Background
The Rosh was probably born in Cologne, Holy Roman Empire, in 1250.
The Rosh was probably born in Cologne, Holy Roman Empire, in 1250.
He studied in his native Germany; his teachers included his father and uncle, both distinguished scholars of the school of medieval pietists. After time in France, he moved to Worms, where his teacher was Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg.
When Meir was imprisoned and held for ransom, Asher succeeded him as head of the Jewish community of Ashkenaz (France and Germany).
He worked for the reconstruction of the German communities after massacres in 1298 and also for Meir’s release, but when he realized that he himself was in danger of suffering a similar fate, he left Germany in 1303.
In the following year he reached Spain, where he became rabbi of the prestigious community of Toledo. He arrived without means and died poor, living on a small salary.
Although Spanish Jews were very different from those in Germany, Asher’s learning and personality ensured that his authority was recognized throughout the country. Difficult legal queries were submitted to him from many quarters and his influential role was endorsed by the royal court.
Students flocked to his rabbinical academy from as far away as Russia.
Over 1,200 of his responsa (replies to legal queries) are known.
His legal works comprise commentaries on parts of the Mishnah and Talmud; discussions of problems in the Talmud; and a codification of Jewish law that abstracts the legal parts of the Talmud, adding the views of subsequent rabbinic scholars, for the first time combining the views of the German and Spanish rabbinical authorities. This work was to form the basis for the definitive code, the Turim, written by his son, Jacob ben Asher.
He became involved in the controversy over the study of philosophy. He felt that the ban imposed by Solomon ben Abraham Aderet on the pursuit of philosophy by students below the age of twenty-five did not go far enough and would have preferred an absolute ban on such education. He eventually endorsed Adret’s ruling but insisted that this should not be taken as any sort of support for philosophy.
Asher contributed to every branch of rabbinic learning. Sometimes he opposed customs that he found prevalent in Spain because they had emerged from the Christian environment. These included the provision that women receive equal rights in inheritance, the grant to eldest sons of the entire inheritance, and the custom of forcing a husband to give a divorce if his wife said she did not wish him to continue to be her husband.