(known by the acronym Rashba; c. 1235-1310). Rabbinical authority in Spain. He was a native of Barcelona, where he served as rabbi for half a century. A disciple of Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi and Naḥmanides, Adret wrote prolifically on all branches of rabbinic literature and his works are studied to this day. He produced analytical commentaries (Novellae) on 17 talmudical tractates; all of these have been published. His code, Torat ha-Bayit ("The Law of the House"), deals mainly with regulations for the Jewish home: dietary laws and laws of family purity. He also wrote a briefer form of this work, summarizing the discussions and the halakhic decisions, which he called Torat ha-Bayit ha-Katser ("The Brief Law of the House"). Glosses and notes to this code under the title Bedek ha-Bayit ("The Repair of the House") were written by his friend and colleague Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona, and these were in turn vigorously criticized by the author in notes entitled Mishmeret ha-Bayit ("The Preservation of the House"). Adret wrote thousands of Responsa on all aspects of Jewish law, in answer to questions addressed to him by Jewish communities from northern Europe to Erets Israel. These responsa are thought to have constituted part of the groundwork for the Shulḥan Arukh.
Familiar with poetry,
A courageous defender of Jewish rights, Adret composed a work refuting the charges of a Dominican monk, Raymond Martini, who in his Latin tract Pugio Fidei ("Dagger of Faith") had interpreted talmudic and midrashic passages tendentiously, so as to show Judaism in an unfavorable light.
