SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM OF MONTPELLIER
- SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM OF MONTPELLIER
- SOLOMON BEN ABRAHAM OF MONTPELLIER (13th century),
talmudic scholar, initiator of the Maimonidean controversy that took
place in the third decade of the 13th century (see
maimonidean controversy and criticism ). While he admired
Maimonides as a talmudist and always spoke of him with respect, Solomon
opposed his philosophic views, and in his fear that they would lead to
heresy, began to campaign against the study of the Guide of the
Perplexed and Sefer ha-Madda, the first book of the
Mishneh Torah, in which Maimonides set down some of his
philosophic views. Together with his two disciples, david ben saul
and jonah b. abraham gerondi , Solomon enlisted the support of the
rabbis of northern France, who in 1232 pronounced a ban against the
study of the philosophical works of Maimonides and the secular sciences.
The supporters of Maimonidean philosophy in Provence retaliated by
excommunicating Solomon and his two disciples. With the deepening of the
controversy Solomon was accused by David Kimḥi , a supporter of
the Maimonists, of informing to the Franciscans and the Dominicans
concerning the heretical nature of the Guide, thus initiating
the burning of the work, which is thought to have taken place in
Marseilles around 1232. Modern scholars, however, maintain that it is
extremely unlikely that either Solomon himself or his two disciples
actually did inform to the non-Jewish authorities, for they continued to
be respected within the Jewish community as individuals and scholars,
and it is difficult to believe that they would have been had they
actually informed on the Maimonists.
Cited by menahem b. solomon meiri in one of his responsa, Solomon
was spoken of favorably by Naḥmanides , Judah Alfakar,
Meshullam b. Solomon, and joseph b. todros ha-levi abulafia . From
extant sources such as abraham b. moses b. maimon 's Milḥamot
Adonai, Solomon emerges not as a simple man nor as an extreme
fanatic but as a learned talmudist who was uneducated in the realm of
philosophy and did not understand the complexities of Maimonidean
philosophy. While it is not clear exactly what he opposed in Maimonides'
philosophy, it appears that he objected to Maimonides' allegorical
interpretation of talmudic passages that described the afterlife in a
material fashion and to his interpretation of many biblical laws. He
opposed the view that the activation of the intellect was the
prerequisite for attaining immortality, maintaining that the observance
of the divine law was more important. He criticized
samuel ibn tibbon , the translator of the Guide, rather
than Maimonides himself, for interpreting all biblical narratives
allegorically.
-BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Baer, Spain, index; D.J. Silver, Maimonidean Criticism and the
Maimonidean Controversy (1965), index; Guttman, Philosophies, 185;
Graetz, Hist, 6 (1902), index.
Encyclopedia Judaica.
1971.
Look at other dictionaries:
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