Nathan Ben Abraham
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Nathan ben Abraham, known also by the epithet ''President of the Academy'' () in the
Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
(died ca. 1045 – 1051), was an 11th-century rabbi and
exegete Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
of the
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
who lived in
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, in the
Jund Filastin Jund Filasṭīn (, "the military district of Palestine") was one of the military districts of the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Bilad al-Sham (Levant), organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s. Jund Filastin, which ...
district of the
Fatimid Caliphate The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa and West Asia, i ...
. He was the author of the first known commentary covering the entire Mishnah.


Biography

A critical analysis of the time-frame in which the author of the Judeo-Arabic Mishnah commentary lived places him in the early 11th century. Assaf suggests that he was Rabbi Nathan the second, the son of Rabbi Abraham who was called ''the Pious'', a contemporary of Rabbi Abiathar, who served in the ''geonate'' of the Land of Israel in 1095 CE. This view has been rejected by more recent scholars, such as Gil (1983), Friedman (1990), Danzig (1998), Amar (2011) and Fox (1994), who put him two generations earlier. In around 1011, Nathan travelled to Qayrawan, to attend to his family inheritance, and while there he studied under the illustrious Rabbi Hushiel ben Elhanan, one of the greatest Jewish scholars of the time. During this time he would travel to
Fustat Fustat (), also Fostat, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, though it has been integrated into Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by the Rashidun Muslim general 'Amr ibn al-'As immediately after the Mus ...
(Old Cairo), in Egypt, where he had certain business engagements, and where it was that he'd meet his future wife, the daughter of Mevorakh ben Eli, a wealthy citizen of Fustat. Nearing the age of forty, he returned to his native Palestine and, after settling in Ramleh where he vied with the ''Gaon'' Solomon ben Judah of Jerusalem between the years 1038 and 1051 over the position of ''gaon'', he was eventually appointed the ''
Av Beit Din The ''av beit din'' (), abbreviated ( ''avad''), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to the nasi. The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was consid ...
'' (President of the court) in
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, a position only second to that of the ''gaon'', and which post he held until his death. During his years of public service, Rabbi Nathan had garnered the support and backing of Diaspora communities, although Solomon ben Judah had secured the backing of the local community, as well as the
Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...
governor of Ramleh. In Palestine, he compiled a commentary on the Mishnah, which commentary enjoyed widespread circulation in the Jewish world in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.


Commentary

Rabbi Nathan's work is one of the first known commentaries of the Mishnah, ranking with that of Rabbi
Hai Gaon Hai ben Sherira (), better known as Hai Gaon (), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038. He receiv ...
's commentary on '' Seder Taharot'' in the Mishnah (and is the oldest existing commentary encompassing the entire Six Orders of the Mishnah). Scholars have ascribed this commentary a unique significance, saying that by virtue of its composition in the Land of Israel, its interpretations are believed to embody an unbroken Palestinian-Jewish tradition on the meanings of difficult words. The treatise also sheds light on the
diachrony Synchrony and diachrony are two complementary viewpoints in linguistic analysis. A ''synchronic'' approach - from ,("together") + ,("time") - considers a language at a moment in time without taking its history into account. In contrast, a ''diac ...
of Hebrew words. The entire work was rendered into a Hebrew translation by Rabbi
Yosef Qafih Yosef Qafiḥ ( , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli posek, authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a Dayan (rabbinic judge), dayan of the Judiciary of Israel#Jewish courts, ...
, with an abridged first edition being published between the years 1955 and 1958, and the second edition in 1965. Even so, the work has not seen widespread circulation.


