Abraham ben Isaac of
Narbonne lived during the middle of the 12th century. He was the leading legalist
and spiritual leader of Provence. Abraham studied under Meshullam b. Jacob
of Lunel. He also spent some time in Barcelona, where he became very familiar
with R. Judah b. Barzillai's work, Sefer Ha-Ittim.
Upon his return to Provence, Abraham ben Isaac became the head of Narbonne's
Jewish court. Benjamin MiTudelo described him as head of his yeshiva. Among
his students was Abraham b. David of Posquieres.
Abraham ben Isaac wrote a commentary on the entire Talmud. He answered many
halachic responsa, frequently citing Joseph ibn Migash as an authority.
He is best- known for his book Sefer HaEshkol. In it, Abraham ben Isaac excerpted
and summarized the traditions written in Judah b. Barzilai's voluminous Sefer
Ha-Ittim. This introduced Spanish Jewish customs to southern France. At the
same time, ben Isaac included and incorporated the different rituals and customs
of Narbonne. He also commented on regulations and rituals practiced by North
France's Jewry. He included them as law as he thought best.
Sefer HaEshkol encouraged French Jewry to take more seriously the scholarship
of Spanish Jewry and to see the similarities in their customs and rituals.
He was one of the first cultural/religious bridges between Sephardic and Ashkenazic
customs.
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