Simeon ben Zemah Duran
Simeon ben Zemah Duran, also Tzemach Duran (1361–1444; Hebrew: שמעון בן צמח דוראן), known as Rashbatz (רשב"ץ) or Tashbatz, was a Rabbinical authority, student of philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, and especially of medicine, which he practised for a number of years at Palma de Mallorca. A major 15th century posek, his published decisions in matters of halakha have been widely quoted in halakhic literature for hundreds of years.
Biography
Simeon ben Tzemach was born in the Hebrew month of Adar, 1361. Various accounts put his birthplace as either Barcelona, or the island of Majorca.[1] He was a near relation but not a grandson of Levi ben Gershon. He was a student of Ephraim Vidal, and of Jonah de Maestre, rabbi in Zaragoza or in Calatayud, whose daughter Bongoda he married.
After the 1391 massacre in the Balearic Islands, he fled Spain with his father and sister for Algiers, where, in addition to practicing medicine, he continued his studies during the earlier part of his stay. In 1394 he and the Algerian rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet ("the Rivash") drafted statutes for the Jewish community of Algiers. After the Rivash's retirement, Duran became rabbi of Algiers in 1407. Unlike his predecessor, he refused on principle to accept any confirmation of his appointment by the regent.[2] As Duran had lost all his property during the massacre at Palma, he was forced against his will to accept a salary from the community, not having other means of subsistence. He held this office until his death. His epitaph, written by himself, has been reprinted for the first time, from a manuscript, in Orient, Lit. v. 452. According to Joseph ben Isaac Sambari, Simon was much respected in court circles.[3] He was the father of the Solomon ben Simon Duran.
Duran's Magen Avot was a polemic against Christians and Muslims, of which the fourth chapter of the second part was published separately as Keshet u-Magen ("The Arrow and the Shield").[4]
Works
Simon was prolific. He wrote commentaries on several tractates of the Mishnah and the Talmud and on Alfasi (Nos. 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, and 16 in the list of his works given below); he treated various religious dogmas as well as the synagogal rite of Algiers (Nos. 5, 8, 10, 16), while in his responsa he showed a profound acquaintance with the entire halakic literature. His theologico-philosophical scholarship, as well as his secular learning, is conspicuous in his elaborate work, Magen Abot, in which he also appears as a clever controversialist (No. 7). The same ability is evidenced in his writings against Hasdai Crescas, which afford him an opportunity to defend Maimonides (No. 2), in his commentary on the Pentateuch (No. 6), where he takes occasion to enter into polemics with Levi ben Gershon, and in that on the Book of Job (No. 1), especially the introduction. In his commentary on the Pirke Avot he shows a broad historical sense (No. 7, part iv.) and it is not improbable that the tradition which ascribes to him the historico-didactic poem Seder ha-Mishneh leha-Rambam (No. 9) is well founded.
Simon also wrote a considerable number of poems, both religious and secular (Nos. 9 [?], 15); commented on the Pesah Haggadah, the Hoshanot, the works of more ancient poets (Nos. 5 (c), 13, 14), and he was the author of numerous pamphlets. The following list of Duran's writings is arranged according to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, on the basis of a catalogue drawn up by the author himself (Responsa, vol. iii.):
- Oheb Mishpaṭ, commentary on the Book of Job, with a theologico-philosophical introduction, Venice, 1589;[5] Amsterdam, 1724-1727 (in the Rabbinic Bible Ḳehillat Mosheh).
- Or ha-Ḥayyim, controversial treatise against Hasdai Crescas' Or Adonai.
- Zohar ha-Raḳia, commentary on Solomon ibn Gabirol's Azharot, Constantinople, 1515. (Jacob Hagis [Petil Tekelet] and Moses Pisante Ner Miẓwah have reedited this work, of which a shorter recension also exists.)
- Ḥiddushe ha-Rashbaẓ, novellæ on and elucidations of Niddah, Rosh ha-Shanah, Kinnim, Leghorn, 1744. (Ḥiddushim, novellæ to Ketubot and Gittin [Färth, 1779], is erroneously ascribed to Duran.)
- Yabin Shemu'ah:
- precepts for shehitah and bedikah
- Ma'amar Ḥameẓ, precepts concerning hamez and mazzah
- Afiḳomen, commentary on the Pesah Haggadah
- Tif'eret Yisrael, on the computations of the new moon ("moladot")
- Perush, commentary on the Mishnah Zebahim, ch. v. ("Ezehu Meḳoman"), and the Baraita de Rabbi Yishma'el (taken from the Sifra) subjoined thereto in the prayerbook (Leghorn, 1744). Part (c) appeared as Ma'amar Afiḳomen with the Haggadah (Rödelheim, 1822).
