Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov
Encyclopedia
Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov (Hebrew: שם טוב אבן שם טוב) was a Spanish kabbalist and fierce opponent of rationalistic philosophy.
. He lived about 1390-1440 (Gedaliah ibn Yaḥya, Shalshelet ha-Ḳabbalah, ed. Venice, p. 62b). He was the father of Joseph ibn Shem-Tov
and Isaac ibn Shem-Tov.
, "the true teaching, which has lived on through tradition and which alone can help Israel." Shem Tov endeavors to prove that, from the standpoint of positive Judaism, there is not the agreement between religion and philosophy that is claimed by many Jewish philosophers
. In the introduction he makes the philosophical investigators and the "enlightenment" brought about by them responsible for the defection from Judaism and for the political persecutions of the times. He renders especially severe judgments upon Maimonides
(whom he understood to be withholding belief in resurrection), upon Abraham ibn Ezra
, upon Levi ben Gershon, and upon other men of liberal views.
In his survey of the historical development of the Kabbala, Shem Tov cites a number of older kabbalistic writers, whose existence, however, is not thereby proved. This reference to them is appended to a short passage from the Zohar
. Moses Alashkar
violently opposed Shem Tov's dogmatic system in his Hassagot Al Mah She-Katab R. Shem-Tov Neged ha-RaMbaM (Ferrara, 1556). The Sefer ha-Emunot has been much cited by both old and modern authors, and is valuable for the history of the Kabbala. To judge from a remark on page 31b it would seem that Ibn Shem-Tov wrote other works, but nothing is known concerning them.
Biography
Shem Tov was president of a yeshivah in SpainSpain
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...
. He lived about 1390-1440 (Gedaliah ibn Yaḥya, Shalshelet ha-Ḳabbalah, ed. Venice, p. 62b). He was the father of Joseph ibn Shem-Tov
Joseph 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 Isaac ibn Shem-Tov.
Works
He wrote: Sefer ha-Emunot, on religious dogmas (Ferrara, 1556); Sefer Yesodot (perhaps only another title for the preceding); a commentary on the Pesach Haggadah (Steinschneider, Cat. Munich, 264, 3; idem, Cat. Bodl. col. 99). The Sefer ha-Emunot is an attack on the Aristotelian philosophy and on the rationalistic and speculative conception of Judaism in vogue in the author's day. It is also a eulogy of the KabbalaKabbalah
Kabbalah/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...
, "the true teaching, which has lived on through tradition and which alone can help Israel." Shem Tov endeavors to prove that, from the standpoint of positive Judaism, there is not the agreement between religion and philosophy that is claimed by many Jewish philosophers
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
. In the introduction he makes the philosophical investigators and the "enlightenment" brought about by them responsible for the defection from Judaism and for the political persecutions of the times. He renders especially severe judgments upon 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...
(whom he understood to be withholding belief in resurrection), upon Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
, upon Levi ben Gershon, and upon other men of liberal views.
In his survey of the historical development of the Kabbala, Shem Tov cites a number of older kabbalistic writers, whose existence, however, is not thereby proved. This reference to them is appended to a short passage from the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
. Moses Alashkar
Moses Alashkar
Moses ben Isaac Alashkar was a rabbi who lived in Egypt, but subsequently resided in Jerusalem.Moses Alashkar was prominent among contemporaneous rabbis, and his opinions were held in esteem throughout the Levant, and even in Italy...
violently opposed Shem Tov's dogmatic system in his Hassagot Al Mah She-Katab R. Shem-Tov Neged ha-RaMbaM (Ferrara, 1556). The Sefer ha-Emunot has been much cited by both old and modern authors, and is valuable for the history of the Kabbala. To judge from a remark on page 31b it would seem that Ibn Shem-Tov wrote other works, but nothing is known concerning them.
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Grätz, Gesch. Hebr. ed. of Rabbinowitz, vi.99-100;
- Kaufmann, Die Attributenlehre, Index;
- Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. cols. 2558 et seq.;
- idem, Jewish Literature, pp. 94, 304;
- idem, Die Polemische und Apologetische Litteratur, pp. 321, 367;
- idem, Hebr. Uebers. p. 120;
- M. Straschon, in Pirḥe Ẓafon, ii.77 et seq.;
- Winter and Wünsche, Die Jüdische Litteratur, iii.281, 365