Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez (also "Yaavetz") (14381539) was a
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
-Jewish theologian. He lived for a time in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...
which he subsequently displayed in his writings. When the Jews were banished from Spain Jabez settled at
Mantua
Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province.
In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. There he met his compatriot, the kabbalistJudah ben Jacob Ḥayyat, whom he induced to write the commentary ''Minḥat Yehudah'' on the kabbalistic work ''Ma'areket Elahut.''
Jabez was an opponent of
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
. For him, the truth of religion is demonstrated by the miracles recorded in the
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 ...
, the six of
Hasdai Crescas
Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas (; ; c. 1340 in Barcelona – 1410/11 in Zaragoza) was a Spanish-Jewish philosopher and a renowned halakhist (teacher of Jewish law). Along with Maimonides ("Rambam"), Gersonides ("Ralbag"), and Joseph Albo, he is k ...
, and the three of
Joseph Albo
Joseph Albo (; ) was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived in Spain during the fifteenth century, known chiefly as the author of ''Sefer ha-Ikkarim'' ("Book of Principles"), the classic work on the fundamentals of Judaism.
Biography
Albo's bi ...
. According to him, only the following three, alluded to in the verse about "
I Am that I Am
"I Am that I Am" is a Bible translations into English, common English translation of the Hebrew language, Hebrew phrase (; )– also "I am who (I) am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be", "I cre ...
" in the narrative of the
burning bush
The burning bush (or the unburnt bush) refers to an event recorded in the Jewish Torah (as also in the biblical Old Testament and Islamic scripture). It is described in the third chapter of the Book of Exodus as having occurred on Mount Horeb ...
in the
Book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...
, are the fundamental principles of
Judaism
Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
:
# That God is one
# That He governs the world
# That in the end all mankind will believe in His unity
These dogmas are expounded by him in the following books:
* ''Ḥasde Adonay'' (Constantinople, 1533), an ethical work wherein the author demonstrates that the wise man is more grateful to God for his misfortunes than for worldly advantages
* ''Ma'amar ha-Aḥdut'' (Ferrara, 1554), on the unity of God
* ''Perush ʿal Masseket Abot'' (ib. 1555), on the sayings of the Fathers, mentioned by the author of ''Yesod ha-Emunah''
* ''Or ha-Ḥayyim'' (ib. 1555), against philosophy
* A commentary on the
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament.
The book is an anthology of B ...
(Salonica, 1571)
Jabez also left a great number of manuscript works, which, according to Ghirondi, are still (as of 1906) in the possession of the author's descendants.
Isaac Jabez was his son.
Jewish Encyclopedia 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, p. 30a;
*
Chaim Yosef David Azulai
Haim Yosef David Azulai ben Yitzhak Zerachia (; 1724 – 1 March 1806), commonly known as the Hida (also spelled Chida, the acronym of his name, ), was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication o ...
Adolf Jellinek
Adolf Jellinek ( ''Aharon Jelinek''; 26 June 1821 in Drslavice, Moravia – 28 December 1893 in Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar. After filling clerical posts in Leipzig (1845–1856), he became a preacher at the Leopoldstädter Temp ...
, in Orient, Lit. vii. 262;
*
Moritz Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.''
Education
Mo ...