Jewish Encyclopedia/Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph don Astruc

ABBA MARI BEN MOSES BEN JOSEPH DON ASTRUC (En Astruc) OF LUNEL (Graetz and other have incorrectly En Duran): Leader of the opposition to the rationalism of the Maimonists in the Montpellier controversy of 1303–1306, born at Lunel—hence his name. Yarhi (from Yerah = Moon = Lune). Defender of Law and Tradition. He was a descendant of Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel, one of whose live sons was Joseph, the grandfather of Abba Mari, who, like his son Moses, be father of Abba Mari, was highly respected for both his rabbinical learning and his general erudition. Abba Mali moved to Montpellier, where, to his chagrin, he found the study of rabbinical lore greatly neglected by the young, who devoted all of their time and zeal to science and philosophy. The rationalistic method pursued by the new school of Maimonlsls (including Levi ben .Mini ham ben Ilayyim of Villefriniche, near the town of Perpignan, and Jacob Anatolil especially provoked his indignation; for the sermons preached and Ihe woiks publisheil by them seemed to resolve the entire Scriptures into allegory and threatened to undermine the Jewish faith and the observance of the Law and tradition. He was not without some philosophical training. He mentions even with reverence the name Maimonides, whose work he possessed and studied: but he was more inclined toward the mysticism of Naḥmanides. Above all. he was a thorough believer in revelation and in a divine providence, and was a sincere, law-observing follower of rabbinical Judaism. He would not allow Aristotle," the searcher after God among the heathen," to be ranked with Moses.

Abba Mari possessed considerable Talmudic knowledge and some poetical talent but his zeal for the Law made him an agitator and a per.secutor of all the advocates of liberal thought. lieing himself without suliicient authority, he appealed in a number of letters, afterward iiublished under the title of "Minhal Kenaol " (Jealousy Offering). to Soi.oMox hex Adkkt of Barcelona, the nmsl intluential rabbi of the lime, to use his powerful authority to check the source of evil by hurling his analheiiia against both the study of philosophy and the allegorical Opponent of Rationalism. interpretations of the Bible, which did away with all belief in miracles. Ben .dret, while reluctant to interfere in the alTairsof other congreaccord with .bba ]Mari as to the danger of the new rationalistic systems, and advised him to organize the coiiserv:itive forces in defense of the Law. Abba Mari, through Ben .Vdrct's aid, obtained allies eager to take up his caii.se. among

gations,

whom was in perfect

were Don Bonafoux Vidal of Barcelona and

Don Crescas Vidal, then in I'erpignan. proposition of the latter to prohibit, under penalty of excommunication, the study of philosophy and any of the sciences exce|it medicine, by one under thirty years of age, met with thea|ii)rovalof Ben .Vdret. Accordingly. Ben Adrct adilressed to the congregation of .Moiitpelli<T a letter, signed by fifteen other rabbis, iirojiosing to issue a decree pronouncing the anathema against all those who should pursue the study of pliijosophy and science before due niatnrily in agi' and in rabliinical knowledge. On a Sabbath in September, i:i(l4. the letter was to be read before the congregation, when Jacob ilal.iir Don I'rotiat Tibbon, the I'eiiowned astronomical and rnathem.ilieal writer, entered his protest against such unlawful interference by the Barcelona rabbis, and a schism ensued. Twellty-eiglil members signed Abba Mari's letter of approval the others, under Tibbon's leadersliiii, addressed another letlir to Ben Adret, rebuking him and his colleagues for condemning a whole community without knowledge of the local conditions. Finally, Ihe agitation for and against the liberal ideas brought about a schism in the entire Jewish population in southern France and Spain.

Encouraged, however, by letters signed by the rabbis of Argentiere and Lunel. and particularly by the support of Kalonymus ben Todros, the nasi of Narbonne, and of the eminent Talniudist .Vsheri of Toledo, Ben Adret issued a decree, signed by thirty three rabbis of Barcelona, excommunicating those who should, within the next fifty years. study physics or metaphysics before their thirtieth year of age (basing his action on Ihe jirinciple laid down by iSlaimonidis. "^loreh," i. 34), and had Ihi- order promulgated in Ihe synagogue on Sabbath, July 20, When this heresy decree, to be made elTeelI'.W't. ive, was forwarded to other congregations for approval, Ihe friiiids of libenil Ihonghl. under the leadership of the Tibbonites. issued a counter ban, and the conflict threatened to assume a serious character, as blind party zeal (this time on the liberal side) did not shrink from asking the civil powers to intervene. But an unlooked for calamity brought the warfare to an end. The expulsion of the Jews from Fnuue by Philip IV. ("the Fair"), in lIUMi. caused the Jews of Monlpellier to take refuu't'. partly in Provenee. partly in INrpijrnan and jiartly in MaConsei|nently. .Vliha Mari removed first to jorca. Aries, and. within the same year. to Perpiirnan. where he finally settled and disappeared from public view. There he published his correspondence with Ben Adret and his colleagues.