- Liwyat Ḥen, commentary on the Pentateuch; also two tracts against Hasdai Crescas ("Anaḳim," "Ma'amar Ha-Yiḥud")
- Magen Abot, consisting of four parts with special titles:
- "Ḥeleḳ Eloah mi-Ma'al"
- "Ḥeleḳ Shosenu"
- "Ḥeleḳ Ya'aḳob"
- "Ḥeleḳ Adonai 'Ammo."
- A commentary on Abot, including a literary-historical introduction on the sequence of tradition, appeared under the title "Magen Abot," Leghorn, 1762; reedited by Y. Fischl, Leipsic, 1855. Under the same title appeared parts i.-iii., with the exception of one chapter in part ii. (ib. 1785). The missing chapter in this edition, being a polemic against Christianity and Islam, was published under the title Ḳeshet u-Magen (ib. 1785–1790; reedited by Steinschneider, Berlin, 1881). Extracts from this chapter, "Setirat Emunat ha-Noẓrim," are contained in Milḥemet Ḥobah, Amsterdam, 1710. It is largely taken from Profiat Duran's Kelimmat ha-Goyim (Monatsschrift, iv. 179).
- Minhagim, ritual observances, presumably treating of the rites in Algiers.
- Seder ha-Mishneh leha-Rambam, didactic poem, ascribed to Duran in MS. Poc. 74 (Neubauer, Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS. No. 1971).
- Perush ha-Ketubbah weha-Geṭ, on marriage contracts and divorces, Constantinople, c. 1516–1548.
- Perush Hilkot Berakot le-Harif, commentary on Alfasi's Berakot.
- Perush Masseket 'Eduyyot, commentary on Eduyyot.
- Perush 'al ha-Hosha'not, published with the Hoshanot according to the Spanish rite, Ferrara, 1553. (A short extract from the Perush is contained in the Spanish prayer-book of 1571.)
- Perush Ḳeẓat Piyyuṭim, of which several pieces are inserted in the Algiers Mahzor, Leghorn, 1772. (The commentary on the introduction, "[Baruk] Asher Ishshesh," may also be found in B. Goldberg's Ḥefes Maṭmonim, pp. 85 et seq., Berlin, 1845.)
- Ḳunṭras Teḥinnot u-Pizmonim, religious and secular poems. (The elegy (ḳinah) on the destruction of Jerusalem, "Eksof le-Sapper," was published in Profiat Duran's Iggeret Al-Tehi, Constantinople, c. 1577; that on the persecutions in Spain in the second edition of Magen Abot, Leipsic, 1855. A larger collection was edited by I. Morali in part i. of his Ẓofnat Pa'aneaḥ, Berlin, 1897.)
- Remaze Pisḳe Niddah (distinct from No. 4).
- Taḳḳun ha-Ḥazzanim, of which the title only is known.
- Taḳḳanot ha-Rashbaẓ, inserted in part ii. of the responsa, (19), and in Judah Ayyash's responsa, entitled Bet Yehudah, Leghorn, 1746.
- Tashbaẓ, 802 responsa in three parts, Amsterdam, 1738–1739; title ed., ib. 1741.
External links
- Seth (Avi) Kadish, The Book of Abraham: Rabbi Shimon ben Ẓemaḥ Duran and the School of Rabbenu Nissim Gerondi (Doctoral dissertation, University of Haifa, 2006).
References
- ^ Tasbatz Vol.1, Jerusalem 1998 introduction p.20, quoting various conflicting earlier accounts.
- ^ 'Codex Judaica', Zichron Press, M.Kantor p.206
- ^ Medieval Jew. Chron. i. 130
- ^ Jewish history and Jewish memory: essays in honor of Yosef Hayim p 39 Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Elisheva Carlebach, John M. Efron - 1998
- ^ Available online at HebrewBooks.org.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Duran". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. It has the following bibliography:
- H. Jaulus, R. Simeon b. Zemach Duran, in Monatsschrift, xxiii. 241 et seq.;
- A. Fränkel, Allg. Zeit. des Jud. xxiv. 417, 501;
- Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, p. 601;
- Moritz Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. No. 7199;
- Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi-C. H. Hamberger, Historisches Wörterbuch der Jüdischen Schriftsteller, pp. 92 et seq.;
- Joseph Zedner, Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus. pp. 703 et seq.;
- Zunz, Literaturgesch. pp. 521 et seq.;
- Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., viii. 100;
- Brody, in Isr. Monatsschr. 1897, No. 7;
- I. Morali, Ẓofnat Pa'aneaḥ, i., Berlin, 1897;
- Kaufmann, in Monatsschrift, xli. 660
- v
- t
- e
- Maimonides
