NAHMANIDES (Moses b. Nahman , also known as Nahamani and RaMBaN —an acronym of Rabbi Moses ben Nahman; 1194–1270), Spanish rabbi and scholar and one of the leading authors of talmudic literature in the Middle Ages; philosopher, kabbalist, biblical exegete, poet, and physician. Nahmanides was born in Gerona, Catalonia, and it was after his native town that he was also referred to as Rabbenu Moses Gerondi or Yerondi…. His teachers included Judah b. Yakar, a disciple of Isaac b. Abraham of Dampierre, who established his yeshivah in Barcelona, and Meir b. Isaac of Trinquetaille. From the first, he received the tradition of the tosafists of northern France, while from the second he learned the methods of study employed in the yeshivot of Provence. He maintained close contact with Meir b. Todros ha-Levi Abulafia of Toledo who replied to his queries, and even more so with his cousin, Jonah b. Abraham of Gerona. His colleagues also included Samuel b. Isaac Sardi, to whom he sent the largest number of his responsa, as well as Isaac b. Abraham of Narbonne. The responsa of Solomon b. Abraham Adret (part 1, 120, 167) relate that Nahmanides earned his livelihood as a physician. Even though there is no information available on Nahmanides' yeshivah in Gerona, there is no doubt that it existed. His disciples included the leading halakhists of the following generation, such as Solomon b. Abraham Adret, Aaron b. Joseph ha-Levi, David Bonafed, Jonah b. Joseph, Nahmanides' cousin, and many others. There is reason to believe that after the death of Jonah b. Abraham Gerondi in 1264, Nahmanides acted as chief rabbi of Catalonia until his emigration to Erez Israel. The Spanish rabbis of subsequent generations regarded him as their great teacher and referred to him as ha-rav ha-ne'eman ("the trustworthy rabbi"). In his Nomologia, Immanuel Aboab states that throughout Spain it was the custom to refer to him simply as "the rabbi" or "the teacher".…

He exercised extensive influence over Jewish public life in Catalonia; even King James I (1213–1276) consulted him and in 1232, on the strength of Nahmanides' opinion, rejected the claims of the Alconstantini family to the position of dayyan [judge] over all the Jews of the kingdom. In 1263 King James coerced him into a public disputuation in Barcelona with the apostate Pablo Christiani. The disputation, which was held in July in the presence of the king and the leaders of the Dominicans and the Franciscans, was a victory for Nahmanides, the king even presenting him with 300 dinars in appreciation of the manner in which he had stated his arguments…. At the request of the bishop of Gerona, Nahmanides summarized his views in a book, apparently the Sefer ha-Vikku'ah, which is still extant. The Dominicans, who had initiated the disputation, did not remain inactive, and in April 1265 they called Nahmanides to trial for his supposed abuses against Christianity. Before the tribunal Nahmanides stated that his words had been spoken during the disputation after the king had promised him freedom of speech, and that he had written his work at the request of the bishop. The king thereupon succeeded in extricating Nahmanides from the complications of the trial, which was postponed for an indefinite period. Dissatisfied, the Dominicans sought the aid of Pope Clement IV, who sent a letter to the king of Aragon requesting him to penalize Nahmanides for writing the above work. Nahmanides barely succeeded in escaping from Spain and during the same year emigrated to Erez Israel.

A prayer in the spirit of the Psalms, which Nahmanides composed at sea while on his way to Erez Israel, has been preserved. He arrived in Acre during the summer of 1267 and on 9 Elul [Hebrew month of late summer] of that year he went to Jerusalem. In a letter to his son Nahman, he described the ruined state of the city seven years after the invasion of the Tatar hordes. He found few Jews, "only two brothers, dyers who bought their dye from the governor and were joined by up to ten Jews in their home on Sabbaths for prayers." On his arrival in the town he organized the remnants of the Jewish community and erected a synagogue in a derelict house; it appears that he also founded a yeshivah. Reports of his activities circulated rapidly; many Jews streamed into Jerusalem. In 1268 Nahmanides moved to Acre, where he became the spiritual leader of the Jewish community, in succession to Jehiel b. Joseph of Paris. From this period a sermon which he delivered in the synagogue on Rosh Ha-Shanah in 1269 has been preserved. The site of his tomb has not been ascertained; some believe that he was buried at the foot of Mount Carmel; others that he was buried in Haifa, beside the tomb of Jehiel b. Joseph of Paris; while others say that he was interred in Acre. There is also a tradition that he was buried in Jerusalem, under the slope of the montain near the village of Silwan, and another that his tomb is in Hebron. [Efraim Gottlieb in Encyclopedia Judaica]

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