Abraham Hiyya de Boton (c. 1560 – c. 1605) (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: אברהם די בוטון) was a

Talmudist 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 ...

and rabbi, a pupil of

Samuel de Medina Rabbi Samuel ben Moses de Medina (abbreviated RaShDaM, or Maharashdam; 1505 – October 12, 1589), was a Talmudist and author from Thessaloniki. He was principal of the Talmudic academy of that city, which produced a great number of prominent s ...

, who later dwelt for the most part at

Salonica Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

as rabbi and leader of a Talmudic academy. The name "Ḥiyya" was given him during a dangerous sickness (Ḥiyya = "life"; "may he live!"). He was for a time rabbi at Polia;

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,'' p. 95 in 1601 he lived in

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and in 1603 was at

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. He died between 1603 and 1609.

Works

Even during his lifetime Boton was distinguished as a Talmudist of wide learning and acumen. His chief work is ''Lehem Mishneh'' (Double Bread; also Dispute of the Mishnah), Venice, 1609: it bears also the title ''Mishneh Torah.'' It is a commentary on

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

' ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...

'', especially on those passages which apparently contradict the

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 ...

. He not only refers to such passages as had been previously noticed, but discovers a large number of others. At the same time, Boton endeavors to establish harmony between the seeming discrepancies by every possible method of interpretation. ''Leḥem Mishneh'' also contains many remarks on ''Maggid Mishneh,'' Don

Vidal of Tolosa Vidal of Toulouse, Tolosa, alternate spelling Vidal de Toulouse (Hebrew: וידאל די טולושא), was a Spanish rabbi and scholar of the late 14th century, and is often referred to by the sobriquet, ''Harav Ha-Maggid'', or the ''Maggid Mishn ...

's commentary on the ''Mishneh Torah''. The work is now widespread, and is incorporated with most editions of the ''Mishneh Torah'' that have appeared in the last two centuries. Conforte relates(ib. p. 45a that his teacher

Mordecai Kalai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and ...

told him and other pupils that the ''Leḥem Mishneh'' was the joint work of Kalai and Boton, who were fellow-students; and Kalai is even reported to have said that most of the observations in ''Leḥem Mishneh'' were his own. This aspersion loses force through the fact that though Kalai lived in the same city, he never made this claim against Boton publicly. Another work of Boton's was ''Leḥem Rav'' (Great Meal, or Great Dispute), responsa, published by his grandson Abraham (No. 4), Smyrna, 1660. The ''

novellae In Roman law, a novel (, "new decree"; ) is a new decree or edict, in other words a new law. The term was used from the fourth century AD onwards and was specifically used for laws issued after the publishing of the ''Codex Theodosianus'' in 438 and ...

'' on ''Baba Ḳamma'' in Abraham Akra's ''Meharere *Nemerim'' must be the work of another and earlier Abraham de Boton.

References

* Its bibliography: *

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 ...

, ''Ḳore ha-Dorot,'' pp. 37b, 43a, 43b, 44a, 45a, 48a, 50b, 51a; * Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim,'' ed. Benjacob, i.7; * Michael, Heimann Joseph, (1891) ''Or ha-Ḥayyim'', Frankfort-on-the-Main (in Hebrew), No. 182; *

Benjacob Isaac ben Jacob Benjacob (10 January 1801, Ramygala – 2 July 1863, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian Jewish maskil, best known as a bibliographer, author, and publisher. His 17-volume Hebrew Bible included Rashi, Moses Mendelssohn, as well as his own ...

, ''Oẓar ha-Sefarim,'' p. 260; *idem, ''Leḥem Mishneh,'' Amsterdam, 1703. {{DEFAULTSORT:Boton, Abraham de 1560s births 1600s deaths 17th-century Greek clergy 17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Talmudists Rabbis from Thessaloniki 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Sephardi rabbis from Ottoman Palestine