Simchah (Simon) ben Abraham Calimani (1699 – August 2, 1784) was a Venetian
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 o ...
and author. He was a versatile writer, and equally prominent as
linguist, poet, orator, and
Talmudist. During his rabbinate Calimani was engaged as corrector at the Hebrew printing office in Venice. Among the great number of books revised by him was the
responsum of
David ben Zimra
David ben Solomon ibn (Abi) Zimra ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה אִבְּן אָבִי זִמְרָא) (1479–1573) also called Radbaz (רַדְבָּ"ז) after the initials of his name, Rabbi David iBn Zimra, was an early A ...
(RaDBaZ), to which he added an index, and the ''Yad Ḥaruẓim'' (on Hebrew versification) of
Gerson Ḥefeẓ, enriched with interesting notes of his own.
Calimani was the author of the following works: (1) ''II Rabbino Morale-Toscano'', an Italian translation of the
Mishnah treatise Abot (in collaboration with Jacob Saraval, Venice, 1729, often reprinted); (2) ''Kelale Diḳduḳe Leshon 'Eber'', a Hebrew grammar inserted at the end of the Bible, edited at Venice, 1739; (3) ''Grammatica Ebrea'', an Italian translation of the preceding work, Venice, 1751; Pisa, 1815; (4) ''Ḳol Simḥah'' (Voice of Joy), an allegorical drama, with Jealousy, Folly, and Wisdom as the heroes, Venice, 1758; (5) a Hebrew-Italian dictionary, left unfinished.
Calimani was liberal in his religious views, and took part in the campaign directed by
Wessely Wessely is the German variant of the Czech surname ''Veselý''. Notable people with the surname include:
* Clare Gerada, Lady Wessely (born 1959), British medical doctor
* Josephine Wessely (1860–1887), Austrian actress
* Karl Wessely (1860–19 ...
against the delivery of
casuistic lectures (
pilpul) in the synagogues.
See also
*
Riccardo Calimani
*
Venetian Ghetto
The Venetian Ghetto was the area of Venice in which Jews were forced to live by the government of the Venetian Republic. The English word ''ghetto'' is derived from the Jewish ghetto in Venice. The Venetian Ghetto was instituted on 29 March 151 ...
References
*
18th-century Italian rabbis
Grammarians of Hebrew
Talmudists
1699 births
1784 deaths
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