Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi
Encyclopedia
Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi (c. 1270 – c. 1340) (Hebrew: ידעיה הבדרשי) was a Jewish poet, physician, and philosopher; born at Béziers
(hence his surname Bedersi). His Provençal
name was En Bonet, which probably corresponds to the Hebrew
name Tobiah (compare Oheb Nashim in the Zunz Jubelschrift, Hebrew part, p. 1); and, according to the practice of the Provençal Jews
, he occasionally joined to his name that of his father, Abraham Profiat (Bedersi).
In his poems he assumed the appellation "Penini" (הפניני , Dispenser of Pearls), and because of this appellation the ethical work Mibḥar ha-Peninim of Solomon ben Gabirol has been erroneously ascribed to Bedersi.
). Bedersi's father, very much pleased with those evidences of his child's precocity, expressed his approbation in a short poem which in many editions is given at the end of the hymn. The work contains only mere quibbles on Biblical passages, and is often very obscure; but, considering the age of the author, the facility with which he handles the Hebrew vocabulary is astonishing.
of the Talmud
, he was but fifteen years old when he entered the Talmudical school of R. Meshullam. At the age of seventeen he produced his ethical work Sefer ha-Pardes (The Book of the Garden). This treatise, first published at Constantinople in 1515 (?) and reproduced by Joseph Luzzatto in Ozar ha-Ṣifrut, iii., is divided into eight chapters:
, and has been edited by Neubauer in the Zunz Jubelschrift, 1884.
from France
(1306), to which event reference is made in the eleventh chapter (compare Renan-Neubauer, Les Ecrivains Juifs Français, p. 37). This poem is divided into 37 short chapters, and may be summarized as follows:
Bedersi concludes his poem by expressing his admiration for Maimonides
:
According to Husik, Bedersi as the author of this poem is the "wise man" quoted by Joseph Albo
in Sefer Ikkarim (II:30) on the unknowability of God:
This poem enjoyed the greatest success. Published first at Mantua
by Estellina, wife of Abraham Conat
, between 1476 and 1480, it was republished 67 times (compare Bibliotheca Friedlandiana, ii. 139), with many commentaries, among which are those written by Moses ibn Ḥabib
, Jacob Frances, and Yom-Ṭob Lipmann Heller. Four commentaries written by Isaac Monçon, Jacob (of Fano?), Leon of Mantua, and Immanuel of Lattes the Younger are still extant in manuscript (MSS. at St. Petersburg and at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Nos. 502 and 1404). The poem was translated into Latin by Uchtman; into German
by Isaac Auerbach, Hirsch ben Meïr, Joel ben Joseph Faust or Wust, Simson Hamburger, Auerbach (who made use of a translation of parts iv. and v. by Mendelssohn
), J. Levy, Joseph Hirschfeld, and (in verse) by Stern, preceded by an interesting Hebrew introduction by Weiss; into French
by Philippe Aquinas and Michel Beer; into Italian
in Antologia Israelitica, 1880,pp. 334 et seq.; into English
by Tobias Goodman; into Polish
by J. Tugendhold.
(Ḥotam Toknit, Appendix, p. 5), Bedersi was also the author of the poem Baḳḳashat ha-Lamedin (The Lamed Prayer), or Bet El (The House of God), or Batte Nefesh (Tablets), a prayer composed of 412 words in which only the letters from "alef" to "lamed" occur. This composition is commonly attributed to his father, Abraham Bedersi
. Another poem, entitled Elef Alfin (Thousand Alefs), composed of 1,000 words, each of which begins with the letter "alef," also attributed to Abraham Bedersi, seems to have been written by Jedaiah. In this poem the author bewails the sufferings and the exile of the Jews, which can only refer to the banishment of the Jews from France in 1306 (compare Luzzatto, l.c.; Shem ha-Gedolim, ii. s.v.; Grätz, Gesch. der Juden, vii. 206).
in the introduction to his commentary on the Beḥinat ha-'Olam. Seven of these works are still extant in manuscript:
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
(hence his surname Bedersi). His Provençal
Provençal language
Provençal is a dialect of Occitan spoken by a minority of people in southern France, mostly in Provence. In the English-speaking world, "Provençal" is often used to refer to all dialects of Occitan, but it actually refers specifically to the dialect spoken in Provence."Provençal" is also the...
name was En Bonet, which probably corresponds to the Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
name Tobiah (compare Oheb Nashim in the Zunz Jubelschrift, Hebrew part, p. 1); and, according to the practice of the Provençal Jews
History of the Jews in France
The history of the Jews of France dates back over 2,000 years. In the early Middle Ages, France was a center of Jewish learning, but persecution increased as the Middle Ages wore on...
