Rabbi Bachya Ben Asher

Bachya Ben Asher was born in 1255 in Spain and is revered as one of the greatest biblical exegetes in Jewish history. A pupil of the Rashba, he followed the lead of the Rashba's teacher, the Ramban, in the kabbalistic model he used in his commentary of the Bible.

In his works, he uses the 4 methods of understanding the text. These are peshat - the literal meaning; remez - the deeper meaning; drush - the homiletical approach; and sod - the kabbalistic approach. He was the first to include all four in his work.

He prefaces each of the parshiot reviewed with an introduction explaining what the reader can expect from the chapter. 

He wrote also on Jewish religious practices and morality.

Rabbi Bachya passed away in 1340.