Jump to content

Solomon Sirilio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Solomon Sirilio(Hebrew:סיריליאוalsoשלמה סריליו) (1485–1554), the son of Joseph Sirilio, was aSpanishrabbiand author ofone of the first commentarieswritten about theJerusalem Talmud(Seder Zeraim).

Background[edit]

Solomon Sirilio was a child during theexpulsion of the Jews from Spain,and wandered with his parents until they eventually reachedThessalonikainOttoman Greece,where they settled.[1]He studied Jewish legal law and ethics in the city'schief seats of Jewish learning,until, at length, he began to instruct others in the laws of his countrymen, theMosaic law,both, in his city and inAdrianople.In 1532, he immigrated toOttoman Galileeand resettled inSafed.

In Safed, he held a discussion withJacob Berab,the chief rabbi of the city, over a decisionconcerning meat.[2]Because of this dispute between himself and Berab, Sirilio left Safed and moved toJerusalem.[2]There he disseminated his knowledge amongst his protégés who came to learn in the college, and there he raised-up many disciples. His acclaim and renown came on account of a commentary that he wrote on theJerusalem Talmud,covering the order known asZeraimand the tractateSheḳalim.[3]His commentary was one of the first to be made on theJerusalem Talmud,although it remained in manuscript form until 1875, when the tractate ofBerakhotwith Sirilio's commentary was first printed inMayence(Mainz) by RabbiMeir Lehmann.As late as 1950, only four Talmudic tractates with Sirilio's commentary had been published:Berakhot(Mainz, 1875); the TractatePe'ahin the Jerusalem Talmud edition published by the widow and brothersRomm(Vilna 1922),Terumot(Jerusalem, 1934), andShevi'it(Jerusalem, 1935),[1]although handwritten copies were made from the original manuscript, as shown byDavid Solomon Sassoon.[4]

The entire commentary onSeder Zeraimwas published (1934–1967) by Rabbi Chaim Yosef Dinkels, with another commentary of his own calledEmunat Yosef,and on TractateShekalim(1958) by Rabbi Ephraim Ze'ev Garboz, with his commentary calledMount Ephraim.Rabbi Sirilio, in his introduction to the tractateBerakhot,writes that he was inspired to write a commentary onSeder Zeraimafter seeing an old commentary written in the glosses of the Jerusalem Talmud (Seder Moed), made by one of the rabbis in his native Salonika. In his own words, "I saw... that these tractates (Seder Zeraimof the Jerusalem Talmud) have no commentary at all, while even theGemarasthemselves are not to be found accurate, but all of them are full of corruptions. Moreover, I have not found in my generation a wise man who is skilled in the Jerusalem Talmud. "[5]Sirilio's manner of elucidation excels in lucidity and is largely built uponRashi's commentary.[1]Like Rashi, Sirilio will often explain the etymology of difficult Hebrew words (e.g.קרוסטמלין‎ inMa'aserot1:3 andKila'im1:4, andחמיטה‎ inMa'aserot1:4, etc.)

Some of the earlier sources cited by Sirilio in his commentary areSamson ben Abraham of SensandMoses Maimonides,and he will often make use of transliterated Spanish words to explain the meaning of difficult Hebrew words. Occasionally, Sirilio relies on the commentary of RabbiIsaac ben MelchizedekofSiponto(c. 1090–1160) over that of Maimonides' commentary inSeder Zera'im.[6]In Sirilio's introduction to TractateBerakhot(part ii), he expounds upon the unique style of the Jerusalem Talmud, explaining its peculiar usage of Aramaic words used in the Land of Israel, as opposed to Babylonia, and which have never been elucidated in theArukh.

Many of his contemporaries, in their own writtenresponsa,including RabbiYosef Karo'sBeit Yosef,have cited his interpretation, regarding it as being authoritative.[1]After the death of the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, RabbiLevi ibn Habib(ha-Ralbach), Rabbi Sirilio became the leading sage of theJewish community of Jerusalem,until his own death a few years later.[1]

Legacy[edit]

A copy of Rabbi Solomon Sirilio's commentary on theJerusalem Talmudis now stored in theBritish Museum,which had been purchased by Yehudah Zeraḥya Azulai from his heirs.[7][4]A different manuscript of Sirilio's commentary is the Moscow Ms., excerpts of which were used in theOz Vehodoredition, in addition with the British Museum Ms. TheOz Vehodoredition (and the Artscroll edition, which uses the Oz Vehodor layout) of the Jerusalem Talmud in Hebrew now have the commentary on the whole ofSeder Zeraim.He also compiled a Gemara to the Mishnah of the treatise 'Eduyot', by gathering the passages scattered in the Talmud and adding a commentary of his own.

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdeEncyclopedia of Great Men in Israel(vol. 4), Mordechai Margalioth, Jerusalem 1950, pp. 1305–1306 (Hebrew)
  2. ^abAccording toSamuel de Medinain hisresponsatreatisePisqei Rashdam(Yoreh Deah:responsumn. 42), Solomon Sirilio wanted to enact inSafedone of the leniencies practised by theJewish community of his hometown Thessalonika,where they wouldinspect the slaughtered animal's lungs for defects by inflating them,although the custom in theLand of Israelwas already to act stringently in this regard.Jacob Berab,the chief rabbi of the city, rejected Sirilio's idea.
  3. ^Berakhoth Talmud Yerushalmi(ברכות תלמוד ירושלמי), with commentary by Solomon Sirilio, ed. Meir Lehmann,Mayence1875.
  4. ^abDavid Solomon Sassoon,Ohel Dawid - Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the Sassoon Library, London,vol. 2, Oxford University Press:London 1932, p. 671.
  5. ^Berakhoth Talmud Yerushalmi] (ברכות תלמוד ירושלמי), with commentary by Solomon Sirilio, ed. Meir Lehmann, Introduction,Mayence1875.
  6. ^Cf. Rabbi Solomon Sirilio's commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud (Kila'im1:2)
  7. ^Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the British Museum,part 2 (ed. G. Margoliouth), London 1905, Cat. No. 403 (Or. 2822); Cat. No. 404 (Or. 2823); Cat. No. 405 (Or. 2824).
  • This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."SIRILLO, SOLOMON".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Solomon_Sirilio&oldid=1223345563"