, he occasionally joined to his name that of his father, Abraham Profiat (Bedersi).
In his poems he assumed the appellation "Penini" (הפניני , Dispenser of Pearls), and because of this appellation the ethical work Mibḥar ha-Peninim of Solomon ben Gabirol has been erroneously ascribed to Bedersi.
Early life
Bedersi was a precocious child. He was scarcely fifteen years old when he published his work Baḳḳashat ha-Memim (The Mem Prayer), a hymn of 1,000 words, each of which begins with the letter "mem" (translated into Latin and GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
). Bedersi's father, very much pleased with those evidences of his child's precocity, expressed his approbation in a short poem which in many editions is given at the end of the hymn. The work contains only mere quibbles on Biblical passages, and is often very obscure; but, considering the age of the author, the facility with which he handles the Hebrew vocabulary is astonishing.
Sefer ha-Pardes
Bedersi's Talmudical knowledge must have been equally extensive; for, as may be seen in the introduction to his commentary on the AggadahAggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, he was but fifteen years old when he entered the Talmudical school of R. Meshullam. At the age of seventeen he produced his ethical work Sefer ha-Pardes (The Book of the Garden). This treatise, first published at Constantinople in 1515 (?) and reproduced by Joseph Luzzatto in Ozar ha-Ṣifrut, iii., is divided into eight chapters:
- on isolation from the world, and the inconstancy of the latter
- on divine worship and devotion
- on instruction, and the sciences that men should acquire after having familiarized themselves with their religious obligations
- on the laws and the conduct of the judge
- on grammar
- on sophism
- on astronomy
- on rhetoric and poetry
Oheb Nashim
At eighteen he published a work in defense of women, entitled Ẓilẓal Kenafayim (The Rustling of Wings) or Oheb Nashim (The Women-Lover). In the short introduction to this treatise, Bedersi says that he wrote it against Judah ben Shabbethai's Sone ha-Nashim (The Woman-Hater). The young poet dedicated this composition to his two friends, Meïr and Judah, sons of Don Solomon Dels-Enfanz of Arles. It was written in rhymed proseRhymed prose
Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing...
, and has been edited by Neubauer in the Zunz Jubelschrift, 1884.
Other Works
These poetical productions of Bedersi's youth were followed by a number of works of a more serious character, among which were:- A philosophical commentary on the AggadahAggadahAggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
of diverse parts of the Midrashim, such as Midrash Rabbah, Midrash Tanḥuma, SifreSifreSifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar and Devarim .- The Talmudic-Era Sifre :The title "Sifre debe Rab" is used by R. Hananeel on Sheb. 37b, Alfasi on Pes...
, Pirḳe de-Rabbi EliezerPirke De-Rabbi EliezerPirke De-Rabbi Eliezer is an aggadic-midrashic work on Genesis, part of Exodus, and a few sentences of Numbers, ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a disciple of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and teacher of Rabbi Akiva. It comprises fifty four chapters...
, and Midrash TehillimMidrash TehillimMidrash Tehillim or Midrash to Psalms is a haggadic midrash known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome in his Aruk , by R. Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat in his Halakot , and by Rashi in his commentary on I Sam. xvii. 49, and on many other passages. This midrash is called also...
(copies of this commentary are still extant in manuscript in several European libraries). - Iggeret Hitnaẓẓelut (Apologetical Letter), addressed to Solomon ben Adret, who, at the instigation of Abba MariAbba MariAbba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph, was a Provençal rabbi, born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of the 13th century. He is also known as Yarhi from his birthplace Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph, was a Provençal rabbi, born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of the 13th century. He...
