29 Tishrei · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit/Hillula of Don Isaac Abarbanel (Abravanel)
29 Tishrei - Yahrzeit of Don Isaac bar Yehuda Abarbanel (Abravanel)
One of the greatest commentators on Scripture; an outstanding statesman and financier.
Rabbi (Don) Isaac bar Yehuda Abarbanel (5197-5268 /1437-1508/) — one of the greatest commentators on Scripture; an outstanding statesman and financier.
He was descended from the lineage of King David.
He was born in Lisbon, the capital of the Kingdom of Portugal, into a family of Spanish origin.
His grandfather, R. Shmuel Abarbanel, fled Spain in the year 5151 /1391/, when a wave of pogroms swept across the country, and found refuge in Lisbon (Perakim BeToldot Yisrael).
R. Isaac's father made a career at the court of King Alfonso V of Portugal and became his treasurer.
R. Isaac received a thorough Jewish education; he studied Talmud under the Lisbon rabbi Yosef Ibn Chayun, the spiritual leader of the sages of Portugal.
Already in his youth, Abarbanel wrote his first significant work — the treatise Ateret Zekenim (Crown of the Elders). In this book he describes how Divine Providence guides Jewish history: despite endless persecutions and afflictions, the Chosen People are saved by the Almighty from final destruction.
Abarbanel also received a broad secular education — he was fluent in many languages and sciences, having studied philosophy and classical literature especially deeply. He maintained close ties with Christian scholars and philosophers.
After his father's death, R. Isaac succeeded him as court treasurer. To the large inheritance he received from his father, he added substantial new reserves of gold and silver and built a magnificent palace for his family. By that time he had three sons and a daughter.
In 5241 /1481/, King Alfonso died, and his heir, John II, attempted to eliminate his father's close associates. Abarbanel was warned in advance and had to flee the country immediately, leaving his family behind — he found refuge in a small Spanish town right at the Portuguese border. John II confiscated all of the fugitive's property, and later permitted his wife and children to leave Portugal.
Reunited with his family, Abarbanel settled in Toledo — the city where his ancestors had lived before they were forced to flee to Portugal (Perakim BeToldot Yisrael).
Abarbanel believed that misfortune had come upon him because he had devoted all his time to serving a king of flesh and blood — now he resolved to dedicate himself entirely to serving the Almighty. He wrote: "All the years I spent at the king's court, I was wholly absorbed in his affairs, and I had no free time for Torah — I did not even touch my books. And so I spent my days in vanity and devoted my years to futility, pursuing honor and wealth. And now, all that wealth is lost. And now that I have become a destitute wanderer, I can return to the study of the holy books."
During this period he began work on a commentary on the Tanach. Starting with the early prophets, within six months he completed commentaries on the books of Yehoshua, Shoftim (Judges), and Shmuel. And while he was working on the next book, Melachim (Kings), a summons came from the palace — King Ferdinand II of Spain invited him to serve as royal treasurer.
In 5239 /1479/, two years before Abarbanel's arrival in Spain, King Ferdinand II of Aragon entered into a dynastic marriage with Queen Isabella of Castile — as a result, their kingdoms were united into the powerful Kingdom of Spain. King Ferdinand then launched a war against Granada, the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula. The Arabs resisted fiercely, and the war dragged on for seven long years, thoroughly depleting the royal treasury. Ferdinand needed an experienced financier, and his choice fell on Don Isaac Abarbanel. Thanks to the efforts of the new treasurer, the war was brought to a victorious conclusion.
In 5251 /1491/, after the war had ended, Abarbanel settled in Guadalajara, where the yeshiva of one of the spiritual leaders of the generation, R. Isaac Aboab, was located — a friendship and mutual spiritual enrichment developed between the two sages.
By 5252 /1492/, Ferdinand and Isabella, inspired by the leaders of the Inquisition, decided that the time had come to fully purge the kingdom of heretics and infidels. In late April, royal heralds were sent throughout the country announcing that within two months the Jews were required to leave the country — those who remained would be given a fateful choice: death or conversion. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were to leave forever the country where their ancestors had lived since the time of Roman rule.