Anonymous copyist

Nathan's original
Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...
commentary of the Mishnah served as the basis for a later recension made by a 12th-century anonymous author and copyist, believed to be of
Yemenite Jewish Yemenite Jews, also known as Yemeni Jews or Teimanim (from ; ), are a Jewish diaspora group who live, or once lived, in Yemen, and their descendants maintaining their customs. After several waves of persecution, the vast majority of Yemenite J ...
provenance. It is doubtful that his work would have survived, had it not been for the faithful copyist, whose innovation was to interweave in the existing text the divergent views held by several ''
geonim ''Geonim'' (; ; also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura Academy , Sura and Pumbedita Academy , Pumbedita, in t ...
'' and the explanations given by them for words and passages in the Mishnah. The author's introduction reads: "I found the commentaries of Rabbi Nathan, the President of the Academy, hich he madefor explicating the different language usages in the Mishnah, and I have seen fit to add thereto others besides, drawn from the commentaries of Israel's sages." The anonymous copyist is said to have lived between 1105 – 1170 CE, making him a contemporary with Rabbi
Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (1013–1103) (, ), also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym, the Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of halakha, Jewish law). He is best known for his work of '' ...
and
Nathan ben Jehiel Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (, 1035 – 1106) was a Jewish Italian lexicographer. He authored the Arukh, a dictionary for Rabbinic Judaism that was the first work to examine Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. He is therefore referred to as "the Arukh." B ...
of Rome, the author of ''Sefer Arukh''. He is the first to introduce the work as being a commentary of the Mishnah, written by "Rabbeinu Nathan, ''Av ha-Yeshiva''" (the President of the Academy), whom he calls "the son of Abraham ''ha-Ḥasīd''" (Abraham the Pious). This last epithet is believed to have been an error by the copyist, who mistook its true author, Nathan ben Abraham (of the 11th century), with Nathan ben Abraham II, the grandson of the former. He then proceeds to bring down a long introduction wherein he spans the history of the written and oral Laws, writing in
Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...
and commencing with the words, ''qāl ğāmiʿuh'' (= "So said the gatherer f the sayings of the fathers" etc.), covering the Torah's reception at Sinai and how it was transmitted down throughout successive generations, naming some thirteen generations from the time of Israel's return from the
Babylonian exile The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile was the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were forcibly relocated to Babylonia by the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The deportations occurre ...
to the time of Rabbi
Judah HaNasi Judah ha-Nasi (, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince or Judah the President) or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi (a tannaim, tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and e ...
who compiled the Mishnah in 189 CE. In all this, he never once mentions his own name, but chooses to remain anonymous. He also explains some of the terminology used in the Talmud, such as when a saying is meant to be understood as an external teaching ( Baraitta) outside of the Mishnah, and when it is to be understood as a teaching strictly derived from the Mishnah compiled by Rabbi Judah HaNasi. He then mentions the redaction of the
