We must now turn back to a most difficult subject—the growth of the Liturgy. We are not concerned here with indications of the ritual used in the Temple. Of the prayer-book as it is at present, the earliest parts are the Liturgy. Shema‘ (Deut. vi. 4, &c.) and the anonymous blessings commonly called Shemoneh ‘Esreh (the Eighteen), together with certain Psalms. (Readings from the Law and the Prophets [Haphṭarah] also formed part of the service.) To this framework were fitted, from time to time, various prayers, and, for festivals especially, numerous hymns. The earliest existing codification of the prayer-book is the Siddūr (order) drawn up by Amram Gaon of Sura about 850. Half a century later the famous Gaon Seadiah, also of Sura, issued his Siddūr, in which the rubrical matter is in Arabic. Besides the Siddūr, or order for Sabbaths and general use, there is the Maḥzōr (cycle) for festivals and fasts. In both there are ritual differences according to the Sephardic (Spanish), Ashkenazic (German-Polish), Roman (Greek and South Italian) and some minor uses, in the later additions to the Liturgy. The Maḥzor of each rite is also distinguished by hymns (piyyūṭīm) composed by authors (payyeṭanīm) of the district. The most important writers are Yoseh ben Yoseh, probably in the 6th century, chiefly known for his compositions for the day of Atonement, Eleazar Qalīr, the founder of the payyetanic style, perhaps in the 7th century, Seadiah, and the Spanish school consisting of Joseph ibn Abitur (died in 970), Ibn Gabirol, Isaac Gayyath, Moses ben Ezra, Abraham ben Ezra and Judah ha-levi, who will be mentioned below; later, Moses ben Naḥman and Isaac Luria the Kabbalist.[6]
The order of the Amoraim, which ended with the close of the Talmud (A.D. 500), was succeeded by that of the Sabōrāīm, who merely continued and explained the work of their predecessors, and these again were followed by the The Geōnīm. Geōnīm, the heads of the schools of Sura and Pumbeditha in Babylonia. The office of Gaōn lasted for something over 400 years, beginning about A.D. 600, and varied in importance according to the ability of the holders of it. Individual Geōnīm produced valuable works (of which later), but what is perhaps most important from the point of view of the development of Judaism is the literature of their Responsa or answers to questions, chiefly on halakhic matters, addressed to them from various countries. Some of these were actual decisions of particular Geōnīm; others were an official summary of the discussion of the subject by the members of the School. They begin with Mar Rab Sheshna (7th century) and continue to Hai Gaon, who died in 1038, and are full of historical and literary interest.[7] The She’iltōth (questions) of Rab Aḥai (8th century) also belong probably to the school of Pumbeditha, though their author was not Gaon. Besides the Responsa, but closely related to them, we have the lesser Halakhōth of Yehūdai Gaon of Sura (8th century) and the great Halakhōth of Simeon Qayyara of Sura (not Gaon) in the 9th century. In a different department there is the first Talmud lexicon (‘Arūkh) now lost, by Ẓemaḥ ben Palṭoi, Gaon of Pumbeditha in the 9th century. The Siddūr of Amram ben Sheshna has been already mentioned. All these writers, however, are entirely eclipsed by the commanding personality of the most famous of the Geōnīm, Seadiah ben Joseph (q.v.) of Sura, often called al-Fayyūmī (of the Fayum in Egypt), one of the greatest representatives of Jewish learning of all times, who died in 942. The last three holders of the office were also distinguished. Sherira of Pumbeditha (d. 998) was the author of the famous “Letter” (in the form of a Responsum to a question addressed to him by residents in Kairawan), an historical document of the highest value and the foundation of our knowledge of the history of tradition. His son Hai, last Gaon of Pumbeditha (d. 1038), a man of wide learning, wrote (partly in Arabic) not only numerous Responsa, but also treatises on law, commentaries on the Mishnah and the Bible, a lexicon called in Arabic al-Ḥāwī, and poems such as the Mūsar Haskel, but most of them are now lost or known only from translations or quotations. Though his teaching was largely directed against superstition, he seems to have been inclined to mysticism, and perhaps for this reason various kabbalistic works were ascribed to him in later times. His father-in-law Samuel ben Ḥophni, last Gaon of Sura (d. 1034), was a voluminous writer on law, translated the Pentateuch into Arabic, commented on much of the Bible, and composed an Arabic introduction to the Talmud, of which the existing Hebrew introduction (by Samuel the Nagid) is perhaps a translation. Most of his works are now lost.
