrote a commentary on the Chumash and the Haggadah.

Rabbi Moshe HaDarshan, an 11th-century rosh yeshiva in Narbonne, is primarily known for his midrashic scholarship, which led to his appellation, HaDarshan. One of the earliest French exegetes, he compiled a work on the Bible that included and expanded on ancient midrashim as well as apocrypha, even sources at odds with rabbinic tradition. Usually called Yesod, but never fully organized or given a formal title, it was quoted by Rashi and others but is no longer extant. The midrash Bereshit Rabbati on Genesis is often attributed to Rabbi Moshe but was likely composed later, based on Yesod.

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.

Levi ben Gershon (Ralbag) was a Provencal philosopher, physician, mathematician, astronomer, talmudic commentator, and Torah commentator. He seems to never have accepted a rabbinic post, and little is known about his life – even the place and date of his death is unclear. Ralbag was a strict Aristotelian, and in his great philosophical work, Milchamot Hashem, he critiques Rambam on some points where he deviates from Aristotelian teaching. He was also a fervent believer in astrology, and astrological determinism pervades his philosophical work, though he did believe in human free will. His philosophical views led to opposition to his works in some circles. His mathematical works were sophisticated and ground-breaking, and he is noted for his work in combinatorics and early use of the principle of mathematical induction. Some of his works were translated into Latin at the request of Christian scholars. Ralbag was credited for inventing the "Jacob's staff," an astronomical device. Finally, he is perhaps best known today for his commentary on Tanakh, which displays his wide learning and interweaves halakhic matters and rulings. He wrote several talmudic works, most of which have been lost.

Rabbi Raphael Aharon ben Shimon was born in Rabat 1848 and died in 1928 in Tel Aviv. At young ‎age was appointed to serve as the secretary to his father’s court in Jerusalem. He travelled as an ‎emissary to Germany and France on behalf of the yeshivah Doresh Zion in Jerusalem, but upon the ‎death of his father, he was appointed emissary on behalf of the board of the Morocco ‎Community in Jerusalem. He used this as an opportunity to gather and published the writing of ‎Moroccan Jewry. Later he was appointed as Chief Rabbi (Hakham Bashi) in Egypt (1891-1921). His final ‎years were spent in Tel Aviv as Judge. ‎

Author of Marpe Lashon, a commentary on Chovot HaLevavot. His father was a Dayan in Frankfurt. Raphael served as a judge in the court of the Noda BiYehuda and as a lecturer in his Yeshiva in Prague.

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.

Shlomo ben Yitzchak, best known by the acronym "Rashi", was an early and influential medieval Torah and Talmud commentator. He was born in Troyes, France, and as a young man he studied in the yeshivot of Worms and Mainz. At the age of twenty-five he returned to Troyes and opened his own yeshiva. He supported his family and his yeshiva by growing grapes and producing and selling wine. Widely known as the father of all commentators, his commentary on the Bible and Talmud is considered an indispensable tool for Torah study. He described his aim as clarifying the "peshat" or "plain-sense" meaning of each verse. He was also a posek who authored responsa.

Rav Re'em HaCohen is a Religious Zionist rabbi who serves as the head of Yeshivat Otniel and the rabbi of the community of Otniel. Influenced by the thought of his teachers - among them Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Rav Aryeh Bina, and Rav Aharon Lichtenstein - his teachings incorporate legal and kabbalistic sources, as well as academic and professional ones.

Yitzchak Alfasi, better known as the Rif, was a North African rabbi, talmudic commentator, and legal decisor. His most famous work is Hilkhot HaRif, a digest of talmudic discussions that omits the lengthy deliberations and focuses on the conclusions, followed by the Rif's decisions, which became widely authoritative and formed one of the pillars of the Shulchan Arukh. He is sometimes considered the last of the geonim, due to the great authority and reverence he enjoyed. His teacher was Rabbenu Chananel, and among his students were Yehuda Halevi and Joseph Ibn Migash.

Rabbi Yom Tov ben Avraham Isbilli (Ritva) was a Spanish rabbi and Talmudic commentator. His commentaries to many tractates of the Talmud are a mainstay of yeshiva study to this day. Some see in the surname 'Isbili' an indication that he was born in Seville in southern Spain, but this is in doubt as his grandfather was also known by this surname. He was a leading student of Re'ah and Rashba. In addition to his Talmudic studies, he also devoted significant time and energy to the study of Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim and other philosophical works. He served as rabbi of Saragossa, where he established a beit din and yeshiva.

Yitzchak ben Asher Halevi (Riva) was one of the first Ba'alei HaTosafot. He lived in Speyer and was a student of Rashi. He also seems to have studied with Rashi's teacher, R. Yitzchak ben Yehudah, and, after Rashi's death, with Rashi's son-in-law, R. Meir ben Shmuel. His grandson, bearing the same name, died a martyr's death in Speyer in 1196 during a pogrom instigated by a blood libel. He was given great respect by the leading sages of his generation, and was renown for his piety and asceticism.

Yehudah ben Natan (Rivan) was a French rabbi, Talmudic commentator and one of the early Baa'lei HaTosafot. He was a son-in-law of Rashi and in certain ways extended his work. He is quoted in many places throughout the Tosafot.

Sa'adia was a Polish/Lithuanian rabbi and prominent disciple of the Gra. He lived in his house, studied closely with him and served as a manuensis for a number of his works. He was sent by the Gra to publicize the latter's strident opposition to Chassidism. He came to the Land of Israel as one of the leaders of the second wave of the aliyah of the Gra's students.

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.

12-13th century French Tosafist, also known by the acronym "Rash" or "Rashba" (not to be confused with R' Shlomo ben Aderet). Born in France, he first studied under Rabbeinu Tam, and later under Rabbeinu Yitzchak (Ri HaZaken) who was his primary teacher. Rosh considers him to be the preeminent Baal Tosafot after Rabbeinu Tam and Ri. Many of the Tosafot which are printed in our Talmud are either taken from Rash's work, "Tosafot Shantz", or based on them. Rash's commentary on Mishnayot Zeraim and Taharot, on which there is no Talmud, is printed along with Rambam's commentary in the Vilna Shas. In 1211, Rash joined a group of 300 French and English scholars who emigrated to Israel in order to escape the persecution of Jews taking place in their countries. He lived in Jerusalem, earning him the title "Ish Yerushalayim", and is buried in Akko (Acre).

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.

Samuel Rolles Driver was a British scholar whose work focused primarily on textual and critical study of the Hebrew Bible and earned him a number of honors, including several honorary doctorates. A prolific writer, he composed commentaries on many books of the Bible and participated in the creation of the English Revised Version of the King James Bible in the late 19th century, as well as the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, a renowned resource for biblical scholarship.

Samuel ben Uri Shraga Phoebus was a Polish rabbi and Talmudist of Woydyslaw in the second half ‎of the 17th century. In his early youth he was a pupil of Rabbi Heshel in Cracow, and on the latter's ‎death he continued his studies under R. Heshel's successor, Rabbi Leib Fischeles, whose daughter ‎he married. Samuel officiated as rabbi in Shydlow, Poland, whence he was called in September ‎‎1691 to the rabbinate of Fürth, Germany. The reason is not known; but he longed for his former ‎rabbinate and returned to his former position in 1694. Samuel wrote a clear and ‎comprehensive commentary, known as "Beit Shmuel", on the Shulhan Arukh Even ha'Ezer, which ‎appeared in Dyhernfurth in 1689. However, being that he did not have with whom to discuss his work while he was first writing it, he later thoroughly ‎revised it while serving as Rabbi in in Fürth, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with other scholars, and released a second edition in ‎‎1694. He wrote also several responsa and opinions, one of which is published in Ḥinnukh Bet ‎Yehudah, No. 131. His daughter married R. Aaron Hart, the chief rabbi of the United Kingdom.‎

One of the greatest sages and Halakhic authorities of Salonika in the 16th century. A student of R. Levi ben Haviv (Ralbach) and Rabbi Yosef Taitacz, he served as rabbi in many communities in Turkey, and the Talmudic academy he headed produced many great scholars, among them R. Avraham di Boton (author of 'Lechem Mishneh') and R. Menachem Di Lunzano. He received Halachic inquiries from Italy and the entire Balkan region, and nearly one thousand of his responsa were printed by his son as "Responsa of Maharashdam." His sermons were published under the name "Ben Shmuel", and he also wrote novellae on the Talmud, which have never been printed.

