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16 Heshvan 5757 (October 30 , 1996)

Statement of Opinion

In 5746 I was asked by Mr. Doron Witztum to prepare a list of the names and
appellations of 34 Torah sages. The list of sages was presented to me by Mr.
Witztum, and I was told that it was based on the Encyclopedia of Great Men in
Israel (Hebrew; ed. Dr. M. Margalioth). The criteria for inclusion of a
personality in the list was simply that his entry contains at least three
columns of text and that a date of birth or death be specified (day and
month). The list of names and appellations I prepared and forwarded to Mr.
Witztum was later published by him (together with Professor A. Rips and Y.
Rosenberg) in the article "Equidistant Letter Sequences in the Book of
Genesis," in both the first version thereof (from early 5747), pp. 40-42, and
the second version of the above-mentioned article (5748), pp. 16-17. I shall
hereinafter refer to this list as "the first list." A year later, Mr. Witztum
asked me to prepare a second list of names and appellations. This time, the
criteria for inclusion of a personality in the list was that his entry
contains between one and a half and three columns of text and that a date of
birth or death be specified (day and month). I forwarded this additional list
of names and appellations to Mr. Witztum, and it was subsequently published
in the second version of the above-mentioned article (5748) on pp. 25-26. I
shall hereinafter refer to this list as "the second list." At that time I
confirmed that each of these lists of names and appellations "was based on my
own personal judgment and on the examinations I carried out with the
assistance of the database in the Data Retrieval Institute at Bar Ilan
University - the Responsa Project."

At the time, I forwarded to Mr. Witztum only the results and conclusions of
my examinations. I have now been asked by him to clarify my rationale, work
method, examinations and conclusions with regard to the following questions:

1. Does the Responsa database include additional names and appellations
relating to the 32 sages in the second group that were not included in the
second list?
2. If so, what are these names and appellations?
3. And why were they not included in the list?

The following is my answer to these questions, which I have extended to
include the principles I applied in my examination and in the conclusions I
forwarded to you at that time:

Types of appellations: The great Torah sages were given affectionate
appellations which are commonly used by those who study their writings, or
which appear in the writings of their pupils, their pupils' pupils, and all
those who discuss their writings. Some of the appellations, such as "Rambam"
and "the Vilna Gaon," are commonly known, while others are used mainly within
the confines of the Beit Midrash (a Torah academy).

Database for determining the appellations: A researcher who wishes to prepare
a list of these names and appellations must be thoroughly familiar with the
different types of Torah literature, and with the customs used in quoting and
referring to the Jewish sages. For a certain portion of the Torah literature,
we now have access to a new aid that may be of assistance in examining the
data, namely the computerized database of the Responsa project. This database
includes the names and appellations that appear in some 300 responsa works,
and constitutes an important aid in searching this type of rabbinical
literature.

Use of the Responsa database in the computer of the Data Retrieval Institute
at Bar Ilan University: The Responsa database includes a considerable
proportion of the responsa works (approximately 300), with cross-sections
according to period and cultural region. The database also includes the basic
works of Jewish literature (the Bible and commentaries, Mishna, the Talmuds,
the Aggadic Midrashim, and so on). This database is an important aid in
searches relating to the literature of the Poskim (legalists). However, the
existing program does not enable a researcher to ask what are the names and
appellations of a given sage. Consequently the researcher must determine in
advance the appellations for which he wishes to search, and to use the
database to clarify the distribution of particular appellations and their
orthography. Personal judgment must be employed in evaluating the information
in the pool per se, and in evaluating it relative to the information in the
large number of important Halakhic (legal) works not included in the
database, as well as customary practices in the broader literature.

It may certainly be anticipated that sages whose works do not relate
primarily to the field of Halakhic rulings will not appear in the database.
Accordingly,  sages who were Biblical commentators, grammatical scholars
(Medakdekim), poets, Hassidic Zaddikim, Kabbalists (Mekubalim) or
philosophers will not appear in the Responsa database, or at best will appear
a small number of times. Accordingly, this source does not provide a reliable
picture of the different appellations, and the distribution of names and
appellations does not reflect their actual place, importance and value. The
Responsa database did not help us in establishing the appellations of sages
no. 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, 27, 30 and 31 (in the second list).

