Rav Shmuel the son of Meir was the grandson of [[Rashi)) ]] and lived from 1085 through 1174 in France. His Torah commentary is renown for its stress on the plain meaning of the text, and this approach often led him to state views that were somewhat controversial (thus resulting in the omission of his commentary on the first chapters of Bereishit in many earlier editions of the ''Chumash''). Parts of his commentary on the Talmud have been preserved, and they appear on the pages of most of ''Bava Batra'' as well as the last chapter of ''Pesachim''. He learned from his grandfather and from Riva, and was the teacher of his brother Rabbeinu Tam.