Samuel de Uçeda was a16th century kabbalist in Safed, a disciple of the Arizal and R. Chaim Vital. He established a large yeshiva in Safed for the study of Jewish law and kabbalah. His most famous work is Midrash Shmuel on Pirkei Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), which contains an anthology of other commentaries along with his own insights. He also wrote commentaries on the biblical books known as Megillot: Iggeret Shmuel on Ruth, and Lechem Dimah on Eikhah. His commentary on Esther was recently published.

Professor Rabbi Saul (Shaul) Lieberman was a prominent 20th-century rabbi and Talmud scholar. He served as a professor of Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) for over 40 years and as dean of the Harry Fischel Institute in Israel and president of the American Academy for Jewish Research. Among his many works, he is most prominently known for his publication of an edition of the text of Tosefta, along with extensive commentary.

Shabbetai Bass was a Polish printer, publisher, bibliographer and author of Siftei Chakhamim, the most widely used supercommentary on Rashi's commentary to the Chumash and Megillot. His surname stems from his position as bass singer in the choir of the Altneuschul of Prague, where he went to learn Torah after his parents' martyrdom. He settled in Amsterdam in 1679 after extensive travels, where he learned the printer's craft. He subsequently settled in Breslau where he set up a successful publishing/printing establishment. He was a ground-breaking bibliographer whose classification system was unprecedented at his time. In his old age, he was falsely charged with printing works considered blasphemous by Christian authorities. As a result, he had to spend time in prison before eventually getting acquitted. His last years were devoted to revising his bibliographical work, but he died before he could complete the revision.

Shabbetai Hakohen – better known as Shach, after the acronym of his most famous work – was a Lithuanian-Polish rabbi, halakhic scholar, and talmudic commentator. He was raised in Vilna and studied in Tykotzin, Krakow, and Lublin. He returned to Vilna, where he married the daughter of the wealthy great-grandson of the R. Moses Isserles, and served on the rabbinic court of R. Yehuda Lima. In 1655, he, along with the entire Jewish community, fled from the advancing Swedish army. He eventually became the rabbi of Holešov. His grave there remains a pilgrimage site to this day. His great work, Siftei Kohen, is one of the most important commentaries on the Shulchan Arukh. His rulings were widely accepted by Ashkenazic Jewry as authoritative. He also wrote critical comments on the Turei Zahav of R. David ben Shmuel Halevi, his older contemporary, whom he honored greatly but to whom he did not defer.

Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo was an 18th-century Moroccan kabbalist who served as a rabbinic judge in Morocco and in London, where he emigrated later in life. Buzaglo is known for the work “Mikdash Melekh,” the first published systematic commentary on the entire Zohar, compiled from works of earlier kabbalists.

Shalom Mordechai Schwadron, popularly known by the acronym Maharsham (Moreinu HaRav Shalom Mordecai), was a Galician rabbi of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He worked in the timber trade but lost all of his fortune in 1866 and began working as a rabbi. Though he was offered rabbinic positions in big communities, he insisted on serving in small ones, first in Potok and then in Brezen. He is known for his highly regarded collection of responsa, four volumes of which were published during his lifetime and three posthumously. He also wrote several other works of Talmud commentary and Jewish law.

Rabbi Dr. Sharon Shalom, born Zaude Tesfay in Ethiopia in 1973, made aliyah to Israel in 1982 with Operation Bat Galim. He received rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Har Etzion and a Ph.D. in Jewish philosophy from Bar-Ilan University. He serves as a leader and lecturer for the Ethiopian community and beyond. His first book, From Sinai to Ethiopia, was published in Hebrew in 2012. It was followed by Dialogues of Love and Fear, published in 2021.

A student of Rashba, he leaned more towards the side of Kabbalah and even wrote a super-commentary on the mystical elements of Ramban's commentary on the Torah. He also wrote the Migdal Oz commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah.

Rabbi Shem Tov ben Isaac Ganguine was born in Jerusalem to a scholarly Moroccan family that had been in the land of Israel since the Spanish Inquisition. He served as a rabbi, judge and rosh yeshiva, in Egypt and England, leading both Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities despite his own Sephardic heritage. A poet and prolific writer on topics including theology, Jewish law, Bible, and philology, many of his works remain in manuscript or have been lost. He is best known for his Keter Shem Tov, an encyclopedic treatise on variant customs among Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities.

Shem Tov ben Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov was a 15th-century Spanish philosopher who moved to Portugal with the Spanish expulsion and died soon after. Named after his grandfather, a fierce opponent of philosophy and of Maimonides in particular, and continuing the path of his more moderate father, the younger Shem Tov was a staunch Aristotelian and supporter of Maimonides. Only two of his works have been printed: Derashot HaTorah (Studies on the Torah) and a commentary on Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed.

Prime disciple of Rashi, who assisted his teacher in composing his monumental commentary on the Bible and Talmud. On the title page of Rabbeinu Shemaiah's commentary to Tractate Midot it states that it was composed in his teacher's presence. His daughter was married to Rashi's grandson, Rashbam.

Shmuel Tzvi Danziger of Alexander, also known as the Tiferes Shmuel, was the third rebbe of the Alexander Hasidic dynasty and author of the Torah commentary "Tiferes Shmuel".

Sherira Gaon bar Hanina was a scholar and the penultimate member of the Geonim. He descended on both sides from prominent families, counting among his ancestors Rabba ben Abuha of the family of the exilarch, as well as several Geonim. He served as av beit din of Pumbedita before being elected as head of the academy, where he served for 30 years before appointing his son, Hai Gaon, in his place. In response to the challenges of the Karaites he wrote a famous iggeret (epistle) providing the first comprehensive explication of the development of Oral law. Though including historical records already contained in the Talmud, the Iggeret relies mainly on the written and oral records of the Babylonian academies, providing almost the only source for the history of the chain of tradition for almost 500 years.

Rabbi Shimon Gershon Rosenberg, known also as Rav Shagar (an acronym), was a Torah scholar and a religious postmodern thinker in the 20th and 21st centuries. His teachings draw upon Chasidic teachings, the work of early Religious Zionist thinkers — particularly that of Rav Kook — and contemporary philosophy, with an eye toward deepening personal religious experience. In 1996, together with Rabbi Yair Dreifuss, he established Yeshivat Siach Yitzchak, where he served as head of the yeshiva until his death in 2007.

Simeon Kara was a French rabbi who lived in Mans in the 11th century; brother of Menahem ‎ben ‎Ḥelbo and father of Joseph He is counted among the prominent French rabbis, although no work ‎of his has ‎survived.‎

Shimon (ibn) Lavi was a Spanish kabbalist, physician, and poet. The Spanish expulsion of 1492 brought his family to Fez, Morocco, where he studied a number of disciplines. On the way to move to Israel in 1549, Lavi was detained near Tripoli, Libya and decided to stay to rebuild Torah study and practice among local Jews, who had suffered under the Inquisition. In addition to his renown among Libyan Jews, Lavi is known for his Zohar commentary, Ketem Paz, and for the poem Bar Yochai, sung by many on Shabbat and other occasions.

Simeon ben Zemah Duran, (Hebrew: שמעון בן צמח דוראן), known as Rashbaz (רשב"ץ) or Tashbaz was a Rabbinical authority, student of philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and especially of medicine, which he practised for a number of years at Palma de Majorca. He was a near relation but not a grandson of Levi ben Gershon, a student of Ephraim Vidal, and of Jonah de Maestre, rabbi in Zaragoza or in Calatayud, whose daughter Bongoda he married. After the persecution of 1391, he fled Spain with his father and sister, for Algiers, where, in addition to practicing medicine, he continued his studies. In 1394 he and the Algerian rabbi, Isaac ben Sheshet (known as Rivash) drafted statutes for the Jewish community of Algiers. After the Rivash's retirement, Duran became rabbi of Algiers in 1407. He held this office until his death whereupon his son Solomon ben Simon Duran succeeded him.

