Moses ben Isaac Alashkar (1466–1542) () was a rabbi who lived in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, but subsequently resided in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Moses Alashkar was prominent among contemporaneous rabbis, and his opinions were held in esteem throughout the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

, and even in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In a letter to Elijah ha-Levi—the teacher of

Elijah Mizrachi Elijah Mizrachi ( he, אליהו מזרחי) (c. 1455 – 1525 or 1526) was a Talmudist and posek, an authority on Halakha, and a mathematician. He is best known for his ''Sefer ha-Mizrachi'', a supercommentary on Rashi's commentary on the To ...

—he complained that his large correspondence deprived him of much of the time due to his professional duties. The two following are the most important of his works: (1) ''Hassagot'' (Critical Notes), in which he demolishes the whole dogmatical structure built up in

Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov (c. 1390 – c. 1440) (Hebrew: שם טוב אבן שם טוב) was a Spanish kabbalist and fierce opponent of rationalistic philosophy. Tov was president of a yeshivah in Spain. He lived about 1390-1440 ( Gedaliah ibn Ya ...

's ''Sefer ha-Emunot''; (2) ''Responsa,'' 121 in number. Both were printed together at Sabbionetta, 1553. A separate edition of the ''Hassagot'' appeared three years later at Ferrara. This collection, which reached even distant Jewish communities, is of importance for the geographical names in

rabbinical writings Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

and in bills of divorce.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

* Jew. Quart. Rev. vi. 400, x. 133, xii. 119; *Oẓar Nehmad, iii. 105; *

Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...

, Cat. Bodl. col. 1765; * Fürst, Bibl. Jud. i. 30; * Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, No. 45.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alashkar, Moses 1466 births 1542 deaths 16th-century rabbis in Jerusalem 15th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Rabbis in Ottoman Syria Exponents of Jewish law