Joseph ibn Abitur facts for kids

Joseph ibn Abitur was a famous Jewish scholar and poet who lived in Spain around the 10th century. He was a student of a very important teacher named Moses ben Hanoch.

Joseph ibn Abitur came from a well-known family in the city of Mérida. His family had many important leaders and scholars. Besides being a great expert on the Torah (Jewish holy texts), Abitur was also a talented paytan, which means he wrote religious poems. He also wrote a book explaining parts of the Bible in Hebrew.

When his teacher's son, Hanoch, was chosen to take over his father's role, Abitur decided to leave Spain. He traveled to important Jewish schools, called Yeshivas, in a place called Babel. On his journey, he visited Egypt before reaching Baghdad. Later, he moved to Damascus, where he passed away. He wrote many answers to religious questions, called Teshuvas, and some of these writings still exist today.

His Work in Egypt

According to an old history book called Sefer ha-Qabbalah, Joseph ibn Abitur spent some time in Egypt. While there, he translated the Talmud (a collection of Jewish laws and traditions) into Arabic. He did this for the ruler of Egypt at the time, a Caliph named al-Hakim bi-Amr Llah.

His Poems

Joseph ibn Abitur wrote more than a thousand poems, but most of them have not been published yet. In 2021, a scholar named Dr. Yehoshua Granat published a book about Abitur's poems. This book included 34 of his poetic works, some of which are very long. This was just a small start to sharing all of Abitur's amazing poetry with the world.

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See also

In Spanish: Yosef ben Abitur para niños