Isaac of Ourville explained

Isaac of Ourville (he|{{Script/Hebrew|יצחק מאורביל Yiṣḥaq me-Orvil,) was a medieval French rabbi, author of the mostly-lost Sefer haMenahel, a book of halakha (Jewish ritual law).

Life and Time

Isaac appears to have been a contemporary of Perez of Corbeil (died);^[1] Isaac cites Moses of Coucy's Semag, from the generation before Perez, while segments of Isaac's Menahel are, in turn, cited alongside the Perez's teachings. His master was Hayyim of Blois,^[2] who is possibly identical with Hayyim ben Isaac the Frenchman (he|{{Script/Hebrew|חיים בן יצחק הצרפתי), the author of Ez Hayyim on Jewish monetary law, a disciple of Samuel of Evreux.^[3]

Toponym

Carmoly and others read as "Orbeil", a village in the Puy-de-Dôme department, while Gross considered this unlikely, as Orbeil probably had no Jewish population in medieval times. According to Gross, is probably Ourville (Ourville-en-Caux), Seine-Maritime, or perhaps Orville, Orne. Isaac is thus sometimes named HaOrvili (or HaOrbeli). He was confused by Samuel David Luzzato with a similarly named rabbinical authority, Isaac ben Dorbolo, after Rapoport's misinterpretation of the latter's patronymic as "d'Orbolo".^[4]

Work

Most of his only known work, the halakhic Sefer HaMenahel (he|{{Script/Hebrew|המנהל "the Guide"), is lost, but select portions have survived as follows:

• Quoted by name in the closely related pair of halakhic works, Orhot Hayyim by Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen and Kol Bo.
• Incorporated anonymously into the halakhic decisions of Menahem Recanati.^[5]
• Quoted by name in two manuscripts of commentary to the Sefer Mitzvot Katan, JTS Rab. 1033 and Bodleian Opp. 338. A third manuscript of commentary to the SM"K, once held by the Collegio Rabbinico Italiano, also contained content from the Menahel,^{[6] [7] [8]} but the Collegio's entire library was confiscated by the Nazis in December 1944 and has never been recovered.
• MS Paris heb. 407 f. 236r includes a list of Gershom ben Judah's bans copied out of the Menahel.

Notes and References

1. Book: Renan, Ernest . 1877 . Les rabbins français . https://books.google.com/books?id=aGIOAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA448 . Hauréau . B. . Histoire littéraire de la France . XXVII . 448 . . Paris . f01002304.
2. Book: Gross, Heinrich . Heinrich Gross (rabbi) . 1897 . Gallia Judaica . fr . Paris . L. Cerf . 27–28 . 978-1-02-240123-5 . 51050586.
3. Book: Goldmints, A. Y. . 2001 . Foreword . Ez Hayyim . Hayyim ben Isaac . Goldmints, A. Y. (ed.) . 2004418780 . he . Mekhon Yerushalayim . Jerusalem . 12.
4. Book: Taylor, Charles . 1900 . Charles Taylor (Hebraist) . Appendix to Sayings of the Jewish Fathers . University Press . 13.
5. Emanuel . Simha . 2008 . he:פסקי ר' מנחם מרקנטי . Shenaton Ha-mishpaṭ Ha-ʻIvri . 25 . 158–159 . 74647727 . Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
6. Book: Luzzatto . Samuel David . אגרות שד"ל . לוצטו . שמואל דוד בן חזקיה . 1882 . דפוס זופניק עט קנאללער . 669 . he.
7. Book: Harkavy, Albert . Collection of pamphlets and articles by Albert Harkavy on various topics in Jewish history and Slavic history . 1871 . 37 . he.
8. Book: Elbogen, J. and A. . Revue des études juives . 1902 . Ed. Peeters . 99-111, 204-217 . fr.