Everything about Rabbenu Gershom totally explained
Gershom ben Judah, (c.
960 -
1040? -
1028?) best known as
Rabbeinu Gershom (
Hebrew:
רבנו גרשום, "Our teacher Gershom") and also commonly known to scholars of
Judaism by the title
Rabbeinu Gershom Me'Or Hagolah ("Our teacher Gershom the light of
the exile"), was a famous
Talmudist and
Halakhist.
Rashi of
Troyes (d. 1105) said less than a century after Gershom's death, "all members of the
Ashkenazi diaspora are students of his." As early as the
14th century Asher ben Jehiel wrote that Rabbeinu Gershom's writings were "such permanent fixtures that they may well have been handed down on
Mount Sinai."
About 1000 CE Gershom called a
synod that decided the following particulars, altering the practice of
Rabbinic Judaism: (1) prohibition of
polygamy; (2) necessity of obtaining the consent of both parties to a
divorce; (3) modification of the rules concerning those who became
apostates under compulsion; (4) prohibition against opening correspondence addressed to another.
Biography
Born in
Metz in
960, Gershom was a student of
Judah ben Meir ha-Kohen (
Sir Léontin), who was one of the greatest authorities of his time. Having lost his first wife, Gershom married a widow named Bonna and settled at
Mayence (
Mainz), where he devoted himself to teaching the
Talmud. During his lifetime
Mainz became a center of
Torah and
Jewish scholarship for many Jewish communities in
Europe that had formerly been connected with the
Babylonian yeshivas. He was the spiritual guide of the fledgling
Ashkenazic Jewish communities and was very influential in molding them at a time when their population was dwindling.
Students came from all over Europe to enroll in his
yeshiva, and later dispersed among various communities in Germany and beyond which helped spread Jewish learning. He had many pupils from different countries, among whom should be mentioned
Eleazar ben Isaac (ha-Gadol ="the Great"), nephew of
Simeon ha-Gadol; and
Jacob ben Yakar, teacher of
Rashi. The fame of his learning eclipsed even that of the heads of the academies of
Sura and
Pumbedita.
His life conformed to his teachings. He had a son, who forsook his religion at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Mayence in 1012. When his son converted to become a
Christian R. Gershom grieved and observed the strictures of mourning for 14 days, double the required time for an actual death. However, he did apparently rule leniently regarding those who had submitted to
baptism to escape persecution, and who afterward returned to the Jewish fold. He strictly prohibited reproaching them with infidelity, and even gave those among them who had been slandered an opportunity to publicly pronounce the benediction in the
synagogues.
Teachings
Questions of religious
casuistry were addressed to him from all countries, and measures which he authorized had legal force among all the Jews of Europe. About 1000 CE he called a
synod which decided the following particulars: (1) prohibition of polygamy; (2) necessity of obtaining the consent of both parties to a divorce; (3) modification of the rules concerning those who became
apostates under compulsion; (4) prohibition against opening correspondence addressed to another.
Works
Gershom's literary activity wasn't less fruitful. He is celebrated for his works in the field of
Biblical exegesis, the
Masorah, and
lexicography. He revised the text of the
Mishnah and
Talmud, and wrote commentaries on several treatises of the latter which were very popular and gave an impulse to the production of other works of the kind. His
selichot were inspired by the bloody persecutions of his time. Gershom also left a large number of rabbinical
responsa, which are scattered throughout various collections.
He is the author of
Seliha 42 -
Zechor Berit Avraham ("Remember the Covenant of Abraham"), a liturgical poem recited by Ashkenazic Jews during the
season of Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur.
"The
Holy City and its regions
are turned to shame and to spoils
and all its desirable things are buried and hidden
and nothing is left except this
Torah."
Synod and bans
He is famous for his religious
bans within
Judaism, which include:
- The prohibition of polygamy for 1,000 years.
- The prohibition of divorcing a woman against her will.
- The prohibition of reading private mail.
His bans are considered binding on all of Ashkenazic Jewry until the present day, although the reasons for this are controversial. Some hold that the bans are still binding and others consider them to have expired but nonetheless obligatory to follow as universally accepted customs.
Some have speculated that if Rabbeinu Gershom had never lived then there may not have been something known as "Ashkenazic Judaism" as it's known today.
Further Information
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