Crescas Vidal

Last updated
Crescas Vidal
BornEarly 14th century
Spain
Era Medieval philosophy
Region Jewish philosophy
School Jewish law, Jewish ethics

Don Crescas Vidal was a French Talmudist in the first half of the fourteenth century.

Biography

Vidal was probably born in Spain. [1]

Vidal went to Perpignan, France shortly before the outbreak of the Maimonidian controversy, as acculturated Jews continued to synthesize Aristotelian thought with traditional Jewish philosophy. Vidal was neutral in this controversy, despite the efforts of his brother Don Bonafos Vidal of Barcelona, and of Solomon ben Aderet, to induce him to reject the new philosophical movement. Although he himself was strictly orthodox, Vidal was sympathetic toward the movement. He believed that while the young should be taught to study the Talmud, they should also have full liberty in the study of philosophy and science. Hence, he incurred the reproach of the orthodox when he emphatically sided with his friend Samuel Sulami, who had given shelter to the ostracized philosopher Levi ben Abraham of Villefranche. Although Vidal did not openly espouse the cause of the unfortunate philosopher, his letters show how deeply he sympathized with him. [2] [1]

Vidal authored commentaries on several Talmudic tractates. One survives in manuscript: the commentary on b. Nedarim usually attributed to Shlomo ibn Adret. Some scholars believe he also wrote the commentary on b. Gittin attributed to ibn Adret, and sections of his commentaries to other tractates are known from citations.

Related Research Articles

Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph, was a Provençal rabbi, born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of the 13th century. He is also known as Yarhi from his birthplace, and he further took the name Astruc, Don Astruc or En Astruc of Lunel from the word "astruc" meaning lucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maimonides</span> Jewish philosopher from Spain (1135–1204)

Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam, was a Sephardic rabbi and philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician, serving as the personal physician of Saladin. He was born and lived in Córdoba in al-Andalus within the Almoravid Empire on Passover eve 1138, until his family was expelled for refusing to convert to Islam. Later, he lived in Morocco and Egypt and worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talmud</span> Central text of Rabbinic Judaism

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 modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewish cultural life and was foundational to "all Jewish thought and aspirations", serving also as "the guide for the daily life" of Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish principles of faith</span>

Judaism does not centralize authority in any single individual or group. The formulation of principles of faith that are universally recognized by all branches of Judaism remains undefined. There is no central authority in Judaism in existence today - although the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish religious court, would fulfill this role if it were re-established. Instead, Judaism's principles of faith remains debated by the rabbis based on their understanding of the sacred writings, laws, and traditions, which collectively shape its theological and ethical framework. The most accepted version in extent is the opinion of Maimonides

Levi ben Gershon, better known by his Graecized name as Gersonides, or by his Latinized name Magister Leo Hebraeus, or in Hebrew by the abbreviation of first letters as RaLBaG, was a medieval French Jewish philosopher, Talmudist, mathematician, physician and astronomer/astrologer. He was born at Bagnols in Languedoc, France. According to Abraham Zacuto and others, he was the son of Gerson ben Solomon Catalan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish philosophy</span> Philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism

Jewish philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern Haskalah and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism, thus organizing emergent ideas that are not necessarily Jewish into a uniquely Jewish scholastic framework and world-view. With their acceptance into modern society, Jews with secular educations embraced or developed entirely new philosophies to meet the demands of the world in which they now found themselves.

Crescas is a Judaeo-Catalan family name, prominent in the former Crown of Aragon. Crescas is a common name among Jews of southern France and Catalonia. There have been a number of scholars and rabbis sharing that surname, including:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Abarbanel</span> Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier

Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel, commonly referred to as Abarbanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier.

Rishonim were the leading rabbis and poskim who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the Shulchan Aruch and following the Geonim. Rabbinic scholars subsequent to the Shulchan Aruch are generally known as acharonim.

Menachem ben Solomon HaMeiri, commonly referred to as HaMeiri, the Meiri, or just Meiri, was a famous medieval Provençal rabbi, and Talmudist. Though most of his expansive commentary, spanning 35 tractates of the Talmud, was not publicly available until the turn of the 19th century, it has since gained widespread renown and acceptance among Talmudic scholars.

Yom Tov ben Abraham of Seville commonly known by the Hebrew acronym Ritva, was a medieval rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Yeshiva of Seville, known for his commentaries on the Talmud.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlomo ibn Aderet</span> Medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist

Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet was a medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba, the Hebrew acronym of his title and name: Rabbi Shlomo ben Avraham.

The history of responsa in Judaism, spans a period of 1,700 years. Rabbinic responsa constitute a special class of rabbinic literature, differing in form, but not necessarily in content, from Rabbinic commentaries devoted to the exegesis of the Bible, the Mishnah, the Talmud, and halakha. The codes themselves contain the rules for ordinary incidents of life. The responsa literature covers all these topics and more.

Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi was a Jewish poet, physician, and philosopher; born at Béziers. His Occitan name was En Bonet, which probably corresponds to the Hebrew name Tobiah; and, according to the practices of Hachmei Provence, he occasionally joined to his name that of his father, Abraham Bedersi.

Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia, also known as the Ramah, was a major Sephardic Talmudist and Halachic authority in medieval Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera</span> Medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher

Shem-Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, also spelled Palquera was a Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet and commentator. A vast body of work is attributed to Falaquera, including encyclopedias of Arabic and Greek philosophies, maqamas, some 20,000 poetic verses, and commentaries on Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed. The common theme in Falaquera’s writing was to encourage observant Jews to study philosophy and to appreciate the harmony that existed between Torah and rational truth learned in philosophy. While Falaquera did not advocate teaching the secrets of science and divine sciences to every man, he did advocate the teaching of these truths to a broader range of educated Jewish males than previous proponents of rationalist thinking.

Joseph ben Shem-Tov ibn Shem-Tov was a prolific Judæo-Spanish writer born in Castile. He lived in various cities of Spain: Medina del Campo de Leon (1441); Alcalá de Henares (1451); and Segovia (1454).

Profiat Duran, full Hebrew name Isaac ben Moses haLevi) was a Jewish apologist/polemicist, philosopher, physician, grammarian, and controversialist in the 14th century. He was later sometimes referred to by the sobriquet Efodi (האפודי) through association with his two grammars entitled Ephod. After being forcibly converted to Christianity in 1391, he also appears in official records under his Converso name Honoratus de Bonafide. After escaping Spain, he returned to practicing Judaism openly and wrote several works including polemics against Christianity and grammar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moses ben Joshua</span> 14th-century Catalan philosopher and physician

Moses Narbonne, also known as Moses of Narbonne, mestre Vidal Bellshom, maestro Vidal Blasom, and Moses Narboni, was a medieval Catalan philosopher and physician. He was born at Perpignan, in the Kingdom of Majorca, at the end of the thirteenth century and died sometime after 1362. He began studying philosophy with his father when he was thirteen and then studied with Moses and Abraham Caslari. He studied medicine and eventually became a successful physician, and was well versed in Biblical and rabbinical literature.

Samson ben Isaac of Chinon was a French Talmudist who lived at Chinon. In Talmudic literature he is generally called after his native place, Chinon, and sometimes by the abbreviation MaHaRShaḲ. He was a contemporary of Peretz Kohen Gerondi, who declared Samson to be the greatest rabbinical authority of his time.

References

  1. 1 2 Louis Ginzberg, A. Peiginsky. "CRESCAS, (DON) VIDAL, OF PERPIGNAN". JewishEncyclopedia.
  2. (Gross, "Gallia Judaica," p. 464)

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain : Jewish Encyclopedia