Benjamin ben Abraham Anaw
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Benjamin ben Abraham Anaw (also known as Benjamin ben Abraham Anav) was a Roman Jewish liturgical poet,
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 ...
, and commentator of the thirteenth century, and older brother of
Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw Zedekiah ben Abraham Anaw (13th century; also known by the surname HaRofeh) was an author of halakhic works and younger brother of Benjamin ben Abraham Anaw. He lived at Rome and received his Talmudic training not only in Rome but also in Germany w ...
. Perhaps the most gifted and learned of his Roman contemporaries (although chiefly a poet), Anaw possessed a thorough mastery of
halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
literature, diligently studied philology, mathematics, and astronomy, and wielded a keen, satirical pen.


Poetry

His poetical activity began in 1239, when
Nicholas Donin Nicholas Donin (french: Nicolas Donin) of La Rochelle, a Jewish convert to Christianity in early thirteenth-century Paris, is known for his role in the 1240 Disputation of Paris, which resulted in a decree for the public burning of all available ...
, a Jewish convert to Christianity, assailed the
Talmud 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 cente ...
and appealed to
Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
to order its destruction and the persecution of its students. Donin's agitation filled the Roman Jews with terror, and they seem to have appointed a day for fasting and prayer. At that time—and possibly for that fast-day—Anaw composed a penitential hymn "To whom shall I flee for help"—an acrostic of twelve stanzas. Donin's endeavors met meanwhile with great success. In June, 1239, several wagon-loads of Talmudic manuscripts were burned in Paris and Rome: at the latter place the Jewish cemetery was destroyed. These events stirred the poet to a bitter elegy, "My heart is convulsed", in which he deeply laments the fate of Israel and passionately appeals to God to avenge the desecration of the dead. Anaw wrote numerous Hebrew poems for the liturgy, which are embodied in part in the Roman Machzor, partly still extant in manuscript. He is the author of the following works: * "The Burden of the Valley of Vision", a satirical poem directed against the arrogance of the wealthy and the nobility (Riva di Trento, 1560; reprinted, Lemberg, 1859, by M. Wolf, in his Hebrew chrestomathy (Israel's Praises). * "Alphabetical Commentary", on the
Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
pieces of the Shavuot liturgy. In this treatise he exhibits a knowledge of Italian, Latin, Greek, and Arabic. * "Sefer Yedidut" (Book of Friendship), a ritualistic work, which has disappeared. It is mentioned by Anaw in the preface to his abridgment of
Eliezer ben Samuel Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz (died 1198) was a Tosafist and the author of the halachic work ''Sefer Yereim'' (Vilna 1892). An abridgment of this work was produced by Benjamin ben Abraham Anaw Benjamin ben Abraham Anaw (also known as Benjamin ben Ab ...
's "Sefer Yereim." * "Sha'arei Etz Chayyim" (The Gates Conducting to the Tree of Life), a work on practical ethics, in the form of moral sayings. The poem contains sixty-three
strophes A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of varying ...
, arranged according to the letters of the alphabet. Each chapter deals with one virtue or one vice. Among the subjects treated are love, hospitality, faithfulness, cheating, thankfulness, shame, pride, charity. It was printed in Prague, 1598, and reprinted in "Kobetz al Yad".ed.
Mekitze Nirdamim Mekitze Nirdamim ( he, מְקִיצֵי נִרְדָּמִים, ''Meḳitse nirdamim'', "Rousers of Those Who Slumber") is a literary society dedicated to the retrieval, preservation, and publication of medieval Hebrew texts. It was first establ ...
, 1884, i. 71 et seq.
* Glosses to
Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
's commentary on the Bible and to Solomon ben Shabbethai's commentary on the " Sheëltot." * "Rules for Making a Calendar," in which he utilizes his mathematical and astronomical knowledge. This manuscript served several later writers on the same subject. Anaw was in correspondence with Abigdor Cohen, to whom he addressed numerous halakhic questions. He himself gave many halakhic decisions, which are referred to in his brother's work, ''Shibbolei haLekket''.


References

* Bibliography: *
Hermann Vogelstein Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Mis ...
and
Paul Rieger Paul Warren Rieger (born ) is a former New Zealand local-body politician. He served as mayor of Palmerston North from 1985 to 1998, and was a member of the Horizons Regional Council between 1998 and 2019. Rieger served on the Council of Massey ...
, ''Geschichte der Juden in Rom'', i. 379 et seq.; *
Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
, ''Cat. Bodl.'' No. 4514; *
Zunz Zunz ( he, צוּנְץ, yi, צונץ) is a Yiddish surname: * (1874–1939), Belgian pharmacologist * Sir Gerhard Jack Zunz (1923–2018), British civil engineer * Leopold Zunz (Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz) (1794–1886), German Reform rabbi an ...
, ''Literaturgeschichte'', pp. 352 et seq.; * Landshuth, Ammude ha-'Abodah'', p. 51; *
Moritz Güdemann Moritz Güdemann ( he, משה גידמן; 19 February 1835 – 5 August 1918) was an Austrian rabbi and historian. He served as chief rabbi of Vienna. Biography Moritz (Moshe) Güdemann attended the Jewish school in Hildesheim, and thereafter we ...
, ''Gesch. des Erziehungswesens der Juden in Italien'', p. 201; * Michael, ''Or ha-Chayyim'', No. 570. {{DEFAULTSORT:Anaw, Benjamin Ben Abraham 13th-century Italian rabbis Writers from Rome Jewish poets 13th-century poets Rabbis from Rome