Chushiel
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, but his origins and travels are obscure, and his eventual arrival in Kairwan is the subject of a well-known story.
The Story of the Four Prisoners
According to the Sefer Ha-Kabbalah of Abraham ibn DaudAbraham ibn Daud
Abraham ibn Daud was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian, and philosopher; born at Toledo, Spain about 1110; died, according to common report, a martyr about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbreviation Rabad I or Ravad I. His mother belonged to a family famed for its learning...
, Chushiel was one of the four scholars who were captured by Ibn Rumaḥis, an Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
admiral, while voyaging from Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
to Sebaste
Sebaste
Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity. Sebaste was the Greek equivalent of the Latin Augusta. Ancient towns by the name sought to honor Augustus or a later Roman emperor.- Places :* Elaiussa Sebaste in Mersin Province, Turkey...
to collect money "for the dowries of poor brides." Ḥushiel was sold as a slave in North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
, but he and the other three rabbis were ransomed by Jewish communities in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Cordoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, and Kairouan
Kairouan
Kairouan , also known as Kirwan or al-Qayrawan , is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia. Referred to as the Islamic Cultural Capital, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city was founded by the Arabs around 670...
. On being ransomed, Ḥushiel went to Kairouan, an ancient seat of Talmudical scholarship (Harkavy
Harkavy
Harkavy is surname which may refer to:* Abraham Harkavy , historian* Alexander Harkavy , writer* Yehoshafat Harkabi military historian...
, Teshubot ha-Ge'onim, Nos. 199, 210). There his Talmudical knowledge gained for him the position of president of the bet ha-midrash (A. Neubauer, M. J. C. i. 67 et seq.)—probably after the death of Jacob ben Nissim
Jacob ben Nissim
Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin was a Jewish philosopher who lived at Kairouan, Tunisia in the 10th century; he was a younger contemporary of Saadia. At Jacob's request Sherira Gaon wrote a treatise entitled Iggeret, on the redaction of the Mishnah...
.
However, an autograph letter from Ḥushiel (discovered in the Cairo Genizah and published by S. Schechter, J. Q. R. xi. 643) addressed to Shemariah ben Elhanan
Shemariah ben Elhanan
Shemariah ben Elhanan was head of the yeshivah of Cairo, Egypt, about the end of the 10th century. Abraham ibn Daud Shemariah ben Elhanan was head of the yeshivah of Cairo, Egypt, about the end of the 10th century. Abraham ibn Daud Shemariah ben Elhanan was head of the yeshivah of Cairo, Egypt,...
, chief rabbi of Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
(supposed by Ibn Daud to have been captured with Ḥushiel), tends to show that Ḥushiel merely went to visit his friends in Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
ern countries, and was retained by the community of Kairouan. It may therefore be the case that the story presented by ibn Daud is an etiological myth explaining the migration of Jewish centers of learning from Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
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...
and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
.
Origins
There is considerable difference of opinion in regard to Ḥushiel's nativity. H. Grätz, HarkavyHarkavy
Harkavy is surname which may refer to:* Abraham Harkavy , historian* Alexander Harkavy , writer* Yehoshafat Harkabi military historian...
, and D. Kaufmann claim that he, with the other three scholars, came from Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
, while S.J. Rapoport, I.H. Weiss, and Isaac Halévy
Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz
Yitzhak Isaac Halevy was a rabbi, Jewish historian, and founder of the Agudath Israel organization. Relatively little of his correspondence survived the Holocaust, and so information concerning his activities is scarce...
give Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
as his birth-place. This latter opinion is confirmed by the wording of the above-mentioned letter, in which Ḥushiel speaks of having come from the country of the "'arelim," meaning "Christian" countries. According to another but unreliable source (Menahem Meïri's Bet ha-Beḥirha; see A. Neubauer in M. J. C. ii. 225), he came from 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...
. Two of Ḥushiel's pupils were his son Hananeel and Nissim ben Jacob
Nissim Ben Jacob
Nissim ben Jacob , was a rabbi best known today for his Talmudic commentary ha-Mafteach, by which title he is also known.-Biography:Rav Nissim studied at the Kairouan yeshiva, initially under his father - Jacob ben Nissim who...
(see I.H. Weiss, Dor, iv. 265, note 1). According to the genizah letter, Ḥushiel seems to have had another son, named Elhanan, if "Elhanan" and "Hananeel" are not identical.
