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I Background of Italy in Late 15th Century
A Three major components, each with different minhagim and
educational traditions
1. Native Italians (Papal states and north central area)
2 Ashkenazic Jews from Germany and France (north)
3 Sephardic Jews in Kingdom of Naples
B Italian Jewish communities very small but influential
1. Many of them had one or two prominent bankers who were
vital for Italian commerce
2. Wealthy bankers helped develop Italian Jewish culture,
reflecting the Humanist Renaissance approach to culture
developing in Italy at the time
a. Supported Jewish scholars and artists
b. Established educational institutions or academies
designed to prepare Italian Jewish gentleman, Haham
Kollel, similar to Christian academies that trained the
homo universalis, the Renaissance gentleman
c. Italian Jewish curriculum integrated secular studies
with Jewish studies. Similar Jewish curricula only in
Spain and Provence. The secular studies consisted of
the 7 liberal arts
i) quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, music/art and
astronomy)
ii) The trivium (grammar, logic and rhetoric)
d. These liberal studies were pursued in application
to both Hebrew and classical languages (Latin and
Greek)
C Rabbinic authority differed in the Ashkenazic and Sephardic
traditions. Rabbi Judah and his father, Rabbi David, believed
that rabbinic ordination by itself grants political authority
to the rabbi wherever he may be.
II Father, Rabbi Judah ben Yehiel Messer Leon
A. Name Messer is short form of "mio serro" (My Lord) and Leon
means lion, alluding to his name Judah . The honorary title of
Messer was awarded to him by the German Emperor Frederick III
during his visit to Italy. Only two other Jews are known to
have held this title.
B Early Years
1. He was born in Montecchio around 1420. His father Yehiel
was a doctor so we assume his family was well off and that
he received the typical Italian Jewish education of the
elite,combining rabbinic training with secular disciplines
2 R. Judah was ordained as a rabbi and received a diploma in
medicine when in his early 20s
C Various Positions in Italian Jewish Communities
1 Headed yeshiva in Ancona in 1450s and then moved on to
Bologna where he again conducted his Jewish academy. By ten
years later he had moved on to Padua where he spent most of
his time as a physician.
2 Moved on to Venice where he remained for short time. It
was in Venice that his wife gave birth to his son David
3. By 1473 R. Judah had moved on to Mantua where he again
operated his academy.
4 He spent his last years in Naples which he chose because
of the privileges accorded to the Jews by the King of Naples
5. In each case, when he moved, his wealth, elevated status
as rabbi and physician, and his academy moved with him.
D. Highlights of his Career
1. Jewish Educator/Writer
a. His academy combined secular and Jewish studies.
b. In order to prepare proper curriculum R. Judah was
lead to compose translations and several books that
were used in his school
i) Livenat haSapir (Sapphire Stone) grammar book
ii) Miklal Yofi (Perfection of Beauty) a logic
book
iii) Noefet Zufim (Honeycomb's Flow) Hebrew
rhetoric book, the first Hebrew book published
while its author was still alive
2. Rabbinic Authority
a. Held opinion that his decisions in one city, e.g.,
Ancona, were applicable to all the Italian Jewish
communities
b His decision banning the perush of the Ralbag on the
Torah. In this case, he correctly perceived the great
importance of the printing press, invented in 1454, and
its future effect on learning in the Jewish community
c) R. Judah considered himself to be the head of
Italian Jewry and gave himself the title of Meor
Hage'ulah (Light of the Exile)
III Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon
A. Early Years
1. Born in Venice about 1470.
2. Early education was from his father, first at home, and
later in father's academy
3. Example of sample curriculum from R. Yohanan Alemanno,
one of R. Judah's students and assumed to be similar to that
in R. Judah's school
4. R. David was one of his father's best students. He
received ordination at age of 18 (usually this was by 35-40
years old)
5. Because R. Judah viewed ordination as a source of
political power, he refused to grant his son his own Smicha,
but rather R. David was ordained by the other rabbis in R.
Judah's academy
6. After his ordination he was sent to Padua where he
studied with R. Judah of Minz who had established an
Ashkenazi-style yeshiva there. R. David gained great
proficiency in tosafot and Ashkenazic halachic codes.
7. It is in Padua that he is assumed to have been introduced
to Kabbalah, awayfrom his father's academy, probably through
his association with the Kabbalist R. Elijah del Medigo who
was in Padua at the time.
