ר׳ יהודה בן שמואל רוזאניס

ר׳ יהודה בן שמואל רוזאניס (1657–1727) was a leading Constantinopolitan halakhist, preacher and communal rabbi. He studied under ר׳ שלמה הלוי הזקן and ר׳ יוסף בן ישעיה מטראני, while initially supporting himself through the commercial house of his uncle and father-in-law ר׳ אברהם רוזאניס. He later devoted himself fully to scholarship and communal leadership in Constantinople. A determined opponent of lingering Sabbateanism, he participated in the campaign against ר׳ נחמיה חייא חיון, signing the ban against him in 1714 and later permitting a tightly conditional reconciliation. His best-known work, משנה למלך, is an extensive and enduring commentary on the Rambam’s משנה תורה, distinguished by its command of responsa and close analysis of earlier authorities. His sermons were published as פרשת דרכים, while דרך מצותיך treats the enumeration and classification of the commandments. His disciple ר׳ יעקב כולי edited and brought several of these writings to print after his death. Through משנה למלך in particular, ר׳ יהודה became a standard voice in the advanced study of the Rambam and later halakhic literature.