Rabbi David Altschuler of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

(1687-1769) was a

biblical commentator This is an outline of commentaries and commentators. Discussed are the salient points of Jewish, patristic, medieval, and modern commentaries on the Bible. The article includes discussion of the Targums, Mishna, and Talmuds, which are not regarded ...

and the author of a classic commentary, known as the ''Metzudot'', to the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

Nevi'im Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim (wri ...

and

Ketuvim The Ketuvim (; hbo, , Modern: ''Kəṯūvīm'', Tiberian: ''Kăṯūḇīm'' "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bi ...

. Altshchuler is also known as the ''Baal Metzudot'', "Master or Author of the Metzudot."

Biography

Altschuler was born in Yavoriv in western Galicia. His family had its origins in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, but were forced to leave with the expulsion of Jews from Portugal. It is reported that upon reaching Prague they built a synagogue using stones from the old Portuguese synagogues they had left, and therefore the family name became Altschuler ("of the old synagogue"). According to other reports, the family origin was in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

. In the year 5486 (1725-1726) he is recorded as serving as a rabbi or judge of Yavoriv. Apparently, after this he served as rabbi of Prague, as did other members of his family. He saw that

Torah study Torah study is the study of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature, and similar works, all of which are Judaism's Sifrei kodesh, religious texts. According to Rabbinic Judaism, the study is done for the purpose of the ''mi ...

had become weak among European Jews and even among scholars. Believing that the reason for this was the lack of a sufficiently simple and clear commentary, he wrote his commentary "Metzudat David" to fit this need. The commentary covers all Neviim and Ketuvim except for Ruth, Lamentations, and Esther. It is principally based on the commentary of

Radak ''Cervera Bible'', David Qimhi's Grammar Treatise David Kimhi ( he, ר׳ דָּוִד קִמְחִי, also Kimchi or Qimḥi) (1160–1235), also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK () (Rabbi David Kimhi), was a medieval rabbi, biblical commen ...

, but includes ideas from many other previous commentators. According to the Hida, these sources include

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

, Ibn Ezra,

Ralbag Levi ben Gershon (1288 – 20 April 1344), better known by his Graecized name as Gersonides, or by his Latinized name Magister Leo Hebraeus, or in Hebrew by the abbreviation of first letters as ''RaLBaG'', was a medieval French Jewish philosop ...

, Moshe Alshich,

Saadiah Gaon Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

and Ramban.''Shem haGedolim haHadash'' (Maarechet Sefarim), Mem, 166 The commentary was published in Zhovkva in 1753, and later published a second time before his death. David's son

Yechiel Hillel Altschuler Yechiel ( he, יְחִיאֵל) is a Hebrew masculine given name meaning "May God live" or "God shall live". Several people in the Bible have this name. See Jehiel (biblical figure). Alternative spellings of Yechiel include Jehiel, Yehiel, Yech ...

also served as rabbi of Yavoriv, and finished his father's great work, and traveled extensively in Europe in order to publish and spread it. David published the commentary as one work, but Yechiel divided it into two works: ''Metzudat David'' which explains the meaning of the verses, and ''Metzudat Tzion'' which explains individual words and phrases. The two works are collectively known as the ''Metzudot''. In time the ''Metzudot'' became one of the basic commentaries on Neviim and Ketuvim, printed in most editions of the Hebrew Bible with commentators.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altschuler, David Bible commentators 18th-century Bohemian rabbis 1687 births 1769 deaths People from Yavoriv Ukrainian Jews Rabbis of Prague