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
Hachmei Provence () refers to the rabbis of Provence, now known as Occitania, France that was a great Torah center in the times of the Tosafists. The phrase literally means ''the wise ones of Provence''; hakham "wise one, sage" is a Sephardic and ...
, a great commentator on 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 ...
, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Rabbi
Yitzhak Alfasi
Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen (1013–1103) ( ar, إسحاق الفاسي, he, ר' יצחק אלפסי) - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of hal ...
and ''
Mishne Torah'' of
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 ...
, and is regarded as a father of
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
and one of the key and important links in the chain of Jewish mystics.
Biography
![Ancient medieval jewish cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Ancient_medieval_jewish_cemetery.jpg)
RABaD's maternal grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak b. Yaakov Ibn Baruch of
Mérida (1035–1094), who had compiled astronomical tables for the son of
Shemuel ha-Nagid, was one of five rabbis in Spain renowned for their learning. Concerning the oral history of his maternal grandfather's family and how they came to Spain, the RABaD wrote: "When
Titus
Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death.
Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
prevailed over Jerusalem, his officer who was appointed over Hispania appeased him, requesting that he send to him captives made-up of the nobles of Jerusalem, and so he sent a few of them to him, and there were amongst them those who made curtains and who were knowledgeable in the work of silk, and
newhose name was Baruch, and they remained in Mérida."
RABaD was born in
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and died at
Posquières. He was the son-in-law of
Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne
Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne ()(c. 1080-85 – 1158) was a Provençal rabbi, also known as Raavad II, and author of the halachic work ''Ha-Eshkol'' (''The Cluster'').
Biography
Abraham ben Isaac was probably born at Montpellier. His teacher ...
''Av
Beth Din
A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
'' (known as the ''RABaD II''). He was the father of R'
Isaac the Blind
Isaac the Blind ( he, רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר ''Rabbī Yīṣḥaq Saggī Nəhōr'', literally "Rabbi Isaac, blind person"; c. 1160–1235 in Provence, France), was a French rabbi and a famous writer on Kabbalah (Jewi ...
, a
Neoplatonist and important Jewish
mystical thinker. The teachers under whose guidance he acquired most of his Talmudic learning were R'
Moses ben Joseph and R'
Meshullam ben Jacob of
Lunel.
RABaD remained in Lunel after completing his studies, and subsequently became one of the city's
rabbinical authorities. He went to
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, where he remained for a short time, and then moved to Nîmes, where he lived for a considerable period. R' Moses ben Judah refers to the rabbinical school of Nîmes, then under RABaD's direction, as the chief seat of Talmudic learning in Provence.
The center of the RABaD's activity was
Posquières, after which place he is often called. The town is known as Vauvert today. It is difficult to determine when he moved to Posquières; but about 1165
Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli''; Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...
, at the outset of his travels, called upon him there. He spoke of the ''Ravad's'' wealth and benevolence. Not only did he erect and keep in repair a large school-building, but he cared for the material welfare of the poor students as well. To this date in Vauvert a street exists with the name "Rue Ravad." His great wealth brought him into peril of his life because, to obtain some of it, Elzéar, the lord of Posquières, had him cast into prison, where, like Rabbi
Meir of Rothenburg
Meir ( he, מֵאִיר) is a Jewish male given name and an occasional surname. It means "one who shines". It is often Germanized as Maier, Mayer, Mayr, Meier, Meyer, Meijer, Italianized as Miagro, or Anglicized as Mayer, Meyer, or Myer.Alfred J. ...
, he might have died, had not Count
Roger II Trencavel, who was friendly to the Jews, intervened, and by virtue of his sovereignty banished the lord of Posquières to
Carcassonne
Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department.
Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...
. Thereupon the ''Ravad'' returned to Posquières, where he remained until his death.
Among the many learned Talmudists who were his disciples in Posquières were Rabbis Isaac ha-Kohen of
Narbonne, the first commentator upon the
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
;
Abraham ben Nathan
Abraham ben Nathan ( he, ) was a Hachmei Provence, Provençal rabbi and scholar of the 12th-13th centuries.
Biography
Abraham was born in the second half of the 12th century, probably at Lunel, Hérault, Lunel, Languedoc, where he also received h ...
of Lunel, author of ''HaManhig''; Meir ben Isaac of Carcassonne, author of ''Sefer haEzer''; 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, author of several rabbinical works. Raavad's influence on
Jonathan of Lunel also is evident, though the latter did not attend his lectures.
Literary works
The ''Raavad'' was a prolific author. He not only wrote answers to hundreds of learned questions—which
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 ...
are still partially preserved in the collections ''Temim De'im'', ''Orot Hayyim'', and
Shibbolei haLeket – but he also wrote a commentary on the whole Talmud and compiled several compendiums of
halakha
''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 ...
