12 Tammuz · Yahrzeit
Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher - the Tur - "Baal HaTurim"
Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher - the Tur - "Baal HaTurim" (1269-1343) - son of the great Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel - the Rosh.
Yahrzeit - 12 Tammuz
Resting place -
He was born in Germany and followed his father to Toledo, where he lived in great poverty and devoted his life to Torah.
Rabbi Yaakov's enduring fame rests on his encyclopedic halachic codification, the "Arbaah Turim," which is the forerunner of our present-day Shulchan Aruch. As a result, he is known as the "Baal HaTurim."
The Tur followed the example of Maimonides by arranging his work by topic. But unlike Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, the "Arbaah Turim" covers only those areas of Jewish religious law that were in practical effect in the author's time.
The Tur did not deal with criminal law, let alone sacrifices or Zeraim (the agricultural commandments that could only be observed in the Holy Land).
The code is divided into four main sections, each divided into a sequence of numbered paragraphs:
1. Orach Chaim - this section deals with prayer services and the observance of rituals at home and in the synagogue throughout the day, the weekly Shabbat, and the festival cycle.
2. Yoreh Deah - this section deals with various ritual prohibitions, especially the laws and rules concerning menstrual impurity.
3. Even HaEzer - this section deals with marriage, divorce, and other matters of family law.
4. Choshen Mishpat - this section is devoted to the administration and adjudication of civil law.
When Rabbi Yosef Karo wrote his major work "Beit Yosef," he decided to base it on the "Arbaah Turim," "because it contains the majority of the views of the poskim."
Rabbi Yaakov also wrote a comprehensive commentary on the Chumash, gathering together the literal explanations (peshat) of earlier Torah commentators.
Among his students was Rabbi David Abudraham. Rabbi Yaakov passed away on his way to Eretz Yisrael.
The Tur brings a commentary on the parsha of "Bo," which discusses the preparations for the Exodus from Egypt (12:9): "Do not eat it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over fire, its head with its legs and with its innards."
Rashi comments on the words "do not eat it raw" as follows: "insufficiently cooked is called 'na' in Arabic." In the original, the words "is called 'na'" - קוראו-נא - form the word "korona" (crown).
After this, the Torah speaks of the Exodus from Egypt (12:22): "And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning." After this, the Exodus from Egypt took place.
The "Baal HaTurim" reveals that the final Redemption will resemble what took place in Egypt.
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/41-Rabbi-Yaacov-ben-Asher)