Professional judgment: In addition to his expertise, the researcher must also
exercise professional discretion in a number of areas, as follows:

(a) As is well known, Torah literature is rich in abbreviations and acronyms,
which relate both to the Halakhic concepts under discussion and to the
various sages. A distinction must be made between a simple abbreviation or
acronym used only at one place or in a particular text, and an abbreviation
or acronym that constitutes an appellation. The yardstick for determining
this point is quite simple: if>

Transfer interrupted!

When I was asked to prepare the list of the names and appellations of the
great Torah sages (the first list), I did not include abbreviations or
acronyms that are not pronounced as a word, since these are not appellations.
The list includes acronyms that are pronounced as a word, such as Rambam
(Rabenu Moshe Ben Maimon), Maharshal (Morenu HaRav Rabbi Shlomo Lurie), and
Maharal (Morenu HaRav Rabbi Liva). The list does not included acronyms not
pronounced as a word, such as: é"á, è"éåú, é"áåð, ø"øäî, etc. Naturally I
acted in the same manner when preparing the second list.

 (Two)  A researcher concerned with the biography of a single person will
also mention the appellations relating to the subject of his work. However, a
researcher preparing a list of names and appellations of individuals and
Torah sages must take account of the fact that some appellations were used
over the generations to refer to several different individuals. A well-known
example of this is the appellation "Maharsha" ("à"ùøäî") referring to Rabbi
Shemuel Eliezer Edels. This appellation is also found on occasions with
reference to other sages, such as: Rabbi Shemuel Aboab, Rabbi Shlomoh
Amarilio, Rabbi Shemuel Eliezer Alfandari and others. In an historical list
of the appellations of Torah sages, Rabbi Shemuel Eliezer Edels will receive
the appellation Maharsha, since he is the most famous of the sages referred
to by this appellation, since his work is the most famous among all Talmud
students in all the Diaspora communities, and since he is known by this
appellation by them.

Another example is when one of the people bearing an appellation is from the
Rishonim (early sages), while the other is from the Acharonim (later
sages).Since in the world of Torah literature the Rishonim enjoy a special
status vis-a-vis the Acharonim, the appellation will be identified with the
Rishon rather than with the Acharon. Thus in the first list I did not mention
the appellation   ù"áéøä (Harivash) as referring to Rabbi Yisrael Ba'al Shem
Tov (the Besht), since this appellation is identified with Rabbi Yitzhak
Bar-Sheshet, one of the Rishonim sages.

Sometimes several sages of equal status are referred to by the same
appellation. Accordingly, those mentioning these sages must clarify to whom
they are referring, by mentioning their books or their full name. In such
cases I am unsure whether or not to take the position that this appellation
is not unequivocally related to a certain sage, and that it constitutes a
simple abbreviation not to be included in the list. In practice, I acted as
follows: If, in the above-mentioned encyclopedia, the appellation is included
in the entry for that sage, I also included it in the list; if not, I did not
include it.
Sometimes the common appellation of a number of sages is not an abbreviation,
but a word or expression. For example, a number of sages were known as
"Ashkenazi" (European). On its own, this appellation does not identify the
sage. This appellation was used in the case of Ashkenazi sages who lived in
Sephardi (Oriental) communities where the appellation was customarily added
to their name. For example, Hakham Zvi (in the first list) was known as Zvi
Ashkenazi, but the appellation "Ashkenazi" did not become his family name and
his son was not called by this name. At most, the term "Ashkenazi" may be
included as part of the full name. The same principle applies to the
appellation "Mizrachi" as used for a Sephardi sage who lives in an Ashkenazi
community. It is true that, over the years, these appellations became
accepted family names (which is why we find Sephardi families with the family
name Ashkenazi).

