Dan Ashkenazi
Encyclopedia
Dan Ashkenazi was a 13th century German
Talmudist and exegete. He was a prominent Talmudists of Germany and the teacher of Mordecai ben Hillel
.
He emigrated to Spain
toward the end of the 13th century, probably in consequence of the cruel persecutions to which the Jews of Germany
were subjected at that time, when many were driven to seek asylum in other countries.
In Spain, where he was called "Ashkenazi" (German), he met the foremost rabbinical authorities, who thought highly of him. Dan, however, was so imprudent as to give a letter of recommendation to a youth who pretended to be a prophet (compare Abraham Of Avila); and when the latter turned it to account, Solomon Adret cast scorn upon the German rabbi in his circular letter on the pseudoprophet. Even before this occurrence the relations between these two men do not seem to have been very friendly, since Dan declared at Saragossa that, from the strict point of view of the Halakah, there could be no objection to the slaughtering of animals by Christians, as the reason given in the Talmud for forbidding the slaughtering of animals by pagans did not apply to Christians; for the pagan regarded the slaughtering as a sacrifice to his idols, while the same could not be said of the Christians.
Dan, who was a person of much individuality, was misunderstood by many, and acts were ascribed to him which he certainly did not commit. Adret's five responsa show that Dan was not a man to be overlooked; Adret's successor as rabbi of Barcelona
, Nissim ben Reuben
, also recognizes Dan's scholarship. Yom-Ṭob b. Abraham of Seville (RIṬBA) calls Dan "our teacher", although this did not prevent him from writing a pamphlet against Dan regarding their dispute over an important halakic question.
Dan was also very independent as an exegete; the fragments of his exegesis that have been preserved in manuscript, and also in the works of Baḥya ben Asher
and in the collection "Hadrat Zeḳenim", are highly interesting on account of their rationalism, which was not to be expected from one who had allowed himself to be misled by a false prophet. For instance, he interpreted מלאך, in Ex. xxiii. 20, as "messenger," not "angel," and supposed it to refer to Joshua
. It is curious to note that in the collection of responsa "Besamim Rosh," which Saul Berlin
published as Asher ben Jehiel's
work, the statement is made that Dan wrote his Tefillin
in Aramaic
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Talmudist and exegete. He was a prominent Talmudists of Germany and the teacher of Mordecai ben Hillel
Mordecai ben Hillel
Mordechai ben Hillel HaKohen , also known as The Mordechai, was a 13th century German rabbi and posek. His chief legal commentary on the Talmud, referred to as the Mordechai, is one of the sources of the Shulchan Aruch. He died a martyr's death at Nuremberg.-Biography:Little is known of the...
.
He emigrated to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
toward the end of the 13th century, probably in consequence of the cruel persecutions to which the Jews of Germany
History of the Jews in Germany
The presence of Jews in Germany has been established since the early 4th century. The community prospered under Charlemagne, but suffered during the Crusades...
were subjected at that time, when many were driven to seek asylum in other countries.
In Spain, where he was called "Ashkenazi" (German), he met the foremost rabbinical authorities, who thought highly of him. Dan, however, was so imprudent as to give a letter of recommendation to a youth who pretended to be a prophet (compare Abraham Of Avila); and when the latter turned it to account, Solomon Adret cast scorn upon the German rabbi in his circular letter on the pseudoprophet. Even before this occurrence the relations between these two men do not seem to have been very friendly, since Dan declared at Saragossa that, from the strict point of view of the Halakah, there could be no objection to the slaughtering of animals by Christians, as the reason given in the Talmud for forbidding the slaughtering of animals by pagans did not apply to Christians; for the pagan regarded the slaughtering as a sacrifice to his idols, while the same could not be said of the Christians.
Dan, who was a person of much individuality, was misunderstood by many, and acts were ascribed to him which he certainly did not commit. Adret's five responsa show that Dan was not a man to be overlooked; Adret's successor as rabbi of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona 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...
, Nissim ben Reuben
Nissim of Gerona
Nissim ben Reuven of Girona, Catalonia was an influential talmudist and authority on Jewish law. He was one of the last of the great Spanish medieval talmudic scholars. He is also known as the RaN .-Biography:The Ran was born in Barcelona, Catalonia...
, also recognizes Dan's scholarship. Yom-Ṭob b. Abraham of Seville (RIṬBA) calls Dan "our teacher", although this did not prevent him from writing a pamphlet against Dan regarding their dispute over an important halakic question.
Dan was also very independent as an exegete; the fragments of his exegesis that have been preserved in manuscript, and also in the works of Baḥya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher
Bahye ben Asher ibn Halawa also known as Rabbeinu Behaye was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism. He was a commentator on the Hebrew Bible and is noted for introducing Kabbalah into study of the Torah.He is considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the Biblical exegetes of...
and in the collection "Hadrat Zeḳenim", are highly interesting on account of their rationalism, which was not to be expected from one who had allowed himself to be misled by a false prophet. For instance, he interpreted מלאך, in Ex. xxiii. 20, as "messenger," not "angel," and supposed it to refer to Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
. It is curious to note that in the collection of responsa "Besamim Rosh," which Saul Berlin
Saul Berlin
Saul Berlin was a German Talmudist and one of the most learned Jews of the Mendelssohnian period.-Early life:...
published as Asher ben Jehiel's
Asher ben Jehiel
Asher ben Jehiel- Ashkenazi was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabbi Asher” or by the Hebrew acronym for this title, the ROSH...
work, the statement is made that Dan wrote his Tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
in Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael;
- S. Eppenstein, in Rev. Et. Juives, xxxvii. 318;
- D. Kaufmann, R. Dan Aschkenasi Exégète, in Rev. Et. Juives, xxxvi. 287-291;
- Perles, R. Salomo b. Abraham, pp. 9, 63;
- Kohn, Mordechai b. Hillel, pp. 37, 38.L. G