Isaac Ben Sheshet
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (or Barfat) (1326–1408) () was a Spanish Talmudic authority, also known by his acronym, Rivash (). He was born at
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
and settled early in life at
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, where he studied at the school of Nissim of Gerona.


Life

Isaac was a paternal descendant of Sheshet Benveniste, and a descendant of Azriel of Gerona through his father's paternal grandmother. Although Isaac, while still young, acquired a worldwide reputation as a Talmudic authority, and halakhic inquiries were addressed to him from all quarters, he led a private life, earning his livelihood in commerce until he was about fifty years old, when he was compelled to accept a position as
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
. Together with six other prominent men of Barcelona, among whom was his younger brother Judah ben Sheshet and his teacher Nissim ben Reuben, he was thrown into prison on a false accusation. After his acquittal he accepted the rabbinate of
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
; but troubles still awaited him. To the grief caused by the death of his brother Judah and of his son-in-law was added that due to dissensions in the community, stirred up by the '' dayyan'' Joseph ben David. Isaac in consequence accepted the less important rabbinate of
Calatayud Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón (river), Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest ...
; but when he was on the point of leaving Zaragoza the leaders of that community induced him to stay. The peace, however, did not remain long undisturbed, and Isaac settled at Valencia, where he directed a Talmudical school. After sojourning a certain time at Miliana, he settled at
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
, where he was received with great honor. A certain Spanish refugee who had settled at Algiers before him aspired to become the leader of the community, and, seeing in Isaac a rival, began to persecute him. To give to Isaac the power necessary to act against this man, Saul ha-Kohen Astrue persuaded the government to appoint Isaac rabbi of Algiers. But this won for him a still more powerful enemy in the person of Simeon ben Zemah Duran, who disapproved of any intervention on the part of the government in the affairs of the rabbinate. Notwithstanding these events, Isaac was greatly venerated by the Algerian Jews, and pilgrimages to his tomb are still made on the anniversary of his death, which occurred in 1408. His tombstone was restored by the community of Algiers in 1862. It bears a
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 ...
elegy, composed by Abba Mari ibn Caspi, and the following French inscription: "Ce monument a été restauré par la communauté Israélite d'Alger en I'honneur du Rabbin Isaac bar Chichat, né en Espagne, décédé à Alger en 1408, dans sa 82 année. Alger le 11 août, 1862." The accuracy of the date of his death given in this epitaph is, however, questioned by some scholars, who claim with some authority that Isaac died at least one year later.


Works

Isaac was the author of 518 ''
responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
'', to which great halakic value is attached by men like Joseph Caro, Jacob Berab, and many others. They are also of great historical importance as reflecting the conditions of Jewish life in the fourteenth century. In some of them are to be found details of the author's life; but unfortunately it is impossible to trace these chronologically, the original order of the responsa having been altered by the editors. Although Isaac was very strict in his halakic decisions, he was far from being narrow-minded. He has nothing to say against secular knowledge; he disapproves the study of
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
only because the latter professed belief in the eternity of matter and denied God's providence. Isaac's ''responsa'' evidence a profound knowledge of the philosophical writings of his time. In one of them (No. 118) he explains the difference between the opinion of Levi ben Gershom and that of Abraham ben David of Posquières on
free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
, and gives his own views on that complicated subject. He shows himself a decided adversary of the
Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...
. His teacher says Isaac never spoke of the ''
Sefirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...
'', and Isaac cites the words of one of the philosophizers who reproaches the kabbalists with believing in the ten (Sefirot) as the
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
believe in the
Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
.No. 157
Isaac's ''responsa'' were first published, under the title ''She'elot u-Teshubot'', 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 ...
in 1546–47. A newer collection of the responsa was published under the title ''She'elot u-Teshubot ha-Ribash ha-Ḥadashot'' by David Frenkl at Muncas. In addition to these, he wrote novellæ on 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 ...
which are no longer in existence. They are mentioned by him in his responsa (No. 106), and some of them, on the treatise Ketubot, are cited by
Bezalel Ashkenazi Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi () ( 1520 – 1592) was a rabbi and talmudist who lived in Ottoman Israel during the 16th century. He is best known as the author of the ''Shitah Mekubetzet'', a commentary on the Talmud. Among his disciples were ...
in the ''Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet''. Azulai says that he has seen a manuscript containing a commentary on the
Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...
by Isaac ben Sheshet.


References

It has the following bibliography: * David Conforte, ''Ḳore ha-Dorot,'' p. 26a; * Azulai, ''Shem ha-Gedolim,'' i.100; * Giovanni Bernardo Rossi, ''Dizionario,'' p. 291; * Zunz, ''Zeitschrift,'' p. 132; * Heinrich Grätz, ''Gesch.'' viii.34; * Moses Schorr, in '' He-Ḥaluẓ,'' i.28; * Moritz Steinschneider, ''Cat. Bodl.'' col. 1155; * Heinrich Jaulus, in ''Monatsschrift,'' 1875, p. 320; * Atlas, in ''Ha-Kerem,'' i.1-26; * Bloch, in ''R.E.J.'' viii.288; * Kaufmann, in ''Monatsschrift,'' 1882, p. 86; 1883, p. 190; * Fuenn, ''Keneset Yisrael,'' s.v. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Sheshet, Isaac 1326 births 1408 deaths 14th-century Catalan rabbis 14th-century Algerian rabbis Medieval Jewish philosophers People from Valencia 14th-century Spanish philosophers Authors of books on Jewish law 15th-century Algerian rabbis 14th-century writers from the Crown of Aragon