Zeraḥiah ha-Levi of Girona

Born in Girona to a family of Jewish scholars, Zeraḥiah ben Isaac ha-Levi was a noted talmudist and author of piyyutim (liturgical poems). He studied with leading figures in Narbonne but eventually settled in Lunel, where he became the teacher of Samuel Ibn Tibbon (ca. 1165–ca. 1232). In addition to mastering rabbinic literature, Zeraḥiah was proficient in astronomy and philosophy, which he incorporated into his halakhic writing. He composed a number of popular piyyutim but is today best known for his halakhic works and his rancorous disputes with Abraham ben David (Ravad, ca. 1125–ca. 1198). Zeraḥiah’s Sefer ha-ma’or (Book of the Luminary) was written as a (highly critical) commentary on the legal digest of Isaac al-Fāsī (1013–1103). It is divided into two parts: Ha-ma’or ha-gadol (The Greater Luminary) and Ha-ma’or ha-katan (The Lesser Luminary).