Isaac Aboab I

Not to be confused withIsaac Aboab da FonsecaorIsaac Aboab of Castile.

For other people named Isaac Aboab, seeIsaac Aboab (disambiguation).

Isaac Aboab I
Front page of Menorat ha-Maor, Amsterdam, 1721
Personal
Born	Isaac Aboab Aragon
Died	Toledo, Spain
Religion	Judaism
Children	Abraham Aboab II
Parent	Abraham Aboab(father)
Main work	Menorat ha-Maor
Dynasty	Aboab

Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham Aboab(Hebrew:רבי יצחק בן אברהם אבוהב;fl.1300) also known by hismagnum opus,Menorat ha-Maor,was an early 14th centurySpanishTalmudicscholar andKabbalist.He is known for his intellectual approach torabbinic literature,which he juxtaposed with contemporary Spanish Kabbalah.

Biography

Probably born inAragon,his fatherRav Abraham Aboab,had a close relationship with theCrown of Aragon,being gifted land and aheraldicachievement byJames I of Aragonin 1263. In his early years Rabbi Isaac worked as a merchant, later moving toToledo,Castilearound 1300. In Toledo, he headed his ownyeshiva,and amongst his pupils wasJacob Berab.He mostly taughtJewish ethics,later serving in therabbinatein Toledo. Towards the end of his life, he devoted much of his time to literary work and to preaching, as he found that great Talmudic scholars and important seats of learning of his time to be antiquated. In his time, the Jews for whom he wrote still understood and spokeArabicand he belonged to a period of intellectual decline when men took naturally toeclecticism.He combined extensive rabbinical knowledge with philosophical erudition, and was fond of mystic interpretation of theMosaic lawsand ceremonies. He often quotedAristotleandPlato,though only from secondary sources, and endeavored to illustrate passages from the Talmud and themidrashicliterature, with which he was especially familiar. He is sometimes confused with his great-great-grandsonIsaac Aboab II,who was abiblecommentator in Castile in the late 15th century.

Works

Aboab wrote three books:

1. Aron Ha-Edut(ארון העדות) ( "The Ark of the Testimony" ) - The work traces various ritual laws to their Talmudic sources, as well as the decisions of theGeonimand later interpretations. It is divided (following theTen Commandments) into ten sections, each subdivided into chapters and paragraphs.
2. Shulḥan Ha-Panim(שלחן הפנים) ( "Table of the Showbread" ) - The work relates to the prayers and benedictions. It is divided into twelve sections, symbolizing the twelve loaves of theshowbreadin theTabernacle.Both works are lost.
3. Menorat Ha-Maor(מנורת המאור) ( "TheMenorahof Light ") - The work is a collection ofmidrashicsermons.

Menorat haMaor

Menorat haMaorhas survived and won considerable fame for the author, though in his humility he assures his readers that he composed it chiefly for his own use as a public speaker. But besides this it has contributed probably more than any other medieval book to the popularization of rabbinical lore and to the religious edification and elevation of the masses. It belongs to that class of ethical works which sprang up in the 13th century in a time of reaction against the one-sided manner in which Talmudic studies had been previously pursued.

Aboab says in the preface of this work, "These Talmudists consider it their duty to propose difficult questions and answer them in a witty and subtle manner, but leave unnoticed the precious pearls that lie upon the bed of the Talmudic ocean, theaggadicpassages (similar to Midrash) so rich in beauty and sweetness. "He conceived, therefore, the plan of grouping together the rich material stored up in the vast treasure-house ofAggadahfrom the religious and ethical point of view, and of presenting it in a book, intending by it to illumine the minds and the hearts of his coreligionists. Alluding to the seven-armedMenorahin theTabernacle,he divided the book into seven sections, each of which bears the title ofNeror "Lamp" subdivided into separate parts and chapters. The seven "Nerim" or sections are:

1. "Do not to chase after luxuries" - Divided into three sections about jealousy, lust, and respect.
2. "Do not speak sinfully" - Divided into ten sections about frivolousness speech, lying, flattery, slander, humiliation of others, keeping secrets, fighting with others, tiredness, life purpose, and the sin of insulting others.
3. "Keep the commandments" - Divided into ten sections about circumcision, the duty of the father to his son, prayer, honouring Shabbat and Yom Kippur, honouring one's father and mother, marriage, charity, volunteering, honesty in court, and the pursuance of mitzvoth.
4. "Matters of Talmud Torah" - Divided into four sections about the importance of setting time to learn Torah, the reward of learning Torah, Torah wisdom, and the importance of respecting Torah sages.
5. "Repentance" - Divided into three sections about matters of repentance, the days of repentance, and the torment of sin.
6. "Living in peace" - Divided into two sections about respecting others and advice on how to live peacefully.
7. "Humility" - Divided into two sections about the importance of humility and the sin of humiliation.

Aboab supplied to the average reader a great need of the time. Its skillful arrangement of the variousBiblicaland rabbinical topics and its warm tone of deep earnestness and sincerity could not fail to appeal to the popular heart. The work was translated into Spanish and read to attentive assemblies of the people, particularly to those not versed in the Law. It thus became the household book of the medieval Jews.

TheAbuhav synagogueinSafed,said to be designed by Aboab

It was published with aSpanishtranslation (Leghorn, 1657), with aHebrewcommentary and aJudæo-Germantranslation byMoses Frankfurter(Amsterdam, 1701), with a modernGermantranslation byJacob Raphael FürstenthalandBenzion Behrend(Krotoschin, 1844–46). It was translated also into modernYiddish,inWilna,1880. The book should not be confused with a work of the same name byIsrael Alnaqua.

Abuhav synagogue

It is said that after their expulsion from Spain in 1492, Jewish exiles arrived in theLand of Israelcarrying a Torah scroll scribed by Rabbi Isaac. Tradition claims that he designed a synagogue while in Spain, incorporating kabbalistic symbols into the design, which served as the building plan for the synagogue named for him in Tsfat, known as theAbuhav Synagogues.

See also

• Menorat ha-Maor-Hebrewbooks

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Aboab".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.