Abraham ben David

Abraham ben David of Posquières Hebrew אברהם בן דוד מפּוֹשְקְיֶרָה, also known by the acronym Rabad (III ), Hebrew ראב"ד ( * ca 1125 in Narbonne, † November 27, 1198 in Posquières, today Vauvert in the department of Gard ) was a Talmudic scholar in Provence., he has become known primarily for his criticism of the works of Maimonides.

Life

He studied with Joseph and Moses ben Meshullam ben Jacob of Lunel, two of the most influential and respected scholars of the time. After completing his studies he gained notoriety in Montpellier and Nîmes, as well as great wealth ( he is said to have traded in textiles ) and eventually settled in Posquières where it apart from a short period of time ( 1172-73 ) when he Narbonne and Carcassonne had fled from the hostility of the local sovereign, had his permanent residence. He founded and directed in Posquières a yeshiva whose students came from far away: France, Germany, Spain, North Africa, Italy, Palestine and Slavic countries. For the needs of indigent pupils he made from his own funds. Many of his pupils and followers were even close to prominent rabbis and authors in the Jewish communities of Provence. Nachmanides describes his learning and piety, and Solomon ADRET says that Rabad " as revealed from the mouth of Moses and explained the difficulties " the depths of the Torah. All contemporary commentators of Maimonides are also always respectful of students Rabad.

Works

Rabad developed a diverse literary activity. He wrote codes of rabbinic law, comments on various sub-species of the Talmudic literature, responsa, homiletic treatises and Hassagot, ie critical comments to standard works of rabbinic literature. This Hassagot are his last works. He commented, among other things Halachot of Isaac Alfasi and Mishneh Torah by Maimonides. Rabads important Code called Baal ha - Nefesh ( " owner of the Soul" ) and treated in seven chapters laws with respect to the behavior to women.

Text output

• בעלי הנפש / Ba'alei ha - Nefesh, ed.. Y. Kafaḥ, Mosad ha - Rav Kuk, Jerusalem 1964 ( digitized: 1, 2 )