before his death, in the 75th year of his age, A. C. 1174 (V). The reader will find a lift of his works under the last note. We have in this century three famed rabbies of the name Three of Levi, or Hallevi. One born at Cologne, who, after many learned Levi's. by his method of expounding the law. 4. A comment on the the Scriptures, fhews he was no decalogue, fince tranflated into fcrupulous follower of the cab-Latin by S. Munfter with notes. bala, and perhaps had not a much better opinion of it than they; though he dared not own fo much, for fear of bringing the partisans for it upon him, who were then very numerous and," hot in its behalf: fo that it is not unlikely, that he fell foul on the Caraites, merely to wipe off the imputation of being an anticabbalift. (V) Upon finding his death approaching, he wrote, that as Abraham was come out of Ur, or fire of Haran, in the 75th year of his age, so he at that age came out of the , from the fire, or the anger of the world, changing only by the addition of a vowel the word Charan into Charon (29). This fhews however, that he was not born before the year 1099, though feveral chronologers have placed his birth ten or more years fooner. very His works are; 1. A learned comment on all the books of the Old Teftament, a work much efteemed by all the learned for its usefulness, clearnefs, fuccinctness, and elegance, and for being free from the puerile dreams and fables of the Jewish writers. 2. Sepher Sodoth Hathorah, a treatife of the hidden fecrets of the law. 3. Jef fed Thorah, the foundation of 5. A new comment on Isaiah and the foundation of fear. D, Sepher Hashem on the Tetragrammaton, or name Jebovah. 11. Eight treatises on the Hebrew grammar. 12. One on ethicks. 13. One on logic. 14. A poem on the foul. 15. His beginning of wisdom, an aftrological treatise divided into eight parts, and treating on the influence of the stars and planets, their motions, afpects, lucky and unlucky days; of algebra and geometry, arithmetic and aftronomy, of the world, of embolimal years, of chances, and judicial aftrology. 16. His excellent poem on the game of chefs, tranflated by Dr. Hide; and fome others of leffer note. Those who want to know more of this excellent rabbi, may confult the authors quoted in the margin (30). (29) Shalfheleth. Hakkabolab. p. 41, & feq. Gantz Tzemach, & al. (30) 14. ibid. Jucbafin, p. 130, & 163. Schikard, Simon, Bertolec. & Wolf. & al. jup. citat. conferences Maimoni conferences with the Chriftians, was baptized, and taught Latin under the name of Herman. 2. Judah Hallevi a good poet, and author of the dialogue intituled, Chozar, which we have had occasion to mention before. And 3. Abraham Hallevi, a learned rabbinift and cabalift, whom fome make father-in-law, and others, firft coufin, to Aben Ezra, and who was a most zealous antagonist against the Caraites, tho' far inferior to them in point of reasoning and judgment; fo that, not being able to cope with them, he had recourfe to king Alphonfo VII. to whom he had done fome fignal fervices, and easily obtained an order from him to have all his adverfaries filenced (W). We have already given an account of the great Maimonides'sdefen- des, who flourished in this century, in fpeaking of the Jews ders and in Egypt. His works, of which we have there given a fhort oppofers. account of, particularly his Moreb Nevochim, foon raised him many admirers, but a much greater number of opponents; infomuch that the fynagogues, who took part for and against him, made no scruple to excommunicate each other. Judah Alcharifi, who then flourished, and was a great poet, undertook to translate his comments on the Mishnah, at the request of the Marfilian doctors, who did not understand Arabic, and gave that work the nobleft encomiums. He likewife tranflated his Moreh Nevochim, or refolution of doubtful queftions; but, though he likewife cried it up to the fkies, Maimonides was not fatisfied with it, but difaproved of the verfion. On the other hand, R. Solomon, then chief of the fynagogue of Montpelier, finding that he spoke still plainer against the thalmudic decifions in his Moreh Nevochim, than he had done in the comment, loft all patience, and engaged all the doctors there, particularly R. R. Jonah and David who ftudied under him, to ftand up in the defence of the thalmud against him, even to the burning of his books, and ex (W) This rabbi was born, an. 1140. An author of his nation (31), tells us, that he fome way or other fo exasperated that monarch against him, that he threatened to hang him if he did not turn Chriftian; and that he, ftill perfifting in his religion, was really hanged. Bartoloci hath endeavoured to confute that ftory, by pretending, that the Spanish monarchs never carried their perfecution fo far against recufants, but only againit fuch as relapfed (32). But without examining how far that is true. Hallevi might have committed fome other crime, which Alphonfo might refuse to forgive him, unless he turned Christian, and caused him to be hanged upon his ftiff refufal, (31) Selom. Ben. Virg, p. 7. (32) Bibl, Rab, tom. i, p. 21. commų, communicating all that fhould read them, or apply themfelves to the study of philofophy. him. THE war thus declared against him and his followers, was Synagogues however fo far from deterring others from entering the lifts excommuin his behalf, that the doctors of Narbonne, with the nicate each great Jofeph Kimchi at their head, not only ftood up in his de- other about fence, but engaged all their brethren in Spain to do the fame (X). This war between the doctors of both nations lafted about forty years, and employed the most learned heads and pens on both fides; neither can it be said to have bcen effectually ended, seeing his works have been attacked and cenfured, from time to time, in the fubfequent centuries by fresh doctors of all nations. However the fchifm which they had caused, was abolished, an. 1232. But it is time to speak of the other learned Jews that flourished in this 12th century 1. R. KIMCHI was the fon of Jofeph Kimchi, and, tho' The three a hot zealot for Maimonides, was inferior to his father in Kimchi's. point of learning and reputation. This laft was a bitter ene 1 CATEL. hift. d'Languedoc, lib. iv. BARTOL. WOLF. & BASNAG. ub. fup. (X) Narbonne was then in the hands of the Spaniards, which therefore engaged all the reft of the Spanish Jews to take part with it, and to excommunicate the fynagogues of Languedoc, as thofe had done to theirs. They could not however bring them all over to their fide; for. that of Pefcairo, a little town in Old Caftile, had two learned doctors both of the name of Abraham, who wrote ftrenuously against him; the one, in contempt, treating him as a young fellow; and the other fo effectually confuting him, that Maimonides was forced to own that he was the only man that had defeated him; though at the fame time he forewarned him, in a kind of prophetic triumph, that he would not live to finish his work: which came to país accordingly, for Maimon died in that very year. Another learned antagonist was R. Judah, a physician and chief of the fynagogue of Toledo, whofe zeal for the thalmud engaged him to join with the French against him, and against R. Kimchi, his moft ftrenuous champion. He wrote accordingly with fuch force and fury against them, that Kimchi had no other way to filence him than by prevailing, by dint of caballing and intereft, on the fynagogues of Catalonia to excommunicate thofe of France and their partizans; which obliged them at last to submit, to revoke al their decrees against thofe of Spain; and even to confent to erafe what they had written upon Maimonides's monument of his being an excommunicate *. Vid. Bartel Wolf. & al. ub. fup. my Solomon my against the Chriftians; and fuffered his zeal to tranfport him beyond all bounds, as one may fee by his book of the wars of the Lord, and his treatise on faith and alliance with heretics, meaning the Christians (Y). His fon David, or, as his name is commonly abridged, Radak, for Rabbi David Kimchi, was more learned than either of them (Z), and much more moderate towards the Chriftians. His works, which the reader may fee an account of in the last note, are still very useful and esteemed, particularly his grammar and comment upon the Pfalms, which have been tranflated into Latin, as well as some other of his commentaries, and inferted into the Latin Bibles of Venice and Bafil. He had a brother named Mofes, who was likewife a man of learning, and the author of a treatise, intituled, The Garden of Delight, which treated of the state of the foul, but hath never been printed. The manuscript of it is in the Vatican library". ANOTHER famed rabbi of this century, was the learned Solomon Farchi, ftiled by some the fon of Isaac, and by others Rafbi, which is only an abbreviation of his name, a native of m BARTOL. ub. fup. tom. iv. ali. fub. nom. GANTZ, ub. fup. fub. A. C. 1192. (Y) There is fome difpute whether he was of French or Spanish origin, which is occafioned by his fon R. David being ftiled provençal, dwelling at Narbonne; which city belongs now to the French, but did then to the Spaniards, as we obferved in the laft note. And this at once decides the controverfy. (Z) The Jerus, alluding to his furname, affirm, that there can be no Kemach, meal without a Kimchi, or miller; meaning that there can be no true learning without him; and indeed there is hardly a better help to the Hebrew tongue than his grammar; which, though he took the greater part of it from an Arabic one, print. ed by one Abul Valid Ma WOLF. ub. fup. N. 495, & fub an. 4950. Shalfheleth, ,עת סופר rom, yet he fo much improved and enlarged, that it appears a quite new work. It is intituled, Miklol, perfection (differ ent from Miklol Jophi, or perfection of beauty, of R. Solomon Ben Melek), and confifts of two parts, the one of which is the grammar, and the fecond a lexicon of all the Hebrew roots. His Dony, or pen of a writer, is of the Mafforetic kind, and commended by the learned Elias Levita. Some other treatifes are likewife afcribed to him in the fame way; but what he has been most famed for, is his comments upon most books of the Old Teftament. He is likewife faid to have written a verfion of them all in Spanish (33). (33) Vid. Wolf. & al. fup. citat. Troyes Troyes in Champagne, who left it to travel into Judea and Perfia, and upon his return, applied himself wholly to the study and teaching of the thalmud (A). His comment on the Gemarrah hath been fo highly esteemed, that it hath gained him the title of Prince of Commentators; tho' his notes on the facred books are fo fraught with fables and thalmudic vifions, that he is as much despised for it, as he is admired for the other. He died at Treves, in the 75th year of his His death, age (B), and his corpfe was carried to Prague, where his A. C. tomb is still to be feen ". The Jews in general had many famed men in moft fciences; fuch as Kimchi for grammar, Judah Alcharifi, R. Hallevi, Jofeph Hadajian, of Cordoua, and Aben Ezra for poetry; the laft named, and Abraham Naffi, for aftronomy. It were endless to go thro' the names of their celebrated profeffors; we shall only mention one; viz. Ifaac n Id. ibid. (A) His furname, Jarchi, which we have elsewhere obferved, fignifies Lunatic, hath been variously canvaffed, fome deriving it from the city of Lunel in Languedoc, where was an academy, which hath been rendered famous by his profefforfhip; others from that of Luna in Italy. We have likewife feen that name given to the celebrated R. Samuel, on account of their great skill in aftronomy. It were therefore vain to hunt after uncertain etymologies, even tho' the fubject were of greater moment than this. To come therefore to fomething better worth knowing; His method of teaching and difputing was fomewhat fingular. He had made, during his travels, a collection of the most difficult points he had met with, together with their decifions by the learned. Upon his return, he went and vifited all the academies and schools, and disput ed about them; and upon his (B) He left three daughters, (†) See before, p. 160. (34) Gantz, Shalfheleth, &c. MOD. HIST. VOL. XIII. U Hazaken, 1180. |