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960 - 1028 GERSHOM BEN JUDAH (Germany)
Also known as Meor HaGolah (Light of Exile). He founded a talmudic school in Mayence (the first in Germany) which became the center for European Jewry. His famous ordinances, known as Takanot D'Rabbenu Gershom, included a ban against polygamy and protection against invasion of privacy. He also ruled that forced converts returning to Judaism must be accepted and not harassed in any way.
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