Midrashic texts and methods in tosafist torah commentaries

Abstract

The relationship between biblical and talmudic studies in medieval Ashkenaz is rather complex, and a number of trenchant questions remain.1 From all that we know about the Tosafists, and as E. E. Urbach’s thorough treatment of their extensive literary corpus (in his seminal work, The Tosafists: Their History, Writings, and Methods) serves to demonstrate, talmudic and halakhic studies were at the core of the tosafist enterprise. Although the Talmud obviously cites and interprets myriad biblical verses for both halakhic and aggadic purposes and Tosafot passages include a fair amount of biblical interpretation in the course of their discussions and deliberations, the talmudocentric orientation of the Tosafists remains paramount throughout.