Abraham ben Isaac

Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne (c. 1110 – 1179) was a Provençal rabbi, also known as Raavad II, and author of the halachic work Ha-Eshkol (The Cluster).

Abraham ben Isaac was probably born at Montpellier. His teacher was Moses ben Joseph ben Merwan ha-Levi, and during the latter's lifetime Abraham was appointed president (Av Beth Din) of the rabbinical board of Narbonne – composed of nine members – and was made principal of the rabbinical academy. In the latter capacity he taught two of the greatest Talmudists of Provence – namely, Abraham ben David III, who afterward became his son-in-law, and Zerahiah ha-Levi. Abraham ben Isaac died at Narbonne in 1179.

Like most of the Provençal scholars, Raavad II was a diligent author, composing numerous commentaries upon the Talmud, all of which, however, have been lost with the exception of that upon the treatise Baba Batra, of which a manuscript has been preserved in Munich. Numerous quotations from these commentaries are to be found in the writings of Zerahiah Gerondi, Nahmanides, Nissim Gerondi, and others. Many of his explanations of Talmudical passages are also repeated in his responsa which give his method of treatment. In Abraham's comments on the Talmud he seems to have taken Rashi as his model; for they are marked by the same precision and clearness of exposition. An idea of this writer's Talmudical knowledge may be gathered from his book Ha-Eshkol (three parts of which were published by M. Auerbach, Halberstadt, 1867–68).

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