Yosef ben Halevy
03/27/2019 10:42:45 AM
Yosef ben Halevy was born in Huelva, a province of Andalucia, although the exact date of his birth is not known. He was versed in Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, Mozarabic and Arab, as well as the Castellano (Spanish), Portuguese, and French of the 15th century. Because of his erudition in languages he was the Governor of Murcia’s official translator. However, when his presence was required by Cristopher Columbus, the governor agreed to let him...Read more...
Shlomo Ben Adret
01/31/2019 06:24:40 AM
Shlomo Ben Adret (1235-1310), also known as RASHBA (RAbbiSHlomoBenAdret), was the most celebrated scholar of Jewish Law of his time. He was born in Barcelona, home to important medieval Jewish personages, although none as renowned as Shlomo Ben Adret.
Nachmanides (Moshe ben Nahman- Sephardic Corner 7), was his teacher and Ben Adret eventually substituted him as director of the Talmudic Academy.
Read more...
Isaac Abravanel and the Sephardic Post-Expulsion Diaspora
12/28/2018 07:45:16 AM
Isaac Abravanel was born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1437. His ancestors came from a renowned Jewish Spanish family from Seville, forced to emigrate to Portugal after the pogroms of 1391. His grandfather, Samuel Abravanel, had been treasurer to the Castilian kings Henry II and John I.
Isaac Abravanel was a prolific Jewish Scholar and rabbi. One of his major works, his commentary on the Prophets, compares the monarchies described in the...Read more...
Benjamin bar Jonah
11/11/2018 05:00:00 AM
Benjamin bar Jonah, known as Benjamin of Tudela, was born around 1130 in Tudela, a city of Navarre, in northern Spain. He possessed a vast culture, mastering several of the romance languages of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Hebrew, Aramaic, Arab, Latin, and...Read more...
Samuel ha-Levi
10/02/2018 08:01:00 PM
Samuel ha-Levi, the protagonist of this story, is believed to have been born in Toledo around 1320
to the family ha Leví Abulafía.
In 1351 Samuel ha Levi Abulafia began to serve in the court of King Peter (“the cruel” for some historians and “the just” for others!), where he eventually exercised a tremendous influence. During this time he reorganized the King’s finances, given that the tax collectors had kept a good...Read more...
Yehuda ibn Gabirol
08/16/2018 11:02:15 AM
Solomon ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol was born in Málaga (Andalusia) around 1021, and died in Valencia in 1058. His health was a problem from childhood (ulcerations that frequently caused repugnance in others), and his agitated life and constant relocation eventually caused his death at an early age. Ibn Gabirol´s parents brought him to Zaragoza, in northern Spain, as a child and they both died soon after. The Jewish Quarter was very organized and...Read more...
Sephardic Corner History Series
08/16/2018 10:32:44 AM
For previous articles printed in the Atlanta Jewish times, click here.
Read more...