חדושי דב"ש למסכת ברכות של ר' דוד בן שאול
ליאור יעקבי
Four heavily torn and damaged bifolios extracted from a
Girona bookbinding contain novella to Tractate Berakhot of the Babylonian
Talmud. In three loci the fragmentary text matches quotations verbatim from “Chidushei
Dvash”, cited by name 18 times by R. David ben Yosef Abudraham. This
enables a definite identification. An additional three loci not appearing in
the manuscript were cited from Abudraham by R. Joseph Caro in his authoritative
Beit Yosef.
In addition, Abudraham also cites from the work without
attribution. Far from plagiarism, this method of citation was conventional and
openly declared by Abudraham in his introduction. This dovetails with the
results of a previous study regarding citations of R. Jonah of Girona in the commentary
of a student of Rashba, also published from a Girona bookbinding. Thus, this
Girona manuscript is extremely important for the study of Abudraham, a central medieval
halakhic work.
The identity of the author of Chidushei Dvash has
remained elusive. In most editions of Abudraham the acronym Dvash has
been corrupted to Ravash, further complicating matters. A prominent
modern traditional Talmudic scholar suggested R. David ben Samuel “HaKokhavi”,
the early 14th century Provencal author of Sefer HaBattim.
This proposition was based upon the acronym and a unique correlation between
certain opinions expressed in the two works. However, based on preliminary
analysis of the text of the Girona manuscript fragments, and upon the
groundbreaking new research on Provencal sages of Pinchas Roth, that
possibility can now be rejected in favor of the earlier Rabbenu David ben Saul
of Narbonne, who flourished in the early 13th century.
This identification is based upon: 1. The acronym Dvash (=
D. b. Sh.); 2. The absence of any reference to or quotation from Maimonides; 3.
A unique similarity between these novella on Tractate Berakhot as cited by Abudraham
and between a citation of R. Moses Botarel from the novella on Tractate Shabbat;
4. Stylistic similarities between the various citations, including, on the one
hand, brief conceptual resolutions of difficulties (chiluq) in the style
of Tosafot, and, on the other hand, resistance to the actual legal decisions of
the Tosafot; and 5. Appearances downstream in Beit haBechira, Sefer
HaBattim, and Orchot Chaim/Kolbo, cited as anonymous earlier
opinions. (This accounts for the earlier aforementioned misattribution.)
R. David ben Saul’s authority and impact were tremendous. He
was a colleague of R. Jonah of Girona and, along with their teacher, R. Solomon
ben Abraham “Min ha-Har”, they lead the Rabbinic opposition to the
philosophical writings of Maimonides. In the context of the dispute, R. David
was mentioned by R. Abraham ben Maimon and his writings were cited by Samuel ibn
Tibbon. R. Menachem Meiri lists his name in the chain of transmission of his introduction
to Tractate Avot and Roth convincingly proposes that R. David’s Rabbinic
authority held sway over even R. Mordechai Kimhi, grandson of the illustrious leader
of the pro-Maimonides camp, Radaq. R. David’s Talmudic novella were explicitly
referenced by later sages, such as R. Yosef Haviva, Nimukei Yosef, but
no originals have been identified until now.
The Girona bookbinding fragments serve as a vital missing
link, connecting the previously unidentified Chidushi Dvash, cited
verbatim in the popular and influential Abudraham, with the iconic, but little-known,
Rabbenu David ben Saul.
All of his novella had been given up for lost, but we now possess a single
fragmentary manuscript remnant and know that the work was utilized liberally by
Abudraham.
ברוך הטוב והמטיב. גילוי קטעי כתב היד שנשתמרו בכריכת ספר בגירונה עד
לעת עתה מהווה ברכה כפולה: משום שהם היו החוליה החסרה, וכעת כשנתגלו, הם סוגרים מעגל
בין פירוש חשוב וקדום לתלמוד, חדושי דב"ש למס' ברכות, ובין מחברו, רבינו דוד
בן שאול, מגדולי חכמי פרובנס בסוף האלף החמישי (=ראשית המאה ה-13 למניינם).
ר' דוד בן שאול מוזכר בשלשלת
הקבלה של ר' מנחם המאירי בהקדמתו לבית הבחירה למס' אבות. הידיעות מעטות גם על החכם
וגם על חידושי התורה שחבר. הזיהוי נעשה בהסתמכות על מחקר פורץ דרך על חכמי פרובנס
של פנחס רוט. ספר אבודרהם מרבה לצטט מחיבור זה בשם חידושי דב"ש, ומשם נכנסו החידושים
לקודש פנימה. וחידושי דב"ש מוזכרים בשמם בבית יוסף של מרן ר' יוסף קארו שלש
פעמים.
gmb 0057
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