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Ritva

Ritva

1260 CE1320 CE · Rishonim · Seville

Yom Tov ibn Ashbili, known as the Ritva (acronym for Rabbi Yom Tov), was a leading Spanish Talmudist of the 13th–14th centuries. Born in Seville, he lived mostly in Zaragoza and was a prominent student of the Rashba (Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet) and the Re'ah. The Ritva became renowned for his sharp novellae (chidushim) on the Talmud, which combined rigorous logical analysis with careful attention to geonic sources and earlier medieval commentaries. Though he left no comprehensive code, his scattered responsa and talmudic glosses exercised considerable influence on later Spanish and European Jewry. He was known for his independence of mind and his willingness to challenge received interpretations when textual evidence warranted it.

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Stop 1 of 21260Born

SevilleסיביליהAndalusia — pre-expulsion Castilian center

What they did here

Born in Seville (c.1260), where he was the rabbi and head of the Yeshiva of Seville. [Wikipedia]

About Seville

Seville's Jewish community was one of the largest in Castile before the 1391 massacres, which began here under the agitation of Archdeacon Ferrand Martinez. The destruction of the Sevillian Jewish community signaled the start of Iberian Jewry's century-long decline toward the 1492 expulsion.

In Seville at the same time

David Abudarham

See other sages who lived in Seville

In the same place & time

Sages whose lives overlapped with Ritva’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.

In the same tradition

Ra'ah, Bachya ben Asher, David Abudarham

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with Ritva’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Works(2)

Chiddushei HaRitvaחידושי הריטב״א

Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1290

Talmudic novellae and analytic commentaries on most tractates of the Talmud, focusing on logical methodology and resolution of contradictions.

Full text not yet available in our corpus.

Shut HaRitvaשו״ת הריטב״א

Zaragoza (Saragossa) · 1310

Responsa collection addressing halakhic questions on matters of law and practice from his contemporaries and students.

Full text not yet available in our corpus.

Related figuresRa'ahYehiel of ParisRambanRashbaSuggested by shared subject matter, not a documented teaching relationship.