In the Geonic period there came into prominence the sect of the Karaites (Benē miqrā), “followers of the Scripture”, the protestants of Judaism, who rejected rabbinical authority, basing their doctrine and practice exclusively on The Karaites. the Bible. The sect was founded by ‘Anan in the 8th century, and, after many vicissitudes, still exists. Their literature, with which alone we are here concerned, is largely polemical and to a great extent deals with grammar and exegesis. Of their first important authors, Benjamin al-Nehawendi and Daniel al-Qūmisī (both in the 9th century), little is preserved. In the 10th century Jacob al-Qirqisanī wrote his Kitāb al-anwār, on law, Solomon ben Yeruḥam (against Seadiah) and Yefet ben ‘Alī wrote exegetical works; in the 11th century Abū’l-faraj Furqān, exegesis, and Yūsuf al-Baṣīr against Samuel ben Ḥophni. Most of these wrote in Arabic. In the 12th century and in S. Europe, Judah Hadassi composed his Eshkol ha-Kōpher, a great theological compendium in the form of a commentary on the Decalogue. Other writers are Aaron (the elder) ben Joseph, 13th century, who wrote the commentary Sepher ha-mibhḥar; Aaron (the younger) of Nicomedia (14th century), author of ‘Eẓ Ḥayyīm, on philosophy, Gan ‘Eden, on law, and the commentary Kether Tōrah; in the 15th century Elijah Bashyaẓī, on law (Addereth Eliyahū), and Caleb Efendipoulo, poet and theologian; in the 16th century Moses Bashyaẓī, theologian. From the 12th century onward the sect gradually declined, being ultimately restricted mainly to the Crimea and Lithuania, learning disappeared and their literature became merely popular and of little interest. Much of it in later times was written in a curious Tatar dialect. Mention need only be made further of Isaac of Troki, whose anti-Christian polemic Ḥizzūq Emūnah (1593) was translated into English by Moses Mocatta under the title of Faith Strengthened (1851); Solomon of Troki, whose Appiryōn, an account of Karaism, was written at the request of Pufendorf (about 1700); and Abraham Firkovich, who, in spite of his impostures, did much for the literature of his people about the middle of the 19th century. (See also [Qaraites].)
To return to the period of the Geōnīm. While the schools of Babylonia were flourishing as the religious head of Judaism, the West, and especially Spain under Moorish rule, was becoming the home of Jewish scholarship. On the Medieval scholarship. breaking up of the schools many of the fugitives fled to the West and helped to promote rabbinical learning there. The communities of Fez, Kairawan and N. Africa were in close relation with those of Spain, and as early as the beginning of the 9th century Judah ben Quraish of Tahort had composed his Risālah (letter) to the Jews of Fez on grammatical subjects from a comparative point of view, and a dictionary now lost. His work was used in the 10th century by Menahem ben Sarūq, of Cordova, in his Mahbereth (dictionary). Menahem’s system of bi-literal and uni-literal roots was violently attacked by Dūnash ibn Labrāṭ, and as violently defended by the author’s pupils. Among these was Judah Ḥayyūj of Cordova, the father of modern Hebrew grammar, who first established the principle of tri-literal roots. His treatises on the verbs, written in Arabic, were translated into Hebrew by Moses Giqatilla (11th century), himself a considerable grammarian and commentator, and by Ibn Ezra. His system was adopted by Abū’l-walīd ibn Jannāḥ, of Saragossa (died early in the 11th century), in his lexicon (Kitāb al-uṣūl, in Arabic) and other works. In Italy appeared the invaluable Talmud-lexicon (‘Arūkh) by Nathan b. Yehiel, of Rome (d. 1106), who was indirectly indebted to Babylonian teaching. He does not strictly follow the system of Ḥayyūj. Other works of a different kind also originated in Italy about this time: the very popular history of the Jews, called Josippon (probably of the 10th or even 9th century), ascribed to Joseph ben Gōriōn (Gorionides)[8]; the medical treatises of Shabbethai Donnolo (10th century) and his commentary on the Sepher Yeẓīrah, the anonymous and earliest Hebrew kabbalistic work ascribed to the patriarch Abraham. In North Africa, probably in the 9th century, appeared the book known under the name of Eldad ha-Danī, giving an account of the ten tribes, from which much medieval legend was derived;[9] and in Kairawan the medical and philosophical treatises of Isaac Israeli, who died in 932.
