Episode Details

Step into 12th-century France to meet Rabbi Jacob ben Meir Tam, the magnetic and formidable grandson of Rashi, who refused to live in his grandfather's shadow. A brilliant scholar, affluent wine merchant, and political player who survived a near-lynching by Crusaders, Rabbeinu Tam spearheaded the Tosafot movement, transforming Talmud study by challenging, reconciling, and systematizing centuries of legal thought. Discover the fierce halakhic debates he ignited—from the placement of the mezuzah to the order of the scrolls in the tefillin—and how this outspoken, self-confident leader shaped Ashkenazi Jewry, leaving an indispensable mark on the very pages of the Talmud that endures today.