Joseph ben Meir HaLevi ibn Migash (also rendered Yosef ibn Meir Ha-Levi ibn Migash, José ben Meir ibn Megas, or simply Joseph ibn Migash; ; early 1077 – c. 1141) was a prominent

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 ...

, halakhic decisor (''

posek In Jewish law, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the application of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are incon ...

''), and head of the yeshiva (''

rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

'') in

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 ...

, in

al-Andalus Al-Andalus () was the Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula. The name refers to the different Muslim states that controlled these territories at various times between 711 and 1492. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied most o ...

(modern-day

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

). He is also known by the

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

Ri Migash (ר"י מיגאש), standing for ''Rabbi Yosef Migash''.

Biography

Joseph ibn Migash was probably born in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

(though

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 ...

believes it was

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

). He moved to

at the age of 12 to study under the renowned

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 ...

ist

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 '' ...

. He studied under Alfasi at Lucena for fourteen years. Shortly before his death (1103), Alfasi

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Ibn Migash as a rabbi, and - passing over his own son - also appointed him, then 26, to be his successor as

Rosh Yeshiva Rosh yeshiva or Rosh Hayeshiva (, plural, pl. , '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and th ...

(seminary head). Joseph ibn Migash held this position for 38 years. Rabbi

Abraham ben David Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal ḥakham, an important commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Isaac Alfasi, an ...

, in his work '' Sefer ha-Kabbalah'' (Book of Tradition), mentions Joseph ibn Migash, a grandfather who had the same name, as being a contemporary of Samuel haNagid, and that during the dispute between the supporters of Bulukkin and the supporters of Badis, the Berber ruler of Granada, Joseph ibn Migash had sided with Bulukkin in this dispute and fled to Askilia, to avoid punishment. It is clear that Migash was a great scholar:

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 ...

in the introduction to his Mishnah commentary says "the Talmudic learning of this man amazes every one who understands his words and the depth of his speculative spirit; so that it might almost be said of him that his equal has never existed." Judah ha-Levi eulogizes him in six poems which are full of his praise. Joseph ibn Migash's best known student is probably Maimon, the father and teacher of

. In Maimonides' Introduction to his

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 ...

commentary, he heaps lavish praises upon Rabbi Joseph ibn Migash (Halevi), saying of him: ''“I have collected what I stumbled across from the glosses of my father, of blessed memory, as well as others under the name of our Rabbi Joseph Halevi, of blessed memory; and as the Lord lives, the understanding of that man in the

is astounding, as anyone an seewho observes his words and the depth of his comprehension, until I can say of him that 'there has never been any king like unto him before him (cf. 2 Kings 23:25) ''in his method f elucidation I have also collected all of the legal matters (Heb. ''halachot'') that I found that belonged to him in his commentaries, themselves.”'' There is a tradition that Maimonides himself was a pupil of Joseph ibn Migash. This probably arose from the frequent references in Maimonides' works to him as an authority. It is unlikely that he was literally taught by him, as Maimonides was 3 years old at the time of Joseph ibn Migash's death. However, Maimonides' grandson published a pamphlet with the approval of his grandfather, in which it is described that Maimonides ran away from home in his youth, met Joseph ibn Migash, and studied under him for several years.

Works

Joseph ibn Migash authored over 200

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 ...

, ''She'elot u-Teshuvot Ri Migash'' - originally 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 ...

- many of which are quoted in Bezalel Ashkenazi's ''Shittah Mekubetzet''. Five of Ibn Migash's responsa survived in Yemen, and were published by Rabbi Yosef Qafih in 1973. He specified

Chananel Ben Chushiel Chananel ben Chushiel or Ḥananel ben Ḥushiel (), an 11th-century Kairouanan rabbi and Talmudist, was in close contact with the last Geonim. He is best known for his commentary on the Talmud. Chananel is often referred to as Rabbeinu Chananel � ...

and Alfasi as his authorities, but disagreed with Alfasi in about thirty some odd places related to

Halacha ''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 ('' mi ...

.''R. Moses b. Maimon Responsa'' (Jehoshua Blau edition), vol. 2, Jerusalem 1960 (reprint 1989), ''responsum'' #251 (p. 459) ebrew/ref> He also authored a Talmudic commentary - '' ḥiddushim'' (novellae) on tractates ''Baba Batra'' (lin
here
and ''Shevuot'' (included in Joseph Samuel Modiano's '' Uryan Telitai'', Salonica 1795) - which is quoted by various

Rishonim ''Rishonim'' (; ; sing. , ''Rishon'') were the leading rabbis and ''posek, poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' (, "Set Table", a common printed code of Jewis ...

. His other works have been lost.

Connections

References

External links

Ibn Migas, Joseph (Jehosef) Ben Meïr Ha-Levi
jewishencyclopedia.com
Uryan Telitai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Migash, Joseph 1077 births 1141 deaths 12th-century rabbis in al-Andalus People from Seville Rosh yeshivas Authors of books on Jewish law 11th-century rabbis in al-Andalus