ר׳ ירוחם בן משולם

ר׳ ירוחם בן משולם (c.1290–c.1350), universally known as רבנו ירוחם, was a major codifier among the later Rishonim. Born in Provence, he was displaced by the French expulsion of 1306 and wandered before reaching Toledo. There, despite severe poverty, he studied under the רא״ש and ר׳ אברהם בן משה איסמעיל, a student of the רשב״א. His first major compilation, ספר מישרים, reorganised the laws of civil jurisprudence by subject, identified their talmudic sources and compared the rulings of earlier authorities. Encouraged by colleagues, he then composed תולדות אדם וחוה, a practical code covering the Jewish life cycle: “Adam” treats obligations before marriage, while “Havah” addresses marriage and the duties that follow it. His clear thematic arrangement made difficult material readily accessible to scholars and students. ר׳ יוסף קארו quoted him extensively in בית יוסף and incorporated numerous rulings into the שולחן ערוך. Very little is securely known about his later personal life, but his books made this impoverished refugee one of the most consequential transmitters of Provençal and Spanish halakhah.