We continue with the presentation of the class “Four Giants of Sepharad” by Hakham Yosef Faur z”l, about four rabbis that deeply impacted the character and content of the Sephardic tradition.

HIS LIFE

Ribbi Abraham Eben Ezra was born in the city of Tudela, in Navarro, in northern Spain, in 1089. Ibn Ezra was very close to Ribbi Yehuda Halevi, who was about 14 years older than him, and his son Isaac married the daughter of Yehuda haLevi (or according to others, Ribbi Abraham married his daughter). He refused to accept money from others and materially, he was always very poor. He tried to engage in commerce but was never successful in his business. He wrote in. one of his poems that he was so unfortunate in business that if he would “starts selling shrouds, people will stop dying.”  Rabbi Eben Ezra traveled the world for more than three decades. First he visited North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunes. Then he visited Europe: Italy, France and England. Then the Middle East: Egypt, Persia, Iraq. During his many trips he always visited and stayed in the local Jewish communities, that upon recognizing his great knowledge of Tora treated him with great respect. His journeys were not an impediment for his writing. Quite the opposite, it seems that Ribbi Abraham wrote particularly during his travels, and more than once dedicated his works to local communities or their patrons. It is said that in France he met Rabbenu tam (1100 – 1171) and in Egypt he met Maimonides (1135 -1204). He died in 1164 and according to Rabbi Abraham Zakuto in his Sefer haYohasin, he was buried in the land of Israel.

COMMENTARY TO THE TORA

Rabbi Eben Ezra wrote more than 60 books on many different subjects. His best known work is his commentary on the Tora (the Pentateuch). This work was innovative for its methodology. Analyzing the “peshat”, that is, the literal meaning of the text based on a rigorous linguistic analysis of the words. Rabbi Eben Ezra avoided the permanent reference to the Midrashim in his explanations, as Rashi does when he explains the Tora, since he considered that it was not necessary to repeat in a commentary what the reader can find in the Midrash. He also criticized some allegorical comments that, in his opinion, “go around the point in circles instead of focusing on the point itself”, that is, in the literal and grammatical sense of each word. The literal meaning should be carefully considered and should be examined not only by analyzing the root of the word but also the context, the location of the term in the verse, and the other instances in which that word appears in the Bible. This literal interpretation was an innovation. The Rabbi clarified that his (new) methodology did not apply to the words of the Tora that refer to any precept or commandment, since the interpretation in these cases is exclusively that which we received in the oral Tora and is recorded in the Talmud.

ASTRONOMYWhat is less known is that Rabbi Eben Ezra also wrote dozens of books on scientific subjects. For example, “The book of the foundations of the astronomical tables” a work that Rabbi Abraham originally wrote in Latin. This indicates that he had a very deep knowledge of this language, in which scientific wisdom was transmitted at that time. Rabbi Eben Ezra also belonged to the scientific community of his time.

NAVIGATIONHe also wrote a treatise on the astrolabe, an instrument that allows to muse the position of the stars for orientation, and which was essential for navigation. The astrolabe was in the Middle Ages what a GPS is today. The photo we posted above is an illustration showing Rabbi Eben Ezra (in the middle) with an astrolabe in his hands. The book was called in Hebrew: Keli HaNechoshet, “the copper instrument,” which was the metal used to build the astrolabe.

MATHEMATICS.He also wrote several books on mathematics, such as “The Book of Numbers,” which deals with arithmetic. In this work he presents the decimal system and the way it is used, anticipating by several decades the famous Italian mathematician Fibonacci (1170 -1240). It should be noted that thanks to his numerous trips around the world, Rabbi Eben Ezra became one of the main contributors to the popularization of the decimal system in the Jewish communities and in the Western world. He was also one of the first to present and explain the number “zero”, which he drew with a circle and called in Hebrew “galgal” (circle or wheel).
In his lecture on the giants of Sepharad the Hakham Faur z”l explained that for Eben Ezra the Tora and scientific knowledge are not contradictory: on the contrary, they complement each other and necessitate each other in order to appreciate the Wisdom of Creator. The fact that the universe can be understood and explained mathematically with predictable and unchangeable formulas and laws that are accesible to our God-designed mind reveals the existence of the Intelligent Creator of the Cosmos. Maimonides explored this idea in depth in Yesode HaTora, chapter 2, where he shows how this observation brings us closer to love and fear God. For more on the fascinating topic of mathematics /physics and the intelligent fine tuning of the Universe, I recommend the book “Just six numbers” by Martin Rees .