Babylonian 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 modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
under
Rav Ashi Rav Ashi () ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. The original pronunciation of his name may h ...
as occurring in the year 841 of
Seleucid era The Seleucid era ("SE") or (literally "year of the Greeks" or "Greek year"), sometimes denoted "AG," was a Calendar era, system of numbering years in use by the Seleucid Empire and other countries among the ancient Hellenistic period, Hellenistic ...
(corresponding with 530 CE), and names the great exegetes that followed this period, namely: the author of ''Halakhot Ḳetu'ot'' and ''Halakhot Pesuḳot'', Rabbi Yehudai Gaon; the author of ''Halakhot Gedolot'', Rabbi Shimon Kiara; the author of the ''Beramot'' (a term applied to the book '' Sheëltot'' of Rav Aḥai, the Gaon of Shabḥa); Rabbi
Hai Gaon Hai ben Sherira (), better known as Hai Gaon (), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038. He receiv ...
; Rabbi
Isaac ibn Ghiyyat Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat (1030/1038–1089), commonly mispronounced ibn Ghiyyat, was a rabbi, Biblical commentator, codifier of Jewish law, philosopher, and liturgical poet from al-Andalus. He was born and lived in the town of Lucena in the Ta ...
of
Lucena Lucena (, American Spanish: , European Spanish: ), officially known as the City of Lucena (), is a highly urbanized city situated in the Calabarzon region (Region IV-A) of the Philippines. The city is the largest urban center and capital of ...
; Rabbi Nissim, the author of ''Sefer ha-Mafteaḥ'', Rabbi
Samuel ben Ḥofni Samuel ben Hofni (; died 1034; abbreviation: "The Rashbaḥ") was the gaon of Sura Academy in Mesopotamia ("Babylonia") from 998 to 1012. Biography His father was a Talmudic scholar and Av Beit Din or chief jurist, probably of Fez), one of wh ...
, Rabbi Hananel, and Rabbi
Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (1013–1103) (, ), also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym, the Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Maghrebi Talmudist and posek (decider in matters of halakha, Jewish law). He is best known for his work of '' ...
. A certain book entitled ''Kitāb al-Ḥāwī'' ("the Compendium") is cited four times, composed by a certain R. David b. Saadiah. Three of the author's more extensive commentaries exist for the tractates ''Berakhot'', ''Shevu'ot'' and ''Avot''. Since the anonymous copyist makes use of other sources in the original work bequeathed by Rabbi Nathan, it is not uncommon for him to give one explanation for a word in one tractate, but in a different tractate give a different explanation for the same word. The anonymous copyist deviated from the set order of the Mishnah, bringing down the order as follows: (''Seder Zera'im'') Berakhot, (''Seder Mo'ed'') 'Eruvin, Pesahim, Sheqalim, Kippurim, Sukkah, Betzah, Rosh Ha-Shannah, Ta'anith, Megillah, Hagiggah, Mo'ed Qatan, etc. Occasionally, the explanation given for a certain word or phrases found in one Mishnaic verse is explained by the author in one of the subsequent verses, such as the teaching about the dried figs and fig-cakes of
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
''Terumah'' 2:4 being explained in Mishnah ''Terumah'', chapter 3. An early reference to Nathan ben Abraham's Mishnah commentary is brought down by Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (1194–1270), who cites the commentary in his own Talmudic commentary, saying: "Likewise, I found written in the glosses of old copies of the Mishnah composed in the Land of Israel where they explained the meaning of ''sippūq'' (Heb. ספוק) as having the connotation of ''adā'', in the Arabic tongue, eaning he that grafts a tree upon a tree." The referent here is to Nathan's commentary in Tractate '' Orlah'' (1:5).


