Rabbi Isaac Canpanton was born in Castilla, Spain (probably in Zamora) in 1360. Rabbi Canpanton was known as “The Gaon of Castilla”. He witnessed the decline of Spanish Jewry, especially after the persecutions, mass-killings and forced conversions of the 1390’s, and the outrages of Vicente Ferrer y Ferrand Martinez.
Rabbi Canpanton directed the Yeshiba of Zamora for many years. He was succeeded by one of his disciples, rabbi Shemuel al-Valensi (=from Valencia) who headed this prestigious Yeshiba until the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
Rabbi Canpanton probably wrote many books, but today we only know of one of his books, Darkhe haTalmud (“A Methodology of the Talmud). Darkhe haTalmud is a short book which teaches the proper methodology to study and teach Talmud. Incidentally, it also shows the way the Talmud was studied in Sepharad for centuries. This book affected the way the Sephardic communities studied the Talmud after the expulsion from Spain in Salonica, North Africa and the Middle East. Rabbi Ya’aqob Berab, for example, who was one of the luminaries of Tsefat (Safed) in the 16 century, taught Talmud in his prestigious Yeshiba, following strictly the methodology of Darkhe haTalmud. Rabbi Yaaqob Berab was the rabbi who ordained Rabbi Yosef Caro, the author of the Shulhan ‘arukh, with the renewed semikha. In the Bet Yosef (YD Siman 275), Rabbi Yosef Caro mentions rabbi Canpanton with much honor and respect: “הרב הגדול החסיד הר’ יצחק קאפאנטו”ן ז”ל היה נוהג לעשות כן”.
Rabbi Canpanton lived a long life, 103 years. He died in Peñafiel, Spain, in 1463.
ספר דרכי התלמוד לרבי יצחק קנפאנטון
The book Darkhe haTalmud contains 15 short chapters. Most of them deal with methodological rules, to train the student to develop an active and critical study of the Talmud. Rabbi Canpanton insists, for example, that the student has to read the text at least three times, paying very close attention to the language (diyuq) before he engages into any of the commentaries. When the student reads the text he must ask himself several (=ten) questions: Who are the protagonists of the debate (the suguia)? What is the goal of this particular text? What novelty it comes to teach? etc. Only after that, he should proceed to read the commentaries. One of the most important didactic rules the book systematically presents is, in my own words, “anticipation”. Rabbi Canpanton teaches the student to read carefully the debates, the questions or the comparison between the texts and stop before reading further. Once the student understands the question, he must try to arrive on his own at the possible answers and solutions, anticipating the solutions the Gemara will possibly offer. This didactic rule is very effective because by trial and error the student learns to analyze his own thinking and eventually he will be able to integrate into his own mind the sophisticated Talmudic thinking.
Darkhe haTalmud also teaches some practical techniques to improve one’s memory and focusing abilities.
On chapter 12 Darkhe haTalmud examines the ways to study the commentators of the Talmud, for example, Nahmanides, Rishba. The author exhorts the reader to read the commentaries analytically, trying to discover what is the main novelty the author tries to teach.
On Chapter 14 the author clarifies some of the less known Talmudic terminologies.
The book is very short (less than 60 pages) , and written in a very easy Hebrew.
To download the book Darkhe haTalmud, click here.