The aim of the grammatical studies of the Spanish school was ultimately exegesis. This had already been cultivated in the East. In the 9th century Ḥīvī of Balkh wrote a rationalistic treatise[10] on difficulties in the Bible, Exegesis. which was refuted by Seadiah. The commentaries of the Geonim have been mentioned above. The impulse to similar work in the West came also from Babylonia. In the 10th century Ḥushīel, one of four prisoners, perhaps from Babylonia, though that is doubtful, was ransomed and settled at Kairawan, where he acquired great reputation as a Talmudist. His son Hananeel (d. 1050) wrote a commentary on (probably all) the Talmud, and one now lost on the Pentateuch. Hananeel’s contemporary Nissīm ben Jacob, of Kairawan, who corresponded with Hai Gaon of Pumbeditha as well as with Samuel the Nagīd in Spain, likewise wrote on the Talmud, and is probably the author of a collection of Ma‘asiyyōth or edifying stories, besides works now lost. The activity in North Africa reacted on Spain. There the most prominent figure was that of Samuel ibn Nagdela (or Nagrela), generally known as Samuel the Nagīd or head of the Jewish settlement, who died in 1055. As vizier to the Moorish king at Granada, he was not only a patron of learning, but himself a man of wide knowledge and a considerable author. Some of his poems are extant, and an Introduction to the Talmud mentioned above. In grammar he followed Ḥayyūj, whose pupil he was. Among others he was the patron of Solomon ibn Gabirol (q.v.), the poet and philosopher. To this period belong Ḥafẓ al-Qūṭī (the Goth?) who made a version of the Psalms in Arabic rhyme, and Baḥya (more correctly Beḥai) ibn Paqūda, dayyan at Saragossa, whose Arabic ethical treatise has always had great popularity among the Jews in its Hebrew translation, Ḥōbhōth ha-lebhabhōth. He also composed liturgical poems. At the end of the 11th century Judah ibn Bal’am wrote grammatical works and commentaries (on the Pentateuch, Isaiah, &c.) in Arabic; the liturgist Isaac Gayyath (d. in 1089 at Cordova) wrote on ritual. Moses Giqatilla has been already mentioned.
The French school of the 11th century was hardly less important. Gershom ben Judah, the “Light of the Exile” (d. in 1040 at Mainz), a famous Talmudist and commentator, his pupil Jacob ben Yaqar, and Moses of Rashi. Narbonne, called ha-Darshan, the “Exegete,” were the forerunners of the greatest of all Jewish commentators, Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), who died at Troyes in 1105. Rashi was a pupil of Jacob ben Yaqar, and studied at Worms and Mainz. Unlike his contemporaries in Spain, he seems to have confined himself wholly to Jewish learning, and to have known nothing of Arabic or other languages except his native French. Yet no commentator is more valuable or indeed more voluminous, and for the study of the Talmud he is even now indispensable. He commented on all the Bible and on nearly all the Talmud, has been himself the text of several super-commentaries, and has exercised great influence on Christian exegesis. The biblical commentary was translated into Latin by Breithaupt (Gotha, 1710-1714), that on the Pentateuch rather freely into German by L. Dukes (Prag, 1838, in Hebrew-German characters, with the text), and parts by others. Closely connected with Rashi, or of his school, are Joseph Qara, of Troyes (d. about 1130), the commentator, and his teacher Menahem ben Ḥelbō, Jacob ben Me’īr, called Rabbenū Tam (d. 1171), the most important of the Tosaphists (v. sup.), and later in the 12th century the liberal and rationalizing Joseph Bekhōr Shōr, and Samuel ben Me’īr (d. about 1174) of Ramerupt, commentator and Talmudist.
