ר׳ משה מקוצי

ר׳ משה בן יעקב מקוצי (approximately 1200–1260), known as the סמ״ג after ספר מצוות גדול, was a French Tosafist, preacher and halakhic codifier. Associated with Coucy and educated in Paris under ר׳ יהודה בן יצחק שירליאון, he drew on the pietistic teaching of ר׳ יהודה החסיד and the Franco-German Tosafist tradition. In 1235–1236 he traveled through France, Provence and Spain, preaching practical observance and ethical conduct to Jewish communities. In 1240 he was one of four rabbis summoned to defend the Talmud at the Paris disputation initiated by Nicholas Donin; the subsequent confiscation and burning of Talmud manuscripts sharpened the need for a portable halakhic code. Completed around 1247–1250, ספר מצוות גדול organizes Jewish law through the 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commandments, combines Talmudic discussion with Ashkenazic rulings and makes extensive, though sometimes critical, use of ר׳ משה בן מימון. The work became one of medieval Ashkenaz’s most influential codes and directly inspired ר׳ יצחק מקורביל’s ספר מצוות קטן.