DECISORS (Hebr. pōsēqim, plural of pōsēq). — Talmudists who, on the basis of Talmudic and Talmudic-rabbinic literature, offer decisions in dogmatic, philosophical-religious, and exegetical matters, but especially—and this applies to the later period—in matters of religious practice in the fields of law, morality, ritual, and ceremonial. Their decisions take the form of questions and answers (šē'ēlōth, tēšābhōth), collections concerning part or all of religious life, and at times also compendia or commentaries on the Talmud, that is, deriving the decision for practice from the discussion.
The d. of the gaonic period (v. GE'ONIM) are called d. “former” (pōsēqīm ri'šōnīm), while those from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century are called “later” (p. 'abārōnīm).
During the gaonic period (mid-seventh to mid-eleventh century), the responsa of the heads of the Babylonian academies, and, in smaller numbers, those of the Palestinian academies, were considered normative in every respect, even for the most distant communities of Europe and Africa. In the eighth century, 'Abaj da Šabā' compiled the responsa he had given according to the order of the pericopes of the Pentateuch. His contemporary, Jēhūdḥaj Gā'ōn, made the first attempt to arrange systematically the materials scattered throughout the Talmudic discussions for use in practice. Another, Šim'ōn Qajārā, presented the 613 positive and negative precepts of the Pentateuch according to the Talmudic conception. The gā'ōn Sa'adhāh was the author of a series of monographs on questions concerning civil and ritual law; similarly, with regard to liturgy and matrimonial law, Šemū'el ben Ḥophnī (d. 1034); the gaonite Haj (940–1038) was the author of responsa and works concerning Talmudic law. Brief decisions in works of smaller scope were written by Nissīm ben Ja'aqōbh and Hanan'el ben Ḥušī'el (c. 990–1050) in Qajravān (first half of the eleventh century).
Later d. of the Hispano-Arabic school: Samuel the Prince (993–1055); Isaac al-Fāsī (1013–1103), who in his work Ḥalākhāth presented a summary of the Talmudic discussion concerning the entire body of precepts still in force (thus omitting, for example, sacrificial worship). His disciple Jōšēph ibn Migas (1077–1141) issued many responsa. Of particular importance is Maimonides, especially on account of his great ritual code.
Among Maimonides’ contemporaries in southern France, the following should be mentioned: Abraham of Isaac of Narbonne (1110–78); Isaac ben Abbā Mārī (b. c. 1122, d. after 1193); Naḥmanides (1195–1270); and his disciple Šemū'el Sardī. Solomon Adret enjoyed great authority. Questions concerning the liturgy, feasts, and other subjects of religious life and law were addressed by Aaron of Jacob hak-kōhēn of Lunel and by the anonymous author of the work Kol bō'. After the deaths of the d. Jērōhām ben Mēšullām, David Abudraham (who dealt with prayers, readings from the Pentateuch, and the festal calendar, 1340), and Mēnāhēm of Aaron of Sērāh, Isaac of Šešeth (1336–1408) and Simon of Šemāh Duran (1361–1444) enjoyed great authority.
The responsa of the German-French and Italian schools date from the tenth century onward. The most authoritative figure of the French school is R. Šelōmōh ben Jishā'ī, known as Rašī; in addition to 'Elī'ēzer of Nāthān (twelfth century), Bārūkh of Isaac of Worms (c. 1200), Moses of Jacob of Coucy (early thirteenth century), Isaac of Joseph of Corbeil (second half of the thirteenth century), and 'Elī'ēzer of Joel Levi of Bonn (d. c. 1235), Isaac of Moses of Vienna (d. 1260) was famous.
In Italy the following d. distinguished themselves: Isaiah of Trani the Elder (thirteenth century); Zedekiah of Abraham 'Ānāw; Mordēkhaj of Hillēl (d. 1327); and the eminent 'Āšēr ben Jēhī'el (d. 1327); the last two were disciples of R. Mē'ir of Rottenburg. Jōšēph Kolon, of French origin, also carried out his activity in Italy; he died at Pavia in 1480.
Also worthy of mention are Isaac of Dūren (d. 1320), Alexander Susslein Kōhēn of Cologne (d. 1349), Eisik Tyrnau, Abraham Klausner of Vienna (1380), and Jacob of Moses Mölln (d. 1427), who dealt predominantly with ceremonial laws and made known the life of the Jews in Germany during the Middle Ages.
Among the d. of the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries: Jacob of 'Āšēr (d. 1343), who systematically set forth the body of precepts (halakhic) insofar as it still possessed practical importance. The celebrated Jōšēph Caro or Karo (1488–1575), author of the commentary on the work Arbō' jūrīm of Ja'aqōbh ben 'Āšēr, set forth everything contained in the ancient and later rabbinic literature, thus offering an extremely important compendium for decisions; on this basis he composed his celebrated Šulhān 'ārūkh (“Prepared Table”), a concise, clear, and paragraphed exposition of the regulations in force, arranged according to the order of the aforementioned work of Ja'aqōbh ben 'Āšēr. Moses Isserlea (1520–72) supplied the “Table” with a “Tablecloth” (ham-mappāh), consisting of explanatory notes. The “Table” thus became the code par excellence.
The following worked on this code: Joshua Falk (d. 1610), Šabbathaj of Mē'ir Kōhēn (1622–63), David of Samuel Levi (b. c. 1600), Moses Lima (d. 1673), Samuel Uri (seventeenth century), Abraham Abele Gombiner (d. 1682), and Jōnāthān Eybeschütz. The scientifically oriented work Lēbūšīm (“garments”) by Mordēkhaj Jaffé (d. 1612) conferred greater authority on the “Table,” while Solomon Lurja (d. 1573) wished the decision to be derived from the Talmud without attributing too much importance to compilers and later d.
The responsa of the Talmud scholars of Poland from the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries are noteworthy, including those of: Israel Isserlein (d. 1460), Jēhūdḥah Münz and Mē'ir Katzenellenbogen (both of German origin), Mē'ir Lublin (1538–1616), Aron Samuel Kaidanower (d. 1696), Mēnāhēm Mendel Krochmal (d. 1661), Hākhām Zēbhī Aschkenasī (1658–1718), Mē'ir Eisenstadt (d. 1744), and Ezekiel Landau (1713–93). The following carried out their activity in times closer to our own: Abraham Danzig (d. 1820), Šnē'ōr Šalman (Zalman), and David Hoffmann (1843–1921).