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Rabbi Yitzchok Alfasi was known as the Rif. The Roshei Teivos of his name is רי"א, and as far as I know there is no other historic figure known as the רי"א. Then why was he known as the Rif?

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I have seen "Riaf" and I've heard R' Yitzchak Fasi, though I doubt that they are common. – Shmuel Brin Jan 26 '12 at 22:57

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Because "Alfasi" is really "al-Fasi". "Al-Fasi" is Arabic for "the Fezite" (Fez being the city in Morocco where he lived).

So kind of like how the word "of" gets swallowed in "USA", the word "the" got swallowed in "Rif". Wouldn't have made much sense to make his acronym stand for "Rabbi Yitzchak The".

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+1 because I'm sure it's correct as the the general idea, but my understanding of the particulars (not that I know Arabic) is that al is "the", so alfasi is "the Fezzite" (or whatever the word is in English). – msh210♦ Jan 26 '12 at 21:49
I think technically it means "the Fez-ite" (or whatever the demonym of Fez is) as 'al' is Arabic for 'the' (definite article). – Double AA♦ Jan 26 '12 at 21:51
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I've asked elsewhere and a professional translator who knows some Arabic and generally knows what he's talking about replied: "Literally, it means 'the Fezite' (article + adjective), but I don’t think it is good English. Usually we would say 'of Fez'. For example, المغرب الفاسي‎ is the Maghreb Association Sportive of Fez." – msh210♦ Jan 26 '12 at 23:39
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@nickecarlo precisely. Hence, "the American" and "the Fezite". – HodofHod Jan 27 '12 at 5:10
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Curiously, A few years ago I asked the one Rabbi Alfasi we knew, who taught at a Jewish day school in Los Angeles, if he was Sfardic. He answerd in the negative, saying he was Ashkenazic and I believe his family came from Poland. (On the other hand, some years ago, Rabbi Berel Wein was visiting LA, and in a lecture mentioned that he had discovered that in his ancestry, he should have been Sfardic). Go figure -- we are such a mixed up people! – Madeleine Jan 27 '12 at 21:55
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