Rav Hayya, a Jewish scholar of the tenth century, developed an organized theory of economics. His theory was culled from various Talmudic dictums as well as from Muslim thinkers that were known in the scholarly milieu of his time. Gleaning from these eclectic sources, Rav Hayya built his original view of what today is referred to as microeconomics. As such, he appears to have been the first in the Jewish world to create a coherent economic theory. In this paper, I will focus on four main principles that constitute his theory. I will then continue in comparing Rav Hayya's theory to other medieval theorists of his milieu. Integral to Rav Hayya's economic theory was a theological framework, making economic activity something in which God's hand is involved.
This paper presents a philosophical reading of Immanuel of Rome's Tophet and Eden and considers its place within the history of Jewish philosophy and Hebrew literature. I argue that Tophet and Eden promotes an intellectualist doctrine of reward and punishment, pointing out that Immanuel's rationalist position is more radical than generally thought. I then contextualize Tophet and Eden within the larger fields of Jewish philosophy and Hebrew literature, challenging common assumptions about the attitude towards philosophy in 14th century Italy. Tracing debates about philosophy among Immanuel's predecessors and contemporaries, I suggest that the espousal of philosophical values in Tophet and Eden constitutes an extreme instance of the incorporation of rationalist philosophy into the realm of medieval Hebrew belles-lettres. Viewed in its context, Tophet and Eden emerges as a uniquely radical work of Hebrew literature.
This essay seeks to demonstrate how the study of the many Jewish magical sources produced and circulated in medieval and early modern Italy-for the most part still unpublished and unknown to the scholarly community-can lead to a more nuanced reconstruction of the cultural and religious encounter between Jews and Christian in this historical context. Through a case-study focused on the "operation of the saucer" (operazione della caraffa), a form of lecanomancy abundantly practiced by both Jews and Christians, the essay proposes a new methodology which integrates the analysis of inquisitorial sources with that of amulets and manuscript codices of Jewish magic. In the article, several archival sources in Italian and excerpts from manuscript codices and fragments in Hebrew that can be related to the operazione della caraffa are edited, translated and commented upon (in most of the case, for the first time). The various sources are then put into dialogue to understand the history of this specific magical technique in late medieval and early modern Italy, as well as the relations between the Jews and Christians who used to practice it.
The narrator of "The German Refugee", an assimilated American Jew, grapples with a refugee's suffering and with his failure to acculturate in America after emigrating from Nazi Germany. The author underlines the necessity of carrying out the voice of the unheard through the mediation of writing, staging a character who is haunted in anticipation by the horrors of the Holocaust, making anachronism a meaningful trope in the narrative. This short story can be construed as a parable on the mediation of suffering and a reflection on the duties of American writers towards the survivors of the Holocaust.
Traditional Jewish religious belief speaks of a divinely revealed Torah, authored by Moses. Yet, when exactly did Moses write the Torah? Did he compose it all at the same time, or over the course of several years? This study will examine the various answers proposed by the Jewish tradition, over the generations, to these two questions. It will address the methodological difficulties raised by this subject/belief, present the similarities and the differences between the numerous scholarly positions, and also attempt to explore the ever-changing position that this concept occupies in the history of Jewish Biblical scholarship.
Sources are often lacking to know the reactions of Jews confronted with the measures taken against them by Western sovereigns. The aim here is to see how the Jews were affected by the effects of the rivalry between the Capetians and the Plantagenets at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries. After having recalled the main principles of political thought which have been authoritative among the Jews since late Antiquity, we will try to evaluate the room for manoeuvre which is theirs as well as the nature of their reaction through the writings left by the rabbis, notably the responsa and other legal writings of the authorities of medieval Judaism.