In the 12th and 13th centuries literature maintained a high level in Spain. Abraham bar Ḥiyya, known to Christian scholars as Abraham Judaeus (d. about 1136), was a mathematician, astronomer and philosopher much studied in the middle ages. Moses ben Ezra, of Granada (d. about 1140), wrote in Arabic a philosophical work based on Greek and Arabic as well as Jewish authorities, known by the name of the Hebrew translation as ‘Arūgath ha-bosem, and the Kitāb al-Maḥaḍarah, of great value for literary history. He is even better known as a poet, for his Dīwān and the ‘Anaq, and as a hymn-writer. His relative Abraham ben Ezra, generally called simply Ibn Ezra,[11] was still more distinguished. He was born at Toledo, spent most of his life in travel, wandering even to England and to the East, and died in 1167. Yet he contrived to write his great commentary on the Pentateuch and other books of the Bible, treatises on philosophy (as the Yesōdh mōra), astronomy, mathematics, grammar (translation of Ḥayyūj), besides a Dīwān. The man, however, who shares with Ibn Gabirol the first place in Jewish poetry is Judah Ha-levi, of Toledo, who died in Jerusalem about 1140. His poems, both secular and religious, contained in his Dīwān and scattered in the liturgy, are all in Hebrew, though he employed Arabic metres. In Arabic he wrote his philosophical work, called in the Hebrew translation Sepher ha-Kūzarī, a defence of revelation as against non-Jewish philosophy and Qaraite doctrine. It shows considerable knowledge of Greek and Arabic thought (Avicenna). Joseph ibn Mīgāsh (d. 1141 at Lucena), a friend of Judah Ha-levi and of Moses ben Ezra, wrote Responsa and Ḥiddūshīn (annotations) on parts of the Talmud. In another sphere mention must be made of the travellers Benjamin of Tudela (d. after 1173), whose Massa’ōth are of great value for the history and geography of his time, and (though not belonging to Spain) Pethahiah, of Regensburg (d. about 1190), who wrote short notes of his journeys. Abraham ben David, of Toledo (d. about 1180), in philosophy an Aristotelian (through Avicenna) and the precursor of Maimonides, is chiefly known for his Sepher ha-qabbalah, written as a polemic against Karaism, but valuable for the history of tradition.
The greatest of all medieval Jewish scholars was Moses ben Maimōn (Rambam), called Maimonides by Christians. He was born at Cordova in 1135, fled with his parents from persecution in 1148, settled at Fez in 1160, passing Maimonides. there for a Moslem, fled again to Jerusalem in 1165, and finally went to Cairo where he died in 1204. He was distinguished in his profession as a physician, and wrote a number of medical works in Arabic (including a commentary on the aphorisms of Hippocrates), all of which were translated into Hebrew, and most of them into Latin, becoming the textbooks of Europe in the succeeding centuries. But his fame rests mainly on his theological works. Passing over the less important, these are the Mōreh Nebhūkhīm (so the Hebrew translation of the Arabic original), an endeavour to show philosophically the reasonableness of the faith, parts of which, translated into Latin, were studied by the Christian schoolmen, and the Mishneh Tōrah, also called Yad haḥazaqah (יד = 14, the number of the parts), a classified compendium of the Law, written in Hebrew and early translated into Arabic. The latter of these, though generally accepted in the East, was much opposed in the West, especially at the time by the Talmudist Abraham ben David of Posquières (d. 1198). Maimonides also wrote an Arabic commentary on the Mishnah, soon afterwards translated into Maimonists and anti-Maimonists. Hebrew, commentaries on parts of the Talmud (now lost), and a treatise on Logic. His breadth of view and his Aristotelianism were a stumbling-block to the orthodox, and subsequent teachers may be mostly classified as Maimonists or anti-Maimonists. Even his friend Joseph ibn ‘Aqnīn (d. 1226), author of a philosophical treatise in Arabic and of a commentary on the Song of Solomon, found so much difficulty in the new views that the Mōreh Nebhūkhīm was written in order to convince him. Maimonides’ son Abraham (d. 1234), also a great Talmudist, wrote in Arabic Ma‘aseh Yerūshalmī, on oaths, and Kitāb al-Kifāyah, theology. His grandson David was also an author. A very different person was Moses ben Naḥman (Ramban) or Nahmanides, who was born at Gerona in 1194 and died in Palestine about 1270. His whole tendency was as conservative as that of Maimonides was liberal, and like all conservatives he may be said to represent a lost though not necessarily a less desirable cause. Much of his life was spent in controversy, not only with Christians (in 1293 before the king of Aragon), but also with his own people and on the views of the time. His greatest work is the commentary on the Pentateuch in opposition to Maimonides and Ibn Ezra. He had a strong inclination to mysticism, but whether certain kabbalistic works are rightly attributed to him is doubtful. It is, however, not a mere coincidence that the two great kabbalistic textbooks, the Bahir and the Zohar (both meaning “brightness”), appear first in the 13th century. If not due to his teaching they are at least in sympathy with it. The Bahir, a sort of outline of the Zohar, and traditionally ascribed to Neḥunya (1st century), is believed by some to be the work of Isaac the Blind ben Abraham of Posquières (d. early in the 13th century), the founder of the modern Kabbalah and the author of the names for the 10 Sephīrōth. The Zohar, supposed to be by Simeon ben Yoḥai (2nd century), is now generally attributed to Moses of Leon (d. 1305), who, however, drew his material in part from earlier written or traditional sources, such as the Sepher Yeẓīrah. At any rate the work was immediately accepted by the kabbalists, and has formed the basis of all subsequent study of the subject. Though put into the form of a commentary on the Pentateuch, it is really an exposition of the kabbalistic view of the universe, and incidentally shows considerable acquaintance with the natural science of the time. A pupil, though not a follower of Nahmanides, was Solomon Adreth (not Addereth), of Barcelona (d. 1310), a prolific writer of Talmudic and polemical works (against the Kabbalists and Mahommedans) as well as of responsa. He was opposed by Abraham Abulafia (d. about 1291) and his pupil Joseph Giqatilla (d. about 1305), the author of numerous kabbalistic works. Solomon’s pupil Baḥya ben Asher, of Saragossa (d. 1340) was the author of a very popular commentary on the Pentateuch and of religious discourses entitled Kad ha-qemaḥ, in both of which, unlike his teacher, he made large use of the Kabbalah. Other studies, however, were not neglected. In the first half of the 13th century, Abraham ibn Ḥasdai, a vigorous supporter of Maimonides, translated (or adapted) a large number of philosophical works from Arabic, among them being the Sepher ha-tappūaḥ, based on Aristotle’s de Anima, and the Mōzenē Ẓedeq of Ghazzali on moral philosophy, of both of which the originals are lost. Another Maimonist was Shem Ṭōbh ben Joseph Falaquera (d. after 1290), philosopher (following Averroes), poet and author of a commentary on the Mōreh. A curious mixture of mysticism and Aristotelianism is seen in Isaac Aboab (about 1300), whose Menorath ha-Ma’ōr, a collection of agadōth, attained great popularity and has been frequently printed and translated. Somewhat earlier in the 13th century lived Judah al-Ḥarīzī, who belongs in spirit to the time of Ibn Gabirol and Judah ha-levi. He wrote numerous translations, of Galen, Aristotle, Ḥarīrī, Ḥunain ben Isaac and Maimonides, as well as several original works, a Sepher ‘Anaq in imitation of Moses ben Ezra, and treatises on grammar and medicine (Rephūath geviyyah), but he is best known for his Taḥkemōnī, a diwan in the style of Ḥarīrī’s Maqāmāt.
Meanwhile the literary activity of the Jews in Spain had its effect on those of France. The fact that many of the most important works were written in Arabic, the vernacular of the Spanish Jews under the Moors, which was not understood in France, gave rise to a number of translations into Hebrew, chiefly by the family of Ibn Tibbōn (or Tabbōn). The first of them, Judah ibn Tibbōn, translated works of Baḥya ibn Paqūdah, Judah ha-levi, Seadiah, Abū’lwalīd and Ibn Gabirol, besides writing works of his own. He was a native of Granada, but migrated to Lunel, where he probably died about 1190. His son Samuel, who died at Marseilles about 1230, was equally prolific. He translated the Mōreh Nebhūkhīm during the life of the author, and with some help from him, so that this may be regarded as the authorized version; Maimonides’ commentary on the Mishnah tractate Pirqē Abhōth, and some minor works; treatises of Averroes and other Arabic authors. His original works are mostly biblical commentaries and some additional matter on the Mōreh. His son Moses, who died about the end of the 13th century, translated the rest of Maimonides, much of Averroes, the lesser Canon of Avicenna, Euclid’s Elements (from the Arabic version), Ibn al-Jazzār’s Viaticum, medical works of Ḥunain ben Isaac (Johannitius) and Razi (Rhazes), besides works of less-known Arabic authors. His original works are commentaries and perhaps a treatise on immortality. His nephew Jacob ben Makhīr, of Montpellier (d. about 1304), translated Arabic scientific works, such as parts of Averroes and Ghazzali, Arabic versions from the Greek, as Euclid’s Data, Autolycus, Menelaus (מיליום) and Theodosius on the Sphere, and Ptolemy’s Almagest. He also compiled astronomical tables and a treatise on the quadrant. The great importance of these translations is that many of them were afterwards rendered into Latin,[12] thus making Arabic and, through it, Greek learning accessible to medieval Europe. Another important family about this time is that of Qimḥi (or Qamḥi). It also originated in Spain, where Joseph ben Isaac Qimḥi was born, who migrated to S. France, probably for the same reason which caused the flight of Maimonides, and died there about 1170. He wrote on grammar (Sepher ha-galui and Sepher Zikkaron), commentaries on Proverbs and the Song of Solomon, an apologetic work, Sepher ha-berīth, and a translation of Baḥya’s Ḥōbhōth ha-lebhabhōth. His son Moses (d. about 1190) also wrote on grammar and some commentaries, wrongly attributed to Ibn Ezra. A younger son, David (Radaq) of Narbonne (d. 1235) is the most famous of the name. His great work, the Mikhlōl, consists of a grammar and lexicon; his commentaries on various parts of the Bible are admirably luminous, and, in spite of his anti-Christian remarks, have been widely used by Christian theologians and largely influenced the English authorized version of the Bible. A friend of Joseph Qimḥi, Jacob ben Me’īr, known as Rabbenū Tam of Ramerupt (d. 1171), the grandson of Rashi, wrote the Sepher ha-yashar (ḥiddūshīn and responsa) and was one of the chief Tosaphists. Of the same school were Menahem ben Simeon of Posquières, a commentator, who died about the end of the 12th century, and Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (13th century), author of the Semag (book of precepts, positive and negative) a very popular and valuable halakhic work. A younger contemporary of David Qimḥi was Abraham ben Isaac Bedersi (i.e. of Béziers), the poet, and some time in the 13th century lived Joseph Ezobhi of Perpignan, whose ethical poem, Qe‘arath Yōseph, was translated by Reuchlin and later by others. Berachiah,[13] the compiler of the “Fox Fables” (which have much in common with the “Ysopet” of Marie de France), is generally thought to have lived in Provence in the 13th century, but according to others in England in the 12th century. In Germany, Eleazar ben Judah of Worms (d. 1238), besides being a Talmudist, was an earnest promoter of kabbalistic studies. Isaac ben Moses (d. about 1270), who had studied in France, wrote the famous Or Zarūa‘ (from which he is often called), an halakhic work somewhat resembling Maimonides’ Mishneh Tōrah, but more diffuse. In the course of his wanderings he settled for a time at Würzburg, where he had as a pupil Me’īr of Rothenburg (d. 1293). The latter was a prolific writer of great influence, chiefly known for his Responsa, but also for his halakhic treatises, ḥiddūshīn and tōsaphōth. He also composed a number of piyyūṭīm. Me’īr’s pupil, Mordecai ben Hillel of Nürnberg (d. 1298), had an even greater influence through his halakhic work, usually known as the Mordekhai. This is a codification of halakhōth, based on all the authorities then known, some of them now lost. Owing to the fact that the material collected by Mordecai was left to his pupils to arrange, the work was current in two recensions, an Eastern (in Austria) and a Western (in Germany, France, &c.). In the East, Tanḥūm ben Joseph of Jerusalem was the author of commentaries (not to be confounded with the Midrash Tanḥūmā) on many books of the Bible, and of an extensive lexicon (Kitāb al-Murshid) to the Mishnah, all in Arabic.
