159:
71:
relying upon the smattering of Greek that they possess, venture to ridicule tradition and to contemn the commandments of the Holy Law. Such frivolity prevails, above all, among the wealthy. We find these evil qualities among the proud representatives of the congregations, who have grown rich through dealing in money. They cast off everything that reminds them of their
70:
in strange garments, deck it with
Grecian and other anti-Jewish ornaments, and endeavor to harmonize it with philosophy, which can only be detrimental to religion and lead ultimately to its decay. Worse than these, however, are the frivolous persons who have not acquired substantial knowledge, but,
75:; they seek to dazzle by princely luxury; their wives and daughters array themselves in jewels like princesses; and, swelled with pride, they deem themselves the princes of the land. Therefore the great punishment came: it was inevitable. How much our rich co-religionists could learn from their
60:
Let us search for the source of all these trials and sufferings, and we shall find that a state of dissolution prevails in the midst of us; that an evil spirit pervades our camp, which has split us into two parties. There are those of our brethren who expend all their energies in solving
79:
neighbors! The
Christian princes and grandees rival one another in efforts to promote and uphold their religion and to train their youth in the pious sentiments of their ancestors. Our Jewish rich despise their faith, and permit the teachers of religion to eat the bread of sorrow and
65:
problems and in writing numberless commentaries and novellæ dealing in minute distinctions and interpretations, full of useless subtleties as thin as cobwebs. They diffuse darkness instead of light, and lower respect for the Law. Others, again, clothe the
55:
as the effect of, and a punishment for, the moral and religious decadence into which his co-religionists had fallen; and he holds before his brethren a mirror of the moral degeneration extending through all circles of Jewish society. He says in his book:
114:(Letter on Wisdom and Faith); but the name of the author was corrupted to Solomon ben Laḥmi. The best edition now extant (c.1906) of Alami's work is that issued by
84:
The Hebrew style of the letter is dignified and impassioned, and its moral admonition reveals the noble courage of Alami. Each section of the
244:
239:
234:
229:
209:
24:
195:
182:
31:(Why Catastrophes Come) which he addressed, in the form of a letter, to one of his disciples in 1415.
173:
8:
20:
144:
44:
99:
48:
168:
139:
115:
223:
163:
127:
213:
95:
52:
51:
in 1391. Alami considers these and other severe trials inflicted upon the
131:
162: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
76:
40:
89:
62:
72:
23:
ethical writer of the 14th and 15th centuries, contemporary of
67:
39:
Alami was an eye-witness of the persecutions of the Jews of
110:
ii. 177. An earlier edition appeared in Venice in 1712, as
106:iv. (Vienna, 1844), and this also appeared in his
27:(רשב"ץ). He is known through his ethical treatise
221:
210:Jewish Encyclopedia article on Solomon Alami
167:
222:
102:translation of part of it in Busch's
13:
14:
256:
203:
171:; et al., eds. (1901–1906).
177:. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
157:
118:(Vienna, 1872). Extracts of the
34:
245:15th-century Portuguese writers
240:14th-century Portuguese writers
92:verse suggesting its contents.
235:14th-century Portuguese rabbis
230:15th-century Portuguese rabbis
1:
151:
112:Iggeret ha-Ḥokmah weha-Emunah
7:
10:
261:
136:Ha-Torah weha-Philosophia.
104:Jahrbuch für Israeliten,
174:The Jewish Encyclopedia
138:On the name Alami, see
98:published an abridged
82:
108:Gesammelte Schriften,
58:
25:Simon ben Ẓemaḥ Duran
190:Missing or empty
183:cite encyclopedia
88:is preceded by a
21:Portuguese-Jewish
252:
199:
193:
188:
186:
178:
161:
160:
145:Jew. Quart. Rev.
260:
259:
255:
254:
253:
251:
250:
249:
220:
219:
206:
191:
189:
180:
179:
169:Singer, Isidore
158:
154:
100:German language
37:
12:
11:
5:
258:
248:
247:
242:
237:
232:
218:
217:
205:
204:External links
202:
201:
200:
153:
150:
140:Steinschneider
36:
33:
29:Iggeret Musar,
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
257:
246:
243:
241:
238:
236:
233:
231:
228:
227:
225:
215:
211:
208:
207:
197:
184:
176:
175:
170:
165:
164:public domain
156:
155:
149:
147:
146:
141:
137:
133:
129:
128:Joseph Jaabez
125:
122:are given in
121:
117:
113:
109:
105:
101:
97:
93:
91:
87:
86:Iggeret Musar
81:
78:
74:
69:
64:
57:
54:
50:
46:
42:
35:Iggeret Musar
32:
30:
26:
22:
18:
17:Solomon Alami
214:Samuel Baeck
192:|title=
172:
143:
135:
124:Or ha-Ḥayyim
123:
119:
111:
107:
103:
94:
85:
83:
59:
53:Spanish Jews
38:
28:
16:
15:
132:I.S. Reggio
224:Categories
152:References
148:xi. 486.
77:Christian
41:Catalonia
116:Jellinek
90:Biblical
80:poverty.
63:Talmudic
166::
130:and in
120:Iggeret
73:Judaism
45:Castile
49:Aragon
47:, and
19:was a
212:, by
68:Torah
196:help
96:Zunz
134:'s
126:of
226::
187::
185:}}
181:{{
142:,
43:,
216:.
198:)
194:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.