Moshe ben Avraham Provençal (1503 - 1576) was an Italian posek

Posek

Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....

 and Hebrew

Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 grammarian. Before Provençal's birth, his family left their home in Provence

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...

 in the aftermath of its incorporation into France and the subsequent persecution of the local Jewish population. Provençal was born in Casale Monferrato

Casale Monferrato

Casale Monferrato, population 36,058, is a town and comune in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy, part of the province of Alessandria. It is situated about 60 km east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrato hills. Beyond the river lies the...

 in north-west Italy. In 1535, he composed a poetic guide to the rules of Hebrew grammar entitled B'shem Kadmon, which was later published in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 in 1597.http://books.google.com/books?id=hNvAfhEb6gsC&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=moses+OR+moshe+provenzale&source=bl&ots=PiGDoEYUZg&sig=VGBAt3S-BwTXzBCVn2D5_dH_Zo8&hl=en&ei=luc2S8PFBJKMtAPIsP3EBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CBgQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=moses%20OR%20moshe%20provenzale&f=false By 1550, he was Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

 of Mantua

Mantua

Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...

, Italy.http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=A&artid=1397

During the infamous Tamari-Venturozzo divorce scandal of 1564, the Italian rabbinate was split over the validity of Samuel Venturozzo's bill of divorce. The halakhic

Halakha

Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...

 debate quickly descended into a fierce and raging legal feud which eventually came to include halakhic giants from Safed

Safed

Safed , is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters...

 and Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

. Provençal spearheaded the rabbinic group arguing that Venturozzo's bill of divorce

Get (divorce document)

A is a divorce document, which according to Jewish Law, must be presented by a husband to his wife to effect their divorce. The essential text of the is quite short: "You are hereby permitted to all men," i.e., the wife is no longer a married woman, and the laws of adultery no longer apply...

was invalid.http://www.virtualjudaica.com/Item/7547/Hatzaha_al_Ohdot_ha-Get In 1566, Provençal published a pamphlet making his case and arguing that the opposing rabbis did not follow proper judicial protocol.http://www.hebrewbooks.org/20567 By 1574, the debate was resolved, and the Italian rabbinate was reconciled. Provençal died on July 30, 1576.http://books.google.com/books?id=QoErAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA360&lpg=PA360&dq=moses+OR+moshe+provenzale&source=bl&ots=2x_of3KcFy&sig=SlT1RpcmAf0YPPM27c4gMsqKmBQ&hl=en&ei=luc2S8PFBJKMtAPIsP3EBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=moses%20OR%20moshe%20provenzale&f=false

Provençal's responsa, known as She'elot u'Teshuvot Rabbeinu Moshe Provençal (first printed: 2 vols., Jerusalem, 1989–98), have often been studied and quoted by later rabbinical authorities.