R. Yosef Bekhor Shor

R. Yosef of Orléans, (northern France) was a 12^th-century exegete who has become known through the generation as Ri Bekhor Shor. He was a Tosafist, a student of Rabbeinu Tam, and he was influenced mainly by Rashi’s commentary and the commentaries of Mahari Kara and the Rashbam. Like his predecessors Mahari Kara and Rashbam, he was a member of the peshat school.  It appears that Ri Bekhor Shor forges a path that is a middle way between Rashi and the pursuers of the peshat. These are his major exegetical principles:

• Ri Bekhor Shor aims to explain the verses without non-biblical information; however, when the derash is appropriate for explaining the peshat and for the general context of verses, or when one may explain it as being in keeping with biblical reality, he will not hesitate to bring a midrash.
• The Torah does not provide superfluous information. All information provided is in fact essential.
• Verses should be explained within their specific context, a reverse method to the foreshadowing principle of Rashbam.
• Verses should be explained based on understanding the state of mind of the human actors.
• Verses should be explained according to the reality of the biblical era.
• God directs the world in a natural way as much as possible, and the use made of miracles is the absolute minimum.
• An expansive and consistent approach to the question of the reasons of mitzvot.
• In the Peshat vs. Halakha discussion, Ri Bekhor Shor is closer to Rashi’s approach with exception in which he explains the verses according to a Peshat that differs from Halakha.
• A tendency to counteract Christian interpretations of the Torah.