MOSES BEN YOM-TOV

MOSES BEN YOM-TOV (d. 1268), London rabbi and grammarian, member of one of the most distinguished and wealthy families in England at that time. Moses himself was a businessman who did a great deal for the Jewish community of London. He was also known by the name of Magister Mosseus. His father, Yom-Tov, was the author of Sefer ha-Tena'im. Moses wrote a commentary to the Talmud and to the halakhot of Isaac *Alfasi, after the manner of the tosafists. Part of his commentaries were published by Urbach (see bibliography). In his commentary he quotes a great deal from the tosafist *Isaac b. Abraham. He was the first English talmudist who made much use of the rulings of Maimonides. Many of his contemporary scholars frequently mention and cite him in their writings. A responsum he wrote to his friend *Moses of Evreux is known. Among his pupils was the grammarian *Moses (b. Isaac) Ha-Nesi'ah, the author of the Sefer ha-Shoham (Jerusalem, 1947), who was mistakenly identified by A. Geiger with Moses ben Yom-Tov. Moses was the author of the Darkhei ha-Nikkud ve-ha-Neginot, principles of biblical punctuation and accentuation, first published by Jacob b. Ḥayyim ibn Adonijah in the margin of the masorah section at the end of the Daniel Bomberg edition of the Bible (Venice, 1524–25). From 1822 on this work was published separately several times. A scientific edition was published by D.S. Loewinger (see bibliography). Moses was also the author of a book on forbidden foods that was not published. He was the father of two sons, *Elijah Menahem b. Moses of London and *Benedict b. Moses of Lincoln.

bibliography:

Steinschneider, Handbuch, 95 n. 1356; H.P. Stokes, Studies in Anglo-Jewish History (1913), 3ff.; D.S. Loewinger, in: hḤy, 3 (1929), 267–344; C. Roth, The Jews of Medieval Oxford (1951), 115f.; idem, in: jhset, 15 (1939–45), 31; Urbach, Tosafot, 401–3; E.E. Urbach, in: Tiferet Yisrael: Essays Presented to Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie (1960), 10, 19–44 (Heb. pt.); I. Ta-Shema, in: Sinai, 65 (1969), 202f.

[Abraham David]