POETRYFinally, Rabbi Eben Ezra is also known as one of the great Jewish poets of all times. Some of the poems he composed 800 years ago are still well known to us and we continue to sing them to this day. For example, AGADELKHA ELOQE KOL NESHAMA. KI ESHMERA SHABBAT and LEKHA ELI TESHUKATI, a very profound poem with which we inaugurated the Yom Kippur liturgical service and which was also used to be recited as a Viduy in the last moments of life.

I continue sharing with you one of the classes of my dear uncle, Hakham Yosef Faur, z”l. Rabbi Faur had a passion for history and particularly the history of the Jews of Spain. In this class he referred to “Four Giants of Sepharad”. Previously, we spoke about Rabbenu Bahiya. Today we will talk about Ribbi Yehuda haLevi, born in Toledo (or Tudela), Spain, 1075.

THE CUZARI

Ribbi Yehuda was a prominent philosopher, and his most famous book is the Cuzari. A work written in the form of a dialogue, questions and answers, between King Bulan, from the Khazar empire and Rab Isaac haSangari. King Bulan, who did not practice any religion, summoned an Imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a philosopher (equivalent today to an atheist thinker) and asked each one to present their arguments. In the end, King Bulan thought that the rabbi’s arguments were the most convincing, and he decided to convert and convert the subjects of his empire to Judaism. The historical and philosophical principles that the Jewish Sage transmitted to King Bulan constitute the content of the book of “The Cuzari”. This widely documented mass conversion took place in the 8th century. And the Jewish empire of the Khazars (the first “independent Jewish state” after the destruction of the second Bet haMiqdash, sic.!) continued for around 200 years after this event.

POETRY AND THEOLOGY

Apart from his philosophical work, Ribbi Yehuda haLevi is also known for his poetic work. To understand the importance of poetry in 11th century Spain we need a brief introduction. For the Arabs the Quran is the most revered book. And the proof of the superiority of the Quran (and Islam over other religions) is the perfection of the Arabic language. “There is no Arabic more perfect than the Arabic of the Quran, and there is no language more perfect than the Arabic language.” But how can anyone prove that one language is superior to another? In the Middle Ages the answer was: “poetry”. The Arabic language has a certain plasticity, which Western languages, for example, ​​do not have. This allows to create a type of “metric” poetry, where the verses are written with mathematical precision.

A four words verse may be written, for example, in this way:

FIRST WORD (two syllables): 1. Half vowel, open syllable. 2. Long vowel, closed syllable.

SECOND WORD (two syllables): 1. Open syllable, long vowel. 2. Closed syllable, long vowel.

THIRD WORD (two syllables): 1. Half vowel, open syllable. 2. Short vowel, closed syllable.

FOURTH WORD (two syllables). 1. Long vowel, open syllable. 2. Short vowel, closed syllable.

In this type of Arabic poetry, the art is to write all verse maintaining the same structure. But to preserve this sophisticated structure, which among other things facilitates the adaptation of these poems to a wide variety of melodies, something had to be sacrificed: the content of the poem. In any case, this metric, impossible in other languages ​​such as Spanish, Latin or Greek, demonstrated the superiority of Islam.

DUEL OF THE POETS

Rabbi Faur explains that the Rabbis of Spain, then under Muslim rule, responded to this challenge that threaten the credibility of Judaism. The famous sages Yona Ibn Jannah, Hasday Ibn Shaprut, and many other grammarians of the Hebrew school of Córdoba (X and XI century) began formulating the grammatical rules of Biblical Hebrew and made it possible to compose metric poetry in Hebrew, something that until then was not very common. The Jewish Sages composed Hebrew poems that were as elaborate as the poems in Arabic. But with one advantage: Arabic poetry sounded very good, but it said nothing, since it was extremely difficult to force content into such closed structures. Hebrew poetry, however, in addition to preserving the sophisticated metric structure, was extremely rich in content. In fact, the four words example of metric poetry that I mentioned above corresponds to the first stanza of “A-don o-lam a-sher ma-laj,” a poem adaptable to a wide variety of melodies thanks to its perfect metric, with a very profound theological content (It was composed, according to some opinions, by the famous poet Ribbi Shelomo Ibn Gabirol, 1028 -1051).

A JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF RIBBI YEHUDA HALEVI

Rabbi Faur ends his exposition on Yehuda haLevi explaining that he developed a new genre of poetry (in Spanish is called: género sionida) that is, the poetry that expresses the love of the Jewish people for Zion, and the desire to return to Yerushalayim. Rabbi Faur says that in this way Ribbi Yehuda haLevi became the pioneer of modern Zionism.

One of Ribbi Yehuda haLevi’s most celebrated poems is “My heart is in the Orient”.

Let’s see one stanza of this beautiful and famous song.

לִבִּי בְמִזְרָח וְאָנֹכִי בְּסוֹף מַעֲרָב אֵיךְ אֶטְעֲמָה אֵת אֲשֶׁר אֹכַל וְאֵיךְ יֶעֱרָב אֵיכָה אֲשַׁלֵּם נְדָרַי וֶאֱסָרַי, בְּעוֹד צִיּוֹן בְּחֶבֶל אֱדוֹם וַאֲנִי בְּכֶבֶל עֲרָב יֵקַל בְּעֵינַי עֲזֹב כָּל טוּב סְפָרַד, כְּמוֹ יֵקַר בְּעֵינַי רְאוֹת עַפְרוֹת דְּבִיר נֶחֱרָב

«My heart is in the East [Israel]; while I am at the end of the West [Spain].

How could I feel the taste of what I eat; how could I enjoy sweetness [on my palate, while I’m not in the Land of Israel]?

How am I to fulfill my promises and vows [in the Bet haMiqdash] while Zion is under the yoke of Edom [= Christendom. During the first crusade, in 1099, Christians conquered Jerusalem], and I am here, trapped in the bonds of Arabia?

How easily I would abandon all the pleasures of Spain, to delight my eyes seeing the dust of the ruins of the destroyed Sanctuary… ”.

At the end of his days, and after a very difficult journey, Rabbi Yehuda haLevi fulfilled his dream and arrived in Jerusalem. It is said that as soon as his eyes finally saw the ruins of the Bet haMiqdash, he was killed by an Arab rider, near the Western Wall. It is for this reason that the stairs leading down from the Old City to the Kotel are named in his honor “Ma’alot Rabbi Yehuda haLevi” .

• Goral laHASHEM, by Rabbi Yehuda Alqalai (Hebrew, 1857)
• Petach ‘enayim, by Rabbi Benzion Frizzi (Hebrew, )
• Jewish Religion Ethically Presented, by Rabbi Hayim Pereira Mendes (English 1905)
• Matte Dan or Kuzari haSheni, by rabbi David Nieto
• Rabbi Isaac Abendana: First Jewish book in English
• Mikhlal Yofi, by Rabbi Shelomo ben Melekh
• Maimonides Mihsne Torah online
• The first Jewish English translation of the Tora
• Daily Choq leIsrael (Hebrew-English)

FROM SEPHARAD TO EGYPT

Rabbi Ya’aqob Castro was a Tora scholar, a rabbinical judge, an author  and a leading lawmaker (poseq) in the Cairo Jewish community. 

The Castro or “de Castro” family was originally from southern Spain. At the time of the expulsion they escaped to Portugal and from there, many members of that family arrived in Turkey, North Africa, Egypt, etc.

The father of Rabbi Castro (some historians say he was his uncle) was the famous Abraham de Castro (died in 1520, see here). Abraham de Castro was one of the most prominent Jews of his time. He was the manager of the Royal Mint of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1494-1566), the most powerful man in the world in those years. In his honor, the Sultan agreed to reinforce the walls of Jerusalem adding several rows of solid rock to the original wall. This stones are still there to this day.

HIS TEACHERS

Rabbi Ya’aqob de Castro belonged to a wealthy family. Apart from being a  rabbi, Rabbi Castro also engaged in trade, something that was common among rabbis living in Egypt, such as Rabbi David ben Zimra or Rabbi Isaac Luria(the Ari haQadosh) who dealt with import and export of pepper and grains.

