Shlomo ben Aderet | |
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Personal details | |
Born | 1235 Barcelona, Aragon |
Died | 1310 (aged 74–75) Barcelona, Aragon |
Shlomo ben Aderet (Hebrew: שלמה בן אדרת or Solomon son of Aderet) (1235–1310) was a Medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba (Hebrew: רשב״א), the Hebrew acronym of his title and name: Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet.
The Rashba was born in Barcelona, Crown of Aragon, in 1235. He became a successful banker and leader of Spanish Jewry of his time. He served as rabbi of the Main Synagogue of Barcelona for 50 years. His teachers were Nahmanides and Yonah Gerondi. Among his numerous students were Yom Tov Asevilli and Bahya ben Asher.
ben Aderet was considered an outstanding rabbinic authority, and more than 3,000 of his responsa are known to be extant. Questions were addressed to him from Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Germany, and even from Asia Minor. His responsa, which cover the entire gamut of Jewish life, are concise and widely quoted by halakhic authorities.
ben Aderet's responsa also illustrate his opposition to messianism and prophetic pretensions as a general phenomenon, with examples against Nissim ben Abraham and Abraham Abulafia.