MONZON, ABRAHAM

MONZON, ABRAHAM, the name of two scholars. (1) (d. after 1603), halakhic authority and preacher, and apparently of North African origin. During his youth he lived in Egypt, where he studied under R. Bezalel Ashkenazi . His pupils in Egypt included R. Abraham Iskandari . He later went to Constantinople, where he died. He wrote halakhic decisions, and homiletical interpretations; some of his responsa are scattered in various manuscripts and in the works of contemporary scholars, such as Joseph di Trani, samuel de medina , Bezalel Ashkenazi, and Solomon b. Abraham ha-Kohen. azulai saw in manuscript a composition of his on the work Imrei Emet, by menahem de lonzano , criticizing the kabbalistic system of R. Ḥayyim Vital . Azulai also saw a collection of his sermons. (2) (18th century), rabbi and author. He was born in Tetuan, Morocco, where he engaged unsuccessfully in commerce. He therefore wandered to Algiers and Oran and in about 1732 arrived in Egypt, where he was considered one of the most prominent rabbis. His works are extant in manuscript. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Ayash, Responsa Beit Yehudah (Leghorn, 1746), Ḥoshen Mishpat, no. 4 (75a); Conforte, Kore, 39–43, 48–49; J.M.Toledano, Ner ha-Ma'arav (1911), 158–9, 230–1; J. Ben-Naim, Malkhei Rabbanan (1931), 13b; Rosanes, Togarmah, 5 (1938), 336–7; S. Assaf, Mekorot u-Meḥkarim (1946), 206–8; Hirschberg, Afrikah, 2 (1965), 115. (Abraham David)