  Scholars of the past century have, in general, been quick to dismiss Falaquera as a mediocre and unoriginal thinker, and thus hardly worthy of our attention. While it is no doubt true that Falaquera himself did not seek originality, research of the past decades has shown him to be a remarkably industrious, well-read, and impressive scholar. Moreover, in certain respects, as we shall see, Falaquera was quite original. That Falaquera did not seek originality is clear from his own statements. For example, he writes in his introduction to Reshit Hokhmah (9):