ABRAHAM BEN ISAAC HA-KOHEN BEN AL-FURAT

ABRAHAM BEN ISAAC HA-KOHEN BEN AL-FURAT (11th century), Egyptian physician and philanthropist. His father Isaac ha-Kohen b. al-Furat was a highly respected physician in Fostat (Old cairo ) and his uncle Solomon ha-Kohen b. Joseph was the gaon in Palestine. Abraham held a high position in the government and was probably one of the court physicians. He may also have been president of the Jewish community; hence his honorary title ("prince of the community"). Apart from his general scholarship, Abraham also appears to have been learned in the Talmud. His erudition, nobility of character, and philanthropy are lauded in several poems and letters found in the Cairo Genizah. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Mann, Egypt, 1 (1920), 28, 83 ff.; 2 (1922), 26, 54 ff., 81 ff., index; Mann, Texts, 2 (1935), 151; Goitein, in: HUCA, 34 (1963), 179. (Jacob Mann)