Since justice requires
the admission, I shall presently dwell upon the points in which
Rashi's lack of philosophic training was injurious to him. Here
it is necessary merely to note wherein it was useful to him. It
was not he, for instance, who held Abraham and Moses to have been
the precursors-no, the disciples-of Aristotle. Ought we to
complain of that?
In discussing the fundamental goodness of Rashi's nature, no
reserves nor qualifications need be made. Historians have vied
with one another in praising his humanity, his kindliness, his
indulgent, charitable spirit, his sweetness, and his benevolence.
He appealed to the spirit of concord, and exhorted the
communities to live in peace with one another. His goodness
appears in the following Responsum to a question, which the
interrogator did not sign: "I recognized the author of the
letter by the writing. He feared to sign his name, because he
suspects me of being hostile to him. But I assure him I am not;
I have quite the contrary feeling for him." A still quainter
characteristic is illustrated by the following decision which he
rendered: "If, during the prayer after a meal, one interrupts
oneself to feed an animal, one does not commit a reprehensible
act, for one should feed one's beasts before taking nourishment,
as it is written: 'And I will send grass in thy fields for thy
cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
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