Proverbs 8:30-31 describes a cosmic scene of God playing with His daughter, personified as Wisdom, before the Creation. Afterwards Wisdom was to play with humankind. The scene uses the language of play and delight. Jewish tradition as it developed played down the play aspect of Deus Ludens or preferred the other meanings for the Hebrew 7ittvn, such as joking, mocking or jeering in order to vitiate the joyful play and delight of God and Wisdom. Better to turn the cosmic delight into cosmic humdrum. Even the marked Divine creative cosmic play of Jewish mysticism was sexual play and not simple play and did not have the joy of that simple play. It is hard to know whether the depiction of God playing was too much to accept or too trivial or whether reasons like the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and the travails of Jewish history caused this change. Early Christianity began as mostly neutral regarding play and used the verses in Proverbs for Christological purposes. Later, the motif of Deus Ludens was expanded into a theology of joy in serving God. Playing around, as in the sense of mocking, jeering and the like, and cosmic creation became Christian joyful play and games.
The rabbinic center in northern France flourished throughout the Middle Ages, while the Jewish community in England and its scholars existed for a much shorter period. During the twelfth century, English Jews turned to the French Tosafists for legal guidance. However, in the thirteenth century and until their expulsion in 1290, English rabbis began to see their counterparts in France as colleagues and equals. This article illustrates this shift in relations between the two centers through responsa written by French and English rabbis.
John's reign was defined by harsh treatment towards a range of individuals and groups. Although this article focuses primarily on the Jews, the underlying argument is that they had a similar experience to John's non-Jewish subjects. This paper will, therefore, argue that John's reign was a difficult time for all of his subjects, and the Jews should be considered within that broader context of England. It will be argued here that in this respect he was consistent. Moreover, it will be argued, the circumstances of his death in October 1216 created a unique situation which the Jews were able to exploit to their benefit until at least 1221.
The article discusses information regarding prominent figures in the Castro (De Castro) family who lived and operated in Corfu (Kerkyra) and Istanbul in the first half of the 19th century. This includes primarily their relations with the British embassy in Istanbul and with the British consulate in the Dardanelles (& Ccedil;anakkale), their relations with the Anglican missionaries, and the conversion to Christianity of one member of the family, Haim Castro. Also portrayed is knowledge about the family's business, the trade in citrons in Corfu, and the establishment of printing houses and commercial activity in Istanbul. Another issue mentioned is the British citizenship received by Jews in this period and the possibility of obtaining it due to the British protectorate of Corfu in 1815-1863. The article is based mainly on documents from the Levant Company archives, missionary texts, the press and the Responsa literature. The research literature on many relevant aspects and details was another source of information for this article.
Joseph ibn Kaspi is both a biblical commentator - and, as he himself attests, a commentator on the pesat meaning of scriptures - and a very loyal Maimonidean. The combination of these two characteristics at times puts him in an uncomfortable position. On the one hand, he wishes to preserve the literal sense of the biblical verses while avoiding giving a philosophical interpretation, for in his view, scriptures were given to the "simple" people and therefore should be understood by the uneducated. On the other, as a faithful student of Maimonides, he needs to justify why he deviates from Maimonides's principle according to which one should reinterpret the biblical text so that it coheres with the philosophical enquiry in the event of a contradiction between the two. In this article, I examine how Kaspi approaches an allegorical interpretation in several of his writings. I argue that despite his clear declaration that "one should always remain close to the pesat meaning of the biblical verse," he diverts from the rule that he himself set for his readers in at least one case. I will further argue that the "young" Kaspi was a very enthusiastic biblical commentator and that he was therefore very adamant about preserving the pesat meaning, while in his later days, he had to take into consideration problematic biblical texts that may have posed severe theological difficulties.
In central and northern Italy, Jewish-Christian relations between the High Middle Ages and the early modern period were based more on everyday contacts than on formal regulations, and led to a largely peaceful coexistence, which was also favoured by the fact that the Jewish groups were widely dispersed but small in number. As a result, conversion from Judaism to Christianity often did not lead to a break in relations with the family and social environment of origin. This borderline situation, in which converts found themselves, raised serious concerns among both ecclesiastical and civil authorities, who were vigilant about the danger of a return to the Jewish religion. In contrast with male converts, however, the reality of many female converts seems to have been less nuanced. Especially in those cases where conversion was guided by the intention of establishing a new Christian family unit, they experienced a clear rupture with their community of origin.