Rabbi Shimshon ben Tzadok was a primary student of the Maharam of Rothenberg, a prominent 13th-century German scholar and one of the Ba’alei HaTosafot. When his teacher was imprisoned after attempting to flee Germany, Rabbi Shimshon visited him and gathered his teachings into a work called the Tashbetz (often referred to as the Tashbetz Katan to differentiate it from another work by Rabbi Shimon ben Tzamach Duran).

Leading rabbi in 19th century Izmir, Turkey. Author of 'Melechet Shlomo' on Rambam, and 'Kisei Shlomo' - a collection of drashot and eulogies.

Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, popularly known as Kli Yakar after his homiletic commentary on the Torah, was a Polish rabbi who served as chief rabbi of Prague after the Maharal. He was famed as a gifted preacher whose derashot, or sermons, would captivate his many listeners. His writings focus on ethical matters, and his collected homiletical interpretations of Torah passages, Kli Yakar, remains one of the most popular works of its kind.

Shlomo ben Joseph Ganzfried was the rabbi of Brezevitz for many years before returning to his hometown of Ungvar (Austrian Empire/Ukraine) to serve as a judge on the rabbinical court. In his role as community leader, Ganzfried came to believe that every Jew needed to know and understand Jewish law if Orthodoxy was to survive. To that end he composed the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, which was published both in Hebrew and in Yiddish and quickly became popular.

Dedicated to Torah study from his youth, he became one of the period's greatest experts in halacha. He was one of the main editors of the Vilna edition of the Talmud and eventually became the rabbi of Vilna. Though he was more focused on study than communal affairs, he was an ardent supporter of the new Jewish settlements in Palestine.

16th-century kabbalist and composer of the "Lekha Dodi" hymn recited on Shabbat eve. Born in Salonica, he studied under the great mysticist, R' Yosef Taitatzak. He emigrated to Israel in 1535 and settled in Safed, where he taught kabbalah to a distinguished group that included R' Moshe Alshikh, R' Yosef Karo, and R’ Alkabetz’s famous brother-in-law, R' Moshe Cordovero. He is the author of Manot HaLevi on Megillat Esther, as well as many other works.

Born into a Polish rabbinic family and noted as a child prodigy, he made his way to the chassidic court of Rabbi Meir of Apta. Connecting to several other chassidic figures along the way, he eventually established his own hassidic court in Radamsk, in the context of which he was able to use his great talents, both as a communal leader and as a hassidic rebbe.

Solomon ben Judah Aaron Kluger (שלמה קלוגר‎‎), born at Komarow, Congress Poland, was chief dayyan and preacher of Brody, Galicia. He was successively Rabbi at Rava-Ruska (Galicia), Kulikow (Galicia), and Józefów (Lublin), preacher at Brody, and Rabbi at Brezany (Galicia) and, again, at Brody (where he held the offices of Dayan and preacher for more than fifty years). During his long life Rabbi Kluger wrote a great number of works, totalling one hundred and sixty volumes. He wrote on all the branches of rabbinical literature as well as on Biblical and Talmudic exegesis.

Rabbi Shlomo Shalem was a rabbi in Vidin, Bologna, Sofia, and Amsterdam in the 18th century.

18-19th century German/Polish rabbi, shochet, and biblical commentator. He wrote Avi Ezer, a supercommentary on the commentary of Abraham ibn Ezra on the Chumash.

Solomon ben Simon Duran (Rashbash) (שלמה בן שמעון דוראן), was born in Algiers and was the son and successor of Simon ben Zemah Duran. Known for his prodigious Talmudic knowledge, he was the author of many responsa and polemics, including one against the Kabbalah. His defence of the Talmud from attacks by the Christian convert Geronimo de Santa Fé in 1437 was published under the title Milḥemet Ḥovah, and Setirat Emunat ha-Noẓerim, after the second part of his father's Ḳeshet u-Magen. His treatise Tikkun Soferim, which has frequently been ascribed to his father, is printed as an appendix to the work Yavin Shemu'ah. A letter he wrote to Nathan Najara as well as a dirge have been preserved in manuscript.

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.

Shmuel Safrai (1919-2003) was Professor Emeritus of History of the Jewish People at Hebrew University. He received the Jerusalem Prize in 1986 and the Israel Prize for Land of Israel studies in 2002. Among his many published works is Mishnat Eretz Yisrael, a socio-historical commentary on the Mishnah that he compiled together with his son, Professor Ze’ev Safrai, and daughter, Dr. Chana Safrai.

An independent scholar and community activist, he was an important member of the Vilna community in his time. His prosperous business activities allowed him to devote himself to the poor and spend much of his time in the study of the Talmud. His notations are found in the back of the classic editions of the Babylonian Talmud used today.

Mostly known for his commentary on Midrash Rabbah, he was the leader of the Ashkenazi community of Constantinople. He also wrote on Aggadah, Torah, homelitics and issued responsa.

Shneur Zalman of Liadi, known as the Alter (Elder) Rebbe or Ba’al HaTanya, founded the Chabad (Lubavitch) branch of Chasidic Judaism. He was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch, who assigned him the task of composing an updated Shulchan Arukh. This work, Shulchan Arukh HaRav, is considered the primary code of law for Chabad and other Chasidic groups. His best-known work is the Tanya, a highly influential presentation of Chasidic philosophy that draws heavily on Kabbalah. He was succeeded by his son, R. Dov Baer, known as the Mitteler (Middle) Rebbe.

Disciple of Rashi and author of the Halakhic and liturgical compendium 'Machzor Vitry'. His son married the daughter of Rashi's son-in-law R' Meir ben Shmuel, and their son was the famed Tosafist R' Yitzchak of Dampierre (Ri HaZaken).

Simi Peters is a contemporary scholar of Tanakh and Midrash who serves on the faculty of Nishmat, the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions, and Darchei Bina Seminary. She also serves as text consultant to the JCC Association of North America's Ethical Start Pirkei Avot Curriculum Project and was a Jerusalem Fellow. Peters has an M.A. in Linguistics from the Graduate Center of CUNY.

Yemenite scholar and rabbi in Hebron, most famous for his extensive commentary on the Mishnah, "Melechet Shlomo", which took 30 years to complete. He was born in Yemen and moved together with his family to the Holy Land as a young boy. After settling in Jerusalem, he became a student of R' Betzalel Ashkenazi and R' Chaim Vital. He suffered from abject poverty and many other challenges, as described in the introduction to his work, but these tribulations did not prevent him from total devotion to Torah study. He eventually moved to Hebron, where he wrote his monumental commentary.

Solomon (or Salomon) Buber was a scholar and editor of Hebrew works, particularly known for his original research and prolific explication of midrashic literature. He wrote elaborate and exhaustive commentaries of midrashic works including Pesikhta de-Rab Kahana, Midrash Abkir, Midrash Tanchuma, Midrash Tehillim, Midrash Shmuel and Midrash Mishle. He was also the primary teacher of his grandson, Martin Buber, who lived with him from the age of three.

Solomon Sirilio left Spain as a child due to the Jewish expulsion of 1492 and settled with his family in Salonika, where he became a respected rabbi. He moved to Safed in 1532 but relocated to Jerusalem after a dispute about inspecting a slaughtered animal’s lungs for defects that might render it unkosher. He had written a book in Salonika on kosher slaughter and examination, but the Safed community had different standards. Sirilio’s commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud was among the first and is cited by his colleague Rabbi Joseph Karo and other authorities. He also compiled a work on Mishnah Eduyot in the style of the Talmud, based on relevant talmudic passages, and added a commentary.

Susan Handelman received her BA at Smith College, and her MA and PhD in English Literature from the State University of New York, Buffalo. She taught in the English Department at the University of Maryland College Park from 1979- 2000. She moved to Israel in 2000, to take a position as Professor of English literature at Bar-Ilan University. She has published many books and articles on the relation of Jewish thought and literature, academia and spirituality.

Tamar Biala teaches in various batei midrash, rabbinical schools, and adult education programs in the United States and Israel. She coedited volume one of the Hebrew-language edition of Dirshuni with Nehama Weingarten-Mintz and, in 2018, published volume two.

Tamar Weissman is a noted lecturer in Bible and land of Israel studies, and is a certified Israeli tour guide.

