Israel Ibn al-Naqawa

Israel Ibn al-Naqawa († 1391 ) from Toledo was a Jewish scholar of the 14th century. He committed suicide in the persecution of 1391.

The lesser known version (of which there are two versions that are unclear in their relationship to one another) of the text Menorat ha-Maor (“Candlestick of Light”), a presentation of Jewish ethics in 20 chapters, comes from him .

The script of the same name by Isaak Aboab , which became a real folk book, became much more widespread : after the seven-armed candlestick in the temple, divided into seven "candles", the book contains seven parts, first a representation of bad qualities (indulgence, sinful speech), then a positive one Description of the commandments, study of the Torah, penance, peacefulness and charity as well as modesty. How the middle light of the menorah represents the sun, the fourth chapter (about the study of the Torah) is the most important one, to which three others are symmetrically assigned.

literature

• Angel Sáenz-Badillos; Judit Targarona Borrás: Yiśra'el ben Yosef al-Naqawa. In: Diccionario de autores judios (Sefarad. Siglos X-XV). El Almendro, Córdoba 1988 (Estudios de Cultura Hebrea, Volume 10), p. 174. ISBN 84-86077-69-9 .