Rabbi is the term in Judaism for a religious teacher. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered." The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" Rabbi ' onMouseout='HidePop("96273")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Jerusalem">Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
; born at Zamora,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, about 1480; died at Jerusalem about 1545.
Under
King ManuelManuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Fernando, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatriz of Portugal.His mother was the granddaughter of King John I of...
of
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, and when about seventeen, he was compelled to submit to
baptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
, but at the first opportunity fled to Salonica, where he could follow the dictates of his conscience in safety. In 1523 he went to Jerusalem, but in a short time returned to Salonica. In 1525 he settled permanently at Jerusalem, where his learning won him the position of chief rabbi. There he met
Jacob BerabJacob Berab, also Jacob Berav, Yaakov Berav, Yaakov Bei Rav, Talmudist and rabbi; born at Moqueda near Toledo, Spain, in 1474; died at Safed April 3, 1546.-Chosen rabbi at eighteen:Berab was a pupil of Isaac Aboab...
, with whom he often came into conflict on questions of rabbinical law. A serious quarrel broke out between these two rabbis when Berab, becoming chief rabbi of
SafedSafed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. At an elevation of 800 meters above sea level, Safed is the highest city in the Galilee. Since the sixteenth century, Safad has been considered one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias...
, reintroduced the ancient practise of the
ordination of rabbisSemikhah , also semichut , or semicha lerabbanut is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
. They carried on a bitter and envenomed controversy for some time, in the course of which Berab referred to Ibn Habib's adoption of Christianity. The latter frankly admitted the fact, but pointed out that at the time he was a mere youth, that his involuntary profession of Christianity lasted hardly a year, and that he took the first opportunity to escape and rejoin the religion of his fathers. This controversy was chiefly responsible for the fact that the practise of ordination ceased again soon after Berab's death.
Writings
He was knowledgeable in
mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
and
astronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
. In his youth he edited his father's book
Ein YaakovEin Yaakov is a compilation of all the Aggadic material in the Talmud together with commentaries. Its introduction contains an account of the history of Talmudic censorship and the term Gemara...
(
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
, 1516; By
Jacob ibn HabibJacob ben Solomon ibn Habib was a Spanish Talmudist born at Zamora. In his youth Ḥabib studied the Talmud under R...
). He wrote:
She'elot u-Teshubot, a collection of 147
responsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Catholic Church:...
;
Kontres ha-Semikah, a treatise on ordination;
Perush Kiddush HaCHodesh, a commentary on Kiddush HaChodesh (rules governing the construction of the Hebrew calendar in
MaimonidesMoses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam , was born in Cordoba, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204....
code of law). All these works were published together at
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
(1565);' the last-named work was also published separately (ib. 1574-76).