, otherwise Raschi and Isaaki, a famous rabbi, was born in 1104, at Troyes
, otherwise Raschi and Isaaki, a famous rabbi, was born in 1104, at Troyes in
Champagne in France. Having acquired a good stock of
Jewish learning at home, he travelled at thirty years of
age visiting Italy, Greece, Jerusalem, Palestine, and
Egypt, where he met with Maimonides. From Egypt he
passed to Persia, and thence to Tartary and Muscovy; and
last of all, passing through Germany, he arrived in his
native country, after he had spent six years abroad. After
his return to Europe, he visited all the academies, and
disputed against the professors upon any questions proposed by them. He was a perfect master of the Talmud
and Gemara, but filled the postils of the Bible with so
many Talmudical reveries, as totally extinguished both the
literal and moral sense of it. Many of his commentaries
are printed in Hebrew, and some have been translated into
Latin by the Christians, among which is his “Commentary
upon Joel,
” by Genebrard; those upon Obadiah, Jonah,
and Zephaniah, by Pontac; that upon Esther, by Philip
JDaquin. But the completest of these translations is that
of his Commentaries on the Pentateuch, and some other
books, by Fred. Breithaupt, who has added learned notes.
The style of Jarchi is so concise, that it is no easy thing to
understand him in several places, without the help of other
Jewish interpreters. Besides, when he mentions the traditions of the Jews recorded in their writings, he never
quotes the chapter nor the page; which gives no small
trouble to a translator. He introduces also several French
words of that century, which have been very much corrupted, and cannot be easily understood. M. Breithaupt
has overcome all those difficulties. The style of his translation is not very elegant: but it is clear, and fully expresses the sense of the author. It was printed at Gotha
in 1710, 4to. There are several things in this writer that
may be alleged against the Jews with great advantage.
If, for instance, the modern Jews deny that the Messias is
to be understood by the word Shiloh, Gen. xlix. 10, they
may be confuted by the authority of this interpreter, who
agrees with the Christians in his explication of that word.
M. Reland looks upon rabbi Jarchi as one of the best
interpreters we have and tells us in his preface to the
“Analecta Rabbinica,
” that when htf met with any difficulty in the Hebrew text of the Bible, the explications of
that Jewish doctor appeared to him more satisfactory than
those of the great critics, or any other commentator.