The word tosafot literally means "additions". For what reason these glosses are called "tosafot" is a matter of dispute among modern scholars. * Many of them, including Heinrich Graetz, think the glosses are so-called as additions to Rashi's commentary on the Talmud. In fact, the period of the Tosafot began immediately after Rashi had written his commentary; the first tosafists were Rashi's sons-in-law and grandsons, and the Tosafot consist mainly of strictures on Rashi's commentary. * Others, especially Weiss, object that many tosafot, particularly those of Isaiah di Trani, have no reference to Rashi. Weiss, followed by other scholars, asserts that "tosafot" means "additions" to the Talmud, that is to say, they are an extension and development of the Talmud. For just as the Gemara