, had pronounced an anathema against the works and partisans of MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and against science in general. Bedersi, after having expressed his respect for the upright and learned rabbi of BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, remarked that he and his friends were not indignant about the ban, because science was invulnerable. Their grievance was that Ben Adret should have branded the Jewish congregations of southern FranceSouthern FranceSouthern France , colloquially known as le Midi is defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Gironde, Spain, the Mediterranean, and Italy...
as heretics. From time immemorial, science had been fostered by Jewish scholars on account of its importance for religion. This was true in greatest measure of Maimonides, who studied philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine by the aid of the Greek writers; in theology, however, he was guided by tradition, submitting even in this to the investigations of philosophy. He, Bedersi, therefore, entreats Solomon ben Adret to withdraw the excommunication for the sake of Maimonides—whose works would be studied in spite of all excommunication—for his own (Ben Adret's) sake, and for the good name of Provençal Jewish learning. The Iggeret Hitnaẓẓelut has been incorporated with Solomon ben Adret's ResponsaResponsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
, § 443. - A commentary on the Sayings of the Fathers (Pirḳe Abot) and on the AggadahAggadahAggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
of the Talmudical section NeziḳinNezikinFor Jewish law on damages, see Damages Nezikin or Seder Nezikin is the fourth Order of the Mishna...
. This work, which is still extant in manuscript (Escurial MS. G. iv. 3), refers often to commentaries of Bedersi on treatises belonging to other sections. It is therefore probable that he wrote commentaries on all the Aggadot of the Talmud. The section on Abot was printed by M. Kasher and Y. Belchrovits (Jerusalem, 1974). - Beḥinat ha-'Olam (The Examination of the World)
Behinat ha-'Olam
Beḥinat ha-'Olam (The Examination of the World), called also by its first words, "Shamayim la-Rom" (Heaven's Height), a didactic poem written after the banishment of the JewsJewish refugees
In the course of history, Jewish populations have been expelled or ostracised by various local authorities and have sought asylum from antisemitism numerous times...
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(1306), to which event reference is made in the eleventh chapter (compare Renan-Neubauer, Les Ecrivains Juifs Français, p. 37). This poem is divided into 37 short chapters, and may be summarized as follows:
Bedersi concludes his poem by expressing his admiration for Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
:
According to Husik, Bedersi as the author of this poem is the "wise man" quoted by Joseph Albo
Joseph Albo
Joseph Albo was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived in Spain during the fifteenth century, known chiefly as the author of Sefer ha-Ikkarim , the classic work on the fundamentals of Judaism.-Early life:Albo's birthplace is generally assumed to be Monreal, a town in Aragon...
in Sefer Ikkarim (II:30) on the unknowability of God:
This poem enjoyed the greatest success. Published first at Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
by Estellina, wife of Abraham Conat
Abraham Conat
Abraham ben Solomon Conat was an Italian Jewish printer, Talmudist, and physician....
, between 1476 and 1480, it was republished 67 times (compare Bibliotheca Friedlandiana, ii. 139), with many commentaries, among which are those written by Moses ibn Ḥabib
Moses ibn Habib
Moshe ibn Habib was the Rishon LeZion , Hakham Bashi and the head of a major yeshiva in Jerusalem.-Background and family:...
, Jacob Frances, and Yom-Ṭob Lipmann Heller. Four commentaries written by Isaac Monçon, Jacob (of Fano?), Leon of Mantua, and Immanuel of Lattes the Younger are still extant in manuscript (MSS. at St. Petersburg and at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Nos. 502 and 1404). The poem was translated into Latin by Uchtman; into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
by Isaac Auerbach, Hirsch ben Meïr, Joel ben Joseph Faust or Wust, Simson Hamburger, Auerbach (who made use of a translation of parts iv. and v. by Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn
Moses Mendelssohn was a German Jewish philosopher to whose ideas the renaissance of European Jews, Haskalah is indebted...
), J. Levy, Joseph Hirschfeld, and (in verse) by Stern, preceded by an interesting Hebrew introduction by Weiss; into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
by Philippe Aquinas and Michel Beer; into Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
in Antologia Israelitica, 1880,pp. 334 et seq.; into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Tobias Goodman; into Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
by J. Tugendhold.
