Profiat Duran
Encyclopedia
Profiat Duran (Hebrew: פרופייט דוראן), also known as Efodi (האפודי); also known as Isaac ben Moses ha-Levi; was a physician, philosopher, grammarian, and controversialist in the 14th century. It is not known whether he was born at Perpignan
, where he lived for some years, or in another Catalonia
n town. In his youth he attended a Talmudic school in Germany
for a short time, but instead of confining his studies to the Talmud, he took up philosophy and other sciences also, in spite of the interdiction of his teachers. Duran became a tutor in the Crescas
family, and during the bloody riots of 1391 was forcibly baptized, becoming a Converso
.
and an introduction by Isaac Akrish, was first printed at Constantinople
in 1554, and was republished in A. Geiger's Melo Chofnajim, 1840, in the collection Ḳobeẓ Wikkuḥim, 1844, and in P. Heilpern's Eben Boḥan, part 2, 1846. Geiger also translated most of it into German (Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, iv. 451).
According to an account written at the top of one of the manuscripts of the epistle, Duran and his friend David Bonet Bonjourno made up a plan to emigrate to Palestine
in order to return to Judaism
. The two friends set out on their journey, getting as far as Avignon, where they met up with another converso, Paul of Burgos (who had become a believing Christian priest, and had achieved the rank of Bishop). Paul disrupted their plan by persuading Bonjourno to become a true Christian, and Duran was forced to return to Catalonia. In response to these events, Duran wrote Be Not Like Your Fathers.
Some scholars (Frank Talmadge, among others) have dismissed this fanciful account as implausible. However, there is a certain amount of corroborating evidence. The notarial ledgers of Perpignan show several transactions in 1393 and 1394 in which Duran (known officially by his Christian name Honoratus de Bonafe) moved assets across the border to France. Also, Paul of Burgos is documented to have been in Avignon in 1394 for the conclave in which the Antipope Clement VII was elected.
, to whom it was dedicated. In it, Duran states the principle that the most convincing polemical technique is to argue within one's opponents own assumptions. Using the knowledge of Latin he gained from his medical studies and the indoctrination he received as a converso, he identifies what he sees as internal contradictions within the New Testament
, and discrepancies between its literal text and church dogma. The work can be seen as a precursor of modern Textual Criticism
. In about 1397 Duran wrote an anti-Christian
polemic, Kelimat ha-Goyim (“Shame of the Gentiles”) which discredited the Gospels and other early Christian writings. He argued that the old Spanish word for pigs, Marrano, was derived from the Hebrew word for conversion, hamarah.
. That Duran was familiar with the philosophy of Aristotle
as interpreted by the Arabian philosophers, is apparent from his synoptic commentary on Maimonides
' Moreh Nebukim, which was published at Sabbionetta in 1553, at Jessnitz in 1742, and at Zolkiev in 1860.
, all of which have been edited as an appendix to the Ma'aseh Efod.
(printed in the collection Ta'am Zeḳenim of Eliezer Ashkenazi), as well as the solution of Ibn Ezra's well-known riddle on the quiescent letters of the Hebrew alphabet (quoted by Immanuel Benvenuto in his grammar Liwyat Ḥen, Mantua, 1557, without mentioning Duran), and several explanations relating to Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch.
Duran was also a historian. In an lost work entitled Zikron ha-Shemadot he gave the history of Jewish martyrs since the destruction of the Temple. Graetz has shown that this work was used by Solomon Usque and Ibn Verga.
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...
, where he lived for some years, or in another Catalonia
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...
n town. In his youth he attended a Talmudic school in Germany
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...
for a short time, but instead of confining his studies to the Talmud, he took up philosophy and other sciences also, in spite of the interdiction of his teachers. Duran became a tutor in the Crescas
Crescas
Crescas is a Jewish family name. There have been a number of scholars and rabbis sharing that surname, including:* Abiathar Crescas, a 15th-century Jewish physician and astrologer, doctor to King John II of Aragon * Astruc Don Crescas...
family, and during the bloody riots of 1391 was forcibly baptized, becoming a Converso
Converso
A converso and its feminine form conversa was a Jew or Muslim—or a descendant of Jews or Muslims—who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions once took place under significant government pressure...
.
Be Not Like Thy Fathers
Duran is the author of a famous satiric epistle called, after the repeatedly recurring phrase, Al Tehi Ka-Aboteka (Be Not Like Your Fathers). It was written about 1396, and was circulated by Don Meïr Alguades, to whom it had been sent. It is so ingeniously ambiguous that the Christians, who called it Alteca Boteca, interpreted it in their favor; but, as soon as they recognized its satirical import they burned it publicly. This epistle, with a commentary by Joseph ibn Shem-TovJoseph ibn Shem-Tov
Joseph ibn Shem-Tov was a prolific Judæo-Spanish writer born in Castile. He lived in various cities of Spain: Medina del Campo de Leon ; Alcalá de Henares ; and Segovia ....
and an introduction by Isaac Akrish, was first printed at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1554, and was republished in A. Geiger's Melo Chofnajim, 1840, in the collection Ḳobeẓ Wikkuḥim, 1844, and in P. Heilpern's Eben Boḥan, part 2, 1846. Geiger also translated most of it into German (Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, iv. 451).
