had decreed that
Jews, under threat of severe
all
the copies of the Talmud and other rabbinical works in their possession, in order that they be burnt. The .lews were naturally an.ious to secure the repeal of this decree, and, as Abtalion was well acquainted with I-atiii, a number of Jewish congrcfiations in his district chose him as The pope admitted him to several their delegate. loni; and well-conceived address in audiences. choice Latin, which Abtalion delivered before the pope and many of the Church diiinitarics. made a deep impression upon them, and the decree was revoked. Abtalion appears to have been in his youth a eabalist, for it was commonly rcporteil that he had invoked the prophet Elijah, who revealed him-
up
penalties, deliver
all
A
him. Bibliography self to
Ghlmndl and
NepI, TnlffinI Grdnle Vun-ael,
V(i(^elsteln iind Riet'er,
ITii. A rt-Uc i»f an old family In tile poewesj^lon of a des<-en(lant, AlHi ul-Kader Uudena, as.sl.stiint lltinirlun of the I'nlviM-slty of Padua. It contains, unions otliiTS. a letter sent to .^l)talion frniii Koine, dated 13(S1, InfunnlnK him of the steps which had iK'en taken to secure the revocation of the Talmud de<Te»; hy the Paiwil See. In this letter his naiue is written Utta iano da .MMlena. 8.V.;
cir^U, fji-Krh.
Gfwh. d<T
archive
JwUn
il.
JiiilrtK X. Ill
in U<ni.
il.
is
E. L.
ABTALION BEN SOLOMON:
Italian rabbi;
ViW; died
Oct, H). Kill). Kat/.enelleiibogen, His veneration for his teacher was rabbi of Padua. 80 great that he had his portrait painted and hung in When asked to <xplaiii this act. then an his stud}'. uncommon one among the Jews, he wittily replied that Isaiah had Siiid (Isa. .... 20), "AikI thine eyes After liaving completed shall see tliy tcacliei-s." decision liis studies lie settled as rabbi at Hovigo. rendered by Abtalicjii on a (|iieslion concerning the ritual litne.ssof a taikireh (ritual bath) gave rise toa heated discussion among the Italian rabbis, his opponents being the rabbis of Venice, who were the most learned in i lie country. Apart from several decisions on that cauKf ci'lihre, scattered through the works of the most important rabbis of tho.se times, there arc four books whollv devoted to the subject namelv: "Mill.iamot Adoniii " (Venice, l(i08): " .Mikweh Vis mel" (Vcnlei, U)o7) "Paige Mayim" (KilT) for. and "Mashbit Milhamot" (IGOO) against, Alitalion. Abtalion vehemently condemned the piljiu! method, and opposed it. Leon de Modena, the critic (l.'iTl-
born at
C'on.siiilio
alicul
He wasajiupilof Samuel Judah
A
Abu denoted the actual father of a son (more rarely of a daughter), upon whose own proper name the word Abu followed. Thus, when a man whose real name was Ibrahim married and had a sou whom he named Ishak (Isaac) he woulil thenceforward be called Abu Ishak. The use of Abu in the formation of names in those eases wherein some relation.ship in history or legend is to be expressed is called the historical relaticm of the word. When, for instance, any one of the name of Ibrahim (Abraham) receives the cognomen of Abu Ishak (Isaac), the particle Abu is inteiiile(l to recall the particular Ibrahim mentioned ill the nilile and Koran, who actually was Abu (" Father ") of Isjiac. Owing to the extensive use of these names among the Arabs and the great difficulty they olTer to Europeans, the following list of historical names, called kunya by the Arabs, maybe of service: (1) The usual cognomen for Ibrahim is Abu Ishak. (2) Ishak is Abu Ibrahim: in which Abu has entirely lost its original signitication of " father." is called Abu Yiisuf (:!) Yaiikul) (Jacob) (Joseph). (4) Yusuf again is called Abu Ya'akub. Miisa (Moses) has two cognomens, Abu' Imram ((i) Harun's (Aniram) and Abu Ilarun (Aaron), kunya is Abu 3Iusa. (7) Da'ud (David) is called Abu (•"i)
Sulaiman (Solomon). (8) Sulaiman Da'ud, or even Abu Ajub (.lob).
