On the First Rashi in the Torah

Jacob of Orléans was a northern French Tosafist who studied with Jacob ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam; 1100–1171) before moving to London, where he met a martyr’s death during the massacres that followed the coronation of King Richard I. Jacob’s views were frequently cited among later European talmudists, and his name appears regularly in the printed Tosafot. Later figures cite Jacob as having permitted non-Jews to heat Jewish houses on the Sabbath. Several texts from Jacob survive, including comments on Rashi’s Torah commentary, a lone responsum, and a legal document that circumvented the biblical prohibition against taking interest. The last of these caused consternation among later talmudists and was not accepted in practice by subsequent generations.