Judah ben Yakar (d. between 1201 and 1218) was a rabbi and talmudist.

Born in Provence, ^[1] he later studied under Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre in northern France. ^[2] Surviving documents place him in Barcelona in 1175, and establish that he died between 1201 and 1218. ^[1]

He was the teacher of Nahmanides (Ramban), and through him Nahmanides learned the scholarship of the Tosafists. ^[1] He is quoted frequently in the works of Nahmanides, and occasionally in those of Shlomo ibn Aderet (Rashba), Yom Tov Asevilli (Ritva), and others. ^[3] He was known as "a great storehouse of the two Talmuds". ^[4] He wrote a commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud - apparently the first such commentary - which is no longer extant. ^[5] According to some, he also wrote a commentary to the Babylonian Talmud, but this too is lost. ^[6] He wrote a commentary on the prayer liturgy, known as Maayan Ganim, which was often quoted by later rishonim, particularly David Abudirham. ^[1]

According to Gershon Scholem and Moshe Idel he was one of the earliest kabbalists, but Haviva Pedaya disagreed. ^[7]

References