ישעיה די טראני

Rav Yeshaya di Trani ben Mali (c. 4925/1165–c. 5000/1240), the RID, was among the greatest of the rishonim of Italy — a commentator on the Mikra, the Mishnah and the halachic midrashim, a commentator on the Talmud and a posek, known in English sources as Isaiah di Trani the Elder. To distinguish him from his grandson Rav Yeshaya ben Eliyahu, the Riaz, he is called Rabbeinu Yeshaya the First, or Rav Yeshaya the Elder. He was born in Trani, but learned in Ashkenaz in the yeshiva of Rav Simchah of Speyer, beside Rav Yitzchak of Vienna, the Or Zarua, with whom he stayed in correspondence after returning to Italy; there he took in much of the way of learning of the Baalei HaTosafot. Back in Italy he became the central Torah figure of the whole region, and questions reached him from beyond it as well. He moved about a great deal — Venice, Constantinople, Alexandria — and went up to Eretz Yisrael twice, the second time toward 5010/1250, in order to be buried there.

He wrote Nimukei HaChumash on the Torah, apparently in his youth; then his chiddushim on Shas, called Tosafot Rid; and when he had finished them, his Piskei Rid and Sefer HaMachria, which sets out lomdishe give-and-take on ninety-two halachic topics. His teshuvot — more than fifty, some halachah l’maaseh and many of them explanations of sugyot he was asked about — were brought out from manuscript in 5727 by Machon Yad HaRav Herzog under Rav Avraham Yosef Wertheimer, who also edited the Piskei HaRid together with the Piskei HaRiaz. A thing unique to him: he went back over his learning and put out further editions of his chiddushim on a masechta, four and five of them, numbering them with care and sending the learner from edition to edition.

The RID did not hold back from differing with those who came before him, saying of himself that he could do so despite their greatness because he stands as a dwarf on the shoulders of giants — an expression he heard, by his own account, from his surroundings. Rashi he calls by the title of honor “the Moreh”, and he differs with him, and with Rabbeinu Chananel and the Rif and the Geonim, as the sugya demands; hundreds of times he differs with his own chiddushim, at times sharply. His grandson the Riaz, who calls him mazeh — mori zkeini haRav — sometimes stands at his side and sometimes against him. The Maharam of Rothenburg set him among the giants, asking who will raise his head against these geonei olam — Rabbeinu Gershom, Rabbeinu Alfasi, the Rambam and Rabbeinu Yeshaya of Trani; Rav Yitzchak of Vienna called him and Rav Eliezer ben Shmuel of Verona the two kings of Israel.

Much of what he wrote was lost. The Tosafot Rid survived in a single manuscript and came to print late, in Lemberg in 5622–5624/1862–1864; from then it was taken up by lomdim and became one of the classic sefarim in learning Gemara, printed on the daf of the Vilna Shas in a number of masechtot. His talmid Rav Tzidkiyahu ben Avraham, author of Shibbolei HaLeket, wrote glosses on his Nimukim in 5057/1297 and brings him often in his pesakim; the manuscript of his commentary on Nach was found in the national library in Paris in 5713 and printed in three volumes.