Moses Almosnino
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Moses ben Baruch Almosnino ( – ) was a distinguished
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 ...
; born at
Thessaloniki 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 ...
about 1515, and died in
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 ...
about 1580.


Rabbinical work

He was elected rabbi of the Neveh Shalom community of
Spanish Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the fe ...
in that city in 1553, and of the Livyat Hen congregation in 1560. He was eminent alike for knowledge of
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 ...
nical matters and for scholarship in the science of his day, particularly natural
physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
and
astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
, furnishing commentaries upon many treatises translated from the
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
and
Latin 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 ...
. In 1565, he successfully represented his brethren at an audience with the sultan Selim II, petitioning for the confirmation of their civil rights.


Contribution to Judaic Writings

In 1570, Almosnino wrote a lengthy
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 ...
commentary on the Biblical "Five scrolls"—the books of Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther—under the title ''Yede Mosheh'' ("The Hands of Moses"); also an exposition of 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 ...
ical treatise ''Abot'' " Ethics of the Fathers" called ''Pirkei Moshe'', published at Salonica in 1563; and a collection of sermons delivered upon various occasions, particularly funeral orations, entitled ''Meammeẓ. Koah'' ("Reenforcing Strength.") These were published in Hebrew by his son Simon, the expense being defrayed by two other sons, Abraham and Absalom. Another Hebrew work by Almosnino was ''Tefillah le-Mosheh'' ("The Prayer of Moses"), an apologetic work 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 ...
, published at Salonica in 1563, and republished at
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
in 1598 and 1805. Almosnino also wrote a homiletic in
Judaeo-Spanish Judaeo-Spanish or Judeo-Spanish (autonym , Hebrew script: ), also known as Ladino or Judezmo or Spaniolit, is a Romance language derived from Castilian Old Spanish. Originally spoken in Spain, and then after the Edict of Expulsion spreading ...
, ''Regimiento de la Vida'', which is written as a guide to his son about how one should live his life, treats among other things of the origin of
good and evil In philosophy, religion, and psychology, "good and evil" is a common dichotomy. In religions with Manichaeism, Manichaean and Abrahamic influence, evil is perceived as the dualistic cosmology, dualistic antagonistic opposite of good, in which ...
, the influence of the stars, Providence, the
moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...
life, education of children, and
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 ...
. To this was appended a chapter on "Dreams, Their Origin and True Nature," written, as it is stated, at the request of Don Joseph Nasi,
Duke of Naxos The Duchy of the Archipelago (, , ), also known as Duchy of Naxos or Duchy of the Aegean, was a maritime state created by Venetian interests in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, centered on the i ...
. The work was printed in Rashi script at the press of Joseph Jaabez, Salonica, 1564, and was republished at Venice in 1604, and at Salonica in 1729. An appendix of five pages contains a list of difficult Spanish words, occurring therein, translated into Hebrew. An edition in Spanish letters was published by Samuel Mendes de Sola and associates in Amsterdam, 1729, dedicated to Aaron David Pinto. This work is considered one of the rarest in the Spanish language. A historical work by Almosnino, ''Extremos y Grandezas de Constantinopla'', also in Spanish with Hebrew characters, was transliterated and republished by Jacob Cansino, Madrid, 1638. According to
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 ...
(''Die Hebräischen Uebersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher'', p. 215), Moses Almosnino was also author of a commentary upon
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 ...
's ''
Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
''. Eliakim Carmoly (p. 12) mentions it under the title of ''Pene Mosheh'' ("The Face of Moses"), stating that it was written by Moses at Palestria near Salonica, and that his son Simon, after his father's death, desired to publish it (1584).


References

* * *John M. Zemke, ed. Mose ben Baruch Almosnino. Regimiento de la vida and Tratado de los suenyos (Salonika, 1564). Tempe, AZ: Medieval & Renaissance Texts and Studies, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Almosnino, Moses Rabbis from Thessaloniki Judaeo-Spanish-language writers 1510s births 1580s deaths 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire