Astruc ha-Levi
Encyclopedia
Astruc ha-Levi of Daroca
(lived in Spain at the end of the fourteenth and at the beginning of the fifteenth century) was a Spanish Jewish Talmudic scholar.
He was a delegate to the famous disputation of Tortosa
, in 1413, under the presidency of Pope Benedict XIII
, at which he displayed energy and breadth of mind. Attacks having been made on the Talmud, based on some extravagant haggadic sentences, Astruc handed to the assembly a written declaration, in which he denied any authority to the Haggadah, and utterly renounced it.
On another occasion, Astruc dared the anger of the pope. Having pointed out the improbability of the haggadic legend that the Messiah
was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple and was now in paradise, Astruc said: "Lord and Pope, you believe so many improbabilities about your Messiah, let us believe this single one regarding ours."
Daroca
Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district....
(lived in Spain at the end of the fourteenth and at the beginning of the fifteenth century) was a Spanish Jewish Talmudic scholar.
He was a delegate to the famous disputation of Tortosa
Disputation of Tortosa
The Disputation of Tortosa, one of the famous disputations between Jews and Christians of the Middle Ages, was held in the years 1413–1414 in the city of Tortosa, Spain....
, in 1413, under the presidency of Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
, at which he displayed energy and breadth of mind. Attacks having been made on the Talmud, based on some extravagant haggadic sentences, Astruc handed to the assembly a written declaration, in which he denied any authority to the Haggadah, and utterly renounced it.
On another occasion, Astruc dared the anger of the pope. Having pointed out the improbability of the haggadic legend that the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
was born on the day of the destruction of the Temple and was now in paradise, Astruc said: "Lord and Pope, you believe so many improbabilities about your Messiah, let us believe this single one regarding ours."