Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (Rif)

Rabbi Isaac Alfasi zt”l (Rif)

he was born in Qalaat Beni Hammad, the capital city of the Hammadid rulers of central Maghreb. He studied in Kairouan, Tunisia under Rabbeinu Nissim ben Jacob, and Rabbeinu Chananel ben Chushiel the recognized rabbinical authorities of the age. Rabbeinu Chananel trained Alfasi to deduce and to clarify the Halakha from Talmudic sources, and Alfasi then conceived of the idea of compiling a comprehensive work that would present all of the practical conclusions of the Gemara in a clear, definitive manner. To achieve this goal, he worked for ten consecutive years in his father-in-law’s attic.

In 1045, Alfasi moved to Fes with his wife and two children. Fes’ Jewish community undertook to support him and his family so that he could work on his Sefer Ha-halachot undisturbed. They also founded a yeshiva in his honor, and many students throughout Morocco came to study under his guidance. The most famous of his many students is Rabbi Judah Halevi, author of the Kuzari; he also taught Rabbi Joseph ibn Migash (the Ri Migash), who was in turn a teacher of Rabbi Maimon, father and teacher of Maimonides (Rambam).

Rabbi Isaac Alfasi zt”l (Rif) remained in Fes for 40 years, during which time he completed his Sefer Ha-halachot. In 1088, aged seventy-five, two informers denounced him to the government upon some unknown charge. He left Fes for Spain, eventually becoming head of the yeshiva in Lucena in 1089.

His “magnanimous character” is illustrated by two incidents. When his opponent Rabbeinu Isaac Albalia died, Alfasi adopted Albalia’s son. When Alfasi was himself on the point of death, he recommended as his successor in the Lucena rabbinate, not his own son, but his pupil Rabbi Joseph ibn Migash.

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