- Judah Halevi
- Abraham ibn Ezra
- Yom Tov Asevilli (Ritva)
- Joseph ibn Migash (Ri Migash)
- Meir Abulafia (Ramah)
- Bahya ibn Paquda
- Bahya ben Asher
- David Abudirham
- Joseph Albo
- Isaac ben Moses Arama (Akeidat Yitzchak)
- Rabbenu Yerucham
- Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon (Migdal Oz)
- Meir ben Solomon Abi-Sahula
- Isaac ibn Ghiyyat
- Maimon ben Joseph
- Isaac Aboab I
- Abraham ibn Daud
- Moses ibn Ezra
- Jonah ibn Janah
- Abraham Saba
- Nachmanides
- Menachem Meiri
- Nissim of Gerona (Ran)
- Shlomo ibn Aderet (Rashba)
- Yonah Gerondi (Rabbeinu Yonah)
- Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona (Baal HaMaor)
- Hasdai Crescas
- Aharon HaLevi (Ra'ah)
- Isaac ben Sheshet (Rivash)
- Simeon ben Zemah Duran (Tashbatz)
- Vidal of Tolosa (Maggid Mishneh)
- Joseph ibn Habib (Nimmukei Yosef)
- Azriel of Gerona
- Moshe Chalava
- Judah ben Yakar
- Judah ben Barzillai
- Hachmei Provence
- Abraham ben David (Raavad)
- Gersonides (Ralbag)
- David Kimhi (Radak)
- Abba Mari
- Isaac ben Abba Mari (HaIttur)
- Abraham ben Nathan (HaManhig)
- David ben Levi of Narbonne (HaMichtam)
- Moses ben Joseph (Rambi)
- Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne (Raavad II, HaEshkol)
- Levi ben Abraham ben Hayyim
- Moshe ha-Darshan
- Meshullam ben Jacob
- Asher ben Meshullam
- Abraham of Montpellier
- Joseph Caspi
- Isaac the Blind
- Samuel ibn Tibbon
- Isaac of Narbonne
- Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen
- Jonathan of Lunel
- Rabbi Abin ha-Gadol
- Rashi
- List of Tosafists
- Rabbeinu Tam
- Rashbam
- Solomon ben Meir
- Samson ben Joseph of Falaise
- Yom Tov of Falaise
- Eliezer ben Samuel (Yereim)
- Isaac ben Samuel (Ri HaZaken)
- Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (Semag)
- Judah ben Nathan (Rivan)
- Bechor Shor
- Abraham ben Joseph of Orleans
- Elijah of Paris
- Judah ben Yom Tov
- Haim ben Hananel HaCohen
- Yechiel of Paris
- Rivam
- Peretz ben Elijah
- Eliezer of Toul
- Chaim Paltiel
- Jacob of Orléans
- Samson of Chinon
- Jacob of Chinon
- Eliezer of Touques
- Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre
- Elhanan ben Isaac of Dampierre
- Baruch ben Isaac
- Samson ben Abraham of Sens
- Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi
- Meir ben Samuel
- Moses of Évreux
- Samuel of Évreux
- Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise
- Judah ben Isaac Messer Leon
- Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils
- Menahem ben Helbo
- Simeon Kara
- Shemaiah of Soissons
- Elijah ben Menahem HaZaken
- Ephraim ben Samson
- Meshullam ben Kalonymus
- Gershom ben Judah (Rabbeinu Gershom)
- Simeon bar Isaac of Mainz
- Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)
- Jacob ben Asher (Baal HaTurim)
- Mordechai ben Hillel (Mordechai)
- Meir of Rothenburg (Maharam MeRotenberg)
- Yaakov ben Moshe Levi Moelin (Maharil)
- Eliezer ben Nathan (Ra'aven)
- Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi (Raavyah)
- Eleazar of Worms (Rokeach)
- Meir HaKohen (Hagahot Maimuniot)
- Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (Yehudah haHasid)
- Yaakov ben Yakar
- Isaac ben Mordecai of Regensburg
- Ephraim ben Isaac of Regensburg
- Samson ben Eliezer
- Eliezer ben Isaac ha-Gadol
- Judah ben Kalonymus
- Yehuda HaKohen ben Meir
- Meir ben Baruch Halevi
- Israel Bruna
- Israel of Bamberg
- Ephraim of Bonn
- Judah ben Asher
- Joel ben Isaac ha-Levi
- Jacob ben Judah Landau
- Samuel ben Natronai
- Alexander Suslin
- Jacob Weil
- Isaac ben Asher ha-Levi
- Simha of Speyer
- Isaac Asir HaTikvah
- Israel Isserlein (Terumat HaDeshen)
- Isaac of Vienna (Or Zarua)
- Avigdor Cohen of Vienna
- Isaac Tyrnau
- Nathan ben Jehiel (the Aruch)
- Isaiah di Trani (Rid)
- Isaiah di Trani the Younger (Riaz)
- Obadiah of Bertinoro
- Menahem Recanati
- Zedekiah Anaw (Shibbolei HaLeket)
- Benjamin Anaw
- Judah Anav
- Moses ben Meir of Ferrara
- Eliezer ben Samuel of Verona
- Hillel ben Samuel
- Joseph Colon Trabotto
- Isaac ben Melchizedek
- Judah Messer Leon