Abba bar Zebina
side) did not shrink from asking the civil powers to intervene. But an unlooked for calamity brought the warfare to an end. The expulsion of the Jews from Fnuue by Philip IV. ("the Fair"), in lIUMi. caused the Jews of Monlpellier to take refuu't'. partly in Provenee. partly in INrpijrnan and jiartly in MaConsei|nently. .Vliha Mari removed first to jorca. Aries, and. within the same year. to Perpiirnan. where he finally settled and disappeared from public view. There he published his correspondence with Ben Adret and his colleagues.
Abba Mari collected the correspondence and added to each letter a few explanatory notes. Of this collection, calli'il "Minḥat Ḳenaot," there are several manuscript copies extant nanielv. at Oxford (Neubauer. "Cat. Bodl. Ilclir. MSS.", Nos. 2182 and 2221); Paris, Bibl. Nat. No. !l7(i; (iiinzburs l.ibr.. St. Petersburfr; His Works. Parma: Hanispite Monteliore Collesre Library (formerly Halberstam, No. 192); and Turin. Some of these (Oxford, No. 2221. and Paris, Bibl. Nat.) are mere fragments. The |)rinled edition (Presburj;. 18:3S). prepared by M. L. Hislichis, contains: (1) Preface: (~)a treatise of eiirhti'cn chajiters on the inoorporeality of God (J^) correspondence (4) a treatise, called "Sefer ha-Yarhi." included also in letter 58; sitU') (lid deeper problems which agitated Judaism, the question of the relation of religion to the philosophy of the age. which neither the zeal of the fanatic nor the bold attitude of the libenil-minded couUI solve in any fixed dogmatic form or by any anathema, as the indei>endent spirit of the congregations refusi-d to accord to the nibbis the power jiossessed by the Church of dictating to the jieoplc what they shoidd believe or respect. At the close of the work are added several eidogies written by Abba Mari on Ben Adret (who died 13101. an<l on Don Vidal. Solomon of Perpignan. and Don Bonet Crescus of Lunel. BiKLiouiiArnv:
(ieiger. Zii(. f))r JIUUmIii- TlirnUnjir, v. R2; ff. p. 4ii ; Ilenau. /jO litthlnns Franritin, pp. <U7(iroas, (iitUin Jiulairii, pp. 2s<i, :!:il. 4ilii; lilein. In liny lit. Juivi.1, 1SS2, pp. lft3-207: I'erles. Sahniui hrli .ilimlidin tint Adereih uiul Kfiue Schriftiii^ pp. J')-;)-l; (inlt/, (U'ltt'li. (Icr Juden, 111. 27-50, Brcslau. isiSJ.
Zmiz, Z. illl.'i;
a defense of "The Guide and its author by SliemTob Pal<iuera (Gratz, "Gesch. d. Judeu." v"ii. 173). As the three cardinal doctrines of Judaism. Al)ba "
That of the recofrnition of God's JIari accent nates: existence and of llis absolute sovereiiinly, eternity, unity, and incorporeality, as taujrht in revelaticm, os])ei-i;illy in the Decalotruc; (0) that of the world's creation by Ilimout of nothing, as evidenced particularly by the Sabbath (:i) that of the special jirovidence of God, as manifested in the Biblical miracles. In the preface. Abba Mari explains his object in collectinj; the correspondence; and in the treatise which follows he shows that the study of philosojihy. useful in itself as a help toward the acquisition of the knowlcdire of God. r<'i|ujrcs sireat caution, lest we be misled by the Aristotelian i)hilosoph_v or its false inter]iretation, as rejfanls the ])rinciplesof nrntio cr iiihilo and divine individual providence, Jl'D'lS iinJCn. The maiHiscripIs include twelve letters which are not includeil in the jirinted edition of "Minhat Keiiaot." The corres])onilence refers mainly to the iiroposed restriction of the sttnly of the Aristotelian jihilosnCasually, other theoloiiical tiueslions are <lis]ihy. Kor example, letters Nos. 1. Ti. S contain a cussed. discussion on the question, whether the use of a piece of metal with the figure of a lion, as a talisman, is permitted by Jewish law for medicinal purposes, or is prohibited as idolatrous.
