Sheshet Benveniste
Encyclopedia
Sheshet ben Isaac ben Joseph Benveniste (lived in the latter half of the twelfth century) was a French Jewish physician and writer. Like Isaac Benveniste, who is supposed to have been his father, he was styled "Nasi" (prince).
, his probable birthplace; afterward he lived at Barcelona
, and later at Zaragoza\Z, in which city he died about 1209. It is said that he owed his high position to his knowledge of Arabic. He practised medicine, and was the author of a medical work, manuscript copies of which are still extant at Oxford and Munich.
Such was his reputation as a physician that patients came long distances to consult him, and some are said to have journeyed even from Mainz
(e.g., Solomon ben Hananel). Benveniste, whose generosity is praised by Al-Ḥarizi, was poetically gifted and composed several liturgical songs. Even in his old age he remained a friend of free investigation, as the following epigram on Meïr Abulafia
shows:
Benveniste directed a letter to the congregation of Lunel
, in answer to the epistle of Abulafia to that congregation, in which he freely expresses himself upon the value of Maimonides
's "Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah," because it enabled the laity to control the judgments rendered by the Rabbis. He carried on a lively correspondence with Nasi Kalonymus ben Ṭodros and with Levi ben Moses of Narbonne, where his brother Joseph also resided. He lost his three sons in their prime.
Biography
He received his education at NarbonneNarbonne
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...
, his probable birthplace; afterward he lived at Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, and later at Zaragoza\Z, in which city he died about 1209. It is said that he owed his high position to his knowledge of Arabic. He practised medicine, and was the author of a medical work, manuscript copies of which are still extant at Oxford and Munich.
Such was his reputation as a physician that patients came long distances to consult him, and some are said to have journeyed even from Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
(e.g., Solomon ben Hananel). Benveniste, whose generosity is praised by Al-Ḥarizi, was poetically gifted and composed several liturgical songs. Even in his old age he remained a friend of free investigation, as the following epigram on Meïr Abulafia
Meir Abulafia
Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia , also known as the Ramah , was a major Sephardic Talmudist and Halachic authority in medieval Spain...
shows:
- You ask why 'lustrous' he is named,
- Though he the light so cheaply rated;
- Because the dusk we 'twilight' name:
- By language-contrasts thoughts are mated.
Benveniste directed a letter to the congregation of 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....
, in answer to the epistle of Abulafia to that congregation, in which he freely expresses himself upon the value of 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...
's "Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah," because it enabled the laity to control the judgments rendered by the Rabbis. He carried on a lively correspondence with Nasi Kalonymus ben Ṭodros and with Levi ben Moses of Narbonne, where his brother Joseph also resided. He lost his three sons in their prime.