David Conforte (c. 1618 – c. 1685) () was a
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
literary historian born in
Salonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, 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
Hayyim Shabbethai,
Israel Ze'evi, Judah Girasi and Baruch Angel. As a young man, he studied the
Kabbala under R. Jefeth the Egyptian, and philosophy under R. Levi Pasriel. His chief teachers, however, were Mordecai Kalai and Daniel Estroza. Conforte married a granddaughter of
Menahem Lonzano
Menahem ben Judah ben Menahem de Lonzano (), often Menahem di Lonzano, was a rabbi, Masoretic scholar, lexicographer, and poet. He died after 1608 in Jerusalem.
Biography
His origin is unknown, but it has been supposed that he was born in Italy. ...
. He journeyed twice to the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
(then part of
Ottoman Syria), once in 1644, alone, and a second time in 1652, when, together with his family, he settled in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, founding there a study hall. In 1671, however, he was 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 Mediter ...
, where he occupied the position of ''
dayan''. He is also known to have been in
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
.
''Kore ha-Dorot''
Conforte's chief work is a literary chronicle now known by the title ''Ḳore ha-Dorot,'' which contains the names of all the teachers and writers from the close of 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 ...
up to his own day. This chronicle is divided into three parts, the first two of which, referring to the time before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, are very short. The third part is divided into eleven generations, and is not systematically arranged. Conforte used all the earlier historical works, such as
Abraham ibn Daud
Abraham ibn Daud ( he, אַבְרָהָם בֵּן דָּוִד הַלֵּוִי אִבְּן דָּאוּד; ar, ابراهيم بن داود) was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian, and philosopher; born at Córdoba, Spain about 1110; die ...
's ''Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah,''
Zacuto
Abraham Zacuto ( he, , translit=Avraham ben Shmuel Zacut, pt, Abraão ben Samuel Zacuto; 12 August 1452 – ) was a Castilian astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, rabbi and historian who served as Royal Astronomer to King John II of Portugal. ...
's ''Yuḥasin,'' and
Yahyah's ''Shalshelet ha-Ḳabbalah,'' especially the first mentioned, from which he cites whole passages. He also gathered material from various printed and manuscript responsa, and was the first to collect the names mentioned in these works. His chronicle is valuable for the literary history of the
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, especially in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and the near East. It was probably composed 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 Mediter ...
, about the year 1683, if Cassel's conjecture is correct. Conforte was a mere compiler, and at times his data are contradictory. The original manuscript was brought from Egypt by R. David Ashkenazi of
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, who, to judge from a note in his preface, gave it the title ''Ḳore ha-Dorot,'' and had it printed in Venice in 1746, without mentioning the name of the author. This poor edition has been critically reedited, and supplied with notes and index, by
David Cassel (Berlin, 1846), who follows the pagination of the first edition. Conforte also wrote a volume of responsa, the fate of which, however, is unknown.
Gabriel Conforto, a Turkish Talmudist who is mentioned in the responsa literature of the seventeenth century, was probably a son of David Conforte.
References
Its bibliography:
*
David Cassel's preface to his edition of Conforte's ''Kore ha-Dorot'';
*
Graziadio Nepi
Graziadio (Hananel) Nepi (; 1759 – January 18, 1836), also known by the acronym Ḥen (), was an Italian rabbi, Kabbalist, and physician.
Biography
Graziadio Nepi studied at Ferrara for twelve years under Rabbi and subsequently was himself th ...
-
Mordecai Ghirondi
Mordecai Samuel ben Benzion Aryeh Ghirondi (; October 1799 – January 4, 1852) was an Italian Jewish author and Chief Rabbi of Padua.
Biography
Mordecai Samuel Ghirondi was born into a rabbinic family in Padua. He studied at the rabbinical coll ...
, ''Toledot Gedole Yisrael'', p. 91;
*
Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim'', i, No. 45;
*
Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi
Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi (October 25, 1742 in Castelnuovo Nigra, Piedmont – March 23, 1831 in Parma) was an Italian Christian Hebraist. He studied in Ivrea and Turin. In October 1769, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages at the U ...
-
C. H. Hamberger, ''Historisches Worterbuch''. p. 86;
*
Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim
Heimann (Hayyim) Michael (April 12, 1792 – June 10, 1846) was a Hebrew bibliographer born at Hamburg. He showed great acuteness of mind in early childhood, had a phenomenal memory, and was an indefatigable student. He studied Talmudics and rec ...
, No. 771.
External links
Kore ha-Dorot (1846 Berlin Edition)- free scanned version in PDF format
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conforte, David
1610s births
1680s deaths
20th-century rabbis in Jerusalem
17th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire
Orthodox rabbis from Greece
Sephardi Jews from the Ottoman Empire
Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine
Jews from Thessaloniki