"I engaged in Kabbalah for many years and I have seen
its mysterious and difficult book ever since I was 18
year old... Though most philosophers and physicians
rejected the science, I do not share their view. For
all sciences...are compatible with one another "
8. It is likely that while in Padua he furthered his medical
studies.
9. During this time R. David wrote to R. David Provenzali of
Naples asking about the status of secular science within
traditional Judaism
"Were these (secular disciplines ) desired or rejected
by our sages?"
R. Provenzali, typical of the educated Italian Jew,
responded that each of the 7 liberal arts was praised and
appreciated by the sages who embraced them wholeheartedly :
(Sh'ayin safek sh'kall chacma mai'hashevah chochmos
hamidi'ut hen mshubachot v'na'arachot b'iny'inai
chochmaynu vahavu otah ahava g'murah.)
He encouraged R. David to continue his secular study while
affirming the superiority of Torah study over all other
intellectual pursuits.
10. R. David left Padua for Florence where he remained for
a few years. Here he furthered his interests in various
aspects of secular studies that were developing through the
Renaissance Humanism movement (grammar, poetry, music,
etc.). He was influenced in these areas of study by
non-Jews such as Pico della Mirandello and in Kabbalah by
R. Yohanan Alemanno.
11. R. David returned to Naples and his father's house in
about 1492 where he taught in his father's academy and
served as a doctor. This was also the time that exiles from
Spain were welcomed into the country.
12. Naples was good for Jews until the ruler Ferrante I
died in 1494 which brought on an invasion by France. By
early 1495 the army of Charles VIII of France conquered
Naples and the Jews were attacked. Most of the Jews escaped
to the Ottoman Empire which is where R. David went.
B. Rabbi David in the Ottoman Empire
1. Unhappy Status in Istanbul
a. He thought of himself as nobleman among the nobles
of the land (atzil matzilai ha'aretz); however because
he had no money he wasn't regarded as such
b. His medical practice wasn't as successful as in
Naples so he was forced to support himself as a rabbi.
c. In addition, he attempted to obtain financial
support from a patroness in Italy, who is assumed to be
Laura, wife of Samuel ben Yehiel of Pisa (rich banker)
d. He did this by writing a book entitled Shevah
Ha'nashim (In Praise of Women) which is a commentary on
Proverbs 31, Eshet Hayil
i) In it R. David uses many classical, i.e.,
non-Jewish sources so he first has to defend his
use of these sources
ii) R. David held that because Torah is the
revelation of divine wisdom, it contains in
essence all branches of human knowledge. R. David
emphasizes that the sequence of study is critical,
that a Jew should first master the Torah before
proceeding to secular studies, and he gives many
examples in Bible and Talmud of the wisdom
possessed by rabbis/leaders.
iii) R. David exemplified Jewish humanism, an
approach viewing the humanities as necessary
studies for attaining religious perfection. He
applies this to the ideal woman. To him, the
illustration of exemplary women in the Bible, and
also in non- Jewish mythology, are references to
real women. He rejects their Biblical interpre-
tation along allegorical lines. He views the
Eshet Hayil as a practical guide for the proper
conduct of the ideal woman
B. Controversy with Istanbul Rabbis
1. Haham Bashi of Istanbul was R. Eliyahu Capsali,
chief of the Romaniot community who had been rabbi in
Istanbul for more than 30 years and had welcomed the
large influx of Sephardic Jews in 1492 with open arms
2. In 1497 the rabbinic leaders of the Sephardic
congregations publicly challenged R. Capsali over the
issue of wearing the suddar, an overcoat that had been
worn in Spain. R. Capsali had ruled that it shouldn't
be worn because it violated the principle of imitating
non-Jews in public.
3. The Sephardic rabbis upheld R. Capsali's authority
to issue the decree, but opposed the specifics of his
ruling.
4. R. David was asked to support R. Capsali. After some
time he did, writing a spirited defense of the action. To
him it exemplified the views of himself and his father
regarding authority of the recognized rabbinic seat
5. R. Capsali died soon after but by then R. David had
alienated the Sephardic rabbis of Istanbul who were
growing in importance as their congregations increased
in size and influence. Combined with R. David's view
that scholarly pursuits were not highly valued among
the Jews of Istanbul, it is not surprising that he left
Istanbul.
C. Controversy Over Maimonides in Salonika
1. R. David's next stop was Salonika where he
functioned as the Marbitz Torah of the congregation of
Jews from Calabria (southern tip of Italy). He
succeeded R. Yaakov ibn Habib, author of Ein Yaakov, in
this post.
