Moses of Coucy

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy was a French tosafist who lived in the first half of the 13th century, a disciple of R. Yehuda of Paris. He authored the halakhic code Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, known by its abbreviation Semag. He was a gifted orator and used his power of speech while traveling through France and Spain to rebuke the masses regarding their neglect in fulfilling various Jewish commandments, such as tefillin, tzitzit and mezuzah. In Spain, he was instrumental in convincing many who had intermarried to repent and give up their non-Jewish wives. In 1240, he was was one of the four rabbis who were required to defend the Talmud against the accusations of the apostate Nicholas Donin in a public disputation in Paris that led to the public burning of the Talmud in 1242. He also commented on the Talmud, and his commentar on tractate Yoma is printed in the Vilna Shas as "Tosafot Yeshanim."