260:, is one of the earliest books printed at Constantinople, and is therefore very rare. According to his own testimony, it was written in 1420 (as Perles has shown); but he intended to compose, or, as Perles thinks, actually did compose, a larger commentary on the Pentateuch. Perles has furnished ample proof that Aaron Aldabi—or, as he called himself, Aaron Alrabi—was a man of great originality and merit, and it is to be hoped that his lost works will be discovered, and that editions of his commentary, based on clear manuscripts existing in Oxford and elsewhere, will fully vindicate his character, though Graetz and Karpeles, in their histories, have attacked him.
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by Grätz, "Gesch. d. Juden" (third edition), viii. 250, and by
Karpeles, "Gesch. der Jüdischen Literatur," p. 771—whereas the author, in his commentary upon Gen. xviii. 5, referring to the rabbinical Haggadah that the angels who came to Abraham appeared as Arabs, says that they spoke in Arabic, and that Moses rendered their words in Hebrew—a remark which he repeats in his comments upon Gen. xxiv. 23 and Ex. ii. 10. Zunz, "Z. G.," pp. 518–520, and Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl.," call him Alrabi. Aaron's true name, however, is given in the acrostic written by him at the end of his published commentary.
183:. For the former Aaron entertained a very high regard; of the latter he frequently says, "With due deference to his honor, he misunderstood the Talmud" (see his commentary upon Gen. xxvii. 22; Ex. xxiii. 11, xxv. 9). Like Samuel ben Meir and Maimonides, he explains the law, "Thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk" (Ex. xxiii. 19), as a warning against a certain idolatrous practise. Notwithstanding his liberal mind and his keen investigating spirit, he was held in high esteem by his contemporaries, as may be seen from
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in defense of the Law and tradition. Keenly observant, and of an independent and critical spirit, he judged persons and opinions freely and openly. He excels as a writer and as a Bible commentator, and often upbraids the Jews of his native land for their ignorance and hollow pretensions, at the same time pointing with admiration to the numerous Jews of high breeding he has met on his travels. Following the principle of a rational
Biblical
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Coming often in contact with learned
Christians, Aaron had many occasions to defend Judaism against the polemics of the Church, on the one hand, and the attacks of the Karaites on the other. It was this unceasing conflict that induced him to write a book, called "Maṭṭeh Aharon" (The Staff of Aaron),
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J. H. Schorr, in "Zion," 1840, first called attention to Abu al-Rabi, erroneously calling him Aaron ben Mose Alrabi; but, owing to a misunderstanding of his remarks, he ascribes to him the strange assertion that Moses translated the
Pentateuch from the Arabic into Hebrew—a misunderstanding repeated
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mention of him as "Aaron our Rabbi" in No. 10 of his responsa, where he commends him for his liberty of thought. He was a devoted Jew, who deeply deplored the political and social condition of the Jews of his time, and all the more fervently gave expression to his hope for the speedy advent of the
122:, and often discussed religious questions with them in a friendly manner. On this occasion he propounded to Aaron a number of very pointed questions concerning Biblical and Talmudical passages. Among other things he asked if the use of the
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Nor does he shrink from pointing out the blemishes he finds in the character of the
Patriarchs. Being guided solely by a love of truth, he, as a matter of course, does not spare such great Bible commentators as
248:). All of these works are known only through his own quotations in his supercommentary on Rashi. This work, published from an incomplete manuscript, together with another supercommentary on Rashi by
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doctrines. He boldly exposes errors wherever he finds them, claiming "that it is more honorable for the wise to commit an error than knowingly to misrepresent the truth."
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66:, and was familiar with the scientific and philosophic literature of his age; he was a good grammarian, and well acquainted with the
58:. Aaron was the youngest of five brothers, all rabbinic scholars; the others were Shallum, Baruch, Moses, and Isaac. He studied in
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Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. d. Juden in Rom, ii. 68. For correct reading of name, see Jew. Quart. Rev. xi. 609.J. L. S.K.
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134:. Aaron in his commentary refers several times to this discussion and to the answers he gave.
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refers with evident pride, as having vindicated the cause of rabbinical theology. While in
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traditions which seem to conflict with reason and common sense; and at times, like
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J. Perles' article, Aaron
Gershon Abulrabi in Rev. Ét. Juives, xxi. 246-269;
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and eager, in his explanation of the Bible, to refute now
Christian and now
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interpretation. He was fully conversant with the views of the
Karaites and
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in the Holy of Holies was not rather antagonistic to the
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scholar, cabalist, and astrologer of the 15th century.
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147:, he does not hesitate occasionally to refute
188:Messiah. For his cabalistic views he quotes
293:"Aaron ben Gershon Abu Al-Rabi of Catania"
322:Neubauer, Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS. No. 2245;
240:), probably of a similar character, and "
16:Sicilian-Jewish cabalist, and astrologer
159:, he even states his disagreement with
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114:he was admitted to the presence of
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102:he had many disputations with the
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106:, to which his commentary on the
311:Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
305:. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
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316:Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, No. 281;
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238:The Blossoming of the Godhead
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230:The Crown of Holiness
339:Writers from Catania
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181:Nahmanides
165:Samaritans
108:Pentateuch
256:, and by
100:Jerusalem
84:Palestine
190:Recanate
149:haggadic
145:exegesis
132:idolatry
124:cherubim
104:Karaites
88:Damascus
42:) was a
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161:halakic
94:in the
60:Treviso
56:Majorca
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24:Catania
169:Muslim
138:Writer
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26:(also
295:. In
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98:. In
92:Kaffa
80:Egypt
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