Prominent member of the Frankfurt community in late 19th century, author of "Maarechet Heidenheim", a commentary on the Pesach Haggadah.

11-12th century Biblical commentator and liturgist, lived in Kastoria, Greece. His major work is 'Midrash Lekach Tov', a commentary on the Torah and Megilot which is based heavily on Midrashic sources and is cited by many early Rishonim. He also wrote liturgical hymns, some of which are still extant.

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.

Reb Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, a famed master of Chasidic thought, wrote on many areas of Jewish and general studies, including halakhah, Chasidut, Kabbalah, ethics, astronomy, geometry, and algebra. Born into a rabbinic family affiliated with the mitnagdim (opponents of Chasidut), he was introduced to Chasidut by Rabbi Mordechai Leiner of Izhbitz and became his disciple. After the Izhbitzer's death, he became a follower of Rabbi Yehuda Leib Eiger, and eventually his successor as rabbi of Lublin. Reb Tzadok authored Peri Tzadik on the Torah, Tzidkat HaTzadik on human spirituality and divine providence, and many other works.

Rabbi Tzvi Elimelekh, founder of the Dinov Chasidic dynasty and prolific writer, is known by the title of his primary work "Bnei Yissaschar", a classic Chasidic text containing discourses on the Torah and festivals. He also authored numerous other works on various subjects. His father, R. Pesach, was a brother-in-law of R. Elimelekh of Lizhensk, after whom he was named, and his mother was a descendant of R. Shimshon Ostropolier. He was a disciple of the Chozeh of Lublin, the Maggid of Kozhnitz, and R. Mendel of Rimanov. He occupied rabbinical posts in Dinov, Struzov, Ribitsch, Lantzut, and Munkacs.

Son of the author of "Tiferet Shmuel" and "Birkat HaZevach," he published his father's works posthumously, and is renowned for his own ethical work, "Kav HaYashar."

Rabbi of Utena, Lithuania, and author of "Pitchei Teshuva" on Shulchan Arukh, a collection of references to responsa works. He also wrote a comprehensive commentary to Rabbi Michel of Crakow's "Seder Gittin VeChalitzah".

Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto was an early twentieth-century Italian historian, rabbi, and scholar of the Hebrew Bible, the ancient Near East, and Semitic languages. He served as chief rabbi of Florence and then became a professor, teaching at the University of Florence, the University of Rome La Sapienza, and finally the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Cassuto wrote a popular Hebrew commentary on the Bible and more detailed commentaries on the book of Genesis and part of the book of Exodus.

Vidal of Tolosa was a French rabbi and halachic author. Very little is known about the details of his life. He is better known as the Maggid Mishneh, after his great work, a comprehensive commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah. Unfortunately, only a part of this work has been preserved and passed on. In the sections that remain, he seeks sources for the Rambam's rulings and defends him against criticisms such as those of the Ra'avad.

Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman, also known as the Vilna Gaon or the Gra, was a talmudist and the greatest Torah authority of his generation. He had a photographic memory; according to legend he memorized the Torah by the age of three. By the age of 20, he was already resolving complicated legal issues that confounded other rabbis. He wrote copious commentaries on virtually all Jewish texts, including corrective notes on the Talmud. He also authored books on grammar and mathematics and encouraged his students to learn secular sciences. He may be best remembered as one of the leaders of the "Mitnagdim," the opponents of the newly emergent Chasidic movement. He declared that the Chasidic belief in miracles and visions were lies and delusions. In response, he advocated a more rational approach to Torah observance that emphasized the traditional obligations of Torah study and fulfillment of the commandments.

Rabbi Yaakov Chaim Sofer was a Sephardi rabbi, halakhist, kabbalist, and author of the legal work Kaf HaChaim. Born in Baghdad in 1870, he studied with renowned Sephardi authorities such as the Ben Ish Chai, before moving to Jerusalem in 1904. There, he studied first in the famed Bet-El kabbalistic academy, founded in 1737, and then in the newer Shoshanim LeDavid yeshiva. Rabbi Sofer, whose last name means “scribe” and refers to the family’s traditional profession, also wrote Kol Yaakov, a halakhic treatise on the laws of writing holy texts, in addition to other works on Torah and aggadah. His works are an important source for Iraqi Jewish traditions.

Yaakov Dovid Wilovsky was a rabbi and educator in the mid-19th and turn of the 20th centuries. He served as a rabbi of several communities in Lithuania and Belarus and founded a yeshiva in Slutsk, Belarus, before emigrating to the United States, where he was elected elder rabbi by the United Orthodox Rabbis of America. Toward the end of his life, he emigrated to Israel, establishing a yeshiva in Safed. He is known for two central commentaries that he composed on the Jerusalem Talmud, Chiddushei Ridvaz and Tosfot Rid.

Rabbi Yaakov Emden, also known by his initials as Ya'avetz, was a German rabbi, talmudist, and polemicist, son of another well-known scholar known as the Chakham Tzvi. In addition to his scholarship, Rabbi Emden is known for his public campaign against Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz, whom he accused of being a secret follower of the disgraced messianic hopeful, Shabbetai Tzvi. He published many works, including a prayer book with extensive commentary, a collection of responsa entitled Sheilat Ya'avetz, and annotations on the Talmud.

Jacob Ettlinger was a German rabbi and author, and one of the ‎leaders of Orthodox Judaism. He is sometimes referred to as the Arukh LaNer because ‎of his noteworthy talmudic commentary by that same name. He studied with his father Aaron and Abraham Bing in Wurzberg, where he also attended ‎university. He was among the earliest German rabbis who possessed academic training. He ‎became one of the most prominent representatives of German Orthodoxy, functioning as district ‎rabbi in various communities in Germany. ‎His yeshiva was attended by a great many students ‎preparing for the ministry, and many of them became leaders of Orthodoxy. ‎

Rabbi Yaakov Kranz is known as the Dubner Maggid ("the storyteller of Dubno"), though his career began in Mezeritch. Supported for a time by his father-in-law, Rabbi Kranz studied and taught Torah, including frequent sermons on the weekly Torah portion, without pay. He became known for his creative, sometimes sharp-witted approach, filled with parables and simple messages. Rabbi Kranz also served as a rabbi in several other cities before settling in Dubno. Though Rabbi Kranz likely intended to publish, his teachings were not printed until Avraham Dov Ber Flahm found his notes in Mezeritch and set out to publish them, with permission from Kranz's son.

Son of the Mei HaShiloach, he succeeded his father as Rebbe in Ibiza, later moving to Radzin, where his oldest son and successor, Gershon Henoch, was already serving as Rav. A collection of his teachings was compiled by his son and published in a book entitled "Beit Yaakov".

Leading 14-15th century Halakhic authority, best known for his codification of the customs of German Jewry. Son and pupil of Moshe Levi Moelin, he succeeded his father as Rabbi of Mainz in 1387. "Minhagei Maharil", a compilation of German customs and synagogue rites was written by his student R' Zalman, and is frequently quoted in Rama's glosses to Shulchan Aruch. Another pupil, Eleazer b. Jacob, collected some of Moelin's responsa; these were published in Venice in 1549. Many more of Moelin's responsa which remained in manuscript were recently collected and published under the title "SHu"T Maharil HeChadashot".

Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum was a Polish rabbi, talmudist, and posek. His best-known works, Chavot Da'at on Shulchan Arukh Yoreh De'ah and Netivot Mishpat on Shulchan Arukh Choshen Mishpat, have had a formative impact on classic Torah study to the present day. He was a great-grandson of the Chakham Tzvi.

Author of the Yedei Moshe commentary to Midrash Rabbah.

Jacob Schor was the rabbi of Brest-Litovsk and author of Beit Yaakov, chiddushim (Talmudic novellae) on Sanhedrin. He was the son of Rabbi Solomon Ephraim (The Elder) Schor.

Rabbi Yaakov (Yakel) Slonik was a 17th-century rabbi and head of the rabbinical court in Pidhaitsi, a small city in what is now western Ukraine. His father, Rabbi Binyamin Aharon Slonik, was a leading disciple of Rabbi Moses Isserlis and Isaac Luria. Slonik’s halakhic ideas appear in his father’s work of responsa, Masat Binyamin, and in Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk’s Penei Yehoshua responsa. He wrote Nachalat Ya’akov, a supercommentary on Rashi’s Torah commentary.

Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg was a 19th century German rabbi and Torah scholar. As a child he studied with the local rabbi, Zechariah Mendel, a friend of R. Akiva Eger. R. Mecklenberg was a businessman until the age of 46, when he was offered and accepted the position of rabbi in Konigsberg, East Prussia. The Jews of Konigsberg were being influenced by the Haskalah, which he strongly opposed. His Torah commentary which he wrote at this time, Haketav Vehakabbalah, attempted to refute the reformers by demonstrating the close connections between Rabbinic law and Biblical text. Together with the Malbim, he publicly denounced the Reform Judaism's 1844 Braunschweig convention. He continued to serve as Rabbi of Konigsberg for 34 years, until his death.

Jacob Weil, later known as Mahariv (Hebrew: יעקב בן יהודה ווייל) was a German rabbi and Talmudist who flourished during the first half of the fifteenth century. He was one of the foremost pupils of Jacob Moelin (Maharil), who ordained him in the rabbinate, and authorized him to officiate in Nuremberg. Weil, however, did not avail himself of this permission lest he should offend an older scholar, Solomon Cohen, who had been appointed rabbi of that city long before. Weil was later called to the rabbinate of Erfurt; and congregations far and near, recognizing him as an authority, addressed their problems to him. Of Weil's works only a collection of opinions and decisions, "She'elot u-Teshubot", has been preserved. To this work was added an appendix entitled "Sheḥiṭot u-Bediḳot," containing regulations for slaughtering and for the examination of slaughtered cattle. These rules have been regarded as authoritative by later rabbis, have run through seventy-one editions, and the responsa have been the subjects of various commentaries and additions.

20th century rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born in Daŭhinava, in the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Belarus), where his father, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ruderman, was the rabbi. He studied in Yeshivat Knesset Yisrael in Slabodka, under Rabbi Nathan Tzvi Finkel (the "Alter"), and the rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Epstein, receiving semicha from the latter in 1926. In 1933, he moved to Baltimore, where he was immediately offered a rabbinical post. He accepted the position on the condition that he be permitted to open a yeshiva using the synagogue facilities; he named the new yeshiva Ner Yisroel, ('Light of Israel'). He wrote "Avodat Levi," which was published in his lifetime. An additional two volumes of his teachings were compiled and published posthumously by his students: ethical insights based on the weekly parsha named "Sichot Levi", and lectures on the 19th century work Minchat Chinukh and other Talmudic and halachic insights in "Mas'at Levi".

Rabbi Yaakov ben Chananel Sikili was a rabbi in the 13th and 14th centuries, and a student of the Rashba. He lived in Cordoba, Spain, but in 1317 took an oath, together with a friend, to emigrate to the Land of Israel within two years. Sikili sold his possessions and prepared to go, but was prevented from going due to a report that Portuguese war ships were on the lookout for Jews and Muslims at sea, planning to “plunder and rob” them. He ultimately settled in Damascus, where he served as a halakhic authority and gave classes on the weekly Torah portion.

Yair Hayyim Bacharach was the great-grandson of the Maharal and major 17th century posek, who lived first in Koblenz and then remainder of his life in Worms and Metz. He wrote two major works חות יאיר (Villages of Yair); a collection of responsa by the title of which he is commonly referred. His other main work was מקור חיים (Source of Life); a commentary on the Shulhan Arukh. However, when he discovered that other commentaries, notably the Taz and the Magen Avraham had appeared, he withdrew his book and it was only published in 1982. Besides his Halakhic expertise he had complete mastery of all the sciences, music, history and poetry. He compiled a 46 volume encyclopaedia on many topics.

Yannai was a paytan (liturgical poet) of the Byzantine empire, who may have lived in Eretz Yisrael. He is considered one of the three greatest early paytanim, along with Yose ben Yose and Eleazar Hakalir. He was the first to use rhyme and introduced the convention of alluding to his name in acrostics. He was evidently a very prolific poet, though much of his work has been lost. A manuscript of his poems was discovered in the Cairo geniza and published in 1938.

A secular Israeli writer and thinker, he was instrumental in creating an educational and intellectual basis for secular Zionist Judaism in Israel.

Yechezkel ben Yehuda Landau was a senior figure in Prague Jewry. He is best known for the his responsa Noda BiYehudah and for his attempt to mediate the disruptive fight between Jacob Emden and Jonathan Eybeschuetz. Born in Poland, Landau attended yeshivot in Ludmir and Brody, where he was appointed a judge in the rabbinic court. He later moved to Prague, where he was appointed chief rabbi and established a yeshiva. Landau was highly esteemed, not just by his own community, but also by others. He also stood in high favor in government circles. Thus, in addition to his rabbinical tasks, he was able to intercede with the government on various occasions when anti-Jewish measures were introduced. Though not opposed to secular knowledge, he objected to "that culture which came from Berlin," in particular Moses Mendelssohn's translation of the Pentateuch into German. He wrote his responsa Noda BiYehudah (named in honor of his father, Yehudah) and a commentary on the Talmud, entitled Tziyyun LeNefesh Chayyah (named in honor of his mother, Chaya), known by the acronym "Tzelach."

Rabbi Yechezkel Panet was a leading rabbi in 19th-century Romania and founder of the Dayzh chasidic dynasty. Born in the town of Bielsko-Biała, Poland in 1783, he studied in Leipnik under Rabbi Boruch Frankel Thumim, in Prague under Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fishel, Rabbi Shmuel Landau, and Rabbi Elazar Fleklis, as well as in Linsk under Rabbi Menachem Mendel Rabin. He also studied with the Vilna Gaon and Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, who became his chief teacher.

Rabbi Yechiel Heilprin was a Lithuanian rabbi, kabbalist, and chronicler. He was rabbi of Hlusk (Glusk) until 1711, when he was called to the rabbinate of Minsk. There, he officiated as head of the yeshiva until his death. Heilprin is especially known for his work Seder HaDorot, a comprehensive historical and biographical chronicle of the Jewish people.

Yechiel Michel Epstein, also known as "the Aruch HaShulchan" after his great halachic work by that name, was a posek and the rabbi of Nevarodok, where he served for 34 years. He was married to the sister of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv). He was known for his charitable works, particularly for his support of the Rebbi Meir Baal HaNeis charity fund which funded the Jews of Eretz Yisrael.

Rabbi Yechiel ben Yekutiel was a member of the Anav family, a prominent and scholarly family in medieval Rome. He was a Judaic scholar, poet, and copyist of the Jerusalem Talmud Leiden manuscript, the only extant complete manuscript of the Jerusalem Talmud. He also authored Ma’alot HaMidot, an ethical treatise that describes 24 positive traits and their significance, and likely authored Tanya Rabbati, a halakhic work largely based on Shibbolei HaLeket, which was written by a relative.

Yedaya HaPenini was a poet, physician, and philosopher in Spain during the 13th and 14th centuries.

16th century Italian scholar, author of a Masoretic commentary on the Bible. It was originally titled "Goder Paretz" by the author, but was published posthumously under the name "Minchat Shai" to commemorate the author's name. (The Hebrew letters שי are the initials of שלמה ידידיה)

Yedidiah Tiah Weil was one of the leading scholars in the second half of the eighteenth century in Central Europe. He came from a line of rabbinic personalities going back to the 13th century Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg. He received his early instruction from his father Netanel, the famed author of Korban Netan'el. In 1744 he married Gitel, daughter of Jacob Eger, a well-to-do resident of Prague. The expulsion of the Jews from Prague led him to Metz in 1745, where he remained until 1748, continuing his studies under Jonathan Eybeschütz. In 1770 he succeeded his father as rabbi of Carlsruhe. His will shows him to have been a man of great piety who was particularly knowledgeable in Kabbalah. He authored many works, only one of which he printed: "HaMarbeh L'Sapeir", a commentary on the Passover Haggadah. Wishing to conceal his identity as the author, he published it anonymously and even wrote an approbation to it to give the impression that it was written by someone else. Other works of his have been published in recent years.

Rav Yehoshua Buch lives in Israel and works for Makhon Orot HaYerushalmi, an institution dedicated to researching the Jerusalem Talmud and reviving the study of “Torat Eretz Yisrael,” or Torah that is unique to the Land of Israel.