(c) Many sages are named after the titles of their books. Here, too, the
researcher who encounters such references must discern whether the reference
is to the sage or to his book. For example, one may encounter the expression
   äðùî óñë áøä áúë ("The Rabbi Kesef Mishneh wrote..") This could refer to
Rabbi Yosef Caro, in which case the appellation would be understood as äðùî óñë á"øä
 =äðùî óñë ìòá áøä (HaRav Kesef Mishneh, i.e. HaRav Ba'al Kesef
Mishneh--"the Rabbi who wrote "Kesef Mishneh"). It could, however, refer to a
quotation from Rabbi Caro's book Kesef Mishneh, in which case the reference
would be understood as äðùî óñëá áúë ("he wrote in Kesef Mishneh"). In
general, it may be said that the sages were known by their main and most
famous book. For example, Rabbi Azariah Figo (in the second list) wrote a
well-known book entitled Giddulei Terumah, and another book which also became
quite well known (though less important) entitled Bina Le-Ittim. Let us now
see how he is referred to by the author of Sha'arei Teshuvah (a collection of
excerpts from responsa works on the Orah Haim section of Shulhan Arukh),
Section 223: "And Ba'al Giddulei Terumah...wrote in his work Bina
Le-Ittim..." A similar example is found regarding Rabbi Haim Benbenest (in
the second list). While his most important work is Keneset ha-Gedolah, he
also wrote other works. He is mentioned in the responsa work Yehaveh Da'at
(Part 5, ref. 54) as follows+: "... Ba'al Keneset ha-Gedolah in his responsa
Ba'ei Hayei..." and, op. cit. (Part 6, ref. 49): "... Ba'al Keneset ha-Gedola
in his work Dina de-Hayei..."

Some sages composed a number of works but for various reasons are not known
by these titles. This may be because they became known by another name or
appellation, or because their compositions were not particularly famous or
widely disseminated.

(d) When a sage has two Hebrew first names, such as Moshe Haim (Luzzato, in
the first list), we have the appellation "Rabbi Moshe Haim". When the second
name is influenced by a foreign language, such as Yehoshua Hoeschel (in the
first list), the customary form in writing is Yehoshua Hamekhuneh Hoeschel
("Yehoshua who is known as Hoeschel"), in other words "Hoeschel" is perceived
as an appellation. Accordingly, I distinguished between these names. I
consider his name to be Rabbi Yehoshua, while his appellation is Rabbi
Hoeschel. (provided this appellation was well-known and unambiguous, as
discussed above in section b).

(e) Use of the definite article ( äòéãéä à"ä). Many appellations in the Torah
literature are referred to with the definite article (in fact, the use of the
definite article sometimes proves that the expressions constitutes an
appellation). Thus, for example, we often find the expressions ì"ùøäîä
(HaMaharshal),  à"ùøäîä  (HaMaharsha, both in the first list), and so on. In
general, I included the appellation both with the definite article and
without. However, there are exceptions. For example, Rashi (in the first
list) is not known as é"ùøä (with the definite article). The opposite also
applies - some appellations never appear without the definite article, such
as à"øâä (HaGra; in the first list). Appellations composed of two or more
words do not take the definite article; thus one does not write  óñåé úéáä
(HaBeit Yosef) or  åøà÷ é"øäîä (HaMahari Caro), since this does not conform to
the rules of Hebrew grammar (though various sources may include examples of
irregular expressions of this kind, which do not conform to the rules of
Hebrew grammar).

(f) Sometimes appellations appear with minor variations, such as ì"ùøäî
(Maharshal) or ì"ùøäåî (Moharshal), à"ùøäî (Maharsha) or à"ùøäåî  (Moharsha)
(according to the authors' style, period and location). A similar problem
occurs for the same reasons with such variant forms as ì"ùøä (Harashal) and
ì"ùøäî  (Maharshal),  åøà÷ é"øä (HaRi Caro) and åøà÷ é"øäî  (Mahari Caro). I
proceeded as follows: (1) If one variant is much more common in the database,
I adopted that form. (2) If the variations appear with similar frequency, I
exercised my own professional judgment (based on my knowledge of other
sources).

(g)  It should be noted that new material is added to the Responsa project
database from time to time, both from the basic literature and from responsa
works. Accordingly, appellations from new works may have been added since the
time I composed the two lists.

