Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen was one of the

hachmei Provence Hachmei Provence () refers to the hekhamim, "sages" or "rabbis," of Provence, now Occitania in France, which was a great center for Rabbinical Jewish scholarship in the times of the Tosafists. The singular form is ''hakham'', a Sephardic and Hach ...

, one of a family of scholars living at

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(not Lunel, as

David Conforte David Conforte (c. 1618 – c. 1685) () was a Hebrew literary historian born in Salonica, author of the literary chronicle known by the title ''Ḳore ha-Dorot.'' Biography Conforte came of a family of scholars. His early instructors were rabbi ...

and others say), who suffered from The Great Exile of 1306. Ben Jacob emigrated to

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, and there, sometime before 1327, composed a ritual work of great merit bearing the title ''Orchot Hayyim'' "Paths of Life". The first part deals chiefly with the laws concerning daily prayers,

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

, and the festivals, and was published in Florence in 1752. The work is a compilation of

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic laws and discussions rather than an original system and was conceived on a plan similar to

Jacob ben Asher Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270–1340), also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Yaakov ben haRosh, was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority. He is often referred to as the Ba'al ha-Turim ("Author of the ''Turim''"), after his main work, the ''A ...

's great code, the ''

Arba'ah Turim ''Arba'ah Turim'' (), often called simply the ''Tur'', is an important Halakha#Codes of Jewish law, Halakhic code composed by Yaakov ben Asher (Cologne, 1270 – Toledo, Spain c. 1340, also referred to as ''Ba'al Ha-Turim''). The four-part stru ...

'', which appeared soon afterward and superseded it as a ritual guide on account of its more practical character. The ''Orchot Hayyim,'' however, contains some ethical and doctrinal chapters which are not found in the ''Arba'ah Turim''. Ben Jacob was especially fond of mystic lore and rabbinical discussion. A less strict legalist than Jacob ben Asher, Aaron's ''Orchot Hayyim'' is of greater value to the student of literature than to one who seeks practical decisions. A different work, the '' Kol Bo'', is considered by some to be an abridgement of ''Orchot Hayyim'' written by another author or by ben Jacob himself; according to others, ''Kol Bo'' is a first draft of ''Orchot Hayyim''.''Al Harishonim veAl HaAchronim'' (Machon Tzurba deRabanan), 4th edition

References

* Its bibliography: * Henri Gross, "Aaron ha-Kohen und sein Ritualwerk Orḥot Ḥayyim," in ''Monatsschrift,'' 1869, pp. 433–450, 531-541 * idem, ''Gallia Judaica,'' pp. 290, 420; *

Heimann Joseph Michael Heimann (Hayyim) Michael (April 12, 1792 – June 10, 1846) was a Hebrew bibliographer born at Hamburg. He showed great acuteness of mind in early childhood, had a phenomenal memory, and was an indefatigable student. He studied Talmudics and rec ...

, ''Or ha-Ḥayyim,'' No. 300; Benjacob, ''Oẓar ha-Sefarim,'' pp. 51, 239

External links

Kohanim Greats: Rabbi Ahron HaKohen of Luniel at Kehuna.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaron ben Jacob Ha-Kohen 14th-century French rabbis Rabbis from Narbonne Medieval Majorcan Jews Jewish refugees French Orthodox rabbis Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature Authors of books on Jewish law

See also

References

External links