rabbis in the west (1000– 1500 ce) 319
interest in Jewish biblical scholarship in northern Europe in the high
and late Middle Ages. Influence in the reverse direction is more difficult
to show, although the mnemonic PaRDeS, which became popular in
rabbinic circles from the late thirteenth century as a means of referring
to four different ways to interpret the Bible (peshat, ‘plain meaning’;
remez, ‘allusion’; drash, ‘homiletical interpretation’; sod, ‘mystical
meaning’), may well have some connection to the medieval Christian
notion of the fourfold senses of scripture. But Rashi himself, despite his
integration into the secular world of Troyes and his knowledge of ind-
ustry, agriculture and trade, seems not to have known Latin and to have
worked without demonstrable influence from the non- Jewish intellec-
tual world of his day.
Rashi’s motivation in explicating the scriptures for a wide Jewish read-
ership of moderate education – he assumes a basic knowledge of the
biblical text, so was not concerned to reach out to the totally ignorant –
seems to have been the same as that which led to his detailed commentary
on almost the whole of the Babylonian Talmud. His commentary lays out
the arguments found in the Talmud with great clarity, making no attempt
to go beyond the talmudic text into the later developments of the
halakhah, in marked contrast (as we have seen) to those who used the
Talmud as the base for their own halakhic innovations. What ensured
that Rashi’s commentary superseded all those before it was his unique
ability to clarify the methodology of the Talmud, unravelling the con-
struction of complex passages, explaining unusual terms, providing
quasi- historical background and realistic descriptions to illuminate tal-
mudic stories and generally bringing the text alive. It was an extraordinary
achievement, and has ensured that his commentary remains the standard
accompaniment to talmudic study after nearly a thousand years despite
the numerous disagreements with his specific interpretations raised by his
pupils and successors. Rashi’s writings touch frequently on such favourite
themes as the unique relationship of Israel with God and the value of
prayer, Torah study and modesty. But his aim and legacy are encapsulated
less in what he himself said than in the educational revolution he facili-
tated, especially through his Talmud commentary, by bringing the esoteric
world of the Talmud within the reach of a far greater range of readers
than had been possible in previous generations.^11
Among Rashi’s most impressive students and trenchant critics were a
number of his grandsons, the offspring of his three daughters, who car-
ried on his tradition of Talmud study under the shadow of the First
Crusade (1095– 6) and the Rhineland persecutions of the following