Biography
The Ran was born in Barcelona, Catalonia. He was a Physician and had knowledge of astronomy. The RaN's teacher is not known; his works refer to a R. Perez as "morenu" ("our teacher"), but it is thought that his father, Reuben b. Nissim, was his primary teacher. RaN was considered the greatest Halachic authority of his generation, and queries were sent to him from throughout the Jewish diaspora. His closest disciples were the Rivash (Isaac ben Sheshet) and Hasdai Crescas.
In his analyses, Nissim frequently refutes other rishonim; in his legal rulings however, he generally adopts their opinions in practice. He was "no friend of mysticism", and even reproved Nahmanides for devoting too much time to the Kabbalah.
Read more about this topic: Nissim Of Gerona
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West [Cicily Isabel Fairfield] (1892–1983)
“There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He is too many people, if he’s any good.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)
“The best part of a writer’s biography is not the record of his adventures but the story of his style.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)