After studying at Yeshivat Mir in Jerusalem, he went on to teach at various institutions of learning in Israel, while writing his voluminous commentary on the works of Maharal. He later moved to London, where he is the director of the beit midrash at the Hasmonean High School.

A rabbi and businessman close to the Russian court, he was able to spend much of his time involved in his rabbinic studies and in philantrophy. He supported a cadre of outstanding scholars in his magnificent beit midrash.

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.

Yehuda HeChasid was a leader of the Chasidei Ashkenaz, a 12th- and 13th-century movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany, known for its asceticism and piety. He founded a yeshiva in Regensburg that attracted many students who would later become influential figures, including Eleazar of Worms, Yitzchak ben Moshe of Vienna, better known as the Ohr Zarua, and Barukh ben Shmuel of Mainz.

Halakhic authority affiliated with the National Religious community, author of the Responsa Bnei Banim. He is a grandson of the preeminent 20th century Halakhic authority in America, Rabbi Yosef Eliyahu Henkin.

Yehuda Leib Krinsky was a Belarusian Jewish Hebrew scholar, theologian, businessman, and philanthropist in the late-19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Minsk, he studied Torah and secular studies in his youth. He then moved to Slutzk, where he became wealthy as a timber tradesman and began financially supporting rabbis and Torah scholars. Krinsky moved back to Minsk later in life, where he compiled Mechokekei Yehudah, his only known work.

Rabbi Yehuda ben Barzillai lived in 11th-12th century Barcelona and was a respected legal scholar and author. The word HaNasi (the prince) was often attached to his name, indicating that his family traced its lineage back to the leaders of Babylonian Jewry, and even further, to the dynasty of David. His writings were considered authoritative, especially Sefer HaItim, which primarily contains laws of Shabbat and holidays and is quoted frequently by later authorities. His works are rooted in earlier scholarship, including geonic material, some of which is preserved only through ben Barzillai’s references.

Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, known as the "Sefat Emet," after his best-known work, was a Polish rabbi, Chasidic master, and rebbe of the Gerer Chasidic movement. His father died while he was still a boy, and he was raised by his grandfather, Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter, known as the "Chiddushei HaRim," after his own most famous work. He also served as head of the town's rabbinic court. Upon his grandfather's passing in 1866, he refused to fill his position, instead choosing to submit himself to the leadership of R. Chanoch Henoch of Alexander. When the rebbe of Alexander passed away in 1870, he reluctantly accepted the leadership of the Gerer Chasidim. Under his leadership, Ger became the largest and most influential Chasidic court in Poland. His many works were all posthumously called Sefat Emet, and they include a magisterial collection of Chasidic insights and teachings based on the weekly Torah portion and a scholarly commentary on Talmud. These works are widely studied throughout the Jewish world to this day. Unlike many Chasidic masters, he refused to accept money willingly given by his followers and supported himself from a small store run by his wife. Although he encouraged building and settling in the land of Israel, he was an opponent of the nascent Zionist movement. He died in 1905 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Avraham Mordechai, known as the "Imrei Emet."

Yehudah Yudel Rosenberg, also known as Rav Yudel Tarlow'er after the town of Tarlow where he served as rabbi, was born into a rabbinical family that claimed descent from Yehuda HeHasid. In addition to a thorough traditional education, he learned Hebrew literature and encouraged it's revival. In 1913 he emigrated to Toronto, where he became the rabbi of the Beth Jacob congregation. He was a prolific author, perhaps best known for his translation of the Zohar into Hebrew, as well as his book about the Maharal and the Golem of Prague.

Authored commentary to the Torah in 1313, also known as Minchat Yehudah

Yehudah ben Shimon Ashkenazi was born in Frankfort and served as a dayan on the rabbinical court in Tykocin, Poland. He is best known as the author of a portion of the Ba'er Heitev, a major commentary on the Shulchan Aruch.

Polish author, famed for his exhaustive 3 volume commentary on the Sefer HaMitzvot of R' Saadia Gaon. He was born in Warsaw and studied under R' Yehoshua Leib Diskin in Lomza, The Netziv in Volozhin, and R' Chaim Soloveitchik in Brisk. Upon the loss of his wife in 1926, he moved to the Holy land and settled in Jerusalem. He also wrote "Chibat Tziyon", a commentary on Kaftor V'Ferach, as well as annotations to many other works.

A son of the second Izbizer Rebbe, Rabbi Yaakov Leiner (Beis Yaakov), he was a scholarly relgious writer and editor.

Disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, author of Tzava'at HaBesht.

A Hungarian rabbi who lived in Jerusalem as a child. After his family returned to Hungary, he studied under Avraham Sofer (Ketav Sofer) in Pressburg.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz, born in Riga, studied chemistry, philosophy, and medicine at multiple European universities. He taught at the Hebrew University for almost sixty years and was a prolific writer and speaker. Orthodox in his observance, Leibowitz held controversial religious views, such as that reasons behind commandments are irrelevant and one should observe them for the sole sake of obeying God. He was also a sharp critic of the Israeli government, advocating complete separation of religion and state and accusing some officials of a Nazi mentality with regard to the occupied territories.

Chief Rabbi of Sana'a, Yemen in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, known for his work "Milchamot Hashem" which questions the authenticity and origin of the Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah in general. He founded the 'Dor Deah' movement in Yemen, with the aim of combatting the influence of the Zohar and modern Kabbalah which were then pervasive in Yemenite Jewish life, and to restore what he believed to be a rational approach to Judaism rooted in authentic sources, including the Talmud, Saadia Gaon and especially Maimonides

Yirachmiel Yisrael Danziger was the second Rebbe of the Alexander Chassidic dynasty in Poland. His work, Yismach Yisrael, focuses on practical piety and is widely studied in other Chassidic circles as well. He emphasized ecstatic prayer in worship.

Rabbi Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal was born in Hungary in 1885 from a family of well-known rabbis and Jewish leaders. In 1921 Teichtal became the head of the rabbinic court and Rabbi of Piešťany, Czechoslovakia (present-day Slovakia), where he established the Moriah yeshiva. Originally a staunch anti-Zionist chasid of the Munkatsher Rebbe, Teichtal changed his position on Zionism during the Holocaust. He described his new viewpoints in his book, Em HaBanim Semecha, in which he argued that only rebuilding the land of Israel could bring the ultimate redemption. Teichtal was murdered on a transport train during the closing days of World War II.

Rabbi Yisrael Eisenstein was a 19th-century scholar of Jewish law and chasidut, who served as rabbi in the cities of Bogopol and Nikolaev in present-day Ukraine. He wrote a collection of responsa entitled Amudei Esh, which was published together with some of his commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud entitled Amudei Yerushalayim. His other works, including a commentary on the Book of Joshua, remain in manuscript form.

Rabbi Yisrael Friedman founded the short-lived but influential Ruzhin chasidic dynasty. Born in Pohrebyshche, he became head of its chasidim at 16, following the deaths of his father and older brother. He had little education, but his personality, talent for organizing, and early reputation for holiness gained him a large and loyal following in Pohrebyshche and then in Ruzhin, where he built a palatial home and lived in luxury. Though unusual for chasidic leaders, his followers saw his lifestyle as expressing God’s honor; he and others attested that he avoided personal comforts despite these outer trappings. After legal complications of uncertain merit, he ultimately settled in Sadigura. Rabbi Friedman had six sons, all of whom became leaders of important chasidic groups.

19th-century scholar Yisrael Moshe Chazan, part of a Sephardic rabbinic family, was educated by his grandfather in Jerusalem, where he later served on a rabbinic court. Due to his compelling personality, Rabbi Chazan was asked to travel to fundraise for a new hospital. His reception varied in different cities, as some opposed the project, but his scholarship and character made an impression in Italy and he was asked to serve as chief rabbi of the Roman Jewish community. Similar positions in other cities followed, until illness brought him back in hopes of being buried in Israel; he died and was buried in Sidon.

