Rashba
A former financier, Rav Shlomo the son of Aderet rose up to become the leader of Spanish Jewry in his time. He was born in Barcelona in 1235, and lived there until his death in 1310. His responsa, covering the entire gamut of Jewish life, are concise and widely quoted by many halachic authorities. While he defended Rambam during the debates over his works, he was opposed to the philosophic-rationalistic approach to Judaism, and was part of the Beit Din in Barcelona that banned the study of philosophy before the age of twenty-five. A collection of the bans and counter-bans put forth in this period are collected in the work Minchat Kena'ot. Rashba also wrote an extensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as Torat HaBayit, a work on dietary laws, Mishmeret HaBayit, a defense against the critique of Raah, Sha'ar HaMayim, a work on mikveh, and several other specialized works. He was taught by Ramban and Rabbeinu Yona, and his numerous students included Ritva and Rabbeinu Bechaye.