Vocabulary

Rabbi Nathan's method of elucidating Hebrew words is mostly similar to that of
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 ...
' Mishnah commentary - the two often complementing each other, but differing in several key areas. A comparative study gives readers a glimpse into words that carried different connotations in that period, with occasional words whose identification can have a significant
halachic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mitz ...
bearing, depending on how they are explained. There are above one-hundred entries of plants mentioned in the Mishnah that have been identified by Rabbi Nathan. In some entries, two different explanations are given for one word, the one perhaps under the authority of another rabbinic sage. Occasionally, Nathan ben Abraham relates to the practical usages of plants in the Land of Israel and in the region of Syria, writing, for example, that either Judas tree florets (''
Cercis siliquastrum ''Cercis siliquastrum'', commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous species of redbud in the flowering plant family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to South ...
'') (
Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...
: דאד'י)
Hypericum ''Hypericum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Hypericaceae (formerly considered a subfamily of Clusiaceae). The genus has a nearly worldwide distribution, missing only from tropical lowlands, deserts and polar re ...
'' spp.)] or violets (''Viola odorata'') (
Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...
: אלבנפסג) were placed in flagons of wine to impart their flavor, while rose florets (''
Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet * Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * San ...
'') were used to impart flavor to olive oil and to sesame seeds.


Modern Hebrew usages

In
Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew (, or ), also known as Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the Standard language, standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It is the only surviving Canaanite language, as well as one of the List of languages by first w ...
nomenclature, some of the plant identifications have changed since
medieval times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and t ...
. For example, the Modern Hebrew word for cucumber is ''melafefon'' (a word formerly used for "melon"). The word ''kishū’īm'' (formerly "cucumbers") is now applied to zucchini squash (''Cucurbita pepo var. cylindrica''), a plant native to the
New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
. In modern colloquial Hebrew, the word ''ḥazeret'' (formerly "lettuce") is now used to denote horseradish ('' Armoracia rusticana''). ''Karkūm'', formerly used in Hebrew to denote only
saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...
, is now used also for
turmeric Turmeric (), or ''Curcuma longa'' (), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between and high ...
. ''Lūf'' (formerly ''
Arum palaestinum ''Arum palaestinum'' is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the genus ''Arum'' and the family Araceae. It is also known as black calla, Solomon's lily, priest's hood, noo'ah loof and kardi. Native to the Mediterranean Basin, it ...
'') is now used in modern colloquial Hebrew to denote the broadleaf wild leek ('' Allium ampeloprasum''). Modern botanists in Israel now call Clover (''
Trifolium Clovers, also called trefoils, are plants of the genus ''Trifolium'' (), consisting of about 300 species of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae originating in Europe. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution with the highest diversity ...
'') by the name ''tiltan'', which word formerly meant "
fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#Leaf_and_leaflet_shapes, obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiar ...
" (''Trigonella foenum-graecum''). Modern Hebrew now calls cork (''
Quercus suber ''Quercus suber'', commonly called the cork oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section ''Quercus'' sect. ''Cerris''. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring and as the core ...
'') by the name "sha'am," although in Rabbi Nathan's day it had the meaning of "bamboo." ''Afūnna'' (der. of ''afūnnin'') is now used in Modern Hebrew as a generic word for all kinds of garden peas, when formerly it was used strictly for chickpeas (''
Cicer arietinum The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae, cultivated for its edible seeds. Its different types are variously known as gram," Bengal gram, garbanzo, garbanzo bean, or Egypt ...
''). Cauliflower is now called ''krūvīt'' in Modern Hebrew, but which formerly was known as ''therūḇtor''. In many cases, Arabic names are used to identify plants. Most Hebrew speakers will call the frothy relish made from
fenugreek Fenugreek (; ''Trigonella foenum-graecum'') is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae, with leaves consisting of three small Glossary_of_leaf_morphology#Leaf_and_leaflet_shapes, obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semiar ...
by its Arabic name, ''ḥilbah''. So, too, the biblical hyssop, ''eizoḇ'', is now popularly called by its Arabic name, '' zaatar''. The Arabic word ''sabōn'' which is now used for soap (''borit'') is related to the Aramaic word ''ṣap̄ona'' = ܨܦܘܢܐ (soap). In other cases,
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Eliezer Ben‑Yehuda (born Eliezer Yitzhak Perlman; 7 January 1858 – 16 December 1922) was a Russian–Jewish linguist, lexicographer, and journalist who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1881, when the Ottoman Empire ruled it. He is renowned as the ...
invented new words, such as ''ḥatzilīm'' ( egg-plants; aubergines), to take the place of Hebrew words long forgotten, but what Nathan ben Abraham understood as being called ''qīnras''.


Difficult words

Some referents of Hebrew words have become so entrenched in rabbinic disputes that it is now difficult to ascertain what their original meanings may have been, such as the adjective ''qamūr'' (
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 ...
: קמור / קמורה), in Mishnah ''
Ohalot ʾOholoth (, literally "Tents") is the second tractate of the Order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It consists of eighteen chapters, which discuss the ritual impurity of corpses, and the peculiar quality they have to make all objects in the same tent ...
'' 3:7, ''op. cit.'' 5:1 and ''Eruvin'' 8:10. Rabbi Nathan (''Ohalot'') explains the word as meaning "plastered," (such as with gypsum and which repels water), but
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 ...
explained the same word as meaning "dome-shaped." For one, the mouth of an earthenware oven which projected outside the house would be protected from the elements by virtue of its dome-like structure, while, for the other, because of its plastering. R.
Hai Gaon Hai ben Sherira (), better known as Hai Gaon (), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038. He receiv ...
explained it differently, saying that ''qamūr'' was an opening f the oven or drain pipebuilt at its base near to the ground so that the influx of air will cause the fire to burn well, in the case of the oven, or allow for a drainage pipe to air out.