Israel Bruna (ישראל ברונא) was a German rabbi and Posek. He is also known as Mahari Bruna, the Hebrew acronym for "Our Teacher, the Rabbi, Israel Bruna". He studied under the leading Ashkenazi rabbis of his time: Jacob Weil and Israel Isserlin, who ordained him and spoke very highly of him. He was then elected rabbi of Brno. After the expulsion of the Jews from that city (1454) he settled at Ratisbon, Bavaria, where he opened a yeshivah. His position in Ratisbon caused some controversy, dividing the community. Rabbi Anschel Segal, who already was operating a yeshivah there, felt Rabbi Bruna should have ‎opened his yeshivah elsewhere.‎‎ However, upon the death of Rabbi Segal he was accepted by the whole community. Rabbi Bruna was one of the greatest Talmudic authorities of his time: rabbis and scholars from various cities and countries sent him their queries on all matters relating to Jewish law. These responsa, Teshuvot Mahari Bruna, are his best known work. Importantly, they served as a source of Halakha for Moses Isserles' HaMapah - the gloss on the Shulkhan Arukh describing differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardi practice.

One of the youngest of the disciples of the Vilna Goan, he moved to Palestine, where he first became rabbi of Safed and then Jerusalem. He nevertheless traveled to Europe as an emissary for the Jews living in Palestine.

Rabbi Yisrael ben Yosef Alnaqua was an ethical writer and martyr who lived in Toledo, Spain. He died at the stake in the summer of 1391.

Rabbi Yissachar Eilenburg (1570–1620) was a rabbi in the district of Goritz and later in Austerlitz, Moravia. Born in Posen, he studied in yeshivot in Posen and in Prague. He wrote Be’er Sheva, a series of seven commentaries on the treatises of the Babylonian Talmud for which there are no tosafot commentaries. In the back of this commentary, he included a collection of responsa. Eilenburg also wrote Tzeidah LaDerekh, a supercommentary on Rashi’s Torah commentary.

Rabbi Yitzchak Adarbi was a 16th-century rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Salonica. He was considered a leading halakhic authority at the time, and received questions from all over the Balkans. Divrei Shalom, a collection of 30 sermons he delivered, reflects his efforts to unite the various Salonican Jewish communities. Divrei Rivot is a collection of his responsa, published five years after his death.

Son of Rabbi Alexander Sender, who was the founder of the Komarna dynasty. Orphaned at a young age, Yitzchak Aizik was raised by his uncle, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh of Zhidichoiv. He authored many important Chassidic and Kabbalistic works, frequently quoting the Baal Shem Tov, of whom he considered himself a disciple although he was born after the latter's death. Among his better-known works are "Heichal HaBeracha" on Torah, "Zohar Chai" on the Zohar, and "Shulchan HaTahor" on Shulchan Aruch. A diary in which he recorded supernatural visions he experienced, the existence of which was originally known only to select individuals, has recently been published from manuscripts under the title "Megilat Setarim."

Yitzchak Eizik Epstein was a rabbinic figure at the turn of the 19th century, associated with the Chabad Chasidic movement during its early stages. He served as rabbi of the Chabad community in Homel, in White Russia, and as the head of the rabbinic court and yeshiva there. He wrote several works on Chabad philosophy, halakhah, and Torah commentaries.

Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spector was a 19th-century Russian rabbi and communal leader. He served as rabbi in several communities throughout the Russian empire, was involved in the management of the Volozhin yeshiva and the establishment of other institutions of learning, and authored several works on Jewish law. He was active in opposing anti-semitic decrees of the Russian government, helping the Jewish community in the face of oppression, and supporting the efforts of the Chovevei Tzion proto-Zionist movement.

Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Chaver was a prominent 19th-century scholar and kabbalist, who served as a rabbi in several Lithuanian towns. He was a student of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Shklov, who himself had been a student of the Vilna Gaon. Chaver was among the second generation of students of the Vilna Gaon, who worked to perpetuate the teaching methods of the Vilna Gaon in their generation. He wrote over 35 books on Torah, Jewish law, Jewish thought, and Kabbalah.

He was born and grew up in Toledo. However, due to the inquisition, he first moved to Portugal and then to Turkey. There, he published his masterful commentary on the Torah and raised his nephew, Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Arukh. He eventually went to live in Israel, but it is not clear if he arrived and how and where he died.

A very close student of Rabbi Isaac Nunis-Belmonte, he published many of his teacher's works posthumously. Eventually he became one of the main rabbis of Izmir and published his own commentary on Rambam's Mishneh Torah, as well as other works.

Yitzchak Meir Rotenberg-Alter, also known by his acronym as "The Rim," was the first rebbe of the Ger Hasidic dynasty. He was a Talmudic genius from a distinguished line of German and Polish rabbis that included Rashi and Rabbi Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg. His hasidut was influenced by the Koznitzer Maggid, Reb Simcha Bunim of Prshischa and the Kotzker Rebbe, of whom he was a disciple. He established his own dynasty in the Polish town of Góra Kalwaria, or "Ger," in Yiddish. He is known for his work Chiddushei HaRim on Talmud and Shulchan Arukh. A collection of his insights on Chumash, "Chidushei HaRim al HaTorah", was recently published by a descendant.

Rav Yitzchak Nissim (1896-1981) was the second chief rabbi of the state of Israel, serving between 1955 and 1972. Born in Baghdad, Rav Nissim immigrated to Israel in 1925. He worked as a businessman alongside his rabbinic studies, and published responsa throughout his life. After his death, his son, Professor Meir Benayahu, established Yad HaRav Nissim - an academic publishing house and research institute as well as a beit midrash - in his memory.

Yitzchak Zev (Velvel) Halevi Soloveitchik, also known as the "Brisker Rav" and the acronym "Griz" was the last rabbi of the town of Brisk (Brest, Belarus) before the Holocaust. His father, R. Chaim Soloveitchik, was rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Volozhin, while his maternal grandfather, R. Rafael Shapira was its longtime rosh yeshiva. He was an extraordinary learner and was said to have memorized the entire Babylonian Talmud, along with Rashi's commentary, by age 16. After the closing of the Yeshiva of Volozhin, the family moved to Brisk, where his paternal grandfather, R. Yosef Baer Soloveitchik, was the town rabbi. The position then passed to his father and later to Yitzchak Zev. The Holocaust forced him to flee to Jerusalem, where he maintained a position of non-participation with the Israeli government, including opposition to receiving government funding for yeshivot, after the founding of the state. His children and followers founded several yeshivot in Jerusalem, all known as Brisk.

He lived in France in the second half of the thirteenth century and was one of the scholars whose collective work was recorded in the Tosafot Sens. He also wrote an important commentary on the Torah called Paaneach Raza.

Born in central Europe, his studies took him west to the great Torah luminaries of the day in France. When he returned, he brought their Tosafist approach back to central Europe, first to Wurzburg and then to Vienna. He is most famous for his legal tract, Ohr Zarua. Among his students was Maharam of Rothenburg.

Yitzchak Yosef was born January 16, 1952 in Jerusalem. The son of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, he is the Sephardi Chief Rabbi for the State of Israel (the Rishon Lezion), as well as the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hazon Ovadia. He has written many foundational works for Sephardi Jews in Israel and the world, including Yalkut Yosef, a popular compendium of Jewish Law.

Rabbi Yitzchak ben Mordekhai Gershon was a 12th century German Tosafist. He studied in Regensburg under Rabbeinu Tam and Rabbן Yitzchak ben Asher Halevi (Riva), and later served as the head of the city's bet din. He compiled tosafot to most tractates of the Talmud.

Women advisors on Jewish legal matters trained at Nishmat, an institution for advanced Torah study for women based in Jerusalem

Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin-Nun helped found Yeshivat Har Etzion and the affiliated Herzog Teacher’s College. His novel interpretations, which emphasize close analysis of the biblical text and its connection to the land of Israel, have earned him a reputation as one of the leading Bible scholars of Israel’s religious Zionist community and beyond. In addition to his many articles and books on Torah scholarship, Rabbi Dr. Bin-Nun is also a prolific writer on social and political matters.

Yoel Sirkes was a Polish rabbi, halachic scholar and Talmudic annotator. His best-known work, Bait Chadash, is one of the basic commentaries (together with R Yosef Karo's Beit Yosef) on R. Yaakov ben Asher's halachic code, the Arba'ah Turim. Hagahot Habach are his indispensable glosses on the text of the Talmud. The Taz was his son-in-law.

Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller was a Bohemian rabbi and talmudist. His best-known work, Tosefot Yom Tov, is one of the basic commentaries on the Mishnah. He also wrote Ma'adanei Yom Tov, an important commentary on Piskei HaRosh of Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel. He studied under Maharal of Prague, and served as chief rabbi of Vienna and Prague. Many prominent rabbis of subsequent generations are his descendants.

American rabbi, has served as Av Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council (CRC), dean of Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), and director of the Beth Din of America.

Yonah ben Yisrael Babad was a German rabbi and posek. He lived in Regensburg during the 15th-16th centuries and was closely associated with Rabbi Yisrael Isserlein (Maharai). The influential work on Kashrut, Issur v'Heter HaAruch, has been attributed to him since the 17th century.

12th century French Tosafist and author of a commentary on the Torah and Psalms, as well as a number of liturgical poems. Joseph, a student of Rabbeinu Tam, was also called "Bekhor Shor" — an allusion to Moses' blessing to Joseph in Deut. (33,17).

Yosef Hayyim, also known as the Ben Ish Chai, was the chacham (rabbinic leader) of the Jewish community of Baghdad for over 50 years. He was a prominent authority on halakha and a master kabbalist. His work based on his classes on the weekly Torah reading, the Ben Ish Chai, contains both kabbalistic insights into the Torah portion as well as practical laws for everyday life. He also composed Ben Yehoyada, a commentary on the aggadic portions of the Talmud, and responsa entitled Rav Pe'alim.

He followed the expulsion from Spain and became one of Egypt's leading rabbis, writing one of the most important commentaries on Rambam's Mishneh Torah. He spent the last years of his life in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Yosef Patzanovski was an early 20th-century Polish rabbi and a Chasid of the Ger Chasidic dynasty. He worked as a wood-trader and businessman but spent most of his time learning and writing Torah and Talmud commentaries. Patzanovski published the first three volumes of Pardes Yosef, his celebrated Torah commentary, on the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, between 1930 and 1939. World War II prevented him from publishing volumes on Numbers and Deuteronomy.

19th century Polish rabbi, prolific author, posek, and a leading rabbinical authority of his day. Elected rabbi of Lemberg, he officiated for eighteen years and was a widely recognised rabbinical authority. A wealthy man, he did not take a salary from his community and was known for his charitable nature. His most controversial ruling was permitting the use of machinery to bake Matzah for Pesach, which created a widespread halakhic controversy at the time. He authored many works, most notably his responsa "Shoel U'Meishiv". He died childless in 1875.

An important scholar of halacha, he grew up in Safed, but had to leave several times, before leaving Palestine altogether and settling in Constantinople. There, his stature grew and he become the chief rabbi of Turkey. He wrote several commentaries and volumes of responsa.

One of the mussar movement's oustanding personalities, he established the ascetic approach of Novardok. Besides the yeshiva of Norvodak, he established and had a profound influence on many other institutions of learning.

Early 14th century Spanish Kabbalist, student of Joshua ibn Shuib who was a student of Rashba. Author of a commentary on Sefer Yetzirah (which is mistakenly ascribed to Raavad), a commentary on Midrash Rabbah - Genesis, and other works of which only fragments exist.

Yosef ben Abba Meir ibn Kaspi was a prolific 14th-century author who wrote about philosophy, biblical exegesis, and language. A dedicated follower of Maimonides and Aristotle, Ibn Kaspi traveled a great deal, partly in search of like-minded scholars with whom to study. Ibn Kaspi's biblical commentaries, which focused on the simple meaning of the text, drew criticism from some who felt they added little, and many opposed his extreme views on philosophical issues such as eternity of the universe and limitations on divine knowledge.

Ze'ev Safrai (born 1948, Jerusalem) is an Israeli Professor in the Department for Israel Studies in Bar Ilan University, as well as an author, lecturer and researcher of Israel in the Second Temple era. Along with his father, Professor Shmuel Safrai, and sister, Dr. Chana Safra, he helped compile Mishnat Eretz Yisrael, a socio-historical commentary to the Mishnah.

Zechariah Mendel ben Aryeh Leib of Crakow was a Polish rabbi, and author of the Yoreh Deah and Choshen Mishpat sections of "Ba'er Heitev" on Shulchan Aruch, which is an abridgement of the lengthier commentaries. In 1671 he succeeded his father as rabbi of the Bohemian synagogue in Crakow. In 1689 he was appointed as rabbi of the Galician city Belz.

Zedekiah ben Abraham Anav was an Italian rabbi and posek. He studied in Wurzburg, Germany, under students of the great Ba'al Tosafot, R. Shimshon miShantz. Later, he returned to Rome, the city of his birth, and continued his studies under his uncle, R. Yehudah ben Binyamin. In his old age, he studied mystical interpretations of Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim with the famous itinerant kabbalist and mystic, R. Avraham Abulafia. His work, Shibbolei Haleket, was referenced extensively by subsequent poskim.

Rabbi Zerachiah HaLevi, known as the Ba’al HaMaor, was a 12th-century Spanish rabbi who also lived in Provence. His best-known work, Sefer HaMaor, is a critical commentary on the Halakhot of the Rif that he began writing at the age of 19. He was criticized in turn for his audacity by scholars such as Ramban and Ra’avad, each of whom wrote defenses of the Rif, though they also expressed respect for the Ba’al HaMaor. Other disputes with Ra’avad include a critique of Ra’avad’s Ba’alei HaNefesh and an exchange of letters entitled Divrei Rivot ("Words of Dispute"). He also composed many poems, a number of which are included in Sephardic liturgy.

Zerahiah the Greek was a Jewish ethicist of the Byzantine Empire in the thirteenth or fourteenth century. He is sometimes referred to by his acronymistic name, the "Ra'Za'H." His book Sefer HaYashar, which is often confused with other works by that name, consists of 18 chapters dealing with the ethical principles underlying man's relationship to God.

Rabbi Zev Reichman is the director of the preparatory program at Yeshiva University and a community rabbi in New Jersey. He has also written two motivational books based in Jewish Thought.

A scholar who wrote one of the most important commentaries on Midrash Rabbah, as well as on other midrashic works.

A child prodigy who developed into a famous scholar and rabbi. Immigrating to Holland at the start of World War I, he eventually made his way to Pittsburgh, PA where he was a community rabbi and a prolific writer. While in Holland, he wrote a groundbreaking book on the status of women in Judaism.

Rabbi Zev Wolf Rabinowitz lived in the town of Brisk but relocated several times due to the ravages of World War I. His introduction to his first book, Sha’arei Torat Eretz Yisrael, describes the challenges of that time in detail, including the devastation of losing his home and many Jewish books, but also expresses gratitude that he was able to continue studying Torah and writing during his forced travels. His commentaries on both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds were published posthumously by his son, Yitzchak, while other biblical and legal works have not been printed.

Zvi Hirsch ben Yaakov Ashkenazi (Hebrew: צבי אשכנזי) received instruction from his father, R' Yaakov Zak, and grandfather, R' Efraim HaKohen, and subsequently traveled to Salonica to further his studies. He was ordained by the Rabbinate of Constantinople, who bestowed upon him the honorific Sephardi title "Chakham." While in Greece, he witnessed the effects of Shabbetai Tzvi and consolidated his anti-Sabbatian views. He returned to Moravia, but political upheaval forced him to move first to Altona and then Amsterdam. His time in Amsterdam was fraught with ‎difficulty; much of it spent fighting Sabbatian sympathies. His uncompromising position resulted in major communal instability which forced him to flee ‎the city, first to Emden and then London, where he wielded tremendous influence and was offered the position of Chief Rabbi. He declined, however, and subsequently returned to Emden. An opponent of pilpul, his responsa are held in high esteem for their lucidity and focus. They were published under the title "Responsa of Chakham Tzvi."

Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Chajes was the rabbi of Zolkiev, Galicia, in the early 19th century. He was the author of several works, including glosses to the Talmud, which are printed in the Vilna edition of the Talmud.

Yonatan ben Uziel is considered to have been Hillel’s greatest student. The Talmud describes how his Torah study was so intense that birds flying above him during his studies would burn. He is credited with translating and explaining the Prophets in Aramaic.