316 A History of Judaism
Germany (where the Rosh had studied) and in Toledo in Spain, where
he became head of the rabbinic academy in 1305, but in the view of
Yaakov too much uncertainty remained. The solution adopted by
Yaakov was to organize the halakhah in his Arba’ah Turim according to
a novel arrangement of four ‘rows’ (in memory of the four rows of pre-
cious stones in the breastplate of the High Priest): Orah Hayyim, for
daily duties such as blessings; Yoreh De’ah for ritual law such as dietary
regulations; Even haEzer for family law; and Hoshen Mishpat for civil
law. In marked contrast to Maimonides in the Mishneh Torah, Yaakov
cited the authorities on which his decisions had been based. His was a
severely practical code which left out all the law which had no longer
been applied since the destruction of the Temple some twelve and a half
centuries before. Its influence was to be considerable.^6
For all these methods in the development of the halakhah, authority
derived from the learning or intellectual acumen of the sages concerned,
as recognized by their fellow rabbis. Some of these authorities, such as
Yaakov b. Asher himself, declined to accept any rabbinic appointment.
He preferred to devote himself to legal study despite living in poverty.
Some halakhists were said to be of exemplary piety, but such a rep-
utation was not necessary for acceptance of the legal rulings if the
rulings themselves were deemed to deserve respect. Quite exceptional
were the techniques used by a certain Jacob, from Marvège in south-
central France, who wrote down in his Responsa from Heaven the
halakhah revealed to him in dreams as a reply to his queries to God:
I asked, on the night of the third day, the nineteenth day of Kislev, if this
had come to me from the Lord or if not. This is how I asked it: O Supernal
King, The Great, Mighty and Awesome God, Who keeps His covenant of
mercy to those who love Him, keep Thy covenant of mercy with us. Com-
mand Thy holy angels appointed to give replies to questions put in dreams
to reply to me that which I ask from before Thy glorious Throne. Let it be
a true and correct reply, each thing in its place, clearly defined, whether in
connection with Scripture or with legal rulings, so that no further doubt
will be possible. Behold, I ask: All those things that came into my mouth
as a result of the questions I asked concerning the immersion of those who
have had a seminal emission, did these things come to me by the holy
spirit? Is it advantageous and correct to reveal them to my son- in- law,
Rabbi Joseph, and to instruct him to inform the sages of the land of them,
or did they come to me by another spirit so that they have no advantage
and it is better for me to conceal and hide them? They replied: They were