In reply to your questions: Based on the preceding remarks, my reply is as
follows:
(1) There are additional appellations found in the Responsa database
referring to the above-mentioned sages but not included in the second list.
(2-3) Details of the additional appellations not included, and the reason
they were not included (the following numbers relate to the above-mentioned
second list):

1.  ã"áà à"øä (HaRa Abad) - not pronounced (sounds like  ã"áà òøä
which means "the evil Abad"). ã"áà é"áàø,  ã"áà é"áàøä (Ra'avi Abad, HaRa'avi
Abad) - not included. I do not remember now why not. For the appellation
ã"áà áøä (HaRav Abad), I did not use the form without the definite article
ã"áà  áø (Rav Abad).

2  é÷çöé  à"øäî     .  (Mahara Yitzhaki) -   this seems to be a simple
abbreviation, not an appellation.

6.  éæðëùà à"øä (HaRa Ashkenazi),  éæðëùà à"øäî (Mahara Ashkenazi) -
simple abbreviations, and Ashkenazi is a general appellation (see above,
"Professional Judgment," section b).
 'ä éùòî,  'ã éùòî- simple abbreviations, which are accepted references
for the name  íùä éùòî (Ma'asei HaShem) or  ä\å\ä\é éùòî (Ma'asei
YH-WH).

7. à"ãøäî (Maharda). Appears only in the responsa Seridei Esh, and only
 
when introduced previously as "íéäðôåà ã"øäî 'âä" (Hag[aon] Maharad
 
Oppenheim), and subsequently as à"ãøäî  'âä (Hag' Maharda), thus
proving that this is a simple abbreviation. By the way, with hindsight I
would be inclined to reject the appellation " íéäðôåà ã"øäî"  (Maharad
Oppenheim). à"ãøä (HaRada), too, was included because it appears in the
above-mentioned encyclopedia.

8. As I explained above in the section "Using the Responsa Database," this
 is one of the sages whose appellations are not likely to appear in the
responsa database. I did, however, wish to mention that he is referred to as
"author of the composition Kuzari Sheni (=The Second Kuzari)" (responsa Hatam
Sofer and responsa Melamed le-Ho'il), rather than by reference to the other
name of his book, Mateh Dan. (The name Kuzari Sheni became popular because it
was named after an earlier famous work, The Kuzari, by a different author).

 10.  à"çøäî (Maharha) - this abbreviation is shared by several sages: Rabbi
Haim Abulafia the First, Second and Third; Rabbi Haim Alfandari, etc. Some
(cf. the Encyclopedia Hebraica) prefer to use this appellation for Rabbi Haim
Abulafia the first, rather than the sage referred to here. In the responsa
Mor ve-Ohalot, the author is obliged to refer to him as "Maharha the Latter";
others who mention him are obliged to identify him in some manner (by the
titles of his compositions, etc.). à"çøäåî (Moharha)- rejected for the
above-mentioned reasons (this form is also much less common).
äéôòìåáà,  àéôòìåáà (Abulafia) - this form of the family name is imprecise,
since the Arabic form of the name is "Father of Health" (Abu el-Afia), which
is how it should appear.

 11.   á"éáç áøä (HaRav Haviv), or in a more abbreviated form á"éáçä
(HaHaviv), or in a variant addition,   í"ãà á"éáç (Haviv Adam). These
appellations are based on the acronym for úùðáðá ìàøùé 'øá íééç (=á"éáç
Haviv; Haim Bar Yisrael Benvenisti). This appellation overlooked while I was
preparing the list.
 á"çøäî   (Maharhab) - likewise. If it is to be included in the list, á"çøäåî
  (Moharhab) should be rejected according to section f(2) in the section
"Professional Judgment."

13. ù"çøäåî (Moharhash) - rejected because ù"çøäî  (Maharhash) is much more
common, according to section f(1) above.  éúáù ç"øäî (Maharah Shabbetai) - a
simple abbreviation.

18.  ìéùòä éáø (Rabbi Hoeschel) - à÷àø÷î ìéùòä éáø (Rabbi Hoeschel of Cracow;
no. 14 in the first list) is much better known by this appellation.
  òùåé éáø (Rabbi Yosha) - an appellation shared by several sages; for
example, Ba'al HaSema (no. 15 in the first list) is better known by this
appellation. Moreover, I do not see this appellation as unambiguous even in
the case of Ba'al HaSema.

