- Source: Moses ben Joseph ben Merwan ha-Levi
Moses ben" target="_blank">ben Joseph ben" target="_blank">ben Merwan ha-Levi (Also known as Moses Halavi or ha-Lawi or simply, Allawi) flourished about the mid-12th century and was a prominent Provençal rabbi, philosopher, and talmudist.
Biography
He was a nephew and pupil of Isaac ben" target="_blank">ben Merwan ha-Levi. His colleagues addressed him as "Great scholar, Nasi Rabbi Moses," and his ritual decisions and Talmudic comments are often quoted.
He directed the yeshiva at Narbonne, and several of his pupils subsequently achieved fame. Abraham ben" target="_blank">ben David and Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona were among his pupils. He was in continuous correspondence with his younger colleague Abraham ben" target="_blank">ben Isaac of Narbonne, the av bet din, who was his pupil and who, by preference, sought Moses' advice in difficult casuistic questions.
He was well regarded by several rabbis such as: Isaac Abarbanel, Hasdai Crescas, and Joseph Albo (all of whom quote him).
Jacob ben" target="_blank">ben Moses of Bagnols quotes a document relating to a divorce drawn up at Narbonne in 1134 and signed by the "great rabbi Moses ben" target="_blank">ben Joseph and by Eliezer ben" target="_blank">ben Zechariah." Gross identifies Moses ben" target="_blank">ben Joseph with Moses ben" target="_blank">ben Joseph ben" target="_blank">ben Merwan ha-Levi. If this identification is correct, Moses was one of the foremost cabalists of southern France, as Jacob's words in the passage cited indicate. However, Moses is not otherwise known as a mystic.
Works
Ma'amar Elohi: A treatise encompassing the motion of 'the outermost sphere', the Prime Mover or First Cause, and the intellect or the consciousness of God. Originally written in Judeo-Arabic in Seville. He relied exclusively on Islamic philosophers like al-Farabi and Averroes. Three manuscripts exist.
See also
Hachmei Provence
References
Henri Gross, Gallia Judaica, p. 413.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "MOSES ben" target="_blank">BEN JOSEPH ben" target="_blank">BEN MERWAN HA-LEVI". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.