Rabbi Jonathan ben David ha-Kohen of Lunel (c. 1135 – after 1210) was a leading French

tosafist 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 ...

. He was also known as Jonathan of Lunel, and was one of several Jewish scholars associated with the town, including

Meshullam ben Jacob ''Rabbeinu'' Meshullam son of Jacob (or ''Meshullam HaKohen ben Ya'akov'') also known as ''Rabbeinu Meshullam hagodol'' (Rabbi Meshullem the great) was a Franco-Jewish Talmudist of the twelfth century CE.Heinrich Graetz History of the Jews - Page ...

of Lunel, Rabbi

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, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and '' ...

(the "RABaD") who taught in Lunel before moving to

Posquières Vauvert (; oc, Vauverd) is a commune in the far south of the Gard department in southern France. It was known as ''Posquières'' in the Middle Ages. The commune comprises the town of Vauvert and the villages of Gallician and Montcalm.

, and

Asher ben Meshullam Rabbeinu Asher ben Meshullam was a Jewish theologian and Talmudic scholar who lived at Lunel in the second half of the 12th century CE.Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion - Page 74) A renowned Talmudist, he was a son of the well-known R' Meshu ...

of Lunel, the author of several rabbinical works.Jonathan of Lunel
/ref> Jonathan defended

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

against the severe attacks of Abraham ben David of Posquières (RABaD), and at Jonathan's instance Maimonides sent to Lunel his ''

Moreh Nebukim ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...

'', which

Samuel ibn Tibbon Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon ( 1150 – c. 1230), more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon ( he, שמואל בן יהודה אבן תבון, ar, ابن تبّون), was a Jewish philosopher and doctor who lived and worked in Provence, later par ...

translated into Hebrew. Jonathan is the author of a commentary on a work by Alfasi. About 1210, shortly before his departure for Palestine, where he went to with

Tobiah ben Simson Tobias is the transliteration of the Greek which is a translation of the Hebrew biblical name he, טוֹבִיה, Toviyah, JahGod is good, label=none. With the biblical Book of Tobias being present in the Deuterocanon/ Apocrypha of the Bible ...

and Samuel ben Simson, he corresponded with

Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre Isaac ben Abraham (יצחק בן אברהם), also called Rabbi Isaac ha-Baḥur (Hebrew: ר"י הבחור or רבי יצחק הבחור, which translates to "Rabbi Isaac the Younger") and by its Hebrew acronym RIBA (ריב"א) or RIẒBA (ריצב" ...

, who had sent him a Talmudic responsum on a subject concerning the Holy Land.

References

Its bibliography: * I. Lattes, ''Sha'are Ziyyon'', p. 74; * Gross, in ''Monatsschrift'', 1874, p. 21; * Steinschneider, ''Hebr. Uebers.'' p. 416; * ''R. E. J.'' vi. 177. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonathan Ben David Ha-Cohen Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature French Orthodox rabbis 12th-century French rabbis 13th-century French rabbis

See also

References