Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati (;
1223–1290) was an Italian rabbi who was born and died in the city of
Recanati, who devoted the chief part of his writings to 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 ...
.
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Works
In addition to the halachic rulings collected in Piskei Recanati (his only halachic work), Recanati wrote a kabbalistic commentary on the Torah
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 () ...
, a commentary on the siddur
A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.'
Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...
, and discussions of the commandments. Piskei Recanati was first published in Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
, 1538, and was published several times thereafter.
* ''Perush 'Al ha-Torah'' (Venice, 1523), a work full of mystical deductions and meanings based upon a textual interpretation of the Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
; it describes many visions and celestial revelations claimed to have been experienced by the author, who was influenced by kabbalistic ideas, and expresses the highest respect for all kabbalistic authors, even the most recent apocryphal ones. The work was republished with a commentary by Mordecai Jaffe, at Lublin in 1595Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
by Pico di Mirandola.[
* ''Perush ha-Tefillot'' and ''Ṭa'ame ha-Miẓwot,'' published together (Constantinople, 1543–1544; Basel, 1581). Like the preceding work, these are strongly tinctured with German mysticism. Recanati frequently quotes Judah he-Hasid of ]Regensburg
Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
, Eleazar of Worms, and their disciples, and alludes also to the Spanish kabbalists, Nahmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...
among them. He is rarely original, quoting almost always other authorities. Although Recanati had a high reputation for sanctity, he exercised less influence on his contemporaries than upon posterity. To assist him in his kabbalistic researches, he studied logic and 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 ...
; and he endeavors to support the Kabbalah by philosophical arguments.[
*''Pisḳe Hilkot,'' Bologna, 1538.][
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography:
* Moritz Güdemann, Gesch. ii. 180 et seq.;
* Zunz, Literaturgesch. p. 369;
*idem, in Geiger's Jüd. Zeit. iv. 139;
* Gedaliah ibn Yaḥya, Shalshelet ha-Ḳabbalah, p. 48b]
References
* Menahem Recanati – Commentary on the Daily Prayers: Flavius Mithridates’ Latin Translation, the Hebrew Text, and an English Version, edited with introduction and notes by Giacomo Corazzol, two volumes, 860 pages. HE KABBALISTIC LIBRARY OF GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA 3, Giulio Busi, general editorTorino: Nino Aragno Editore, 2008.
13th-century Italian rabbis
Kabbalists
13th-century births
13th-century deaths
Exponents of Jewish law
Recanati family
People from Recanati
Authors of books on Jewish law
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