Modern discovery

The manuscript was retrieved in ca. 1927 by Rabbi Yihya al-Qafih, from the place used by the Jewish community in
Sana'a Sanaa, officially the Sanaa Municipality, is the ''de jure'' capital and largest city of Yemen. The city is the capital of the Sanaa Governorate, but is not part of the governorate, as it forms a separate administrative unit. At an elevation ...
to bury old and worn-out sacred literature (''
genizah A genizah (; , also ''geniza''; plural: ''genizot'' 'h''or ''genizahs'') is a storage area in a Judaism, Jewish synagogue or cemetery designated for the temporary storage of worn-out Hebrew-language books and papers on religious topics prior t ...
''), within the Jewish cemetery itself on the outskirts of the city. Three copies were made of the original manuscript, before it was sold to a certain Shelomo Halevi Busani (later of Tel-Aviv), who, in turn, sold the manuscript to the Schechter Library in New York. Today, the original manuscript is housed at the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism as well as a hub for academic scholarship in Jewish studies ...
, under JTS Rab.1492. One of the three remaining copies, copied in 1930 by Qafih's grandson, was acquired by the
Hebrew University library The National Library of Israel (NLI; ; ), formerly Jewish National and University Library (JNUL; ), is the library dedicated to collecting the cultural treasures of Israel and of Jewish heritage. The library holds more than 5 million books, and i ...
, from which a comprehensive study was made of the text by Professor Simcha Assaf who published his findings in the periodical ''Kiryat Sefer'', in 1933. The
British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
possesses a partial copy of Nathan ben Abraham's Judeo-Arabic commentary of the Mishnah (with only the Mishnaic Orders of ''Zera'im'', ''Mo'ed'' and ''Neziqin''). Among the manuscripts and incunabula collected by
David Solomon Sassoon David Solomon Sassoon (; 8 December 1880 – 10 August 1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th century Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon. Family Sassoon was born in Bombay to Solom ...
is a two-page
Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...
copy of the Introduction taken from Rabbi Nathan's commentary, believed to have been singled-out because of its more profound nature. Sassoon, D.S. (1932), pp. 1061–1062. Sassoon dated the copy to the 15th-century, but not knowing the full nature of the work, thought it to be an Introduction to the Talmud, and which he surmised was written by Joseph ben Judah ibn ʿAḳnin. Rabbi Yosef Qafih has provided a Hebrew translation of the Introduction in the Mishnah published by ''El ha-Meqorot''.


Publications

The earliest modern-day printing of Rabbi Nathan's work came in 1955, when the ''El Meqorot'' publishers of Jerusalem printed the Hebrew translation of Rabbi Nathan's commentary, yet only as a supplement to other commentaries. In 1958, the same publishers published a single edition, edited by Mordechai Yehuda Leib Sachs. A third edition was published by them in 1965. The
Harry Fischel Institute Harry Fischel Institute for Talmudic Research ("Machon Harry Fischel") is a Jewish theological institute in Jerusalem that specializes in training dayanim (religious court judges). The institute was founded in 1931 by the American philanthropist Ha ...
in Jerusalem published the Mishnaic order of ''Zera'im''. In 1973, ''Me'orot'' publishers of Jerusalem published an edition of the commentary, although it too was not an exclusive edition, but incorporated other commentaries.


See also

*
Palestinian Gaonate The Palestinian Gaonate was the chief talmudic academy in Syria Palaestina and the central legalistic body of the Palestinian Jewish community during the middle of the ninth century, or even earlier, until its demise in the 11th century. It compe ...
* Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina * List of native plants of Flora Palaestina (A-B) * List of native plants of Flora Palaestina (C-D) * List of native plants of Flora Palaestina (E-O) * List of native plants of Flora Palaestina (P-Z) * Wild edible plants of Israel / Palestine


References


Bibliography

* * * * *--() * * * * *(= ''Kiryat Sefer'', X 934 * * * * * Danzig, Nahman (1998). ''Catalogue of Fragments of Halakhah and Midrash from the Cairo Genizah in the E.N. Adler Collection of the Library of JTS'': the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York 1998, p. 47 * * * Fox, Menahem Zvi (1994). ''Ha-mishnah be-teman, kettuv-yad miperush rav nathan av ha-yeshivah'', Assufot (Year Book), pp. 161–167 * * Friedman, Mordechai A. (1990b). "Masa u-matan bayn hakham miteman le-rabbi avraham ben ha-rambam 'al kesef ha-ketubbah ve-'al samkhut ha-masoret", ''Te'udah'' (14), pp. 139–192 * * Gil, Moshe (1983). ''Eretz yisrael bit'kufah ha-muslamit ha-rishonah'' (634–1099) alestine during the First Muslim Period (634–1099) Tel-Aviv, pp. 582–583 * (Available online, at HebrewBooks.org
''The Geonic Commentary on Seder Taharot'' - vol. 1''The Geonic Commentary on Seder Taharot'' - vol. 2
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Rabbi Nathan's Mishnah Commentary (online)
translated into Hebrew from the original Judeo-Arabic


Rabbi Nathan's Mishnah Commentary (in PDF format)
{{DEFAULTSORT:ben Abraham, Nathan Commentaries on the Mishnah Medieval Hebraists Rabbis of the Land of Israel 11th-century people from the Fatimid Caliphate 11th-century rabbis Jews from the Fatimid Caliphate Medieval Jewish writers Jewish Yemeni history People from Ramla Manuscripts in the National Library of Israel