Moses ha-Darshan

Who is Moses ha-Darshan?

Moshe haDarshan was chief of the yeshiva of Narbonne, and perhaps the founder of Jewish exegetical studies in France. Along with Rashi, his writings are often cited as the first extant writings in Zarphatic, the Judæo-French language.

According to a manuscript in the possession of the Alliance Israélite Universelle containing those parts of Abraham Zacuto's Sefer Yuḥasin that are omitted in Samuel Shullam's edition, Moses was descended from a Narbonne family distinguished for its erudition, his great-grandfather, Abun, his grandfather, Moses ben Abun, and his father, Jacob ben Moses ben Abun, all having been presidents of the Narbonne yeshivah. Moses himself held this position, and after his death it was occupied by his brother Levi.