R. Hanoch ben Moses (Hebrew: רבנו חנוך ב"ר משה) (died 1014 CE or 1024 CE) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

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 ...

. Almost all of the information we have about him comes from the ''

Sefer ha-Qabbalah ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' (Hebrew: ספר הקבלה, "Book of Tradition") was a book written by Abraham ibn Daud around 1160–1161. The book is a response to Karaitic attacks against the historical legitimacy of Rabbinic Judaism, and contains, amon ...

'' by R.

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; di ...

. Along with his parents, R.

Moses ben Hanoch Moses ben Hanoch or Moses ben Enoch (in he, משה בן חנוך, ''Moshe ben Hanoch'') was a medieval rabbi who inadvertently became the preeminent Talmudic scholar of Spain. He died about 965. Moses was one of the four scholars who went from S ...

and his wife (name unknown), R. Hanoch was captured by the

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

pirate Ibn Rumahis and brought to Cordova. R. Hanoch eventually succeeded his father as

and

Rosh Yeshivah Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, plural, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, ...

there, although for a time he faced opposition by R.

Joseph ibn Abitur Joseph ibn Abitur was a Spanish rabbi of around the 10th century. He was a student of Moses ben Hanoch. Abitur was from a very prestigious Spanish family from the city of Mérida. His great great grandfather was a communal and Rabbinic leader. Be ...

and by the latter's patron, Yaakov ibn Jau, the lay leader of the Jewish community of the

Caliphate of Cordoba A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

. So highly respected was R. Hanoch by everyone that even his bitter adversary Ibn Abitur (who has been exiled because of the ban issued by R. Hanoch on the latter) couldn't help but express his admiration for him, "I bring the heavens and earth as my witnesses that there is none equal to R. Hanoch, from Spain to the academies of Babylon."''The Rishonim'', The Artscroll history series, p. 55 His best-known student was R. Shmuel ha-Nagid. Ibn Daud reports that relations between R. Hanoch and R.

Hai Gaon Hai ben Sherira (Hebrew: האי/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (Hebrew: האי/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the ...

were strained since the increasing stature of the Spanish

yeshivot A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

led to a lessening of their communities' financial contributions to the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia. Indeed, R. Hanoch seems to have corresponded only rarely with the Babylonian Geonim. However, R. Hai demonstrated his respect for R. Hanoch, by honoring his excommunion of Ibn Abitur and refusing the latter an audience. R. Hanoch left no written works, although there are some extant ''

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

'' between him and Rav

, as well as between him and the then-Gaon in 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 ...

, Rav Shmuel ha-Kohen. He died of injuries following a fall when the bimah in the Cordova

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

collapsed on

Simchat Torah Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...

. Ibn Daud dates this incident to 4775 (1014 CE) but also states that it was thirteen years before the death of Rav Hai Gaon in 4798, so the correct reading should be 4785 (1024 CE).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanoch ben Moses 11th-century rabbis in al-Andalus 11th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Rabbis from Córdoba, Spain Accidental deaths from falls