Eliezer ben Nathan

Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz, known as Raban, was a significant German talmudist and communal leader. Eliezer was related by marriage to many other prominent German figures and was in close communication with the French Tosafists (so-called for their Tosafot, or “additions,” to the Talmud); as a result, he signed the ordinances of the Jewish community of Troyes, France. Eliezer wrote The Book of Raban (Sefer Raban), also known as The Rock of Help (Even ha-‘ezer), the earliest complete book to have survived from German Jewry. Eleazer addressed topics of interest in Talmud, midrash, and liturgy. He also commented extensively on piyyut (liturgical poetry) and composed a commentary on the Maḥzor, the festival prayer book. His commentary on Proverbs 30, included in The Book of Raban, contains the earliest-known German Jewish anti-Christian polemic.