not seem adequate or satisfying. In the latter case, he
usually put down the rejected explanation before setting
forth his own. Yet there are cases in which intelligence
and imagination fail to supply knowledge of some
special circumstance; and such lack of knowledge led
Rashi into many errors. On the whole, however, the
commentaries contain invaluable information, and are
of the very highest importance for Jewish history and
literature, because of the citations in them of certain
lost works, or because of hints of certain facts which
otherwise would be unknown. Modern historians justly
recognize in Rashi one of the most authoritative repre-
sentatives of rabbinical tradition, and it is rare for them
to consult him without profit to themselves.

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