In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “son of rabbeinu meir & his wife yochebed and the grandson of rashi”. Today it says “renowned ashkenazi jewish rabbi”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2005
Rabbeinu Tam (רבינו תם) is the son of Rabbeinu Meir & his wife Yochebed and the grandson of Rashi . He is one of the most famous author of the Tosafists . His real name is Rabbeinu Yakov, but he was called Tam just as in the Bible where Jacob is called Tam. He lived in France in the 12th century and passed away in 1171. It is told that one time Rashi, his grandfather, was holding him when he was a baby and he touched the tefillin that were on Rashi's head. Rashi then said that he will argue with him about the order of the scripts that are put in the tefillin . When Rabbeinu Tam became a great rabbi he did switch the order of the scripts and there are many sects in Judaism, especaly amongst the hasidim , who after wearing the tefillin of Rashi wear the tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam. Rabbeinu Tam is also attributed to have written Sefer Hayashar (ספר הישר). His brothers were the Rashbam (רשבם) and the Ribbam (ריבם).1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 16841912.
The opening as it stood in 2010 9 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jacob ben Meir , universally known as Rabbe(i)nu Tam (c. 1100–c. 1171) ( ) was one of the Baalei Tosafot whose commentary appears in every edition of Talmud opposite the commentary of Rashi .He was also a renowned Rabbinic authority and communal leader.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 364456207.
The opening as it stood in 2015 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Jacob ben Meir (1100, Ramerupt – 9 June 1171 (4 tammuz), Troyes ), best known as Rabbeinu Tam , was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists , a leading halakhic authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi .Known as "Rabbeinu" (our teacher), he acquired the Hebrew suffix "Tam" meaning straightforward; it was originally used in the Book of Genesis to describe his biblical namesake, Jacob .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668405505.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbi, leading French Tosafist, leading halakhic authority "R. Jacob ben Meir (1100 in Ramerupt – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz) in Troyes ), best known as Rabbeinu Tam ( ), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists , a leading halakhic authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi . Known as "Rabbeinu" (our teacher), he acquired the Hebrew suffix "Tam" meaning straightforward; it was originally used in the Book of Genesis to describe his biblical namesake, Jacob .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 964138924.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Ashkenazi Jewish rabbi, leading French Tosafist, leading halakhic authority "R. Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam ( ), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists , a leading halakhic authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi . Known as "Rabbeinu" (our teacher), he acquired the Hebrew suffix "Tam" meaning straightforward; it was originally used in the Book of Genesis to describe his biblical namesake, Jacob .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1122145051.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Ashkenazi Jewish rabbi, leading French Tosafist, leading halakhic authority "R. Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam ( Hebrew : רבינו תם ), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists , a leading halakhic authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi . Known as "Rabbeinu" (our teacher), he acquired the Hebrew suffix "Tam" meaning straightforward; it was originally used in the Book of Genesis to describe his biblical namesake, Jacob .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1291397479. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
In 2005 Wikipedia's first sentence called it “son of rabbeinu meir & his wife yochebed and the grandson of rashi”. Today it says “renowned ashkenazi jewish rabbi”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
son of rabbeinu meir & his wife yochebed and the grandson of rashi
Now
renowned ashkenazi jewish rabbi
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
