Goldfoot Genealogy

Nadene Goldfoot                                         

RASHI Rabbi Solomon Yitzhak born in France 1040, died 1105. Most well known commentator on the Bible Later rabbis used his comments  such s Nahmanides (1194-1270)  and Abraham Ben Ezra in their interpretation of the Torah (Pentateuch).   Prayer books in synagoges still contain his name with commentary  At the time of the Dark Ages, Abraham ibn Ezra (1089-1164)  was a scholar and poet who came from Spain, a Sephardi rabbi.  By 1140 he started journeying and visited Italy, France, England, and perhaps even got to Palestine.  He wrote in Hebrew and wrote secular and sacred poems, riddles and epigrams that were collected and published.  He was another Bible commentarian.  He happened to also be a Hebrew grammarian of importance and translated works from the Arabic and wrote several original grammatical compositions.  As if this wasn't enough, he was a scientist and author of several studies on astrology in which he firmly believed.  His son Isaac also followed his father's lead and was a poet who lived in the Middle East  for a period, he even professed Islam.  Records say "for a period," so I take it that he returned to Judaism.  In those days it was a new religion, having started in about 632 with the death of Mohammad.  Muslims were concentrating on gaining believers.

Moses gave us our Torah, and the Prophets gave us the rest, so that we have our Tanach (Old Testament).  That wasn't the end, however.  That was just the beginning for our Jewish religion.
                                                                       

The first century saw the creation of rabbis since the 2nd Temple was destroyed in 70 CE causing all Jerusalemites to be taken as slaves or slaughtered unless they managed somehow to escape or leave before the event happened. 
                                                                           
How to understand and interpret and carry out our laws was another thing involving much study.  Rabbis in Palestine and rabbis in Babylon worked on such a project, each finally coming up with the Palestinian Talmud and a Babylonian Talmud about sometime between 200 and 400 CE.  Talmud means Teaching.  They were the records of academic discussions of Jewish Law by generations of well known scholars and jurists in the many academies and in more than one country during those several centuries.
                                                                             
Each one consists of the Mishnah with a gemara, which is both a commentary on and a supplement to the Mishnah.  The Mishnah has the core of our Oral Law, compiled by Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi from previous collections and arranged in a logical order.  These dealt mainly with religious laws about agriculture, another dealing with the laws of the Sabbath and festivals.  Another topic was Women which dealt with the laws of marriage, divorce and vows people take.  Damages was a topic dealing with the treatment of civil and criminal laws.  Holy things was another which covered slaughtering animals for food (kosher laws).  All this was carefully organized to make it easier to find and deal with.                                                                 
                                                                       
                                                             

The Oral Law, handed down by Moses, to each generation orally.  It was given by Moses along with his written law.  He had been an Egyptian prince and was an educated man, skilled in writing.  During the days of the 2nd Temple, the Pharisees and general population  upheld this Oral Law.  The Sadducees and Essenes didn't and had their own traditions regarding the interpretation of the Written Law.  These sects disappeared after the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE and the Oral Law was studied in the many academies, for the people were hungry to learn.  Each place had their own way of teaching.  Their discussions remained orally only without being written down.

When the Torah is written, it is done by a trained scribe (Sopher) according to careful regulations.  If one mistake is made, the whole scroll is discarded, usually buried.
                                                                       
That wasn't enough for these scholars.  The Tosaphot came into being.  These were important explanations on the Talmud by French and German scholars from the 12 through the 14th centuries. In the beginning, they were supplements to  the French Rabbi, Rashi and his Talmud Commentary.  These rabbis would frequently criticize and modify Rashi's decisions.

Supposedly, Rashi is my ancestor and that of others as well. He was a French rabbinical scholar who studied in the Rhineland and then returned to Troyes, France where he had a school.  While he earned his living from his vineyard, he taught his students and gained  a wide reputation for his brilliance.  He was famous for his rational commentary on the Tanakh and the Babylonian Talmud.  He was known for presenting the direct rational meaning of the text.  He brought in the Midrash to his students as well.
                                                                         

Lilith and Eve

    The Midrash was a book  with emphasis on finding new meanings besides the literal meanings.  There was the tradition dealing with the scriptures that certain rules were followed to deduce such hidden and new meanings.  Sometimes the Midrash established the law.  In others, it found  needed support for laws already accepted.  The whole book is full of midrashic verses.  Midrash is now used mainly with the legend and ethics of the Bible.   "It goes beyond simple distillation of religious, legal, or moral teachings. It fills in gaps left in the biblical narrative regarding events and personalities that are only hinted at. It contains both halakah and haggadah, revealing the divine presence of the eternal Torah in the text." 

These were scholars of higher learning.  They dedicated their lives to understanding our laws which were given to benefit us in our lives.           

Resource:  The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia