ABSTRACT
R. Isaac bar Sheshet Perfet (1326–1408) was a major Jewish legal authority in fourteenth-century Christian Spain. Perfet was a scion of an old, aristocratic Barcelona family. His intellectual pedigree was equally impressive: he was a student of the eminent halakhist R. Nissim Gerondi (who in turn was influenced by the important thirteenth-century scholar R. Solomon ben Adret), and studied as well under Peretz Ha-kohen and Chasdai Crescas (the grandfather of the philosopher of the same name). Perfet functioned unofficially as a rabbi in Barcelona. Tensions with the local Jewish oligarchy led to his arrest and several months’ imprisonment in 1367, as a result of which he left Barcelona for Saragossa around 1372 or 1373, where he served in an official rabbinic capacity. Similar tensions reemerged in Saragossa and, although he contemplated accepting a rabbinic position in Calatayud, he was persuaded to stay in Saragossa. He eventually left for Valencia, and headed its aljama (organized Jewish community) from 1385 to 1391. He was also an acknowledged authority for other, smaller, Jewish communities in the Kingdom of Valencia, among which was that of Játiva, the location of the rabbi to whom this responsum is addressed. Perfet’s tenure in Valencia came to an end as a result of the 1391 anti-Jewish riots. It appears that he may have submitted to baptism in Valencia, but he resumed a Jewish life in North Africa, eventually settling in Algiers. While in Algiers Perfet became embroiled in a dispute with other rabbinic scholars, notably R. Shimon ben Tzemah Duran (1361–1444) about his appointment as a rabbinic judge. The point of contention was the local Muslim ruler’s involvement in the appointment, which Duran initially believed should invalidate it, despite his acknowledgment of Perfet’s scholarship and bona fides. Duran eventually withdrew his opposition. 2