19.  éðàøèî é"øä (HaRi Mitrani) - usually refers to the well-known Rishonim
 ã"éøä (HaRid) and æ"àéøä (HaRiaz).
 éðàøè  é"øäî (Mahari Trani),  éðàøèî é"øäî (Mahari Mitrani) - I do not
recall why these were rejected.  éðàøè é"øäåî     (Mohari Trani),
éðàøèî   é"øäåî (Mohari Mitrani) - less widespread than the above-mentioned
appellations.

 21.  á"éøäî (Mahariv) - attributed to various sages, including Rabbi Yisrael
Bassan and Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin, but most associated with the best-known
among these sages -  àðåøá é"øäî (Mahari Bruna). á"éøäåî (Mohariv) - likewise.

  (áø éá) áøéá é"øä (Hari Beirav (Bei Rav)) - much less common than  (áø éá) áøéá é"øäî
 (Mahari Beirav (Bei Rav)).   (áø éá) áøéá é"øäåî(Mohari Beirav (Bei
Rav)) - much less common than Mahari Beirav (Bei Rav).
ø"áéøäî (Maharibar),  ø"áéøäåî (Moharibar) - minor variants on ø"áéøä
(Haribar), rejected according to section f(2) above.

22. æéâç (Hagiz) - rejected because it is clear from his son's introduction
to his father's book Halakhot Ketanot, that the correct spelling is with an
Aleph (æéâàç). æéâàç é"øäî (Mahari Hagiz) - I do not remember why this was
omitted. ç"éøäî (Maharih) - identified with a Rishon sage quoted frequently
in Hagahot Asheri (Rabbi Yehezekiah of Magdeburg).

23.  ì"âñ é"øä (HaRi Segal) - much less common that  ì"âñ é"øäî (Mahari Segal).
 éåìä é"øä (Hari Halevi) - this usually refers to a Rishon sage, ùàâî ïáà é"øä
(HaRi Ibn-Migash).  ïéìåî é"øä (HaRi Molin) - much less common than
ïéìåî  é"øäî (Mahari Molin). ì"éøäåî (Moharil) - much less common than ì"éøäî
 (Maharil).

24. A number of variants have developed from the basic form of õ"áòé
(Yaabez): õ"áòéø (Riyaabez), õ"áòéøä (HaRiyaabez), õ"áòéøäî  (Mahariyaabez). I
chose õ"áòéøä  (HaRiyaabez) but rejected õ"áòéø (Riyaabez), because I saw it
as a simple abbreviation; this latter form occurs almost exclusively in
Iggerot Mosheh. õ"áòéøäî (Mahariyaabez) - appears as often as  õ"áòéøä
(HaRiyaabez), but rejected according to section f(2) above. Another form
 õ"áòé é"øäî (Mahari Yaabez) exists (it appears in the Hatam Sofer); this
appellation also reflects the name Yisrael, which was associated with this
sage. I overlooked this form.

27. As is clear from the list, the forms  àúåëæ í"øäî (Maharam Zacuta) and
  åúåëæ í"øäî (Maharam Zacuto) were overlooked. See the comment above in the
section "Use of the Responsa Database," to the effect that this database
cannot be used to determine the accepted appellation for úåëæ äùî éáø (Rabbi
Moshe Zacut).

30. The database includes the abbreviations  é÷éø ç"òøäåî (Moharah Ricchi) but
this was rejected, because it is not pronounced.  é÷éø ò"øä (HaRa Ricchi) -
rejected because it is not pronounced. See the comment above in the section
"Use of the Responsa Database," to the effect that this database cannot be
used to determine the accepted appellation for the Kabbalist   
é÷éø éç ìàåðîò éáø (Rabbi Immanuel Hai Ricchi).

31.  éáòøù ù"øäî (Maharash Shar'abi),  éáòøù ù"øäåî (Moharash Shar'abi) -
simple abbreviations. See the comment above in the section "Use of the
Responsa Database," to the effect that this database cannot be used to
determine the accepted appellation for the Kabbalist éáòøù íåìù éáø (Rabbi
Shalom Shar'abi).

General comment: All the appellations of sages based on the names of their
books are exactly as they appear in the list. If there are other appellations
of this form that appear in the database but are not included in the list of
appellations, they were rejected according  to "Personal Judgment," section
C.

S. Z. Havlin