Creator Bio
Joseph Bonfils (Tov ‘Elem)
First Half of the 11th Century
Joseph bar Samuel Bonfls (Tov ‘Elem) was a French tal-mudic scholar and the author of many piyyutim. Joseph was born in Narbonne, in southern France, but lived in Limoges in the Anjou region of France. Rashi’s students held him in high regard, labeling him “Rabbi Joseph the Great.” Later generations frequently cited his legal decisions and his piyyutim remained popular; many are still recited in some Ashkenazic communities. Joseph’s poems are full of midrashic references and halakhic rulings. He also wrote a commentary on the Pentateuch, but nothing from that work has survived.
Content by Joseph Bonfils (Tov ‘Elem)
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Moses went up on high
Moses went up on high,
and brought down the perfect Law
on the Feast of Shavu’oth.
The Rock Himself descended,
and gave strength unto His people
with thunders and with earthquakes.
All the…
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You went forth to deliver Your people
You went forth to deliver Your people (Habbakuk 3:13),
to teach them Your sweet ways.
Get up and walk to the desolate place [the ruins of the Temple],
with rage, to subdue those who dominate us.
Wh…
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Responsum: On Sharing the Cost of Ransoming Captives
Regarding our brothers, people of Rheims, who were set upon and smitten by an adversary and an enemy (Esther 7:6) on their way to the market in Troyes, the kind people of Troyes risked their lives and…