Joseph Escapa

Joseph Escapa (c. 1572–1662) served in the rabbinate of İzmir. He was probably born at Skopje, European Turkey, after which he is named.

Biography

At first rabbi and chief of the yeshivah at Thessaloniki, he later filled the same offices at İzmir, where at the beginning he shared the rabbinate with Joshua Ashkenazi Azariah. When differences of opinion arose between them in regard to matters of ritual, they appealed to the rabbis of Thessaloniki for arbitration. After his colleague's death, Escapa remained sole rabbi of İzmir until the end of his life. David Conforte says he saw Escapa when the latter was about one hundred years old.

Escapa was known for having been the teacher of Ḥayyim Shabbethai and Shabbetai Tzvi, whom later he excommunicated. Escapa wrote an important work called Rosh Yosef, a detailed commentary and novellæ on the Arba'ah Turim of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher. Part one, which has been published, contains a portion of the Ṭur Oraḥ Ḥayyim (İzmir, 1658); part two, on Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ, has been published up to ch. 76 (İzmir, 1659). He also wrote responsa; some were published under the title of Teshubot Rosh Yosef (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1709).

gollark: "Ahahahaha I'll just add a boss which INSTANTLY KILLS YOU but then make my armor protect from that"
gollark: It's just stupid oneupmanship.
gollark: Yes, a bad one.
gollark: ```Draconic evolution v3.1- NuclearCraft integration: - If a NuclearCraft reactor is within 30 blocks of a Draconic Reactor the NuclearCraft reactor will meltdown due to the sheer amazingness of Draconic reactors - Draconic weapons also produce radiation if enabled```
gollark: I have a problem with the main mechanics too, actually.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Escapa, Joseph ben Saul". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Its bibliography:

  • Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, i.76;
  • David Conforte, Kore ha-Dorot, ed. Cassel, p. 46a, Berlin, 1846;
  • Moritz Steinschneider, Jewish Literature, p. 216;
  • idem, Cat. Bodl. col. 1458;
  • Joseph Zedner, Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus. p. 350;
  • Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. 3d ed., x.187, 190.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.