[Avodah] Jewish History

[Eli Turkel]

Which is also true about the rishonim and the achronim. How many yeshiva
boys know the Chafetz Chaim's name?>>

I am not sure how inportant that is. How many of us know the real names of many
authors like the Taz, Pnei Yehoshua, Sma etc?

However, IMHO it is important to know approximately when they lived
and where (approximately) they lived etc.
I had a rebbe in yeshiva who everytime he quoted an achronim would
tell who was his rebbe.

OTOH I went to a shiur of a rosh kollel from Bnei Brak who didn't
understand that R. Yehuda Halevi and R. Yehuda HaChasid were two
different people.
Many talmidei chachamim get mixed up by the Rashba in Tosafot (Tosfot
Shantz=Rash) who was one of the 300 rabbis who went to Akko from
France and the Rashba from Spain a talmid of the Ramban and Rabbenu
Yona.

-- 
Eli Turkel