ר׳ אברהם בן דוד מפושקיירא

ר׳ אברהם בן דוד מפושקיירא (c.1125–1198), the Raavad III and בעל ההשגות, was the leading Provençal Talmudist of his generation. Probably born in Narbonne or nearby, he studied with ר׳ משה בן יוסף הלוי, ר׳ משולם בן יעקב of Lunel and ר׳ אברהם בן יצחק אב בית דין, whose daughter he married. He served in rabbinical courts at Lunel and Nîmes before establishing a wealthy, hospitable academy at Posquières, attracting students from Provence and abroad. In 1172 the local lord Elzéar had him imprisoned on a false or coercive charge; Roger II Trencavel of Carcassonne intervened to secure his release. Raavad wrote independent Talmudic commentaries, בעלי הנפש on family purity, commentaries on rabbinic legal works, and forceful critical glosses. His השגות on ר׳ משה בן מימון’s משנה תורה became permanently printed alongside the code, challenging particular rulings and the risks of presenting law without sources while recognising the scale of the achievement. His school also transmitted early Provençal kabbalistic traditions through his son ר׳ יצחק סגי נהור. He died at Posquières in 1198. No authenticated portrait is known.