1. Abraham Caslari, who lived at Bezalu, near Perpignon, and was an eminent physician and author of several medical books. 2. Maestro Benedit, who lived at Arles, and was famous as a linguist and astronomer. He was also physician-in-ordinary to Queen Joan, the wife of King Andrew of Hungary. 3. Don Jonah Cavalier. 4. Don Todros Isaac, of Girone. 5. Don Judah des Cartel. 6. Don Bonafoux Shealtiel. 7. Don Bonsenor Gracian. 8. Don Chasdai Crescas. 9. Don Samuel Beneviste, who, according to Kayserling, was physician-in-ordinary to Don Pedro IV, king of Aragon. 10. Don Astruc Crespin.
Kalonymos says at the end of the Eben Bochan that he finished it when he was eighty-three years old (בן שלש ושמונים שנה), while it is generally supposed that he died at the age of fifty. The only explanation that can be given of this discrepancy is, that the copyist of the manuscript may have put down by mistake that number for בן שלשים ושמונה =38, which would just be the time when Kalonymos was staying at Rome.
Less popular, though not less humorous, than the Eben Bochan is Kalonymos's Massecheth Purim, the whole title of which in Hebrew is given as follows:—
ספר מגלת סתרים וספר מסכת פורים
It would appear that it was intended by the author to be a parody on the manner in which Rabbis generally conducted discussions and debates on trivial questions, as described in the Talmud, with special reference to the rites and usages connected with the Feast of Purim. It was obviously a harmless Purim prank, yet some ultra-orthodox Rabbis[[111-1]] took it seriously, and declared it to be an heretical work. Its want of popularity among Jewish readers in past centuries, and the limited number of its editions, must be attributed to this. It has only been printed three times altogether, first at Pesaro in 1507, then at Venice in 1552, and lastly at Vienna in 1871.
The Rabbis may have had yet another reason for their objections to the work, as the author advocates therein some slight reforms in the ritual of Purim. He puts, for instance, in the mouth of one of the disputants the question: Why should it be forbidden to read the Megillah on Purim in the vernacular, being a language that is generally better understood, by Jews and Jewesses alike, than Hebrew? Should an objection (he goes on to say) be made to such a procedure on the plea that the Book of Esther contains the word ככתבם, which means “according to their (the Jews’) own writing,” this obstacle could easily be removed by having the vernacular translation written in Hebrew characters.
Incidentally we learn from the Massecheth Purim that the Jews then living in Palestine were well-to-do farmers, and that those living in France and Italy frequently indulged in a certain game called סקקרי, which, according to Steinschneider, is equivalent to the Italian term il schachiere, and means the chess board[[111-2]]. We likewise gather from the book that the Rabbis of that time allowed dancing, provided that the dancers chose their partners from their own sex. It is interesting to notice, in passing, the variety of dishes which the Jewish ladies of those times were in the habit of preparing for the festivals. Kalonymos mentions, by way of example, the wife of the president of a certain Italian Jewish community, called Kardinalith קרדינלית, who used to begin making the preparations at least a fortnight before the advent of any Jewish festival. Graetz's supposition[[112-1]], that the lady in question was a Cardinal's daughter, is not supported by any historical evidence.
The third original work of Kalonymos is entitled The Letter of Response (אגרת התשובה), addressed to the well-known Jewish philosopher Don Bonafoux Ibn Caspi (1280–1340), in which the latter's commentary on the Bible is critically reviewed, and especially his leaning to what is now called “the higher criticism”. Kalonymos expresses the opinion that it is unwise and even dangerous to meddle with the ideas which people may have formed in early life regarding the sacred volume, and that Ibn Caspi's commentary on it was therefore doing more harm than good. Incidentally we learn from The Letter of Response that the writer was at the time of penning it a struggling youth, while Caspi was a man of affluence and position. It should, perhaps, also be mentioned that it existed at Munich in manuscript form till 1879, and that it was then published for the first time by the late Dr. Perles of Munich, under the title of Kalonymos' Sendschreiben an Josef Caspi.
The fourth and last original work of Kalonymos is entitled The Book of Kings (ספר מלכים), and deals chiefly with arithmetic, geometry, and astrology. It has hardly any intrinsic value at the present time as a scientific book, but deserves to be noticed because it was one of the few books which, as its title seems to indicate, was expressly written for the use of King Robert of Naples. It has never been printed, but exists as a MS. in Munich, where it was discovered some little time ago by Steinschneider[[112-2]].
Kalonymos also made translations of works in various languages, the titles of some of which will be quoted at the end of this essay. One of these, however, deserves special mention. That is the אגרת בעלי חיים, which consists of a free Hebrew translation of part of an Arabic work then in circulation under the title of The Treatises of the Righteous Brethren, and was edited by a certain Abalzapha[[113-1]]. It is a fairy tale, containing a dialogue between men and beasts, in the presence of the king of birds, in which the question is discussed, whether man has a right to dominate over the world or not[[113-2]]. Kalonymos invests this theme with a Jewish colouring by giving the chief part of the discussion to a Hebrew from the East, who is determined to prove by argument that the confessors of his own creed, at least, occupy a higher rank in the world than the animals. The former, he says, are the progeny of a noble line, and Moses and the other prophets have furnished them with numerous wise laws and regulations as to their proper conduct in life. They have, besides, temples and synagogues to pray in, as well as preachers and precentors to listen to, and their feasts and fasts afford them recreation for body and mind. In these advantages and pleasures, says the Hebrew in conclusion, the winged creatures do not participate, and it is therefore evident that they were destined by their Creator to be ruled by his chosen race.