AMINA

AMINA (pen name of Binyamin ben Mishael; 1672–after 1732/33), prolific Jewish poet of Iran. Our only information about Amina's life is contained in his poetic work entitled Sargozasht-e Aminā bā hamsarash (Library of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, microfilm \#19874), where he addresses each of his seven children and complains about his wife after 25 years of marriage. A recent study of Judeo-Persian manuscripts in the libraries of the Hebrew University, Ben Zvi Institute in Jerusalem, the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York, the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, and the British Museum in London has shown that Amina composed approximately 40 poetic works, most of which are short. His longest works are about Esther and Mordechai (based on the Book of Esther), the sacrifice of Isaac according to the Midrash of Judah b. Samuel b. Abbas (a poet and preacher of 12th-century Tunisia and Syria), and Tafsir-e azharot or commentary on the "Commandments and Prohibitions" of solomon ibn gabirol   (the famous poet and philosopher of 11th-century Spain). Each of these works contains 300 to 400 verses. He also composed a 92-verse poem in Hebrew. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Netzer, "The Jewish Poet Amina of Kashan and His Sacred Poems," in: S. Shaked and A. Netzer (eds.), Irano-Judaica, 5 (2003), 68–81. (Amnon Netzer (2nd ed.)