Rabbi Ya’aqob was a student of two great luminaries: the illustrious Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz), and Rabbi Levi ibn Habib (Ralbah) of Yerushalayim. Rabbi Ya’aqob is also known by his acronym Mahariqash (מהריק”ש), and he is considered the last “Chief Rabbi” of Egypt, that is, the rabbinical authority accepted by all the communities of the country, including the two most important: Cairo and Alexandria. At that time most of the Jews of Egypt were musta’arabim, that is, indigenous of Egypt; while the community of the Sepharadim, that is, the refugees of the expulsion from Spain, was just beginning.

RABBI CASTRO AND RABBI CARO

In 1570, he visited the city of Sefat in Israel, where he was invited to the home of Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575), the author of the Shulhan Arukh. In his writings, Rabbi Castro describes his encounter with Rabbi Caro and relates, probably with deep emotions,  seeing with his own eyes Rabbi Caro acting in accordance with the customs that he himself had established in the Shulhan Arukh.

Rabbi Castro wrote several books. We will mention two of them.

“Erekh Lehem.” Glosses and comments that Rabbi Castro wrote in the margins of his manuscript copy of the Shulhan Arukh. In these notes he expresses his opinion, and sometimes his objections, to some halakhic determinations of Rabbi Yosef Caro. The reputation of Rabbi Castro was so high that in Egypt his opinion had more weight than that of Shulhan Arukh himself.

LIFE IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF EGYPT

Another of his works is “Ahole Ya’aqob”, a book of rabbinical responsa on real cases that happened in his community. This book also presents the Halakhic debates between Rabbi Castro and some of his contemporaries, which allows us to have a better vision of his legal thinking.

It should also be noted that this book of Rabbinical questions and answers is a priceless source of information for historians to learn a little more in detail about the social and community life, and the difficulties of the Jewish community in Egypt in the 16th century.

SOME EXAMPLES

One of the Taqanot, or community decrees, that Rabbi Castro mentions in one of his answers, is related to the mores and etiquette that should be observed in the celebration of wedding parties. Apparently, in some weddings, gentile dancers were hired as part of the celebration; this caused more than once some improper attitudes. Rabbi Castro, together with the other rabbis of the city, forbade this practice and encouraged the community to hire only musicians, and not dancers.

Another controversial issue that appears in his questions and answers is the legal status of the claim of a wife who refused to live in the house of her in-laws, in a situation where there was no mistreatment from their part. Rabbi Castro debated with another very famous Egyptian rabbi, Rabbi Hayim Kafusi, about considering this claim as a justified cause for divorce.

Finally, I will mention a more sensitive topic. Rabbi Castro dealt with the case of two young married men, members of his community, who went out of town in a business trip and disappeared. Two Egyptian men, father and son, testified that these merchants were attacked and killed by a gang of 12 assailants. The Halakhic question was whether this testimony was enough to declare the wives of these merchants as widows, and allow them get married again. Rabbi Castro adopted a more strict opinion, since the evidence was ambiguous, and he considered that the witnesses could obtain a personal benefit from his testimony. Rabbi Kafusi confronted Rabbi Castro and presented an more permissive opinion so that these two women would not be trapped (agunot) in a situation without a possible solution.

From FES to HEBRON

Rabbi Abraham Azulay (also “Azulai) was born in the city of Fes, Morocco, in 1570. The city of Fes was a very important Jewish center where many Jews found refuge when they escaped the expulsion from Spain.

The family of Rabbi Azulay also came from Spain (Castilla). Living in Fes was far from being in a paradise. Apart from the constant persecution by Muslim extremists, the area was very poor and often suffered from long droughts. Rabbi Shaul Serero says that in the Jewish community of Fes, between 10 and 20 people died every day… of starvation. After one long drought that lasted for more than 3 years, Rabbi Azulay left Fes and headed towards the land of Israel. Traveling by sea was extremely dangerous. When rabbi Azulay arrived near the port of Capotakia (Port Said) a great storm destroyed his ship and all his belongings sank. Miraculously, Rabbi Azulay survived and arrived (presumably swimming) to the coast. This miracle was never forgotten by Rabbi Azulai. And as a sign of his eternal gratitude to HaShem for this miracle, Rabbi Azulay designed his signature in the shape of a boat (see illustration above).