Minor Works
According to LuzzattoLuzzatto
Luzzatto is an Italian surname. According to a tradition communicated by S. D. Luzzatto, the family descends from a German Jew who immigrated into Italy from the province of Lusatia, and who was named after his native place.It may refer to:...
(Ḥotam Toknit, Appendix, p. 5), Bedersi was also the author of the poem Baḳḳashat ha-Lamedin (The Lamed Prayer), or Bet El (The House of God), or Batte Nefesh (Tablets), a prayer composed of 412 words in which only the letters from "alef" to "lamed" occur. This composition is commonly attributed to his father, Abraham Bedersi
Abraham Bedersi
Abraham Bedersi was a Provençal Jewish poet; he was born at Béziers . The dates of his birth and death have not been ascertained....
. Another poem, entitled Elef Alfin (Thousand Alefs), composed of 1,000 words, each of which begins with the letter "alef," also attributed to Abraham Bedersi, seems to have been written by Jedaiah. In this poem the author bewails the sufferings and the exile of the Jews, which can only refer to the banishment of the Jews from France in 1306 (compare Luzzatto, l.c.; Shem ha-Gedolim, ii. s.v.; Grätz, Gesch. der Juden, vii. 206).
Philosophical Works
Bedersi also wrote a large number of treatises on philosophy, several of which are quoted by Moses ibn ḤabibMoses ibn Habib
Moshe ibn Habib was the Rishon LeZion , Hakham Bashi and the head of a major yeshiva in Jerusalem.-Background and family:...
in the introduction to his commentary on the Beḥinat ha-'Olam. Seven of these works are still extant in manuscript:
- Annotations on the Physics of AverroesAverroes' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
(De Rossi MS. No. 1398) - Annotations on the Canon of AvicennaAvicennaAbū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
(MSS. Oxford, Nos. 2100, 2107, and 2121, 6) - Ketab ha-Da'at" (Treatise on the Intellect), a modification of the Hebrew version (entitled Sefer ha-Sekel we ha-Muskalat) of Alfarabi's Arabic work, Kitab al-'Akl we al-Ma'akulat
- Ha-De'ot be-Sekel ha-Ḥomri (The Theories Concerning the Material Intellect), in which Bedersi gives the diverse opinions on the Passive Intellect as expounded by AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
in De Anima (compare Alexander of AphrodisiasAlexander of AphrodisiasAlexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria, and lived and taught in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century, where he held a position as head of the...
) - Ha-Ma'amar be-Hafoke ha-Meḥallek (Treatise on the Opposites in the Motions of the Spheres), explaining a passage in the commentary of AverroesAverroes' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
on AristotleAristotleAristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
's De Cœlo, i. 4 - Ketab ha-Hit'aẓmut (Book of Consolidation), in which Bedersi answers the objections made by a friend of his to the theories expounded in the preceding work
- a dissertation, bearing no title, on the question whether (in Aristotelean philosophy) individuals of the same species, diverse in their "accidents," differ also in their essential form; or whether form is inherent in the species and embraces it entirely, so that individuals differ solely by reason of their "accidents." In Bedersi's opinion there are two forms: a general one embracing the whole species; and a special individual form which is essential and can not be considered as an "accident." In this dissertation is quoted another work of Bedersi's, his Midbar Ḳadmut (The Desert of Antiquity), containing a commentary—no longer in existence—on the twenty-five premises given by MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
in his introduction to the second volume of the Guide of the Perplexed. It is probable that Bedersi wrote a supercommentary on the commentary on Genesis by Ibn EzraIbn EzraIbn Ezra was a prominent Jewish family from Spain spanning many centuries.The name ibn Ezra may refer to:* Abraham ibn Ezra , a Rabbi who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries...
(compare Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1283), and that he was the author of the philosophical poem on the thirteen articles of belief of Maimonides (compare Luzzatto, Ḥotam Toknit, p. 2).
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia article on Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi, by Richard Gottheil and Isaac BroydéIsaac BroydéIsaac David Broydé was a Jewish Orientalist and librarian.-Life:...
.