David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra

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Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, (Hebrew: דוד בן שלמה אבן זמרא) also called the Radbaz (רדב"ז), was a Jewish Spanish scholar. He was born in Spain about 1479; died in Safed in 1573.^[1] He was thirteen years of age when his parents, banished from Spain, settled in Safed, where he studied under the direction of Joseph Saragossa.^[2] Later, he moved to Cairo, and in 1514 was serving there as a member of the beth din presided over by the "nagid" Isaac Sholal. In 1517, upon the abolition of the office of nagid by the Turkish government, David was appointed chief rabbi of Egypt, a title he held for forty years. As he was highly revered for his vast knowledge, integrity of character, and extensive philanthropy, the yeshiva over which he presided attracted many distinguished pupils, among whom were Bezalel Ashkenazi and Isaac Luria.

In the introduction to his commentary on the Song of Songs, Isaac Akrish paints in vivid colors the character of ibn Abi Zimra, in whose house he lived for ten years. According to Akrish, the Radbaz was very prominent in both the social and the political life of Egypt, thanks to his status as a wealthy intellectual. During the time he served as Chief Rabbi, he introduced many reforms in the everyday life and religion of the Egyptian Jews. It was he who abolished the use of the Seleucid dating system in the Egyptian Jewish community.

On attaining the age of ninety, the Radbaz resigned the chief rabbinate, and divided the greater part of his fortune among the poor, making special provision for scholars. He then moved to Jerusalem, but did not stay there long, because of the burdensome taxes that the Turkish government had imposed upon Jews. He settled in Safed, where he became an active member of the beth din presided over by Yosef Karo, who held him in great esteem. The Radbaz died, according to some authorities, at the age of one hundred and ten years, although others give the date of his death in 1573, at the age of 94.

He was the author of the following works:

1. Divre David ("Words of David"), containing decisions and novellæ on Maimonides' "Yad," published by Joseph Zamiro, together with his own work "Hon Yosef," Leghorn, 1828
2. Yeqar Tif'ereth ("Honor of Excellency"), containing answers to the criticisms of Abraham ben David (RABaD) on Maimonides' "Yad," and commentaries on those passages in that work which the Maggid Mishneh of Vidal de Toloza overlooks: of these commentaries the portions on Hafla'ah and Zera'im were published in Smyrna 1757, and the remaining portions in the Wilna edition of the "Yad," 1890
3. Kelale ha-Gemara ("Rules of the Gemara"), a methodology of the Talmud, published in the collection "Me-Harere Nemarim" of Abraham ben Solomon Akra, Venice, 1599
4. Or Qadmon ("Pristine Light"), a cabalistic work, edited by Moses Ḥagis, Venice, 1713
5. Magen Dawid ("Shield of David"), a mystical explanation of the alphabet opposing Recanati and R. Judah Ḥayyaṭ, edited by M. Ḥagis, Amsterdam, 1713
6. Metzudath David ("The Bulwark of David"), giving reasons for the commandments according to the four methods of explanation known as the "pardes system" (Zolkiev, 1862)
7. Miktam le-David" ("David's Poem"), cabalistic homilies on the Song of Songs, still extant in manuscript
8. Keter Malkuth ("Crown of Royalty"), prayers for Yom Kippur, first published with the above-mentioned "Or Qadmon," reprinted in the "Sheveṭ Musar" of Elijah ben Abraham Solomon ha-Kohen of Smyrna, and finally inserted by Heidenheim in the ritual for the eve of Yom Kippur
9. Gillui le-Idroth, a commentary on the "Idroth," with notes by Ḥayyim Vital, still extant in manuscript in the Abarbanel Library at Jerusalem
10. Dine Rabba we-Zuṭa ("The Great and Small Decisions"), a commentary on the Shulchan Arukh
11. Shiv'im Panim la-Torah ("Seventy Methods of the Explanations of the Torah"). The last two works are mentioned in the preface of "Magen Dawid." David ben Solomon's responsa are his greatest contribution to Jewish literature; parts of it were published in Leghorn, 1651 (Nos. 1-300); Venice, 1799 (Nos. 1-318); Fürth, 1781 (Nos. 400-649); Leghorn, 1818 (Nos. 2051-2341). A complete edition of the responsa was published in Sudzilkow 1836.

[edit] References

1. ^ Some sources, such as Chabad.org [1] and the Jewish Encyclopedia list the date of his death as 1589, at the age of 110.
2. ^ This statement, which is given by all his biographers, is contested by Frumkin ("Eben Shemuel," p. 48).

[edit] Bibliography

• Conforte, Ḳore ha-Dorot, p. 36b
• Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, i. 44
• Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 888
• Wunderbar, in Orient, Lit. ix. 498
• Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, p. 347, No. 779
• Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 234
• Frumkin, Eben Shemuel, pp. 47-51

[edit] References and External link

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.

[2].