Don Isaac Abarbanel attempted to avert the decree. At the head of a delegation of Jewish community leaders, he appeared before the royal couple and offered an enormous ransom for the right of the Jews to remain — thirty thousand ducats. The king, greedy for gain, was already prepared to agree, when the Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada burst into the throne room and, holding out a crucifix to the king and queen, exclaimed: "Judas sold the Savior for thirty pieces of silver, and you wish to sell Him for thirty thousand?! Here He is — take Him and sell Him!" Placing the crucifix before the king, Torquemada swiftly left the palace. This scene shook the royal couple, Isabella especially. The deal was cancelled, and all of Don Abarbanel's entreaties were met with a firm refusal.
Within a matter of months, the exiles had to settle their affairs and sell their property. They were forbidden to take silver and gold out of the country. Taking advantage of their helplessness, Christian neighbors acquired everything for next to nothing: a magnificent mansion was traded for a donkey, a well-tended vineyard was paid for with a bolt of cloth. Most houses simply had to be abandoned.
The final expulsion was set by the authorities for the 9th of Av, 5252 /1492/ — and although Don Abarbanel himself was, as an exception, permitted by the royal couple to remain, he left the country at the head of three hundred thousand of his brethren.
Don Abarbanel settled in Italy, in the city of Naples — here he completed his work on the commentary to the book of Melachim.
However, his reputation as a financier and statesman preceded him, and he was soon invited to serve as an advisor to the Neapolitan court: he served King Ferdinand I of Naples, and then his heir Alfonso II — his work on the commentaries was once again put off for a long time.
In 5254 /1494/, the Kingdom of Naples was conquered by the French, King Alfonso fled, and Don Abarbanel fled with him. His mansion in Naples was plundered, and the magnificent library of Jewish books he had brought with him from Spain was destroyed.
Settling on the island of Sicily, in the city of Messina, Don Abarbanel completed his commentary on the Book of the Prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah). After the French army withdrew from Naples, he returned to the city and devoted all his time to the study of Torah.
In 5256 /1496/, he wrote a commentary on the final book of the Chumash, Devarim, as well as commentaries on Tractate Avot (Nachalat Avot — Heritage of the Fathers) and on the Passover Haggadah (Zevach Pesach — The Passover Offering). During this same period, Don Abarbanel composed a series of works developing the theme of the final redemption of the Jewish people with the coming of Mashiach: Mayanei HaYeshua (Springs of Salvation), Yeshuot Meshicho (The Salvation Brought by His Mashiach), and Mashmia Yeshua (Announcer of Salvation).
Don Abarbanel expressed his philosophical views chiefly in his commentary on the Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed), as well as in the treatises Shamayim Chadashim (New Heavens) and Mif'alot Elokim (The Works of G-d).
Don Abarbanel spent the last years of his life in Venice. Here he wrote commentaries on the Book of the Prophet Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) and on the books of the twelve "minor prophets." Here too he completed his work on the interpretation of the Chumash, writing commentaries on Bereishit, Shemot, Vayikra, and Bamidbar. His commentaries are distinguished by their exceptional analytical depth: at the beginning of each portion he formulates the questions that arise in studying it — including the most difficult ones — and then answers them systematically. He was the first of the commentators to draw broad historical and cultural parallels, and he frequently cites the views of Christian exegetes.
Don Isaac Abarbanel passed away and was buried in the city of Padua (the cemetery was later desecrated, and the exact location of his grave is unknown).
Abarbanel cites an interesting letter in which Aristotle describes to Alexander the Great his meeting with Shimon HaTzadik: "...I began to debate with him, and he showed me his firm knowledge of the Torah given to him as an inheritance from Sinai. And my heart was drawn to the words of the Torah... If I could gather all my books, I would burn them all, so that they would not corrupt people's minds... Those who grasp the Torah go toward the light in the light of life, while those who grasp philosophy go into the pit of the underworld."
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(Based on materials from Toldot.ru)