With the 13th century Hebrew literature may be said to have reached the limit of its development. Later writers to a large extent used over again the materials of their predecessors, while secular works tend to be influenced by the surrounding civilization, or even are composed in the vernacular languages. From the 14th century onward only the most notable names can be mentioned. In Italy Immanuel ben Solomon, of Rome (d. about 1330), perhaps the friend and certainly the imitator of Dante, wrote his diwan, of which the last part, “Topheth ve-‘Eden,” is suggested by the Divina Commedia. In Spain Israel Israeli, of Toledo (d. 1326), was a translator and the author of an Arabic work on ritual and a commentary on Pirqē Abhōth. About the same time Isaac Israeli wrote his Yesōdh ‘Olam and other astronomical works which were much studied. Asher ben Jehiel, a pupil of Me’īr of Rothenburg, was the author of the popular Talmudic compendium, generally quoted as Rabbenu Asher, on the lines of Alfasi, besides other halakhic works. He migrated from Germany and settled at Toledo, where he died in 1328. His son Jacob, of Toledo (d. 1340), was the author of the Tūr (or the four Ṭūrīm), a most important manual of Jewish law, serving as an abridgement of the Mishneh Tōrah brought up to date. His pupil David Abudrahim, of Seville (d. after 1340), wrote a commentary on the liturgy. Both the 14th and 15th centuries in Spain were largely taken up with controversy, as by Isaac ibn Pulgar (about 1350), and Shem Ṭōbh ibn Shaprūṭ (about 1380), who translated St Matthew’s gospel into Hebrew. In France Jedaiah Bedersi, i.e. of Béziers (d. about 1340), wrote poems (Beḥīnath ha-‘ōlam), commentaries on agada and a defence of Maimonides against Solomon Adreth. Levi ben Gershom (d. 1344), called Ralbag, the great commentator on the Bible and Talmud, in philosophy a follower of Aristotle and Averroes, known to Christians as Leo Hebraeus, wrote also many works on halakhah, mathematics and astronomy. Joseph Kaspī, i.e. of Largentière (d. 1340), wrote a large number of treatises on grammar and philosophy (mystical), besides commentaries and piyyūṭim. In the first half of the 14th century lived the two translators Qalonymos ben David and Qalonymos ben Qalonymos, the latter of whom translated many works of Galen and Averroes, and various scientific treatises, besides writing original works, e.g. one against Kaspī, and an ethical work entitled Eben Bōḥan. At the end of the century Isaac ben Moses, called Profiat Duran (Efodi), is chiefly known as an anti-Christian controversialist (letter to Me’īr Alguadez), but also wrote on grammar (Ma‘aseh Efod) and a commentary on the Mōreh. In philosophy he was an Aristotelian. About the same time in Spain controversy was very active. Ḥasdai Crescas (d. 1410) wrote against Christianity and in his Or Adōnai against the Aristotelianism of the Maimonists. His pupil Joseph Albo in his ‘Iqqarīm had the same two objects. On the side of the Maimonists was Simeon Duran (d. at Algiers 1444) in his Magen Abhōth and in his numerous commentaries. Shem Ṭōbh ibn Shem Ṭōbh, the kabbalist, was a strong anti-Maimonist, as was his son Joseph of Castile (d. 1480), a commentator with kabbalistic tendencies but versed in Aristotle, Averroes and Christian doctrine. Joseph’s son Shem Ṭōbh was, on the contrary, a follower of Maimonides and the Aristotelians. In other subjects, Saadyah ibn Danān, of Granada (d. at Oran after 1473), is chiefly important for his grammar and lexicon, in Arabic; Judah ibn Verga, of Seville (d. after 1480), was a mathematician and astronomer; Solomon ibn Verga, somewhat later, wrote Shebeṭ Yehūdah, of doubtful value historically; Abraham Zakkuth or Zakkuto, of Salamanca (d. after 1510), astronomer, wrote the Sepher Yuḥasīn, an historical work of importance. In Italy, Obadiah Bertinoro (d. about 1500) compiled his very useful commentary on the Mishnah, based on those of Rashi and Maimonides. His account of his travels and his letters are also of great interest. Isaac Abravanel (d. 1508) wrote commentaries (not of the first rank) on the Pentateuch and Prophets and on the Mōreh, philosophical treatises and apologetics, such as the Yeshū‘oth Meshīḥō, all of which had considerable influence. Elijah Delmedigo, of Crete (d. 1497), a strong opponent of Kabbalah, was the author of the philosophical treatise Beḥīnath ha-dath, but most of his work (on Averroes) was in Latin.