Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (Isaac Hakohen 1013-1103), also the Rif (רי"ף), is best known for his work of Halakha, the legal code Sefer Ha-halachot (ספר ההלכות), considered the first fundamental work in halakhic literature.

Biography

Alfasi was born in Algeria and studied in Kairouan, Tunisia under Nissim Ben Jacob and Chananel Ben Chushiel (Rabbeinu Chananel) the recognized rabbinical authorities of the age. He later moved to Fes, Morocco, to a more tolerant environment. Fes' Jewish community undertook to support him and his family so that he could work on his Sefer Ha-halachot undisturbed. They also founded a yeshiva in his honor, and many students throughout Morocco came to study under him. Alfasi remained in Fes for 40 years, during which time he completed his Sefer Ha-halachot. Eventually, he became known as Alfasi ("from Fes"); Rif is an acronym of Rabbi Isaac alFasi. In 1088 two informers denounced him to the government upon some unknown charge. He left Fes and fled to Spain, eventually becoming head of the yeshivah in Lucena in 1089.

In a sense, Alfasi brought the geonic period to a close - the last of the Babylonian geonim, Hai Gaon, died when Alfasi was 25 years old. Alfasi himself was called "gaon" by several early halachic authorities. The most famous of his many students is Judah Halevi.

Works

Sefer Ha-halachot extracts all the pertinent legal decisions from the three Talmudic orders Moed, Nashim and Nezikin as well as the tractates of Brachot and Chulin. Alfasi transcribed the Talmud's halakhic conclusions verbatim, without the surrounding deliberations; he also excludes all Aggadic matter. This work was published prior to the times of Rashi and other commentaries, and resulted in a profound change in the study practices of the Jewish public in that it opened the world of the gemara to the public at large. It soon became known as the "Talmud Katan" (Little Talmud). It is also referred to as "the Hilchot of the Rif".

External links

• The Rif (http://www.tzemachdovid.org/gedolim/rif.html), tzemachdovid.org
• Alfasi (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Alfasi.html), jewishvirtuallibrary.org
• Alfasi (http://www.jewishgates.com/file.asp?File_ID=249) jewishgates.com
• Alfasi (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1191&letter=A), jewishencyclopedia.com