Contents of In letter No. 131. Abba Mari mourns
the Minhat the death of Ben Adret. and in letter
No. 132 he sends words of sympathy
Kenaot.
to the congregation of Perpignan. on
the death of Don Solomon Vidal and Hal)bi MeLetter 33 contains the statement of Abba
shullam.
Mari that two letters which he desired to insert
could not be discovered by him. MS. Ramsgate. No.
5','.
has the s;ime statement, but also the two letters
In the "Sefer hamissing in the jn-inted copies.
Yarhi Abba Mari refers to the great caution shown
by tiie rabbis of old as regards the teaching of the
mysteries of philosophy, and reconunended by men
like the Hai (Jaoii. ^laiinnnides. and Kiml.u.
A responsuni of Abba Mari on a ritual question is contained in MS. Kamsgate. No. 136 and Zunz (" Literatnrgesfh. der Synag. Poesie der Juden," p. 498)
mentions a kimih composed by Abba JIari.
The "jMinhat Kenaot" is instructive reading for
the historian because it throws much light upon the
M. F.—K.
M,
ABBA B. MARTHA (identical with ABBA B. MINYOMI, laiions;
Generally (pioled wilh 1m, III
irv ranlv as
Abba
b.
Martha
.-ipp.'l-
alone, or
b. Minyonii alone: Bizah, 2->.' (lit. v!!»/.) A Babyloidan scholar of the end of the third century ami beginning of the fourth. He seems to have Ixcn
Abba
Once he inciuTed a debt to in i)oor circumstances. the n«/i (/nliit,! (exilarchl. which he could not rejiay. and only by disguising himself did he
at the time (Yeb. 12(J((). Later he was apprehended and sorely pressed for ])ayment; Imt when the exilarch discovered that his debtor was a rabbinical scholar, he released him (Shab. 121/<). Ilis mother. Jlartha. seems to have been in easy circumstances: for. when Aliba was bitten by a rabid dog and, in accordance wilh conleniiiorary therapeutics, was obliged to drink through a tube of copper (compare Brecher, " Das Traiiseendentale iin Talmud." p. 219. note). .Martha substituted one of gold (Yoma. 84"). Notwithstanding his peciuiiary straits. Abba did not take adv.-mtage of the Biblical and Talinudic law (^lishnah. .Sheb. x. 1). according He to which the Sabbatical year cancels all debts. once owed some money to rjabbah. and paid it in the vear of release, usinsr the form of a donation
escape arrest for
it
'
S.
(Git." 37//).
M.
ABBA BAR MEMEL A
Palestinian amora, who lived toward the end of the third century. He belonged to the circle of .Vmmi at Tiberias, and enjoyed the reputation of a great halakist. In three proiiositions he limited and reiiden'd |)ractically harmless the application of the Gezemh Shawah. the second of the thirteen hermeneutic rules <if R. Ismael. which otherwise might easily have led to arbitrary ritual decisions (Yer. Pes. vi. 33rt). llis proposed reforms were never carried into practise, no other amora having joined him to form Among a valid legislative body (Yer. M. K. ii. 81i). his haggadic pa.ssages the most significant is one on the names of God (Ex. R. iii.); "God spake to Moses *Ttioudeslrest tokni)v Mv name. I AM TH.^T I .M iKx. Mi. 141. Tliat is, I am calleil aci-orrtInK to my
When I am jud^injr iminkiiiil. am calUnl
Ehthiiii; when I am going out tii war airainst the wi.-ked. 1
am called Zthaiit when I am holding Judgment in suspense
over the sins of men, I am called El Shntlihii; when showing
mercy to the world. I am called VHWH. because this name derevealed activities.
I
notes the qualitv of mercv in
God' (Ex. xxxiv. G)" V. B.
ABBA NASIA (K-e'J). JOSEPH
in
Majorca.
UiRLiot;R.PHV
Chief justice
14115; died. 1439.
Zunz.
Zur
Gesch.
utiil
Literaliir. p.
.517.
G.
ABBA BAR PAPPAI
PAPA): A
Pales tinian amora. of the fourth century wdio died 37.5. As the second link in the transmission bv tradition of (or
