161 Abraham Gross GERONA: A SEPHARDIC CRADLE OF ...

Ezra Chwat
one sentence later, a reference to an opinion
raised by Nahmanides in his sermon for Rosh ha-
Shanah is titled . This peculiar
term appears 11 times in Yom Tov Asevilli’s
Novellae, usually in reference to Nahmanides as
it is here, describing an idea that Nahmanides is
at it’s foundation, and has been transmitted
through his students. It’s a term used to attribute
authorship in the loosest sense of the word. It’s
used by Nahmanides and other European scholars
in attributing Ba-Midbar Rabbah to Mosheh
ha-Darshan.
For contrast, this term does not appear
even once in all the volumes of Shelomoh ibn
Aderet’s works, Novellae and Responsa. Yet one
should be wary of relying on this method.
On the last page is a mention of Maimonides
as . In Yom Tov Asevilli on
Alfasi (Ta‘anit), for comparison, Maimonides
appears more often than any other source, even
Nahmanides, and almost always appears after the
words .
This reflects his position as a bottom-line
decision maker, but not as a participant in the
debate. This is typical of the Geronese Alfasi compositions
prior to Nissim Gerondi.
Yet we have no reference among the
Geronese scholars to Maimonides as , a
term derived from the Arabic Muallif – composer,
which is why it is first found in Ibn Tibbon, of
12 th century Provence, but remained there, to
become the standard term for Maimonides in
Menahem ha-Meiri of 14 th century Provence.
Even so, this is no reason to disqualify Yom
Tov Asevilli from the authorship of this composition,
precisely because it is that: a composition
of previous sources.
Such is the case in this passage, in which
the author is redacting and incorporating an article
by Isaac of Narbonne, a native of Provence,
into his composition.
Though we haven’t reached a positive conclusion
whether or not Yom Tov Asevilli is the
author of this ms., any advancement towards the
identification is well worth the effort.
There is a talmudic tradition that when a
great talmudist is quoted, his lips move his grave
to recite the quotation. This is a reflection of how
our culture appreciates its intellectual giants of
the past. Unlike in Italy we do not erect statues
to commemorate our heroes, because their words
are their legacy. A true talmudist does not quote
Yom Tov Asevilli, for example, with the term
«Yom Tov Asevilli said» rather, in the present
tense, «Yom Tov Asevilli says» as if his written
words are living.
With this in mind we of the Jewish National
Library, and the Jewish people as a whole, are
indebted to the efforts of Prof. Mauro Perani and
his supporters in Bologna.
In their work they should always remember,
that every word that is reclaimed from these
texts is not merely a matter of preservation, it is
a matter of revival.
Ezra Chwat
The Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts
Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem
POB 34165 Jerusalem 91341 - Israel
e-mail: ezrac@vms.huji.ac.il
SUMMARY
A 32-page manuscript fragment, recently discovered in the Gerona archives, is a copy of a glosssupplement
on the Alfasi Code, tractate Rosh ha-Shanah, and was possibly written by Yom Tov Asevilli.
This is an example of a Rabbinic genre which was one of the most prolific and productive fields of Rabbinic
literature between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries throughout the Rabbinic world. When compared
to parallel texts of this genre produced in the Geronese school founded by Nahmanides, one can
discern the role it played in the stages of development and refinement of these works.
KEY WORDS: Gerona Ms. fragment, Alfasi gloss-supplement, identifying.
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