Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil

Not to be confused with Isaac of Ourville.

Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (13th century) (Hebrew: יצחק בן יוסף מקורבי"ל‎) was a French rabbi and Tosefist who flourished in the second half of the thirteenth century. he is best known as the author of Sefer MitzvotḲKatan.

Biography

He was the son-in-law of R. Jehiel ben Joseph of Paris, whose yeshiva he attended, and the pupil of the "Great Men of Évreux," notably Samuel of Évreux, whom he calls "the Prince" (שר) of Évreux. Isaac's conspicuous piety drew toward him many disciples, the best known of whom were Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil, Baruch Ḥayyim ben Menahem of Niort, and his fellow citizen Joseph ben Abraham.

Works

In 1277 – encouraged by his pupils – he published Sefer Mitzvot Ḳatan (ספר מצוות קטן - "Small book of commandments"; generally called "Semaḳ" from the initials סמ"ק), an abridgment of Moses ben Jacob of Coucy's Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (called "Semag" from its initials סמ"ג). The work is officially under the title Ammude ha-Golah. It is divided into 7 "pillars" and includes (contemporary) Halacha along with Aggadic stories and mussar. Although based on the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol the work does not delve into the argument behind the legal decision.[1] "Semaḳ" was "most favorably received" by the Ashkenazi communities (France and Germany), and has often been edited and annotated.

Isaac also published Liḳḳuṭim (collectanea), and several small compilations containing his ritual decisions.

The Kol Bo (No. 128) contains a long fragment of a Talmudic work of R. Isaac, with this superscription: קצת דינים מה"ר יצחק ז"ל.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

• Eliakim Carmoly, Biographics des lsraélites de France, p. 45;
• Rev. Et. Juives, iv. 213, vi. 168;
• Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 563–565.

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