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moshe chafetz.



A BRIEF BIO





Moshe Chafetz (משה חפץ) was a late 17th century rabbinical scholar in Venice, Italy. Gershom Chafetz (גרשם חפץ) was his son, whose shortened life showed equal promise.


Moshe ben Gershom (1663-1711) (aka Moshe Chafetz, Moses Gentili), was a rabbinic scholar in Venice, Italy. Born in Trieste, raised in Venice, he lived as a private tutor teaching Talmud and Midrash. He wrote poetry, and dealt with philosophy, math, and natural sciences. (Other spellings: Moses ben Gershom, Chefetz, Hefez, Hefes, and many, many others.)


A member of the prominent Chafetz family (Gentili, in Italian) of Northern Italy, he was considered a child prodigy and studied under the renowned R. Solomon Nizza.


One of his poetic works, written at age 13, is in the Venice edition of the Bible (1675-78). The poet Yomtov Valcasson wrote a poem for Chafetz's wedding to Yvonah Karbonnah (Venice, 1682). Chafetz wrote a poem for Yehuda Volterra's wedding (1683).

  • Hanukkat haBayit (lit. Dedication of the Temple), details the construction of the Second Temple (Venice, 1696).
  • Melekhet Machashevet (Intentful Work), a homiletical-philosophical commentary on the Torah (Venice, 1710, with tables and a portrait of the author second edition, Koenigsbuerg, 1859, with supercommentary, Machashevet Choshev, by Judah Leib Jaffe).

His portrait in Melekhet Machashevet was the first author portrait ever published in a Hebrew book (first edition, 1710)


Gershom ben Moses (1683-1700) was Moshe Chafetz's son. Moshe published Gershom's Yad Charuzim, adding an introduction with Gershom's biography.

Based on dates in that biography: Born on Tuesday, the 11th of Adar, 5443 (March 9, 1683). He died on the fourth shabbat of Tevet (Tevet 25, 5460 or January 16, 1700) from plague (smallpox?) at age 16. (All sources say he was 17, but they subtracted the years and didn't account for the dates.)


Moshe Chafetz quotes some of Gershom's interpretation in Melekhet Machashevet.

  • Yad Charuzim (lit. Handbook of Rhymes), a Hebrew rhyme lexicon. (Venice, 1700 second edition, without appendix and eulogy, but additional notes by Simchah Calimani, Venice, 1738-45)
    • Twelve rules for Hebrew usage in poetry and rhyme scheme
    • Appendix with a poetic version of Rambam's enumeration of the 613 mitzvot
    • Eulogy by Solomon ben Isaac Nizza, Gershom's teacher (appendix)


ABOUT THE BOOKS





MELEKHET MACHASHEVET



PUBLISHED EDITIONS





First edition (Venice, 1710)

  • pub. Appresso Alvise Bragadin, per Giovanni de' Pauli Oversized volume (8.5"x14")
  • Includes table, portrait of Chafetz, and front drawing of Moses seemingly on Sinai. Handwritten text.
  • readable online – hebrewbooks.org

Second edition (Koenigsberg, 1859)

  • pub. Eliezer Lipman, on Tuesday, 13th of Adar, 5519 (February 17, 1859), per Yaacov Meklenberg's introduction
  • Includes supercommentary, Machashevet Choshev, by Judah Leib Jaffe.
  • Includes doctored portrait from first edition, excludes Moses drawing. Typeset, not handwritten.
  • Possible additional Koenigsberg edition, 1860, pub. Lipman (or here)

Third edition (Warsaw, 1914)

  • Includes Machashevet Choshev, omits portrait.
  • readable online – hebrewbooks.org

Fourth edition (Warsaw, 1929) pub. Avraham Kahana

  • pub. Avraham Kahana
  • No apparent differences from third edition.

Fifth edition (Jerusalem, 1964) pub. Le-hasig S. Shefer

  • pub. Le-hasig S. Shefer
  • Exact reprint of third edition, except title page edition information

Melekhet Machashevet is taught on occasion, and referenced in some sermons and commentary online (linked and quoted here, by parshah):



HANUkKAT HABAYIT



ONLY EDITION, VENICE 1696 (PUB. BRAGADINAH)





Hanukkat HaBayit (חנוכת הבית) (or Dedication of The House), by Moshe Chafetz, details the design of the Second Temple (Solomon's Temple) in Jerusalem, and its utensils including the Menorah.

  • 58 sections describe various parts of the Temple (Menorah, Altar, Holy of Holies, the Gates, etc.), in alphabetical order
  • 19 diagrams, including a (now rare) foldout plan diagram indicating each of the 58 sections
  • JTS library has a 1691 author's manuscript, handwritten, with many corrections used in print edition, earlier versions of drawings, the main drawing small on a page near the front, many slips of paper with notes throughout, no glossary
  • 52 pages (each represents two facing pages) plus introduction and glossary
  • The introduction, by Chafetz, includes pages of verse in praise of the work from five Italian rabbis
  • After the index is verse from R. Moses Marri
  • readable online – hebrewbooks.org

Virtual Judaica describes the book, including:

'The title page states that [it] is an explanation of the shape and structure of the destroyed Temple (bayit), in general and in its specifications, as set forth by early sages, to accumulate "food to revive the soul" (Lamentations 1:11) for those "who sanctify themselves and purify themselves" (Isaiah 66:17) on the topics requiring explanation, and it will be "for them a little sanctuary" (Ezekiel 11:16) "to revive their souls" (Lamentations 1:19).'


Online Citations


Overviewed in Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress: Holy Jerusalem
Describes the book, including that all illustrations are engraved illustrations added after publication. (Since there's space for them, and the author's manuscript includes drafts of them, this seems by design and not a later notion.) Includes graphic of the book's pullout map of the Temple
One of our copies is missing one of the illustrations, reinforcing that they were added separately.


