Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera facts for kids

Shem-Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, also known as Palquera (Hebrew: שם טוב בן יוסef אבן פלקירה‎; born 1225 – died around 1290), was a smart Jewish thinker, poet, and writer. He created a huge amount of work. This included books that explained Arabic and Greek ideas, special poems called maqamas, about 20,000 lines of poetry, and notes on Maimonides’ famous book, Guide to the Perplexed.

A main idea in Falaquera’s writing was to encourage Jewish people to study philosophy. He wanted them to see how the Torah (Jewish law) and the truths from philosophy fit together. Falaquera believed that these deep ideas should be taught to more educated Jewish men. He thought this was important, even if he didn't want everyone to learn the deepest secrets of science and divine knowledge.

Biography

We don't know much about Falaquera's personal life. However, people think his book Sefer ha-Mevakkesh (The Book of the Seeker) was partly about his own life. It might show a time when he had a big change in his life. He moved from writing poetry when he was young to more serious, intellectual works.

From this book and others, it seems Falaquera never got married. This is because of his ideas about women. We also don't know how he earned money. But he wrote about being poor in Sefer ha-Mevakkesh and other works. This might mean he was poor himself.

Falaquera also wrote about the hard times between Jewish people and other groups. In one of his writings, he mentioned "difficult times under the strong hand of the non-Jewish nations who won against us."

Some historians say Falaquera wasn't very original. But Falaquera himself wouldn't have minded this. He saw his job as making older philosophical ideas clear and easy to understand. He wanted to teach these ideas to more educated Jewish people.

To do this, Falaquera translated and put together many Greek and Arabic philosophy texts into Hebrew. He didn't just copy them. He would rephrase, edit, and add comments from other writers. This made the texts easier for observant and educated Jewish people to read.

There was a big debate between David Kimhi (who supported Maimonides) and Judah Alfakhar (who was against Maimonides). This inspired Falaquera to write Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah (The Epistle of the Debate). He wrote it to argue against people who didn't like rational thinking. He wanted to convince them that studying philosophy and science was valuable. However, this goal wasn't fully met, as arguments about Maimonides and rational studies continued.

In Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, Falaquera described a talk between two Jewish men. One was very traditional (the pietist), and the other was educated in philosophy (the scholar). During their talk, the scholar showed that many parts of philosophy do not go against the Torah. In fact, they can help you understand the Torah better. The scholar also showed that educated Jews should study philosophy. They would know which teachings to ignore and which to use to improve their understanding.

Falaquera also wrote one of the first explanations of Maimonides’ Guide to the Perplexed. He wanted to make clear parts that he felt people were misunderstanding. Maimonides had actually asked readers not to comment on his work. But Falaquera used his wide knowledge to both support and disagree with Maimonides’ teachings. Falaquera's own ideas are often found in this commentary, which is rare in his other works.

Works

Falaquera wrote many important books and essays. Here are some of them:

• Iggeret Hanhagat ha-Guf we ha-Nefesh: This is a poem about how to control your body and soul.
• Ẓeri ha-Yagon: This book is about being strong and accepting things when bad luck happens. It was printed in Cremona in 1550.
• Iggeret ha-Wikkuaḥ: This is a conversation between a traditional Jew and a philosopher. They talk about how philosophy and religion can work together. It tries to show that both the Bible and the Talmud agree with philosophy. It was printed in Prague in 1810.
• Reshit Ḥokhmah: This book talks about good behavior and the importance of studying philosophy. In it, Shem-Ṭob discusses the ideas of Aristotle and Plato. This book and the one before it were translated into Latin.
• Sefer ha-Ma'alot: This book is about the different levels of human perfection. It was edited by L. Venetianer in 1891.
• Ha-Mebaḳḳesh: This book looks at human knowledge. It's written as a conversation with rhymes and some poetry. It's a new version of Reshit Ḥokmah. It was printed in Amsterdam in 1779.
• Sefer ha-Nefesh: This book is about the mind and soul, following the ideas of Arabian thinkers, especially Avicenna. It was inspired by Tagmulé ha-Nefesh by Hillel of Verona. It was printed in Brody in 1835.
• Moreh ha-Moreh: This is a commentary on the philosophical parts of Maimonides' Moreh Nebukim (Guide to the Perplexed). It also has an extra section with corrections to the Hebrew translation by Samuel ibn Tibbon. It was printed in Presburg in 1837.
• Letter defending the Moreh Nebukim: This letter was written to defend Maimonides' book, which some French rabbis had criticized. It was published in the Minḥat Ḳena'ot. It was printed in Presburg in 1838.
• Extracts from Ibn Gabirol's Meḳor Ḥayyim: These were published by Solomon Munk in his Mélanges de Philosophie Juive et Arabe. This was in Paris in 1859.
• De'ot ha-Filusufim: This book contains Aristotle's Physics and Metaphysics as explained by Ibn Roshd.
• Iggeret ha-Musar: This is a collection of wise sayings about ethics.
• Megillat ha-Zikkaron: This was a history book, but it no longer exists. It is mentioned in Ha-Mebaḳḳesh.
• Iggeret ha-Ḥalom: This is a book about dreams. It is mentioned in Moreh ha-Moreh, chapter 19, page 131.

See also

In Spanish: Sem Tob ibn Falaquera para niños