Rabbi Asher ben David רבי אשר בן דוד
grandson of the Raavad, through whom the kabbalah of Provence passed to Gerona
Kabbalah came into the open in Provence—in the house of the Raavad of Posquières and with his son, Rabbi Yitzchak the Blind. It was taught to few and quietly: such things, it was held, are handed mouth to mouth to one who is ready.
Rabbi Asher ben David was the Raavad's grandson and Rabbi Yitzchak the Blind's nephew. He wrote the Sefer ha-Yichud, the Book of Unity, where he explains the teaching of the ten sefirot in words that can be read—and at the same time carries his uncle's request to the Gerona circle: teach more carefully, do not carry what is said to where it will be retold wrongly.
Through him the Provençal teaching reached Gerona, Rabbi Azriel and then the Ramban, and from there all Spain. So it came about that the man who asked for caution was the very link through which the teaching spread.
Places
Related
Sources
Rishonim
- Sefer ha-Yichud of Rabbi Asher ben David — his exposition of the teaching and his kinship with the Raavad's house
- The letter of Rabbi Yitzchak the Blind to the sages of Gerona — the request for caution, carried through him
Basis: documents and evidence.