Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi ( he, בצלאל בן אברהם אשכנזי) ( 1520 – 1592) was a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
and
talmudist
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...
who lived in
Ottoman Israel during the 16th century. He is best known as the author of ''Shitah Mekubetzet'', a commentary on the Talmud. His most important disciple was the
Kabbalist, Rabbi
Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534 Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mea ...
.
Biography
Ashkenazi was one of the leading
Oriental Talmudists and rabbis of his day. He was probably born in
Palestine. Descended from a family of German scholars, most of his life was spent in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
where he received his Talmudic education from
David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra
David ben Solomon ibn (Abi) Zimra ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה אִבְּן אָבִי זִמְרָא) (1479–1573) also called Radbaz (רַדְבָּ"ז) after the initials of his name, Rabbi David iBn Zimra, was an early A ...
and
Israel de Curial
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. During the lifetime of his teachers, Ashkenazi was regarded as one of the highest authorities in the Orient, and counted Isaac Luria and
Solomon Adeni among his pupils. In Egypt his reputation was such that he could abrogate the dignity of the
nagid
Nagid ( he, נגיד ) is a Hebrew term meaning a prince or leader. This title was often applied to the religious leader in Sephardic communities of the Middle Ages. In Egypt, the Jewish ''Nagid'' was appointed over all the Jews living under the do ...
, which had existed for centuries and had gradually deteriorated into an arbitrary aristocratic privilege. When, in 1587, a dispute occurred in Jerusalem over the extent to which scholars not engaged in business should contribute to the taxes paid by the Jewish community to the
pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
, Ashkenazi, together with several other rabbis, took the stand that Jewish scholars, being usually impelled by love alone to emigrate to Palestine, and being scarcely able to support themselves, should be relieved from all taxes.
In the same year, Ashkenazi traveled to Palestine settling in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, where he was recognized as important by both the
Sephardim
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
and the
Ashkenazim
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
communities. The conditions in Jerusalem were at this time very critical; and it was mainly due to Ashkenazi's influence that the congregations of the city were not dissolved.
German Jews
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
, who normally did not recognize the jurisdiction of the Sephardim, and who, being largely scholars, refused to pay the Jews' tax, nevertheless recognised Ashkenazi's authority. However this arrangement between the Ashkenazim and the Sephardim seems to have been solely due to the personal influence of Ashkenazi; asvit ended immediately after his death.
''Shitah Mekubezet''
Ashkenazi is known principally as the author of ''Shitah Mekubezet'' (Hebrew שיטה מקובצת, ''Gathered Interpretation''). This work, as its title indicates, is a collection of
glosses
A gloss is a brief notation, especially a marginal one or an interlinear one, of the meaning of a word or wording in a text. It may be in the language of the text or in the reader's language if that is different.
A collection of glosses is a ''g ...
on the greater part of the Talmud, in the style of the ''
Tosafot
The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes.
The auth ...
'', including much original and foreign material. The great value of the ''Shitah'' lies principally in the fact that it contains numerous excerpts from Talmudic commentaries which have not otherwise been preserved.
''Shitah Mekubezet'' contains expositions of the Talmud taken from the works of the Spaniards
Nahmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
,
ben Adret, and
Yom-Tov of Seville
Yom Tov ben Abraham of Seville ( 1260 – 1320; also Asevilli, Assevilli, Ashbili) commonly known by the Hebrew acronym Ritva, ( he, ריטב"א) was a medieval rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Seville, known for his commentaries on the ...
, and from those of the Frenchmen
Abraham ben David
Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central ...
,
Baruch ben Samuel
Baruch ben Samuel (died April 25, 1221), also called Baruch of Mainz to distinguish him from Baruch ben Isaac, was a Talmudist and prolific '' payyeṭan'', who flourished in Mainz at the beginning of the thirteenth century.
Writings
He was a pup ...
,
Isaac of Chinon
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
, etc. The study of the ''Shitah'' is particularly valuable for understanding the
Tosafists
Tosafists were rabbis of France and Germany, who lived from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries, in the period of Rishonim. The Tosafists composed critical and explanatory glosses (questions, notes, interpretations, rulings and sources) on the Ta ...
, because the work contains some of the older and unedited ''Tosafot''; besides, glosses of R.
Asher ben Jehiel
Asher ben Jehiel ( he, אשר בן יחיאל, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabb ...
and of the disciples of R.
Perez are partly contained in it.
Ashkenazi designed the ''Shitah'' to cover the whole Talmud; but only the following tracts were interpreted:
Bezah
Beitza ( he, ביצה) or Bei'a (Aramaic: ביעה) (literally "egg", named after the first word) is a tractate in the Order of Moed, dealing with the laws of Yom Tov (holidays). It is Moed's seventh tractate in the Mishna, but the eighth in the ...
,
Baba Kamma
Bava Kamma ( tmr, בָּבָא קַמָּא, translit=Bāḇā Qammā, translation=The First Gate) is the first of a series of three Talmudic tractates in the order Nezikin ("Damages") that deal with civil matters such as damages and torts. The o ...
,
Baba Batra
Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pr ...
,
Baba Metzia
Bava Metzia (Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא מְצִיעָא, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a ...
,
Ketubot
A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...
,
Nedarim,
Nazir,
Sotah
Sotah ( he, סוֹטָה or he, שׂוֹטָה) is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Number ...
, and the order of
Kodashim
150px, Pidyon haben
Kodashim ( he, קדשים, "Holy Things") is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, its maintenance and d ...
(excepting
Hullin
Hullin or Chullin (lit. "Ordinary" or "Mundane") is the third tractate of the Mishnah in the Order of Kodashim and deals with the laws of ritual slaughter of animals and birds for meat in ordinary or non-consecrated use (as opposed to sacred use ...
)—the last-mentioned in the Romm edition of the Talmud.
Other works
Ashkenazi is also the author of a collection of responsa, which appeared after his death (Venice, 1595).
His ''Methodology of the Talmud,'' and his marginal notes to the
Yerushalmi, which were still extant at the time of
Azulai, are preserved in manuscript at Jerusalem.
References
Its bibliography:
Chaim Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim,'' ed. Benjacob, i.36;
David Conforte David Conforte (c. 1618 – c. 1685) () was a Hebrew literary historian born in Salonica, author of the literary chronicle known by the title ''Ḳore ha-Dorot.''
Biography
Conforte came of a family of scholars. His early instructors were rabbis ...
, ''Kore ha-Dorot'' (see index in Cassel ed.); Frumkin, ''Eben Shemuel,'' pp. 67 et seq., 125 et seq., Vilna, 1874;
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
, ''Or ha-Chaim'', No. 612;
Luncz
Abraham Moses Luncz (December 9, 1854 – 1918) () was a Russian scholar and editor born at Kovno, Russia. At age 14 he came to Jerusalem. Luncz, who suffered from early blindness, founded, in conjunction with Dr. Koisewski, an institution for the ...
, in ''Jerusalem,'' ii.23-27; Responsa of
Yom-Tov Zahalon Yom Tov ben Moshe Tzahalon, ( he, יום טוב בן משה צהלון), also known as the Maharitz, ( 1559 – 1638, Safed, Eyalet of Sidon), was a student of Moses di Trani and Moshe Alshich, and published a collection of responsa.
Aged twenty- ...
, No. 160.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashkenazi, Bezalel
16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire
Rabbis in Ottoman Palestine
Authors of works on the Talmud
Authors of books on Jewish law
1520 births
1590s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain