Judah ben Barzillai

Who is Judah ben Barzillai?

Judah ben Barzillai was a Spanish Talmudist of the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century. Almost nothing is known of his life. He came of a very distinguished family, on account of which he was not seldom called "ha-Nasi", a title of honor borne also by his descendants in Barcelona.

It is very doubtful if Judah was a pupil of Isaac ben Reuben, as some have asserted; nor can the names of his own pupils, and whether Abraham ben Isaac of Lunel was among them, be determined. It is certain that Abraham ben Isaac knew Judah personally and consulted him in difficult cases. Judah once had a controversy with his learned fellow citizen Abraham ben Ḥiyya. The latter, it seems, tried to postpone a wedding because the stars displayed unfavorable omens, while Judah held such a course to be contrary to law, since the regarding of omens is forbidden in the Scriptures.