Shlomo ben Aderet

Shlomo ben Aderet (or Solomon son of Aderet) (1235-1310), universally known to scholars of Judaism as the Rashba (the acronym for his Hebrew name), was a Medieval rabbi, Halakhist, and famous Talmudist.

The Rashba was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1235. He grew up to be a successful banker and leader of Spanish Jewry of his time. He was taught by Nahmanides (the Ramban) and Rabbeinu Yona .

Responsa

In his spare time he wrote a great deal of responsa. His responsa, covering the entire gamut of Jewish life, are concise and widely quoted by many halakhic authorities. While he defended Maimonides during the debates over his works, he was opposed to the philosophic-rationalistic approach to Judaism, and was part of the Beit Din (Jewish court) in Barcelona that banned the study of philosophy before the age of twenty-five. A collection of the bans and counter-bans put forth in this period are collected in the work Minchat Kena'ot.

Other works

The Rashba wrote several other works:

• Hiddushei HaRashba, a commentary on the Talmud
• Torat HaBayit, a commentary on Kashrut
• Mishmeret HaBayit, a defense against the critique of the Ra'ah
• Sha'ar HaMayim, a work focusing on the laws of a mikveh, and several other specialized topics.

Among his numerous students were the Ritva and Rabbeinu Bechaye .