Works
It is not known whether Ḥushiel wrote any book, but a few of his sayings have been transmitted by his pupils. Thus Nissim ben JacobNissim Ben Jacob
Nissim ben Jacob , was a rabbi best known today for his Talmudic commentary ha-Mafteach, by which title he is also known.-Biography:Rav Nissim studied at the Kairouan yeshiva, initially under his father - Jacob ben Nissim who...
reports in his Mafteaḥ (p. 13) that the story which the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, without giving any particulars, mentions as having been related by R. Papa (Ber.
Berakhot (Talmud)
Berachot is the first tractate of Seder Zeraim, a collection of the Mishnah that primarily deals with laws relating to plants and farming...
8b), was transmitted to him (Nissim) in full by Ḥushiel. Ḥushiel's son Hananeel quotes explanations in his father's name (see Aruk, s.v. ; Isaac ibn Ghayyat, Hilkot Lulab, ed. Bamberger, p. 113).
Ḥushiel was certainly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the Talmudical teachers of the 10th century, and Samuel ha-Nagid, recognizing his importance and value, ordered that memorial services in his honor should be celebrated in Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, Lucena, and Córdoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
. Samuel also wrote a letter of condolence to Ḥushiel's son Hananeel. This has been published by Firkovich in Ha-Karmel, viii. (Ha-Sharon, No. 31, p. 245), and in Berliner's Magazin, v. 70 et seq. (Oẓar Ṭob, p. 64), the German translation being by David Kaufmann
David Kaufmann
David Kaufmann was a Jewish-Austrian scholar born at Kojetín, Moravia...
. The letter, ending with a Hebrew poem in the Hazaj meter
Hazaj meter
Hazaj meter is a quantitative verse metric frequently found in the epic poetry of the Middle East and western Asia. A musical rhythm of the same name is based on the literary meter....
, and written in a very difficult style, praises Ḥushiel's knowledge and virtue, and compliments Hananeel.
Complete letter of Chushiel
Below is a scan of the complete letter of Chushiel, from S. Schechter (1899) in Jewish Quarterly ReviewJewish Quarterly Review
The Jewish Quarterly Review is an peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on Jewish studies. It is published quarterly for the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania by the University of Pennsylvania Press. The current editors are Elliott Horowitz...
11:644-650. Schechter there also provides a transcript of the portions that are legible, accompanied by a brief analysis of the grammar and contents.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Abraham BerlinerAbraham BerlinerAbraham Berliner was a German theologian and historian, born in Obersitzko, province of Posen, Prussia. He received his first education under his father, who was teacher in Obersitzko...
, in Migdal Ḥananel, pp. v. et seq., xxviii. et seq., Leipsic, 1876; - Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. v. 288, 289, note 21;
- Rabinowitz's Hebrew translation of Grätz, vol. iii., Index;
- Halberstam, in Berliner's Magazin, iii. 171;
- Isaac HalévyYitzhak Isaac Halevy RabinowitzYitzhak Isaac Halevy was a rabbi, Jewish historian, and founder of the Agudath Israel organization. Relatively little of his correspondence survived the Holocaust, and so information concerning his activities is scarce...
, Dorot ha-Rishonim, iii., ch. 35 et seq.; - Adolf NeubauerAdolf NeubauerAdolf Neubauer was sublibrarian at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University....
, M. J. C. i. 67, 68, 73; ii. 225, 234; - S.J. Rapoport, in Bikkure ha-'Ittim, xii. 11 et seq.;
- S. Schechter, in J. Q. R. xi. 643 et seq.;
- Isaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch WeissIsaac Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Velké Meziříčí, Moravia....
, Dor, iv. 265; - Winter and Wünsche, Die Jüdische Litteratur, ii. 357;
- ZunzZunzZunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...
, Ritus, p. 190.
External links
- http://www.isfsp.org/sages/daud.html
- http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=111839
- http://www.ucalgary.ca/~elsegal/Shokel/060831_Pirates.html
- Jewish Encyclopedia article on Chushiel, by Solomon SchechterSolomon SchechterSolomon Schechter was a Moldavian-born Romanian and English rabbi, academic scholar, and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and architect of the American Conservative Jewish...
and Max Schloessinger.