According to an account written at the top of one of the manuscripts of the epistle, Duran and his friend David Bonet Bonjourno made up a plan to emigrate to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
in order to return to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. The two friends set out on their journey, getting as far as Avignon, where they met up with another converso, Paul of Burgos (who had become a believing Christian priest, and had achieved the rank of Bishop). Paul disrupted their plan by persuading Bonjourno to become a true Christian, and Duran was forced to return to Catalonia. In response to these events, Duran wrote Be Not Like Your Fathers.
Some scholars (Frank Talmadge, among others) have dismissed this fanciful account as implausible. However, there is a certain amount of corroborating evidence. The notarial ledgers of Perpignan show several transactions in 1393 and 1394 in which Duran (known officially by his Christian name Honoratus de Bonafe) moved assets across the border to France. Also, Paul of Burgos is documented to have been in Avignon in 1394 for the conclave in which the Antipope Clement VII was elected.
Kelimmat ha-Goyim
Connected with this epistle is the polemic Kelimmat ha-Goyim, a criticism of Christian dogmas, written in 1397 at the request of Don Hasdai CrescasHasdai Crescas
Hasdai ben Judah Crescas was a Jewish philosopher and a renowned halakhist...
, to whom it was dedicated. In it, Duran states the principle that the most convincing polemical technique is to argue within one's opponents own assumptions. Using the knowledge of Latin he gained from his medical studies and the indoctrination he received as a converso, he identifies what he sees as internal contradictions within the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, and discrepancies between its literal text and church dogma. The work can be seen as a precursor of modern Textual Criticism
Textual criticism
Textual criticism is a branch of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification and removal of transcription errors in the texts of manuscripts...
. In about 1397 Duran wrote an anti-Christian
Criticism of Christianity
Throughout the history of Christianity, many have criticized Christianity, the church, and Christians themselves. Some criticism specifically addresses Christian beliefs, teachings and interpretation of scripture...
polemic, Kelimat ha-Goyim (“Shame of the Gentiles”) which discredited the Gospels and other early Christian writings. He argued that the old Spanish word for pigs, Marrano, was derived from the Hebrew word for conversion, hamarah.
Hesheb ha-Efod
In 1395 Duran compiled an almanac in twenty-nine sections entitled Ḥesheb ha-Efod, and dedicated to Moses Zarzal, physician to Henry III., King of CastileCrown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
. That Duran was familiar with the philosophy of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
as interpreted by the Arabian philosophers, is apparent from his synoptic commentary on Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
' Moreh Nebukim, which was published at Sabbionetta in 1553, at Jessnitz in 1742, and at Zolkiev in 1860.
Ma'aseh Efod
Duran's chief work, praised by both Christians and Jews, is his philosophical and critical Hebrew grammar, Ma'aseh Efod, containing an introduction and thirty-three chapters, and finished in 1403. He wrote it not only to instruct his contemporaries, who either knew nothing about grammar or had erroneous notions concerning it, but especially to refute mistakes promulgated by the later grammarians. He frequently cites the otherwise unknown Samuel Benveniste as an eminent grammarian. See the edition of J. Friedländer and J. Kohn (Vienna, 1865). In 1393 Duran wrote a dirge on Abraham ben Isaac ha-Levi of Gerona, probably a relative; three letters containing responsa, to his pupil Meïr Crescas; and two exegetical treatises on several chapters of II SamuelBooks of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
, all of which have been edited as an appendix to the Ma'aseh Efod.
Other works, lost works
At the request of some members of the Benveniste family, Duran wrote an explanation of a religious festival poem by Ibn EzraIbn Ezra
Ibn Ezra was a prominent Jewish family from Spain spanning many centuries.The name ibn Ezra may refer to:* Abraham ibn Ezra , a Rabbi who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries...
(printed in the collection Ta'am Zeḳenim of Eliezer Ashkenazi), as well as the solution of Ibn Ezra's well-known riddle on the quiescent letters of the Hebrew alphabet (quoted by Immanuel Benvenuto in his grammar Liwyat Ḥen, Mantua, 1557, without mentioning Duran), and several explanations relating to Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch.
Duran was also a historian. In an lost work entitled Zikron ha-Shemadot he gave the history of Jewish martyrs since the destruction of the Temple. Graetz has shown that this work was used by Solomon Usque and Ibn Verga.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Monatsschrift, iii.320 et seq.;
- J. Friedländer and J. Kohn, Ma'aseh Efod, Introduction, pp. 2–12;
- S. Gronemann, De Profiatii Durani Vita ac Studiis, Breslau, 1869;
- Moritz SteinschneiderMoritz SteinschneiderMoritz Steinschneider was a Bohemian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider , who was not only an expert Talmudist, but was also well versed in secular science...
, Cat. Bodl. cols. 2112 et seq.; - Giovanni Bernardo De RossiGiovanni Bernardo De RossiGiovanni Bernardo De Rossi was an Italian Christian Hebraist. He studied in Ivrea and Turin. In October 1769, he was appointed professor of Oriental languages at the University of Parma, where he spent the rest of his life...
-C. H. Hamberger, Historisches Wörterbuch, pp. 261 et seq.; - Henri Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 358 et seq., 472;
- Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. viii.94, 403.