rabbis, and Asher took an extreme stand on the issue,
totally negating the option and deeming it sacrilegious
and contrary to the nature of the halakhic procedure.
This bitter argument went on for many years, and it
fi nally brought about a breach between Asher and Rabbi
Israel of Toledo, who for many years had been a friend
and colleague of his.
A similar ambivalence existed in his relations with
Ibn Adret, whom he admired and to whom he wrote with
extreme respect. But the striking fact is that throughout
Asher’s responsa Ibn Adret is not quoted more than once
or twice, and only a few more times in his monumental
Pisqey ha-Rosh. Similarly, Asher is scarcely ever men-
tioned in Ibn Adret’s work or that of his pupils [neverthe-
less, the Tosafot ha-Rosh were cited by Ibn Adrets pupil
Zerah yah b. Isaac ha-Levy of Zaragoza, prior to 1411]..
The two rabbis admired each other deeply, but when
dealing with halakhic issues they stuck to their native
traditions, thus creating in Spain two distinct “camps”
whose strong infl uence can be detected up to the time
of the Expulsion. Asher was the fi nal link in the long
chain of Franco-German inroads into Spanish rabbinic
literature and culture, the origins of which can be traced
to Jonah Gerundi.
[Ed. note: Asher, as noted above, achieved great
renown through his yeshivah in Toledo, which was
maintained after his death by his eldest son, Jacob.
Students came from ail over Europe—Germany, France,
Bohemia, and other lands—to study under Asher. Since
these students obviously did not know Spanish, and it is
indeed doubtful that Asher himself knew that language,
it is probable that the language of instruction was He-
brew. Illustrious students of Asher included Yeru.ham b.
Meshullam of Provence, who later wrote the halakhic
work Toldot Adam ve-H ava;. Estoriy ha-Far.hiy, author
of a noted work that is still a valuable source of the ge-
ography of Palestine, Kaftor ve-pera.h (which contains
important references to his teacher); Isaac b. Joseph
Israeli, who as noted composed at Asher’s request an
important work on astronomy; Abba Mari b. Moses of
Lunel, who later lived in Montpellier and was a central
fi gure in the “Maimonidean controversy”; Yissakhar b.
Yequtiel, whose sister married Asher’s son Solomon,
and who wrote an abridgment of the important halakhic
work Sefer ha-teru-mot of Samuel b. Isaac ha-Sardi;
and many others. Asher had eight (not seven, as some-
times stated) sons. In order of their birth they were
Ye.h iel, who died while Asher was still alive; Solomon
(known as “the pious”); Jacob; Judah (who took his
father’s place as rabbi in Toledo; author also of several
responsa); Eliakim; Moses; Eli‘ezer; and Simon. The
tombstones of many of the family, including sons, grand-
sons, and their wives, were extant in Toledo in the last
century, and the inscriptions have been published.]
See also Maimonides
Further Reading
Baer, Yitzhak. A History of the Jews in Christian Spain (Phila-
delphia, 1966), vol. 1.
Freimann, Alfred. “Ascher ben Jechiel.” Jahrbuch der jüdisch-lit-
erarischen Gesselschaft 12 (1918):237–317. Hebrew version,
ha-Rosh ve-s.es.a ’av (Jerusalem, 1986).
Galinsky, Yehuda D. “Arba’ah m-urim ve-ha-sifrut ha-halakhtit
shel Sefarad be-meah ha-14.” (Bar-Ilan University, 1999;
dissertation).
Greene, Wallace. “Life and Times of Judah b. Asher.” (New York,
Yeshiva University, 1919; dissertation).
Ta-Shma, I. “Shiqulim fi losofi ’im be-hakhra’at ha-halakhah
[Heb.],” Sefunot 16 (1985): 99–110.
——. “Rabbenu Asher u-veno Rabbi Ya‘aqov—bein Ashkenaz
le-Sefarad [Heb.],” Pe‘amim 46–47 (1991): 75–91.
——. “Rashi-Rif-and Rashi-Rosh.” In Rashi,‘iyyunim be-
yes. irato, ed Z. A. Steinfeld. (Bar Ilan University, 1993), pp.
209–20.
Urbach, E[phraim] E. “She’elot u-teshuvo ha-Rosh be-kit-
vey yad u-ve-defusim.” Shanaton ha-mishpat. ha-‘ivriy 2
(1975):1–153.
——. Ba‘aley ha-tosafot (Jerusalem, 1980), pp. 586–99, and
index, passim
Israel Ta-ShmaAUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY
(d. by 609)
First archbishop of Canterbury. Little is known about
Augustine’s early life beyond the fact that he was a pupil
of Felix, bishop of Messana in Italy, and subsequently a
monk and then prior of St. Andrew’s Monastery on the
Caelian Hill, Rome.
In 596 Pope Gregory I selected Augustine to lead a
mission of monks to convert the English. The political
climate in England was favorable for the venture, since
Kent enjoyed close contact with the Christian Franks;
in particular Æthelberht of Kent, overlord of the Eng-
lish kings south of the Humber, had married a Frankish
princess, Bertha, who practiced the faith with her own
chaplain. Nevertheless, Æthelberht was initially wary
of the missionaries, and he insisted on meeting them
outdoors, where hostile magic could less easily harm
him. Augustine and his companions met him on the Isle
of Thanet, approaching (as Bede records) with a silver
cross and an icon of Christ.
At fi rst Augustine operated from the old Roman
church of St. Martin, where Bertha had practiced her
devotions, but by ca. 602–03 he had repaired another
Roman church, which he dedicated to Christ (Christ
Church, Canterbury). Nearby he began to construct a
monastery (known initially as St. Peter’s, subsequently
as St. Augustine’s), to become a necropolis for Kentish
kings and archbishops. Augustine presumably founded
a school at Canterbury to provide converts with the
learning they needed as clerics. The books and materials
he had brought were augmented by further dispatches
from Rome. The impact of writing was rapidly felt in theAUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY