Salomó ben Adret, mestre de la llei jueva

Abstract

One of the distinctive manifestations in the very long history of Jewish literature is the collections of legal opinions or responsa given by the great Talmudic masters; these responsa constitute a major branch of Jewish literature which cannot easily be compared to any of the branches of the literature of other peoples. These collections exist for all ages and countries, from Talmudic times to the present day, whenever and wherever there has been a Jewish community. The most characteristic feature of such texts is that they were written in response to questions of a practical nature relating to the everyday life of individuals and families which, since they arose from different historical circumstances, both political and social, were not specifically dealt with in the Jewish legal codes. The rabbi consulted would try to find in the Bible, the Talmud and other ancient rabbinical texts authoritative arguments to justify his decision or the proposal he advised. During the Middle Ages, the judges sitting in rabbinical courts would submit the most difficult cases to these expert masters of Jewish tradition, and the latter would then deliver an opinion which would be copied and reserved for future reference in case some other party asked the same question. It should be remembered that these specialists in the Talmud were not themselves judges of the rabbinical courts, but spiritual masters and legal advisers whose advice was given to both judges and private individuals and communities on whatever topic might be raised. Before delivering their opinion and defending it with repeated references to verses in the Bible and the Talmud, these masters of the law would give a detailed account of the matter in hand on which they had been consulted, including a literal transcript of the words uttered by the person or party requesting an opinion. Thus, these opinions offer an albeit unwitting and sometimes colourful chronicle of their times, providing a valuable source of informati