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Where can I find the commentaries of the Rif and of the Rosh on Tractates Nazir and Sotah? They're not in my gemara (Oz v'Hadar), and I was wondering if they were appended to a different tractate?

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  • Are you sure they exist?
    – Double AA
    Mar 8, 2013 at 4:28
  • Do you mean the halachic compendia? (Or, e.g., Tos'fos Harosh?)
    – msh210
    Mar 8, 2013 at 5:00
  • I've added an answer, but am still open to receiving more information about this if anybody knows anything that they would like to add. The compendium that I was referring to was Pisqei haRosh, which was compiled by his son. I don't know why it exists for Menachot (for example) and not for Nazir. I don't see how Menachot lends itself more to halakha lemaaseh than do those tractates that are missing this invaluable resource.
    – Shimon bM
    Mar 8, 2013 at 5:08
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    otzar.org/wotzar/book.aspx?10213
    – Michoel
    Mar 8, 2013 at 5:14
  • Wow - thanks, @Michoel! I wonder why it wasn't included in the Oz v'Hadar version of the gemara, seeing as they saw fit to cram in just about everything else.
    – Shimon bM
    Mar 8, 2013 at 5:21

2 Answers 2

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To my surprise, it turns out that neither the Rif nor the Rosh ever penned commentaries to those two masekhtas. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia articles ("Alfasi, Isaac ben Jacob" and "Asher ben Jehiel", respectively), the Rif's Sefer haHalakhot covers only Berakhot, Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesachim, Ta'anit, Beitzah, Rosh haShana, Yoma, Sukkah, Megillah, Mo'ed Qatan, Yevamot, Ketubot, Gittin, Qiddushin, Nedarim, Chullin, Bava Qamma, Bava Metzia, Bava Batra, Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevu'ot and Avodah Zarah (link).

The commentary of the Rosh covers only Seder Zeraim (except for Berakhot), tractates Nedarim and Tamid, and all of Seder Taharot. The digest of those commentaries that was composed by his son, titled "Pisqei haRosh", is appended to a range of other tractates as well (just taking a few randomly from the shelf, I found it on Bava Qama, Sanhedrin and Menachot), though is evidently not appended to all of them. The Jewish Encyclopedia article doesn't list which tractates it is found on and which it is not, though it appears then to be totally absent from Nazir and Sotah amongst others (link). How many others, I don't know.

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  • Rosh (Rabeinu Asher) or Rash (R' Shimshon)? Mar 8, 2013 at 5:54
  • Are you talking about the Tosfos Harosh? (I think that he wants the piskei harosh) Mar 8, 2013 at 5:55
  • @ShmuelBrin - Rabbeinu Asher ben Yechiel. Why do you ask?
    – Shimon bM
    Mar 8, 2013 at 6:25
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    Ok, this is getting confusing. Here's what's going on: The Rosh wrote four things: (1) A commentary on parts of the Talmud. This is not what he is famous for; many people hardly know it exists. (2) A Talmudic Halchic "digest" (i.e. a summary of the halachic sections of the Talmud). This is what he is famous for, and it is appended to the back of virtually all masechtos in the Vilna Shas. Now the Piskei HaRosh is a point-by-point summary of the halachic "bottom-lines" that come out of this "digest" of the Rosh. That was written by his son, the Tur. [cont]
    – jake
    Mar 8, 2013 at 17:21
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    [cont] (3) Tosafos HaRosh, which is basically the Rosh's version of tosafos on many masechtos, and it is very similar to the "regular" tosafos on the side of the page in the Vilna Shas. (4) Responsa. </list> Please edit this answer (and the question too for that matter) to be clearer with exactly what works of the Rosh you are referring to.
    – jake
    Mar 8, 2013 at 17:21
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As Shimon bM's already answered:

The Rif's Sefer haHalakhot covers only Berakhot, Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesachim, Ta'anit, Beitzah, Rosh haShana, Yoma, Sukkah, Megillah, Mo'ed Qatan, Yevamot, Ketubot, Gittin, Qiddushin, Nedarim, Chullin, Bava Qamma, Bava Metzia, Bava Batra, Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevu'ot and Avodah Zarah

According to Wikipedia, there is an opinion that the halachic compendium of the Rosh (his best known work) is a commentary on the Rif, rather than a commentary directly on the talmud. As such it seems to me that wouldn't exist on any masechta that the Rif didn't write about (Wikipedia cites the Shach, as quoted in Kelalei HaRif, Rabbeinu Asher VeTur printed before the Rosh on Shabbat, Klal 2). The existance of the Rosh on any masechta that the Rif didn't write about would disprove this opinion of the Shach. (There is a differing opinion that the Rosh wrote on the Talmud directly - Wikipedia cites the S'dei Chemed klallei haposkim s.v. Rosh.)

Since the Piskei HaRosh (compiled by his son) is a summary of the halachic conclusions in the aforementioned compendium, it wouldn't exist on any masechta where the Rosh didn't write (and by implication, any masechta where the Rif didn't write).

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