Rabbi Mordecai ben Hillel and His Work: A Study of Jewish Life in Medieval Germany

During the 13th century, one of R. Meir of Rotenburg's disciples, Mordecai ben Hillel, in his famous work, the book of Mordecai, combines to a considerable extent these two tendencies. Mordecai was not given to deciding halakhic problems. His aim was to present, in an objective compilation, the halakhic material - Responsa and commentaries - which had reached him. An encyclopedic mind, he gathered from every camp, including hundreds of responsa, and citing over three hundred different authorities. An honest scholar, he was very careful to quote his sources by name. Therefore a historical reconstruction based on his book and confronted with the numerous responsa of his teacher, R. Meir, appears possible.