. In 1991, Rabbi
Yosef Qafih published a compendium of his responsa which he gleaned from various sources, forty-two of which derived from handwritten manuscripts in his own possession.
Most of his works are lost, but some survive, such as the ''"Sefer Ba'alei ha-Nefesh"'' (The Book of the Conscientious), a treatise on the laws relating to women, published in 1602, and his commentary on ''Torath Kohanim'', published in 1862 at Vienna.
While
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 furnished a well-paved road to the Talmud; Raavad, by his acute criticism, pointed out the way intelligently and with discrimination. This critical tendency is characteristic of all of Raavad's writings. Thus, in his commentary upon ''Torath Kohanim'' (pp. 41a, 71b), we find the caustic observation that many obscure passages in rabbinical literature owe their obscurity to the fact that occasional explanatory or marginal notes not tending to elucidate the text have been incorporated.
The title of ''"Ba'al Hasagot"'' (Critic), given to Raavad frequently by the rabbis, shows that they viewed the direction in which his ability lay. Indeed, critical annotations display his powers at their best, and justify his being ranked with the Rif,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
. The tone he employs is also characteristic of his attitude toward the persons under criticism. He treats the
Rif with the utmost respect, almost with humility, and refers to him as "the sun by whose brilliant rays our eyes are dazzled". His language toward R'
Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona ("Baal Hamaor") is harsh, almost hostile. Though only eighteen years old, Zerachia possessed the courage and the ability to write a sharp criticism upon the Rif, and Raavad refers to him as an immature youth who has the audacity to criticize his teacher.
According to
Louis Ginzberg
Louis Ginzberg ( he, לוי גינצבורג, ''Levy Gintzburg''; russian: Леви Гинцберг, ''Levy Ginzberg''; November 28, 1873 – November 11, 1953) was a Russian-born American rabbi and Talmudic scholar of Lithuanian-Jewish desce ...
, Raavad's ''hasagot'' are notable for having prevented the replacement of Talmud study with exclusive study of the codes of
Isaac Alfasi
Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen (1013–1103) ( ar, إسحاق الفاسي, he, ר' יצחק אלפסי) - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of hal ...
and Maimonides. While Jews in Muslim countries had a wide variety of serious intellectual outlets besides the Talmud (such as the sciences, philosophy, literature, and the Hebrew language), Ginzberg asserted, Ashkenazi Jews had no such outlets apart for Talmud study. Without the intricacies of the study of the Talmud and its commentaries, Ashkenazi Jews would have been left with no serious intellectual outlets.
Hasagot to
Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''h ...
Raavad's criticism of
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 ...
' code of Jewish law,
Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''h ...
, is very harsh. This was not due to any personal ill-feeling, rather a result of the radical differences of view in matters of faith between the two greatest Talmudists of the twelfth century.
Maimonides' aim was to bring order to the vast labyrinth of Halakha by presenting final results in a definite, systematic, and methodical manner. But to Raavad, this very aim was the main defect of the work. A legal code that did not state the sources and authorities from which its decisions were derived, and offered no proofs of the correctness of its statements, was (in Raavad's opinion) entirely unreliable for practical rulings, for which purpose Maimonides had specifically designed it. Such a code (Raavad thought) could be justified only if written by a man claiming infallibility - by one who could demand that his assertions be accepted without question. If Maimonides had intended to stem the further development of Talmud study by reducing it to the form of a code, Raavad felt it his duty to oppose such an attempt, as contrary to the free spirit of rabbinical Judaism, which refuses to surrender blindly to authority.
Raavad was thus an opponent to the codification of the Halakha; but he was even more strongly opposed to the construction of a system of
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
s in Judaism, particularly according to the method followed by Maimonides, who often set up the concepts of the
Aristotelian philosophy
Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the socia ...
as
Jewish theology
Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcil ...
. For example: Maimonides (in accordance with his philosophical conviction) declared God's incorporeality to be a principle of faith, or, as he formulates it, "whosoever conceives God to be a corporeal being is an apostate". In Raavad's circles a certain mystical anthropomorphistic conception of the Deity was common, and naturally Raavad resented a statement which practically declared his friends to be apostates. He, therefore, appended to Maimonides' formula this brief but emphatic criticism: "Why does he call such persons apostates? Men better and worthier than he have held this view, for which they believe they have found authority in the Scriptures and in a confusing view of the
aggadah
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
." While the phrase concerning the aggadah shows that Raavad himself was not a corporealist, he nevertheless opposed Maimonides' elevating incorporeality into a dogma. When Raavad conversely found Maimonides' opinions on the World to Come and the eternity of the world to be heretical, he has no word of vituperation for Maimonides, but merely contented himself with recording his difference of opinion. Thus, the ultra-conservative Talmudist showed himself to be more theologically tolerant than the greatest of the medieval Jewish philosophers.