2. Each congregation had three rabbinic functionaries:
a) Marbitz Torah who was the congregation's teacher of
Torah b) Rabbi who headed its yeshiva and c) Dayan who
acted as judge in religious matters
3. Salonika at that time had a large number of
Sephardic scholars who made it conducive for R. David
to pursue his own scholarly activities
4. In Salonika he wrote his major work, Ein Ha'Kore, a
commentary on the Rambam's Guide for the Perplexed. As
the symbol of the philosophic approach to Judaism,
Rambam was often attacked. This was especially true
when Jews from communities that held philosophy in high
esteem encountered those from communities who did not.
This was the situation in of the Ottoman Empire at that
time which attracted Jews from all over. Such disputes
over the Rambam/philosophic view were even more likely
to erupt during times of catastrophe, such as the
Expulsion from Spain
5. In R. David's time there were men like R. Meir ibn
Gabbai and his own former student R. Meir ibn Verga who
began to criticize the Rambam. To set the record
straight about the enormous positive impact the Rambam
had on Judaism, R. David wrote his Ein Ha'Kore (Eye of
the Reader)
6. R. David shows Rambam not a radical who replaced
Jewish revealed laws with pagan logic, but one who
defended Judaism against Aristotelian philosophy by
turning it against itself. R. David viewed Rambam as
one who elevated Judaism to higher plane by showing
Judaism is Truth, yet recognizing that human reason,
without Divine revelation, cannot demonstrate the
entire Truth
7. With the publication and acclaim of Ein Ha'Kore R.
David's fame spread throughout Ottoman Jewish world and
communities pursued him.
D. Defense of Rabbinic Authority in Valona
1. Although he spent some time on the island of Corfu, the
Italian Jewish community of Valona pursued him and
ultimately got him as their rabbi. Valona (known as Avilona
in Hebrew) today is Vlore, Albania, is ~180 miles due west
of Salonika on the Adriatic Sea.
2. Jewish community of Valona had 4 components: largest was
the Italian (Apulia, southern Italy), some Sephardim (from
Castile and Catalonia in Spain and Portugal) and a few
Romaniots. By 1510 R. David was the chief rabbi of the city
giving Shabbat sermons in all four synagogues. Later he was
able to unify the Spanish (Catalan) and Portuguese into a
single Sephardic congregation.
3. During his 2nd year, when he served only the Apulians,
controversy arose.
a. The Portuguese walked out of the unified Sephardic
congregation. The bylaws of this congregation
indicated that any act of secession would warrant
herem, excommunication from the entire Jewish
community.
b.The Spanish, Catalans and Castilians, remained behind
and appealed to R. David to assist them. R. David
issued a comprehensive legal opinion concerning
excommunication as a proper response for seceding from
a congregation. R. David was against the excommun-
ication. It was the first written opinion on this
subject which was to occur many more times: internal
conflict within an immigrant Jewish community, with
various groups trying to maintain their own identity.
This written opinion has been studied and expanded upon
by rabbis over the generations
c. A wealthy Portuguese physician Don Solomon Krisanti
took action to bring the two groups together. He had
recovered from an illness, and in gratitude he tried to
get the two groups together on the evening of Yom
Kipur at time of Kol Nidre, when forgiveness is asked
for transgressions during the previous year.
d. Krisanti suggested that during Kol Nidre R. David
preside over an annulment of the Sephardic
congregation's excommunication of the Portuguese. The
Sephardim rejected this so Krisanti appealed to R.
David again, this time asking him to use his personal
authority.
e. R. David preferred to convene a Bet Din on Yom
Kippur morning, selecting the cantors of the Catalans
and of the Apulians to serve with him. First Krisanti
appeared to present the case of the Portuguese, and
then the Castilians were summoned. The Castilian
leaders, including Meir ibn Verga and R. Abrahm Collier
refused to appear. This challenge to R. David's
authority was too much. He personally summoned R. Meir
ibn Verga to appear at R. David's synagogue for a
public apology, but ibn Verga refused. By now the
controversy had disrupted much of the day of Yom Kippur
and the other Castillian leaders had had enough. They
dragged ibn Verga to R. David's synagogue and there he
and R. Abraham Collier publicly apologized, ending the
controversy.
4. Sometime afterwards R. David left Valona, for Salonika
where he wrote his last book, Tehillah L'David, (Glory to
David) a vast summary of Jewish theology on the scale of an
encyclopedia.