Gravestone for Jakob son of Jakar

Jakob, or Jaakov ben Jakar, was from Mainz. He studied at the Mainz Talmud Academy (yeshiva) under the renowned scholar Gerschom ben Jehuda. Initially working as a teacher in Mainz, he took over as head of the yeshiva in Worms in 1060. Jakob ben Jakar was an authority on matters of Jewish laws and prohibitions (Halacha) far beyond the borders of Mainz. He is revered worldwide as the teacher of Rashi of Troyes. Rashi is regarded as the most famous scholar from the SchUM communities and continues to hold great authority within Judaism to this day. The gravestone of Jacob ben Jakar had been walled up within the former city fortifications of Mainz and was rediscovered by chance during demolition work in 1922.