Moreover, he himself admitted that his ideas concerning
them were gathered only from the Bible and the Talmud.[14]
Though Rashi did not let his curiosity carry him to all parts of
the globe, he did not confine himself to his birthplace. He went
first to Worms and then to Mayence, remaining some length of time
in both places. He was moved to the step, not by taste for
travel, but by taste for study, in accordance with the custom of
his time, by which a student went from school to school in order
to complete his knowledge. Of old, it was customary for the
workman to make the tour of France for the purpose of perfecting
himself in his trade and finding out the different processes of
manufacture. Similarly, the student went from city to city, or,
remaining in the same place, from school to school, in order to
study a different subject under each master according to the
manuscripts which the particular master happened to possess, and
which he made his pupils copy. So far from being disqualified
from entering a school on account of vagabondage, the stranger
student was accorded a warm welcome, especially if he was himself
a scholar. Strangers found open hospitality in the community,
and were sometimes taken in by the master himself. Knowledge and
love of knowledge were safe-conducts. In every city the lettered
new-comer found hosts and friends.
Rashi probably stood in need of such hospitality and protection,
for, if an obscure remark made by him may be relied upon, his
life as a student was not free from care, and he must have
suffered all sorts of privations.
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