Joseph Solomon Delmedigo facts for kids
Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (also known as Yashar Mi-Qandia) was a very smart person who lived a long time ago (from 1591 to 1655). He was a rabbi, a writer, a doctor, a mathematician, and he also studied music. He was known for his wide range of knowledge, especially in science and philosophy.
Joseph was born in a place called Candia, which is now Heraklion on the island of Crete. His family, the Del Medigo de'Candia, originally came from Germany. He later moved to Padua, Italy, where he studied medicine. What's really cool is that he even took classes with the famous scientist Galileo Galilei! He learned about astronomy from Galileo and was even allowed to use Galileo's own telescope. Joseph often called Galileo "rabbi Galileo," which might have meant "my master, Galileo."
After finishing his studies in 1613, he traveled a lot. He went to Venice, then back to Candia, and later explored places like Alexandria and Cairo in Egypt. In Cairo, he even had a public math contest with another mathematician! He also visited Istanbul, where he saw a comet in 1619. Joseph traveled through different Jewish communities in Eastern Europe before finally arriving in Amsterdam in 1623. Wherever he went, he worked as a doctor or a teacher to support himself. He passed away in Prague.
His Writings
Joseph Solomon Delmedigo wrote a famous book called Elim (which means "Palms"). He published it in 1629 in Amsterdam. This book was written in Hebrew and was his way of answering many questions from a Karaite Jew named Zerach ben Natan. Karaites are a group of Jewish people who follow the written Torah very closely.
The book Elim was designed to have twelve main sections and seventy smaller sections. This unique structure was inspired by the story in the Book of Numbers about a place called Elim, which had twelve fountains and seventy palm trees. However, not all parts of his book were published because some sections were removed. The book covered many interesting subjects like astronomy (the study of stars and planets), physics (how things work), mathematics, medicine, and even music theory.
In the music part of his book, Joseph talked about how music works, like why strings make certain sounds and how musical notes relate to each other. He believed that Jewish people should be more involved in science and philosophy, just like they were in ancient times. He encouraged them to learn about the natural world and connect with others through science.
Some parts of his book included:
- Ma'ayan Chatum (meaning "Sealed Fountain") was the second part of Sefer Elim, containing the 70 questions and answers.
- Ma'ayan Ganim (meaning "Fountain of the Gardens") was another part of Sefer Elim. It included short writings on topics like trigonometry (a type of math), astronomy, how to use astronomical tools, and even Kabbalah (a mystical part of Jewish tradition). It also discussed algebra, chemistry, and ideas from ancient doctors like Hippocrates.
- Chukkot Shamayim was a section within Ma'ayan Ganim that focused on astronomy.
- Gevurot Hashem was another writing about astronomy.
Joseph also wrote a book called Matzreif LaChachma (meaning "Refiner of Wisdom"). In this book, he defended Kabbalah, which his great-grandfather, Elia del Medigo, had criticized. Joseph admitted that when he was younger, he used to make fun of Kabbalah. But after meeting two wise philosophers, he changed his mind. They showed him how Kabbalah was similar to the ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, and this made him see it in a new light.
His Family Today
Some of Joseph Solomon Delmedigo's family members later moved to a country called Belarus. They took on the last name Gorodinsky. One of his descendants, Mordechai Gorodinsky, was one of the people who helped start the city of Rehovot in Israel.
See also
