R. Isaac of Corbeil authored his halakhic work the Amudei Gola (Pillars of Exile) popularly known as Semak (an acronym for Sefer Misvot Katan) circa 1276-1277. The raison d'être of the book was to strengthen religious observance of the commandments relevant to Jews living in the Diaspora. This was not a work written for scholars but rather one that whose purpose was to promote piety amongst the nation. In order to facilitate weekly study of his work he divided it into seven sections (pillars).

In a letter that Isaac circulated to the Jewish communities of France we learn how he acted to promote his book. He proposed that every community keep a copy of his work available for any one who wishes to copy it, even suggesting that they allocate funds that would allow the scribe to spend time in the community while copying the book. This is the only known example from medieval Ashkenaz of an author acting to promote his work. It is difficult to ascertain whether any community actually followed the dictates of the good Rabbi, nevertheless, it is quite clear that his book was one of the most popular halakhic books ever written in Northern France. Close to 200 medieval manuscripts survive till this day that bear witness to the immense popularity of the work.