From HEBRON to GAZA

Once he arrived in Israel he settled in the city of Hebron (also known as Kiryat Arba) where he met with the great rabbis of that time such as Rabbi Eliezer Arha and others. But a terrible epidemic broke in 1619 and rabbi Azulay had to leave the city of Hebron and he moved to Yerushalayim. But the plague also reached Jerusalem, and Rabbi Azulay moved to the city of Gaza where he lived for some years. At that time 70 Jewish families lived in Gaza. Some families were engaged in agriculture and others in commerce, since Gaza was part of the trade route between Syria and Egypt. The Rabbi of Gaza between 1620-1625 was the illustrious rabbi Israel Najara (a native of the Spanish city Nájera), who befriended rabbi Azulay .  In Gaza, Rabbi Azulay wrote two of his most famous books: a commentary on the book of the Zohar “Hesed LeAbraham” (“The goodness that God did with Abraham”, in reference to the fact that he himself, Abraha, was twice saved from the terrible epidemic that claimed so many lives). He also wrote “Ba’ale Berit Abram”, a mystical commentary on the Tora.

COMMENTARY ON THE MISHNA

Rabbi Azulay is known for his mystical writings  but he also wrote a few traditional rabbinical works.  One of the least known books of Rabbi Azulay, is “ahaba bata’anuguim”, a beautiful and extensive commentary on the Mishna. In this book, unfortunately not as well known as his books on mysticism, Rabbi Azulay explains the elementary meaning of the words and ideas of the Mishna  —following the footsteps of Maimonides— incorporating the commentaries of the Talmud, the midrashim and other famous books, including Geonim, Rishonim and the Shulhan Aruch. He also mentions the teaching of some rabbis who lived in Erets Israel on those days , and of whom nothing else is known to us, like Rabbi Soleiman Ohana and Rabbi Yosef Ashkenazi, the “Tana from Safed”.  This book was republished in Israel recently (1985, Seder Neziqin). It was edited among others by Rabbi Masud Ben Shimon ( had the privilege to study under him in my youth)  and the introduction of this new edition was written by none other than Rabbi Obadiah Yosef (see the book HERE.    We also present HERE a link where you can download the comment of Rabbi Azulay on the Mishna of Pirque Abot, (courtesy of hebewbooks.org).

When the plague ended, Rabbi Azulay returned to Hebron, where he lived until the end of his days.

THE SWORD IN THE CAVE of MAKHPELA

In 1643 the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mohamed IV, the most powerful man on earth in those days, visited the land of Israel and came to Hebron, and following the Muslim tradition, went to pray in Me’arat HaMakhpela, the cave where Abraham, Yitshaq and Ya’aqob are buried. At the time, there was a very deep hole on the floor of the hall dedicated to Yitshaq Abinu, through which there was access to the interior of the original cave of Makhpela. But nobody entered there, since it was considered very dangerous, perhaps due to the absence of oxygen, the presence of toxic gases, etc. The Sultan came very close to the hole and when he bent to take a closer look his valuable sword, made of gold and ornamented with diamonds,  fell down the hole. The Sultan sent a pair of soldiers tied with ropes to bring the sword back, but both died. The local Arab leaders decided that they would not risk the lives of other Muslims and demanded the Jews, under the threat of extermination, to bring back the Sultan’s sword. Rabbi Azulai, who was 73 years old at that time, volunteered for the risky task and after an incredible experience he was able to recover the sword of the Sultan (see the full story on the Hebron webpage, http://en.hebron.org.il/history/ 228).

HIS DEATH

Rabbi Azulay died the day after he emerged from the depth of the cave of Makhpela,  Friday Ereb Shabbat, Perashat Haye Sara (that is, today!).

Rabbi Abraham Azulay is buried in the old cemetery of the city of Hebron. His grave, as was the custom in Hebron, carries no inscription, not even his name (I think this was done as a gesture of deference to our Patriarchs, buried in that city).

One of his great-grandchildren was the famous Rabbi Hayim Yosef David Azulay, also known as the Hida (1724-1806).