1648), ploritieil
BlBLiooRAi'iiv l'-,
1";
Abtalion 's name in an elegy which
(ihinindlnnd Ncpl,
.Mlr|iui-1, III- Uii-IUiiiiiiiii.
Tiileilot
No.
Oednle Yi»rael,
s.
J
ABTERODE (APTROD). DAVID: ical writer; gieat
graiullalber of
David
„
Kabbin
Sin/.iikim;
probably br)rn at Abterode near Krankrort on liieMaln, in whii h town v lived toward the end of the seventeenth and at the bigimiiiig of the eiglileeiith century. Hi; wrote commentaries on the"Sifer Ihisidim " and on the " Vo^.erol " (Liturgies for Festivals); but the manuscripls were completelv destroyed by itis sou Solomon the great tire in that city in 1711. Zalnian ri'wrole fidin memory the commeiilary on "Sefer l.lasidim," and published it in 1724. BiliLloiiRAi'iiv MIcliui'l, Or /iii-//ii|/|/iiii. No. Till*.
y.
ABTOLMUS. ABU: .V abic
B.
I
Abu
iic<-ording to Steinschneider, are those most employed by JiuheoArabie writers in connection with Abu, either with or without the definite article: Allaor .llyya
Fath
Mal.iasln
Sa'ld
'Ala
FlUui
Manznr
fahlr
'All
llajuj
llamkat
ijasan or Ifa-ssan
Muna Munadim
Taur or Thiir Walld
Kada
Hashim
Fa'dhll
FaraJ
.layyid Klielr
mni.iofiRAriiY
Nasr Ridha
S'ad or Sa'ad Steinschneider, in Jf ic. Qi«irf. Rev. Ix. 228-
- «), i!li)-i>i<).
jj
(J
ABU AARON OF BAGDAD. See Aaron OF Baiivion. s Swii ABU ABDALLAH MOHAMMED AXi;i,
NASIR
ruler of .Miirncc.> and the bcgimiingof the thirleeiilh century. The rule of the -Vlmohade sultans necessarily proved oppressive to the Jews under their sway.
.l
Iiadc sultan:
at
to choo.se between conversion to Islam and (luitting the country. Many adopted the former course, though only outwardly, a practise .sanctioned to a certain extent by Maimonidcs' father, a.s well as by Maimonides himself. This was not unknown to Abu the Jewish authoriiiis. who ac(|uiesced in it.
They had
Viisuf Ya'akub (lls4-fl.'S), himself a noted theologaulhinity among the Almoliaile rule|-s, hoped to make the prosilyles better Moslems by onliring them to wear a special garb, consisting of a black gown with long sleeves, a coiirsi^ veil to starve as headgear. As si«)n as his son .bdallah al Nasir ascendeil the throne, the Jews of the Mairhrib tried to iniluce him but they met with small siicce.s.s. to repeal this law He only changed the colors and ordered llieinlowear yellow". This was the beginning of a distinguishing (•oslunie worn by Jews in the Midille Ages, ami the practise was soon imitated in European countiies. See Hadce. ical
Sec EfToi.EMrs.
word meaning " father." With its eases hIhi (accusal ivi) and nhi (genitive), as Well as its abbii'viati-d form hu, it is frei|Uently u.sed in .Vrabic as the lirst element in certain compound names. Tht; relation belwei'U " Abu " and the succeeding name is either of genealogical, historical, or atlributivi' nature, asSleinsehneidir desigimt4S il. The genealogical relali(ai is the oldest and most ilitlei'ciil
called
English "Goodman," "Prettyman," "Longman," " Longfellow," etc., as, for instance. Abu al Klieir, "Father of the Good." The following adjectives,
southern Spain
the hitter's e])itai)h.
is
Abu is used attributively in conjunction with adjectives or abstract nouns, fonning names like the
was used as
Abu AU
original, for in olden times
pp.
Abtalion
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
137
IliniKiiiRAriiT: ANI-nl-Wnlild nl-MuTfkiwhi's HMortinf Ihe lliiio/iiiil.K. iHl. Dozy, 2U iHl.. IWl. p. ast; (irflti!. ntwh. il.
JuiU
II.
ABU
Ml. ai.
ALT.
II
See
Ji-:i-UET.
ll_