Abba Mari collected the correspondence and added to each letter a few explanatory notes. Of this collection, calli'il "Minḥat Ḳenaot," there are several manuscript copies extant nanielv. at Oxford (Neubauer. "Cat. Bodl. Ilclir. MSS.", Nos. 2182 and 2221); Paris, Bibl. Nat. No. !l7(i; (iiinzburs l.ibr.. St. Petersburfr; His Works. Parma: Hanispite Monteliore Collesre Library (formerly Halberstam, No. 192); and Turin. Some of these (Oxford, No. 2221. and Paris, Bibl. Nat.) are mere fragments. The |)rinled edition (Presburj;. 18:3S). prepared by M. L. Hislichis, contains: (1) Preface: (~)a treatise of eiirhti'cn chajiters on the inoorporeality of God (J^) correspondence (4) a treatise, called "Sefer ha-Yarhi." included also in letter 58; sitU') (lid deeper problems which agitated Judaism, the question of the relation of religion to the philosophy of the age. which neither the zeal of the fanatic nor the bold attitude of the libenil-minded couUI solve in any fixed dogmatic form or by any anathema, as the indei>endent spirit of the congregations refusi-d to accord to the nibbis the power jiossessed by the Church of dictating to the jieoplc what they shoidd believe or respect. At the close of the work are added several eidogies written by Abba Mari on Ben Adret (who died 13101. an<l on Don Vidal. Solomon of Perpignan. and Don Bonet Crescus of Lunel. BiKLiouiiArnv:

(ieiger. Zii(. f))r JIUUmIii- TlirnUnjir, v. R2; ff. p. 4ii ; Ilenau. /jO litthlnns Franritin, pp. <U7(iroas, (iitUin Jiulairii, pp. 2s<i, :!:il. 4ilii; lilein. In liny lit. Juivi.1, 1SS2, pp. lft3-207: I'erles. Sahniui hrli .ilimlidin tint Adereih uiul Kfiue Schriftiii^ pp. J')-;)-l; (inlt/, (U'ltt'li. (Icr Juden, 111. 27-50, Brcslau. isiSJ.

Zmiz, Z. illl.'i;

a defense of "The Guide and its author by SliemTob Pal<iuera (Gratz, "Gesch. d. Judeu." v"ii. 173). As the three cardinal doctrines of Judaism. Al)ba "

That of the recofrnition of God's JIari accent nates: existence and of llis absolute sovereiiinly, eternity, unity, and incorporeality, as taujrht in revelaticm, os])ei-i;illy in the Decalotruc; (0) that of the world's creation by Ilimout of nothing, as evidenced particularly by the Sabbath (:i) that of the special jirovidence of God, as manifested in the Biblical miracles. In the preface. Abba Mari explains his object in collectinj; the correspondence; and in the treatise which follows he shows that the study of philosojihy. useful in itself as a help toward the acquisition of the knowlcdire of God. r<'i|ujrcs sireat caution, lest we be misled by the Aristotelian i)hilosoph_v or its false inter]iretation, as rejfanls the ])rinciplesof nrntio cr iiihilo and divine individual providence, Jl'D'lS iinJCn. The maiHiscripIs include twelve letters which are not includeil in the jirinted edition of "Minhat Keiiaot." The corres])onilence refers mainly to the iiroposed restriction of the sttnly of the Aristotelian jihilosnCasually, other theoloiiical tiueslions are <lis]ihy. Kor example, letters Nos. 1. Ti. S contain a cussed. discussion on the question, whether the use of a piece of metal with the figure of a lion, as a talisman, is permitted by Jewish law for medicinal purposes, or is prohibited as idolatrous.

Contents of In letter No. 131. Abba Mari mourns the Minhat the death of Ben Adret. and in letter No. 132 he sends words of sympathy Kenaot. to the congregation of Perpignan. on the death of Don Solomon Vidal and Hal)bi MeLetter 33 contains the statement of Abba shullam. Mari that two letters which he desired to insert could not be discovered by him. MS. Ramsgate. No. 5','. has the s;ime statement, but also the two letters In the "Sefer hamissing in the jn-inted copies. Yarhi Abba Mari refers to the great caution shown by tiie rabbis of old as regards the teaching of the mysteries of philosophy, and reconunended by men like the Hai (Jaoii. ^laiinnnides. and Kiml.u. A responsuni of Abba Mari on a ritual question is contained in MS. Kamsgate. No. 136 and Zunz (" Literatnrgesfh. der Synag. Poesie der Juden," p. 498) mentions a kimih composed by Abba JIari. The "jMinhat Kenaot" is instructive reading for the historian because it throws much light upon the

M. F.—K.

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