In the 13th century, Jacob Anatoli and Moses Ibn Tibbon translated a significant Aristotelian logical and scientific corpus in the form of Averroes' Middle Commentaries from Arabic into Hebrew and also wrote a series of independent commentaries on the Bible. Despite their investment in these two realms of thought, Averroes and the Bible, there is surprisingly little overlap between them. The Biblical commentaries are clearly philosophical, but do not mention very much of the Averroes that their authors translated. One reason for this is that the commentaries are somewhat supplemental to the Averroes translations, and are intended to supply areas of thought not covered in those translations. Thus, for example, both discuss poetics in the context of Biblical poetry, such as Song of Songs and Psalm 45. Both accounts are clearly based on the Arabic tradition of reading Aristotle's Poetics, but neither author made that work or any summary of it available in Hebrew. Instead, they turn to the Bible for poetic syllogisms, and especially poetic meaning, i.e., allegory. Their theories are developed and heavily influenced by Al-F & amacr;r & amacr;b & imacr; and Averroes. Yet, by including them in works that are not purely philosophical, both Jacob Anatoli and Moses Ibn Tibbon maintain a separation between science and scientific syllogisms and the Bible, with its poetic, allegorical methods of argumentation.
Numerous medieval Jewish philosophers read the Book of Job allegorically to teach about divine providence and the suffering of the righteous. Joseph Albo's interpretation reflects the influence of medieval philosophers including Saadia, Maimonides, Gersonides, Crescas and Duran, yet is unique in that it does not comprise one cohesive analysis, but references to Job are scattered throughout the work for the reader to synthesize, as is typical of other discussions in Sefer ha-'Iqqarim [Book of Principles]. Furthermore, unlike other medieval interpretations which focus exclusively on divine providence, Albo's allegorical reading reflects lessons about free choice. Albo uses the precedent of his influences who understand the dialogue between Job and his friends as a philosophical debate in which characters in the book are affliliated with erroneous opinions of divine providence, but instead innovatively associates characters' positions with mistaken views regarding human choice. His exposition of Job deciphers different notions of free choice, which contribute to his demonstration of God's providence over the individual and explanation of the adversity of the righteous.
Venice evolved into one of the epicenters of utopian reflection in early modern Europe - largely thanks to the very proliferation of utopian schemes inspired by Thomas More's Utopia. It is the intention of this article to revisit the Venetian contribution to the development of utopian thought by drawing attention to lesser- known or underappreciated authors who blended elements of diverse utopian theories to analyze contemporary political developments. The focus of this article will be on a major intellectual figure of the Venetian Jewish community, Simone Luzzatto (c. 1580-1663). My goal is to demonstrate that through the skillful use of various motifs drawn from utopian writing, Luzzatto formulates a proto-mercantilist program for the revival of the Venetian economy, in which he enshrined his plea for religious tolerance. In doing so, Luzzatto eclectically retained some of the elements of More's thought, but delineated a counter-model of a society that is neither perfect nor ideal but simply possible and real. Tau he second concern animating Luzzatto's thinking is to favor a commercial regime that is compatible with Venetian republicanism and predates those envisioned later by John Locke and Bernard Mandeville. Luzzatto can be perceived as an important but underappreciated episode in the transition to capitalism. The Venetian rabbi rejected the kind of communitarianism championed by More and Tommaso Campanella and reworked the "Myth of Venice" to enunciate new ideas about the contribution of minorities to economic development and social improvement and stability, without postulating a supra- historical order. Luzzatto discerned one of the elements that would render Venice not an optimum but an enduring political entity in its very potential to pioneer a new set of economic arrangements nurtured by the existence of religious differences.
