Moses ben Baruch Almosnino ( 1515 – 1580) was a distinguished
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 ...
; born at
Thessaloniki
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 ...
about 1515, and died in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
about 1580.
Rabbinical Work
He was elected rabbi of the Neveh Shalom community of
Spanish Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the ...
in that city in 1553, and of the Livyat Hen congregation in 1560. He was eminent alike for knowledge of
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 ...
nical matters and for scholarship in the science of his day, particularly natural
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
astronomy
Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...
, furnishing commentaries upon many treatises translated from the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
.
In 1565, he successfully represented his brethren at an audience with the sultan
Selim II, petitioning for the confirmation of their civil rights.
Contribution to Judaic Writings
In 1570, Almosnino wrote a lengthy
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 ...
commentary on the Biblical "Five scrolls"—the books of Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther—under the title ''Yede Mosheh'' ("The Hands of Moses"); also an exposition 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 ce ...
ical treatise ''Abot'' "
Ethics of the Fathers
Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...
" called ''Pirkei Moshe'', published at Salonica in 1563; and a collection of sermons delivered upon various occasions, particularly
funeral orations, entitled
''Meammeẓ. Koah'' ("Reenforcing Strength.") These were published in Hebrew by his son Simon, the expense being defrayed by two other sons, Abraham and Absalom.
Another Hebrew work by Almosnino was ''Tefillah le-Mosheh'' ("The Prayer of Moses"), an
apologetic
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
work on the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
, published at Salonica in 1563, and republished at
Cracow in 1598 and 1805.
Almosnino also wrote a
homiletic
In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices o ...
in
Judaeo-Spanish, ''Regimiento de la Vida'', which is written as a guide to his son about how one should live his life, treats among other things of the origin of
good and evil, the influence of the stars,
Providence, the
moral life, education of children, and
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...
. To this was appended a chapter on "Dreams, Their Origin and True Nature," written, as it is stated, at the request of Don
Joseph Nasi
Joseph Nasi (1524, Portugal – 1579, Konstantiniyye), known in Portuguese as João Miques, was a Portuguese Sephardi diplomat and administrator, member of the House of Mendes/Benveniste, nephew of Dona Gracia Mendes Nasi, and an influential fi ...
,
Duke of Naxos
The Duchy of the Archipelago ( el, Δουκάτο του Αρχιπελάγους, it, Ducato dell'arcipelago), also known as Duchy of Naxos or Duchy of the Aegean, was a maritime state created by Venetian interests in the Cyclades archipelago ...
. The work was printed in
Rashi script
Rashi script or Sephardic script (), is a typeface for the Hebrew alphabet based on 15th-century Sephardic semi-cursive handwriting. It is named for the rabbinic commentator Rashi, whose works are customarily printed in the typeface (though Ra ...
at the press of
Joseph Jaabez, Salonica, 1564, and was republished at Venice in 1604, and at Salonica in 1729. An appendix of five pages contains a list of difficult Spanish words, occurring therein, translated into Hebrew. An edition in Spanish letters was published by Samuel Mendes de Sola and associates in Amsterdam, 1729, dedicated to Aaron David Pinto. This work is considered one of the rarest in the Spanish language. A historical work by Almosnino, ''Extremos y Grandezas de Constantinopla'', also in Spanish with Hebrew characters, was transliterated and republished by Jacob Cansino, Madrid, 1638.
According to
Moritz Steinschneider (''Die Hebräischen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher'', p. 215), Moses Almosnino was also author of a commentary upon
Aristotle
Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...
's ''
Ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
''.
Eliakim Carmoly
Eliakim Carmoly (5 August 1802 in Soultz-Haut-Rhin, France – 15 February 1875 in Frankfurt) was a French scholar. He was born at Soultz-Haut-Rhin, then in the French department of Haut-Rhin. His real name was ''Goschel David Behr'' (or '' ...
(p. 12) mentions it under the title of ''Pene Mosheh'' ("The Face of Moses"), stating that it was written by Moses at Palestria near Salonica, and that his son Simon, after his father's death, desired to publish it (1584).
References
*
*
*John M. Zemke, ed. Mose ben Baruch Almosnino. Regimiento de la vida and Tratado de los suenyos (Salonika, 1564). Tempe, AZ: Medieval & Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Almosnino, Moses
Rabbis from Thessaloniki
Judaeo-Spanish-language writers
1510s births
1580s deaths
16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire