Solomon Norzi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jedidiah Solomon ben Abraham Norzi (1560–1626) () was a
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 ...
and exegete, best known for his work ''Minchat Shai''. Born 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 ...
, he studied under Moses Cases, and received his rabbinical ordination in 1585. Toward the beginning of the 17th century he was elected co-rabbi of Mantua, a position which he held until his death.


Masoretic Labors

Jedidiah Solomon consecrated the greater part of his life to a critical and Masoretic commentary on the Bible, which was considered a standard work. The author spared no pains to render his critical labors as complete as possible, and to leave the Biblical text in as perfect a condition as thorough learning and conscientious industry could make it. He noted all the various readings which are scattered through
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 ...
ic and
midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; or ''midrashot' ...
ic literature and consulted all the
Masoretic The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...
works, both published and unpublished. To collate all the manuscripts to which he could gain access, and to find the Masoretic work ''Masoret Seyag la-Torah'' of
Meir Abulafia :''Meir Abulafia is commonly known as "the Ramah" (Hebrew: רמ"ה). He should not be confused with Moses Isserles, known as "the Rema" or "the Rama" (Hebrew: רמ"א).'' Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia ( ; c. 1170 – 1244), also known as the Ram ...
, Jedidiah Solomon undertook extended voyages and lived for a long time abroad. Among the manuscripts consulted by him was that of Toledo of the year 1277 (now known as the ''Codex De Rossi'', No. 782). He compared all the texts of the printed editions and availed himself of his friend
Menahem Lonzano Menahem ben Judah ben Menahem de Lonzano (), often Menahem di Lonzano, was a rabbi, Masoretic scholar, lexicographer, and poet. He died after 1608 in Jerusalem. Biography His origin is unknown, but it has been supposed that he was born in Ital ...
's critical labors in connection with biblical orthography. Lonzano's seminal work, ''Or Torah'', was a primary source of inspiration for Norzi, from which he gleaned most of his knowledge of scribal practices and of Masoretic works unavailable to him. The work was completed in 1626 and was entitled by its author ''Goder Peretz'', but given the title ''Minḥat Shai'' when the work was first printed by its publisher, Raphael Ḥayyim Basila, more than 100 years later, who added to it some notes and appended a list of 900 variations (Mantua, 1742–44). It was divided into two volumes, the first embracing the Torah and the
Five Megillot The Five Scrolls or the Five Megillot ( , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Bo ...
, and the second comprising the
Ketuvim The (; ) is the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, after the ("instruction") and the "Prophets". In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually titled "Writings" or "Hagiographa". In the Ketuvim, 1–2 Books ...
and the
Nevi'im The (; ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the () and (). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( ) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings ...
, with two small treatises at the end—''Ma'amar haMa'arikh,'' on meteg in
Hebrew cantillation Hebrew cantillation, trope, trop, or ''te'amim'' is the manner of chanting ritual readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue Jewish services, services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed ...
, and ''Kelale BeGaDKaFaT'' on the
begadkefat Begadkefat (also begedkefet) is the phenomenon of lenition affecting the non-emphatic consonant, emphatic stop consonants of Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic when they are preceded by a vowel and not gemination, geminated. The name is also given to si ...
. A second edition, without the grammatical treatises, appeared at Vienna in 1816; the commentary on the Torah alone, with the Hebrew text, was published at Dubrovna in 1804; the commentary on the Hagiographa and the Prophets, at Wilna in 1820. Jedidiah Solomon's introduction was published by
Samuel Vita della Volta Samuel Vita della Volta (; 24 September 1772 – 29 March 1853), also known by the acronyms and , was an Italian physician and Hebraist, who flourished in Mantua. He wrote a number of commentaries, sermons, and responsa (especially on medical issu ...
in 1819, and republished by A. Jellinek at Vienna in 1876. A commentary on the ''Minḥat Shai'' was published by Ḥayyim Zeeb Bender of
Babruysk Babruysk (, ) or Bobruysk (, ; , ) is a city in Mogilev Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Babruysk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. It is situated on the Berezina, Berezina River. Bab ...
under the title ''Or Ḥayyim'' (Wilna, 1867). Norzi was greatly influenced by the Spanish biblical scholar, Meir Abulafia, who is cited by him more than six hundred times in ''Minḥat Shai''.


MSS of ''Minḥat Shai''

* MS Oxford,
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
(Oxford 1886), Mich. 562 ** ''idem'', Mich. 478 * MS Kaufman A43 ( Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary) * MS Kaufman A44 ( Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary) * MS London,
British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...
, Add MS 27198 * MS Parma 895 (Codex Parm. 2872), the Palatina LibraryDescribed by J. B. De-Rossi, ''Mss. codices Hebraici biblioth.'' I. B. De-Rossi (Parmae, 1803), no. 895


Secondary literature

*Betzer, Zvi. H. 2001. Further clarifications on the work of Norzi. ''Hebrew Studies'' 42:257-269.


References


Bibliography

*
Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi (October 25, 1742 in Castelnuovo Nigra, Piedmont – March 23, 1831 in Parma) was an Italian Christian Hebraist. He studied in Ivrea and Turin. In October 1769, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages at the U ...
, ''Dizionario,'' p. 250; *Eichhorn, ''Einleitung in das Alte Testament''; *Rosenmüller, ''Handbuch für die Literatur der Biblischen Exegesis''; *
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 ...
, ''Cat. Bodl.'' col. 2377; *Fürst, ''Bibl. Jud.'' iii.39; * Michael, Heimann Joseph, (1891) ''Or ha-Ḥayyim'', Frankfort-on-the-Main (in Hebrew).p. 432, No. 951; * Fuenn, ''Keneset Yisrael,'' p. 382. {{DEFAULTSORT:Norzi, Jedidiah 1560 births 1626 deaths 17th-century Italian rabbis Rabbis from Mantua 16th-century Italian rabbis Grammarians of Hebrew