Rav Avrohom was born in Narbonne around 4880/1120 in southern France to Rav Dovid. He was among the greatest Talmudists, Rabbonim and Dayonim of his era, especially in southern France. The Meiri mentions him as Godol HaMeforshim, the Rashba calls him Godol HaMorim and the Rosh of Lunel, his talmid, called him Godol HaDayonim.
His own Rebbes and mentors include: Rav Moshe ben Rav Yosef Bar Maron HaLevi, Rosh Yeshiva in Narbonne, and Rav Avrohom ben Rav Yitzchok, Av Bais Din of Narbonne, mechaber of Sefer HoEshkol, who later became the Raavad’s father-in-law, Rav Meshulam ben Rav Yaakov of Lunel.
However, the Raavad himself was a lone innovator, as evidenced by his introduction to his commentary on Mesechta Eduyos, where he writes that “these [chiddushim] are not from any Rav or teacher, rather they come from the aid of the Teacher Who teaches man knowledge [Hashem]. As it says: “The secret of Hashem is given to those who fear Him.” He often uses that pasuk, as well as a well-known saying of the Geonim: “so it has been revealed to me from Heaven.”
In his glosses on the Rambam’s Mishne Torah Chapter 8 of Hilchos Lulov, he writes, “The spirit of Divine inspiration and ruach hakodesh has appeared in our Bais Medrash several years already,” and they said of the Raavad that he saw and studied from Eliyohu HaNovi.
While studying under Rav Meshulam in Lunel, the Raavad authored the sefer Issur Mashehu on the laws of issur and heter to do battle with his Rebbe’s opinions with which he disagreed.
His father-in-law, who was a Gaon and Godol himself, writes at the end of the Raavad’s commentary on Maseches Kinim: “I merited to be the Rav’s father-in-law. I am like Chovov ben Reuel (Yisro).”
He authored the aforementioned commentaries on Eduyos and Kinim, as well as on Bova Kama; other manuscripts exist of his commentaries to Shas, which are published from time to time. He also authored the sefer Issur Mashehu on issur veheter, as well as Baalei Hanefesh on Nidda. His teshuvos and citations of his pesak are found scattered among the Rishonim, his contemporaries, and in Tomim Deim. He is perhaps most famous, however, for his hagohos or glosses that he wrote on the Rif, the Ba’al HaMo’or and on the Rambam’s Mishne Torah.
It is interesting to note the difference of style between these glosses. The Raavad’s glosses on the Rif serve as both a criticism of the Rif at times and at other times a defense of the Rif from the Ba’al HaMo’or. At all times, the Raavad is highly respectful of the Rif and even subjugates himself with a sense of awe before him. The Ramban’s sefer Hazechus, defending the Rif from the Raavad, is also authored with awe, deference and humility to the Raavad.
However, when it comes to the Raavad’s glosses on his colleague, Rav Zecharya HaLevi, he attacks with ferocity, with such belittling statements as “the mechaber named his work Mo’or – a light – but it does not shine and he is blind and has never seen the light in his life.”
Such harsh criticism caused some publishers to censor the comments or edit them to lessen their sharp barbs, yet the original forms are still extant in manuscripts. He accused him of plagiarism of his own works and sometimes of his earlier writings from his youth that he had discarded. The Mo’or, Rav Zecharya, also followed Rashi with whom the Raavad also took issue, often saying things such as, “He follows the footsteps of the Frenchman (Rashi) and is just as mistaken like his tail.” Such are the glosses in Berochos and all of Seder Mo’ed. His commentary and glosses on Noshim and Nezikin were published much later with a softer tone. In a sefer called Divrei Ha’Rivos, an exchange of letters between Rav Zecharya, mechaber of the Ba’al HaMo’or and the Raavad, we find the Raavad explaining his harsh barbed criticism by saying, “Forgive me, for I take the hard line in the manner of the Sefardim, in which they appear as opponents when engaged on the battlefield for the sake of truth in Torah, and I said to myself, ‘I shall try you out and see if you can walk in the ways of Torah or not.’”
In the Raavad’s elder years, a new sefer was published, the Rambam’s Mishne Torah, and its popularity spread in an unusual manner for those days. When it arrived in southern France, it was readily accepted among the sages of Lunel.
The Raavad’s opinion was that the manner in which some of the French and Spanish Rishonim authored chiddushim against accepted opinions of the Geonim of Bovel was wrong. When he studied the work of the Rambam from cover to cover, he authored his own critical glosses, where he saw fit to disagree and criticize. This itself shows to what a high standard he held the sefer and how important he thought it was, since he feared it would be the accepted sefer of pesak Halocha and he wanted to ensure that where he disagreed, it would be recorded. There are some opinions that wherever the Raavad did not write a sharp critical gloss, he agrees with the Rambam, and so we can count those as two opinions that agree! His sharp, barbed criticism here should be seen in the light of the above comment as well as the fact that the Raavad was the Rambam’s elder.
Some attribute the commentary to Sefer Yetzira of the Raavad to this Raavad, and hail him as a master of mystical Kabbalistic wisdom. Indeed, two of his sons, Rav Yitzchok Sagi Nohor (the blind) and Rav Dovid, were great Mekubolim.
He was niftar on Erev Shabbos Chanuka. On that day they said of him – just as was said of Rav Yehuda HaNosi’s petira – that kedusha ended (Kesubos 103b), and the Shevet Yehuda tells us that his grave was dug by Kohanim!
