Simeon ben Zemah Duran

Simeon ben Zemah Duran, also Tzemach Duran, known as Rashbatz (רשב"ץ) or Tashbatz, was a prominent Jewish scholar, rabbinic authority, and polemicist. He was proficient in various fields, including philosophy, mathematics, natural sciences, astronomy, and medicine. Born in Medieval Spain, he fled with his family to Algeria in the aftermath of the 1391 pogroms that devastated the Jewish community of Spain. In 1408, he became the rabbinic leader of Algerian Jewry, earning widespread recognition for his legal rulings in Spain, North Africa, France, and Italy.