Kli Yakar - R’ Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz (1550-1619), Chief Rabbi of Prague following the Maharal. His primary work was written after becoming deathly ill and vowing to compose a commentary on the Torah if he survived.
Rabbeinu Bachya - (Rabbeinu Behaye) R’ Bahya ben Asher (1255-1340), Spain. Torah commentary incorporating the literal meaning along with allegorical, Midrashic, and Kabbalistic interpretations.
Rashi - R' Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105), Troyes, France. "Rabban Shel Yisrael" - The great Rishon who wrote commentary on all areas of Torah.
Rashbam - R’ Shmuel ben Meir (c.1085–c.1174), France. Grandsonbn of Rashi and older brother of the Rivam and Rabbeinu Tam. His Torah commentary is concise and strictly to the concept of the "peshat". He does not hesitate to argue with Rashi when he feels that his commentary strayed from the plain meaning of the verse.
Ba’al HaTurim - Rabbi Jacob ben Asher (1269-1343), Spain; Composer of Arba'ah Turim, tracing Halacha from the Torah through Talmud and early Poskim. Many commentaries were written on the Tur, including R' Yosef Karo’s “Beit Yosef” which formed the basis of the Shulchan Arukh.
Rabbi Shmaya - R' Shemaiah of Soissons was a French Jewish scholar of the 12th century. A pupil of Rashi, and identified as Rashi's "secretary" and "scribe". Wrote Sodot or Midrash, notes on the construction of the Mishkan; edited on the basis of the Munich manuscript by Berliner in Monatsschrift, 1864.
Ari HaKadosh - Ari HaKadosh, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), Yerushalayim, Egypt, Tzefat; Considered the forefather of modern Kabbalah.
Yalkut Reuveni - R' Reuven Hoshke HaKohen Sofer (died 1673), Prague; Kabalist and rabbi of Prague. Yalḳuṭ Reuveni is a vast compendium of Midrashim derived from the nigleh level (the oral tradition contained mainly in the Talmud) and nistar level (the esoteric tradition of Kabbalistic writings). Arranged according to the order of the weekly parasha and subject matter.
Maharam Lublin - R' Meir ben Gedaliah of Lublin (1558-1616), Lublin, Poland; Polish talmudist and halakhic authority. Became the head of the yeshivah at Lublin at the age of 24, and before he was 30, was appointed dayyan and head of the yeshivah at Krakow. He was rabbi in Lemberg from ~1595 until 1613, when he was appointed rabbi as well as head of the yeshivah at Lublin, where he died.
Malbim - Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Weisser (1809-1879), Poland, Romania, France, Ukraine; Hebrew grammarian, halachic scholar, and author of a uniquely creative and comprehensive Torah commentary. Malbim’s staunch adherence to tradition put him in direct confrontation with Reformers of the Jewish Enlightenment, although he was nonetheless accused by some chasidic leaders of introducing Enlightenment thought in his Torah commentary.
Imrei Chaim - R' Chaim Meir Hager (1888-1972), Bnei Brak; Son of the Ahavas Yisrael - R' Yisroel of Viznitz. After the Holocaust, Reb Chaim Meir settled in Bnei Brak, and disciples from pre-war Europe gathered around him to form a net of educational and communal institutions. He became a spiritual mentor of the Agudas Yisrael party in the Israeli Knesset.
Ohr HaChaim Hakadosh - Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (1696-1743), Salé, Morocco. Considered to be one of the most prominent Rabbis of Morocco, and in Hassidic Judaism.
Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach - (1910-1995), Yerushalayim; Renowned posek and Rosh Yeshiva of Kol Torah 1952-1995. Studied under Rav Zvi Pesach Frank at Kollel Kerem Tzion. His first major published work, Meorei Esh, was the first ever written on the subject of using electricity on Shabbat, and endorsed by Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzensky. Was the first child born in the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood of Yerushalayim; the neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo is named after him.
Ne'imot Yomeiru - Rav Baruch Rosenblum, shlit”a, Bnei Brak; Editions published for Pesach, Yamim Noraim, Purim, Tisha B'av and the Three Weeks, and Chanukah.
Meshech Chochma - Rav Meir Simcha HaKohen of Dvinsk (1843-1926), Lithuania; Prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. Known for his writings on Rambam' Mishneh Torah, which he titled Ohr Somayach, as well as his novellae on the Torah, titled Meshech Chochma. He reputedly turned down offers for the rabbinate in various large cities, including Jerusalem, New York City and Kovno, and died in a hotel in Riga, Latvia, while seeking medical treatment.
Kuntras Sarati - Rav Shmuel Yitzchak Weinbaum HaLevi; Montreal, Canada.
Siftei Chachamim - R' Shabbetai ben Yoseph Bass (1641-1718), Poland, Prague, Germany, Amsterdam; A commentary on Rashi’s commentary on Chumash. Mostly a collection of other commentaries, in addition to the author's own insight meant to give a basic understanding of Rashi.
Avot D’Rabbi Natan - Aggadic work, companion volume to Pirkei Avot, likely compiled in the geonic era (c.650–950 CE).
Maharsha - R’ Shmuel Eidels (1555-1631), Poland. Wrote commentary on the Talmud, named Chiddushei Halachot, and commentary on the aggadot of the Talmud, named Chiddushei Aggadot. Married the daughter of Edel Lifschitz of Posen and the late Brisker Rav. His mother-in-law supported his Yeshiva for over 2 decades, and in appreciation he adopted her name. Also served as rav in Chelm, Lublin, Tiktin and Ostroh.
