Hachmei Provence
Encyclopedia
The term Hachmei Provence refers to the Jewish rabbis of Provence
, a province in southern France
, which was a great Torah
center in the times of the Tosafists
. The phrase literally means the wise of Provence.
In matters of Halacha, as well as in their traditions and custom, the Provençal rabbis occupy an intermediate position between the Sephardic tradition
of the neighboring Spanish
scholars, and the Old French (similar to the Ashkenazic) tradition represented by the Tosafists.
The term "Provence" in Jewish tradition is not limited to the Provençal region of today but refers to the entire southern coast of France
. This includes Narbonne
(which is sometimes wrongly transliterated as "Narvona" as a result of the back-and-forth transliteration between Hebrew and French
), Lunel
(which is wrongly transliterated as "Lunil"), and the mountain city of Montpellier
. It also included cities which at that time formed part of the Catalan
political and cultural domain, such as Perpignan
. In some ways the Jewish traditions of Catalonia were closer to those of Provence than to those of Castile
and southern Spain.
There was a distinctive Provençal liturgy, used by the Jews of the Papal enclave of Comtat Venaissin
, who remained following the expulsion of the Jews from the rest of France. This liturgy was intermediate in character between the Sephardi and Ashkenazi
rites, and was in some ways closer to the Italian rite than to either. After the French Revolution, when Venaissin was annexed by France, the Provençal rite was replaced by the Portuguese
liturgy, which is used by the Jews of Carpentras
today.
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, a province in southern 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...
, which was a great Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
center in the times of the Tosafists
Tosafists
Tosafists were medieval rabbis from France and Germany who are among those known in Talmudical scholarship as Rishonim who created critical and explanatory glosses on the Talmud. These were collectively called Tosafot , because they were additions on the commentary of Rashi...
. The phrase literally means the wise of Provence.
In matters of Halacha, as well as in their traditions and custom, the Provençal rabbis occupy an intermediate position between the Sephardic tradition
Sephardic Judaism
Sephardic law and customs means the practice of Judaism as observed by the Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, so far as it is peculiar to themselves and not shared with other Jewish groups such as the Ashkenazim...
of the neighboring Spanish
History of the Jews in Spain
Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before the majority, together with resident Muslims, were forced to convert to Catholicism, be expelled or be killed when Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs...
scholars, and the Old French (similar to the Ashkenazic) tradition represented by the Tosafists.
The term "Provence" in Jewish tradition is not limited to the Provençal region of today but refers to the entire southern coast of 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...
. This includes Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
(which is sometimes wrongly transliterated as "Narvona" as a result of the back-and-forth transliteration between Hebrew and 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...
), Lunel
Lunel
Lunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
(which is wrongly transliterated as "Lunil"), and the mountain city of Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. It also included cities which at that time formed part of the Catalan
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
political and cultural domain, such as Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...
. In some ways the Jewish traditions of Catalonia were closer to those of Provence than to those of Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
and southern Spain.
There was a distinctive Provençal liturgy, used by the Jews of the Papal enclave of Comtat Venaissin
Comtat Venaissin
The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short , is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in what is now the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It comprised roughly the area between the Rhône, the Durance and Mont Ventoux, with a small exclave located to the...
, who remained following the expulsion of the Jews from the rest of France. This liturgy was intermediate in character between the Sephardi and Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
rites, and was in some ways closer to the Italian rite than to either. After the French Revolution, when Venaissin was annexed by France, the Provençal rite was replaced by the Portuguese
Spanish and Portuguese Jews
Spanish and Portuguese Jews are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardim who have their main ethnic origins within the Jewish communities of the Iberian peninsula and who shaped communities mainly in Western Europe and the Americas from the late 16th century on...
liturgy, which is used by the Jews of Carpentras
Carpentras
Carpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It stands on the banks of the Auzon...
today.
Hachmei Narbonne
- Moses ha-DarshanMoses ha-DarshanMoshe haDarshan was chief of the yeshiva of Narbonne, and perhaps the founder of Jewish exegetical studies in France...
- Makhir of NarbonneMakhir of NarbonneMakhir of Narbonne was a Babylonian-Jewish scholar, perhaps the Exilarch of the Jews of Babylon, certainly the leader of the Jewish community of Narbonne in southern Gaul at the end of the eighth century...
and his great family. - Moses ben Joseph ben Merwan ha-LeviMoses ben Joseph ben Merwan ha-LeviMoses ben Joseph ben Merwan ha-Levi was a prominent Provençal rabbi and Talmudist.He was a nephew and pupil of Isaac ben Merwan ha-Levi...
- Joseph KimhiJoseph KimhiJoseph Ḳimḥi , was a medieval Jewish rabbi and biblical commentator. He was the father of Moses and David Kimhi, and the teacher of Rabbi Menachem Ben Simeon....
and sons DavidDavid KimhiDavid Kimhi , also known by the Hebrew acronym as the RaDaK , was a medieval rabbi, biblical commentator, philosopher, and grammarian. Born in Narbonne, Provence, he was the son of Rabbi Joseph Kimhi and the brother of Rabbi Moses Kimhi, both biblical commentators and grammarians...
and MosheMoses KimhiMoses Kimhi was a medieval Jewish biblical commentator and grammarian.-Birth and Early Life:Kimhi was born around 1127, the eldest son of Joseph Kimhi and the brother of David Kimhi, known as the RaDaK. He was born and lived in the Provence region of southern France, and area that was heavily...