Raavad was particularly severe on what he saw as Maimonides' attempts to smuggle in his philosophic views under cover of Talmudic passages. For example: Talmudic opinions on the definition of forbidden
divination
Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...
differ widely, perhaps because it was impractical to view every superstitious practise, many common among Jews at the time, as forbidden. Maimonides (who, from the point of view of his philosophy, viewed divination as a pure absurdity) ruled that even the innocent actions of
Eliezer
Eliezer (, "Help/Court of El") was the name of at least three different individuals in the Bible.
Eliezer of Damascus
Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to the Targums, the son of Nimrod. Eliezer was head of the patriarch Abraham's househo ...
() and
Jonathan
Jonathan may refer to:
*Jonathan (name), a masculine given name
Media
* ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer
* ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski
* ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...
() were forbidden divination. Here Raavad was not content with ruling Eliezer's and Jonathan's actions to have been permitted, but he declares that Maimonides deserved to be stricken with the
Pulsa diNura#Sources, similar to a junior rabbi who had misrepresented the opinion of
Levi ben Sisi
Levi ben Sisi or Levi bar Sisi (Sisyi, Susyi, Hebrew: לוי בר סיסי) was a Jewish scholar, one of the semi-tannaim of the late 2nd century and early 3rd century.
Biography
He was a student of the patriarch Judah haNasi, and studied togethe ...
. Such philosophical differences suffice to explain the intensity of Raavad's opposition to Maimonides, and particularly to ''Mishneh Torah'', a work which Raavad himself describes as a great achievement.
Abraham 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.
...
recorded an anecdote whereby he claims that ''Rambam'', during his lifetime, eventually conceded to the correctness of his disputant, the ''Ravad'', saying of him, "In all my life, no one has ever beaten me, except a certain artisan."
Kabbalist and philosopher
Many
Kabbalists
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
view the ''Ravad'' as one of the fathers of their system, and this is true to the extent that he was inclined to mysticism, which led him to follow an ascetic mode of life and gained for him the title of "the pious." He wrote that "the
holy spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
has appeared in our ''beit midrash''" and taught them specific halachic rulings, and attributed rulings to "The Lord's counsel to those who fear Him".
[''Hasagot'' to ]Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''h ...
br>Hilchot Beit haBechira 6:14
Hilchot Mishkav uMoshav 7:7
/ref>
The ''Ravad'' is widely considered to be the source of the commonly used diagram of the Sephirot of the Tree of Life
The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythological, religious, and philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The Assyrian Sacred Tree: A History ...
that was ultimately written down by his son Isaac the Blind
Isaac the Blind ( he, רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר ''Rabbī Yīṣḥaq Saggī Nəhōr'', literally "Rabbi Isaac, blind person"; c. 1160–1235 in Provence, France), was a French rabbi and a famous writer on Kabbalah (Jewi ...
.
The ''Ravad'' was not an enemy to science, as many deem him. His works show that he was a close student of Hebrew philology; and the fact that he encouraged the translation of R' Bahya ibn Paquda
Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda, Hebrew: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Al-Andalus (now Spain). He was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behay ...
's Chovot HaLevavot
''Chovot HaLevavot'', or ''Ḥobot HaLebabot'' (; he, חובות הלבבות; English: ''Duties of the Hearts''), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name ''Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda''. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed ...
shows that he was not hostile to philosophy. This philosophic work argues strongly against the anthropomorphistic conception of the Deity; and the favor with which Raavad looked upon it is sufficient grounds to acquit him of the charge of having held anthropomorphistic views.
Some of his works show acquaintance with philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
; for instance, his remark on ''"Hilchot Teshuvah"'', 5, end, is a literal quotation from Honein ben Isaac's "Musre ha-Philosophim," pp. 11, 12—or Loewenthal, p. 39, below—which is extant only in Al-Charizi's translation.
Descendants
The ''Ravad'' had many descendants, who today could carry the family name Raivid, Rayvid, Ravid, and Ravad. Family records indicate they made their way to Spain, where they appeared in Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
and Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and were reputedly advisers in the court of Ferdinand and Isabella
The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...
. After the Inquisition
The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
, they were exiled to Italy, from whence they made their way to northern, and then later eastern, Europe, where they served as rabbis in Telšiai, Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, and teachers in its Telshe yeshiva. Before the First World War, they emigrated to countries throughout the world, and today they live on every inhabited continent.
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham ben David
12th-century French rabbis
Provençal Jews
1120s births
1198 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Authors of books on Jewish law