Solomon Alami
Encyclopedia
Solomon Alami was a Portuguese-Jewish ethical writer of the 14th and 15th centuries, contemporary of Simon ben Ẓemaḥ Duran (רשב"ץ). He is known through his ethical treatise Iggeret Musar, (Why Catastrophes Come) which he addressed, in the form of a letter, to one of his disciples in 1415.
, Castile
, and Aragon
in 1391. Alami considers these and other severe trials inflicted upon the Spanish Jews as the effect of, and a punishment for, the moral and religious decadence into which his co-religionists had fallen; and he holds before his brethren a mirror of the moral degeneration extending through all circles of Jewish society. He says in his book:
The Hebrew style of the letter is dignified and impassioned, and its moral admonition reveals the noble courage of Alami. Each section of the Iggeret Musar is preceded by a Biblical verse suggesting its contents.
Zunz
published an abridged German language
translation of part of it in Busch's Jahrbuch für Israeliten, iv. (Vienna, 1844), and this also appeared in his Gesammelte Schriften, ii. 177. An earlier edition appeared in Venice in 1712, as Iggeret ha-Ḥokmah weha-Emunah (Letter on Wisdom and Faith); but the name of the author was corrupted to Solomon ben Laḥmi. The best edition now extant (c.1906) of Alami's work is that issued by Jellinek
(Vienna, 1872). Extracts of the Iggeret are given in Or ha-Ḥayyim of Joseph Jaabez and in I.S. Reggio's Ha-Torah weha-Philosophia. On the name Alami, see Steinschneider, Jew. Quart. Rev. xi. 486.
Iggeret Musar
Alami was an eye-witness of the persecutions of the Jews of CataloniaCatalonia
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...
, Castile
Crown 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...
, and Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
in 1391. Alami considers these and other severe trials inflicted upon the Spanish Jews as the effect of, and a punishment for, the moral and religious decadence into which his co-religionists had fallen; and he holds before his brethren a mirror of the moral degeneration extending through all circles of Jewish society. He says in his book:
The Hebrew style of the letter is dignified and impassioned, and its moral admonition reveals the noble courage of Alami. Each section of the Iggeret Musar is preceded by a Biblical verse suggesting its contents.
Zunz
Zunz
Zunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...
published an abridged German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
translation of part of it in Busch's Jahrbuch für Israeliten, iv. (Vienna, 1844), and this also appeared in his Gesammelte Schriften, ii. 177. An earlier edition appeared in Venice in 1712, as Iggeret ha-Ḥokmah weha-Emunah (Letter on Wisdom and Faith); but the name of the author was corrupted to Solomon ben Laḥmi. The best edition now extant (c.1906) of Alami's work is that issued by Jellinek
Jellinek
Jellinek is a surname and may refer to:* Adolf Jellinek , an Austrian rabbi and scholar.** Max Hermann Jellinek , son of Adolf Jellinek* E...
(Vienna, 1872). Extracts of the Iggeret are given in Or ha-Ḥayyim of Joseph Jaabez and in I.S. Reggio's Ha-Torah weha-Philosophia. On the name Alami, see Steinschneider, Jew. Quart. Rev. xi. 486.
External links
- Jewish Encyclopedia article on Solomon Alami, by Samuel BaeckSamuel BaeckSamuel Baeck, also spelled Samuel Bäck was a German rabbi and father of Leo Baeck.His father, Nathan Baeck, was rabbi in Kromau, Moravia; his grandfather, Abraham, rabbi in Holitsch, Hungary...
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