. - Abraham ben Isaac of NarbonneAbraham ben Isaac of NarbonneAbraham ben Isaac of Narbonne was a Provençal rabbi, also known as Raavad II, and author of the halachic work Ha-Eshkol .Abraham ben Isaac was probably born at Montpellier...
the Eshkol, also known as the RABaD II. - Isaac ben Merwan ha-LeviIsaac ben Merwan ha-LeviIsaac ben Merwan ha-Levi was a Provençal rabbi and Talmudist; he was the elder son of Merwan of Narbonne....
- Aaron ben Jacob Ha-KohenAaron ben Jacob Ha-KohenAaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen was a Provençal rabbi, one of a family of scholars living at Narbonne, France , and who suffered the expulsion of the Jews in 1306....
the Orhoth Chaim, according to some he lived in LunelLunelLunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
.
Lunel
- Zerachiah ha-Levi of GironaZerachiah ha-Levi of GironaZerachiah ben Isaac Ha-Levi Gerondi , called the ReZaH, RaZBI or Baal Ha-Maor was born about 1125 in the town of Girona, Spain – hence the name Gerondi – and died after 1186 in Lunel...
the Baal haMaor. - Abraham ben NathanAbraham ben NathanAbraham ben Nathan Ha-Yarhi was a Provençal rabbi and scholar born in the second half of the twelfth century, probably at Lunel, Languedoc, where he also received his education...
haYarhi (Yarah is Hebrew of moonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, which is Lune in FrenchFrench languageFrench 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...
, the source for the city-name Lunel). - Yonatan Hakohen of Lunel.
- 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...
haYarhi, and his son IsaacIsaac ben Abba MariIsaac ben Abba Mari was a Provençal rabbi, son of Abba Mari, and author of Ittur Soferim.- References :*Shlomo Pereira, ....
.
Rest of Provence
- Abraham ben DavidAbraham ben DavidRabbeinu Abraham ben David was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Mishne Torah of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah and one of the key and important links in the chain of Jewish mystics...
known as the RABaD or RABaD III - His son Isaac the BlindIsaac the BlindRabbi Yitzhak Saggi Nehor רַבִּי יִצְחַק סַגִּי נְהוֹר, also known as Isaac the Blind, has the Aramaic epithet "Saggi Nehor" meaning "of Much Light" in the sense of having excellent eyesight, an ironic euphemism for being blind. He was a famous writer on Kabbalah...
a famous KabbalistKabbalahKabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine... - Menachem MeiriMenachem MeiriRabbi Menachem Meiri was a famous Catalan rabbi, Talmudist and Maimonidean.-Early life:Menachem Meiri was born in 1249 in Perpignan, which then formed part of the County of Barcelona...
- Nathan ben Meir of TrinquetailleTrinquetailleTrinquetaille is an area in the town of Arles, in southern France. It is located in the canton of Arles-Ouest.-Geography:Trinquetaille is located on the right bank of the "Grand Rhône". This position at the top of the Rhône delta makes it part of the Camargue....
- Shem-Tob ben Isaac of TortosaShem-Tob ben Isaac of TortosaShem-Ṭob ben Isaac of Tortosa was a Provençal rabbi and physician.-Life:He engaged in commerce, and travelled. Once at Acre, he was reminded by its rabbi of his insufficient knowledge of the Jewish religion; and he left the city , resolving to abandon commerce and to devote himself exclusively to...
- The famous family Ibn TibbonIbn TibbonIbn Tibbon , is a family of Jewish rabbis and translators that lived principally in Provence in the 12th and 13th centuries.- Prominent family members :Prominent members of the family include:...
- Caslari familyCaslari familyCaslari is the name of a Jewish family originally from Caylar , a village in the department of Hérault, France. A rather important Jewish community existed at Caylar in the Middle Ages. After the royal edict of September 17, 1394, these Jews went to Provence and to the Comtat-Venaissin; in 1459 and...
of CarpentrasCarpentrasCarpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It stands on the banks of the Auzon... - Bonet de LattesBonet de LattesBonet de Lattes was a Jewish physician and astrologer. He is known chiefly as the inventor of an astronomical ring-dial by means of which solar and stellar altitudes can be measured and the time determined with great precision by night as well as by day...
- Jacob AnatoliJacob AnatoliJacob ben Abba Mari ben Simson Anatoli was a translator of Arabic texts to Hebrew. He was invited to Naples by Frederick II. Under this royal patronage, and in association with Michael Scot, Anatoli made Arabic learning accessible to Western readers...
Members of the Kalonymus Family
- Kalonymus ben KalonymusKalonymus ben KalonymusKalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meir was a Provençal Jewish philosopher and translator. He studied philosophy and rabbinical literature at Salonica, under the direction of Senior Astruc de Noves and Moses ben Solomon of Beaucaire...
of AvignonAvignonAvignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
. - Kalonymus ben Todros