Mentioned in Introduction to the Beis Ha'Mikdash (Dafyomi)
Discussion of several scholars' Temple diagrams Chafetz's listed as "CHB2." Several discussions of differences between CHB2 and other diagrams.



YAD CHARUZIM



GERSHOM'S BOOK, PUBLISHED POSTHUMOUSLY





Yad Charuzim (יד חרוזים) (or Handbook of Rhymes), by Gershom Chafetz, is a Hebrew rhyme lexicon.


First edition (Venice, 1700)

  • Readable online - hebrewbooks.org here and here
  • Published by Moshe Chafetz after Gershom's death at age 17
  • Twelve rules for Hebrew usage in poetry and rhyme scheme
  • Introduction, by Moshe Chafetz, with Gershom's biography
  • (first edition only JTS Library copy doesn't have intro three other scanned copies have it)
  • Appendix with a poetic version of Rambam's enumeration of the 613 mitzvot (first edition only)
  • Eulogy by Solomon ben Isaac Nizza, Gershom's teacher (appendix, first edition only)
  • 72 pages (each represents two facing pages) plus the Rambam's 613 appendix

Second edition (Venice, 1740)

  • Readable online - hebrewbooks.org
  • Without appendix and eulogy, with additional notes by Simchah Calimani which appear to be additional word entries scattered throughout.


Online Citation


The Jewish Quarterly Review, Volume 1 (1910? 1941?)
From Chapter III - Poets of the Seventeenth Century (p.370)
"The scope of Hebrew poetry has also enlarged. While we find... at the end of the century the brilliant young son of Moses b. Gerson, Gentile (Hefez) (1663-1711) Gerson, who died in 1700 at the age of seventeen, busying himself with giving poetic form to the 613 Commandments (Shir Le-Taryag Mizwot), the theme of the poets of this period bears a closer relation to life, and its tone is more worldly. Even Gerson Hefez shows in his Yad Haruzim (Venice 1700) which is a dictionary of rimes, a fine appreciation of poetry and poetic forms, and the octave he quotes from his father is elegant and finished... The bulk of the poetry of the seventeenth century is philosophical, didactic, and polemic rather than religious. True poetic feeling is beginning to manifest itself."



ABOUT THE MEN





Moshe chafetz



Moshe ben Gershom (1663-1711)





Beyond the biography above, here are interesting anomalies about R. Chafetz's life.

Date of Death

Different sources claim slightly different dates:

The 30th of Cheshvan date seems most reliably documented. The other two dates are "normal dates" that occur each year, so both deviations are understandable. It's like having a birthday on February 29th.


Other Biographical Information

  • Bio in Toldot Gedolei Yisroel
    Near-page biography in this "Annals of Great Minds of Israel in Italy" (Trieste, 1853). Page 239. The apparent origin of many sources' Chafetz bios.
  • Tovushi-Light (The Light of Torah), the Kavkazi Jewish Youth Magazine provides a biography and book descriptions.

No Beard, No Kippah, No Problem

Contrary to modern expectations of 1700s Northern Italy, one could be accepted as a pious Jew, or even eminent rabbi, with a shaved face, long hair, and without a kippah.
However, the publisher of M''M's second edition in 1859 didn't realize this. He took literally the first edition portrait's caption "I am 100 years old today" instead of using gematriah to identify R. Chafetz's pun – gematriah for 46 spells the Hebrew word for 100. So, the publisher greyed R. Chafetz's hair and drew on a kippah – and "explained" how the first edition must have erred.



gershom chafetz



Gershom ben Moshe (1683-1700)





Gershom Chafetz, son of R. Moshe Chafetz, was considered a prodigy who seemed destined to take his place among the generations of rabbinic scholars in his family. He tragically died from plague at age 16, however, in 1700.


R. Chafetz published his son's book about Hebrew poetry, Yad Charuzim, posthumously, later in 1700. R. Chafetz added an introduction with Gershom's biography. While most references say Gershom died at 17, based on dates in this biography he was born on Tuesday, the 11th of Adar, 5443 (March 9, 1683). He died on the fourth shabbat of Tevet (Tevet 25, 5460 or January 16, 1700) from plague (smallpox?). This means he was still 16, and other sources saying he was 17 indicates they subtracted the years and didn't account for the actual dates.


Other Biographical Information

  • Bio in Toldot Gedolei Yisroel
    Biography in this "Annals of Great Minds of Israel in Italy" (Trieste, 1853). Page 70. The apparent origin of many sources' Chafetz bios.
  • Tovushi-Light (The Light of Torah), the Kavkazi Jewish Youth Magazine provides a biography and book description.


Online Citations/References


The Jewish Quarterly Review, Volume 1 (1910? 1941?)

From Chapter III - Poets of the Seventeenth Century (p.370)

"The scope of Hebrew poetry has also enlarged. While we find... at the end of the century the brilliant young son of Moses b. Gerson, Gentile (Hefez) (1663-1711) Gerson, who died in 1700 at the age of seventeen, busying himself with giving poetic form to the 613 Commandments (Shir Le-Taryag Mizwot), the theme of the poets of this period bears a closer relation to life, and its tone is more worldly. Even Gerson Hefez shows in his Yad Haruzim (Venice 1700) which is a dictionary of rimes, a fine appreciation of poetry and poetic forms, and the octave he quotes from his father is elegant and finished... The bulk of the poetry of the seventeenth century is philosophical, didactic, and polemic rather than religious. True poetic feeling is beginning to manifest itself."



interesting information





interesting information



More Melekhet Machashevet





Author's portrait a first for Hebrew books
From Encyclopedia Judaica, Second Edition, Volume 4, p. 75 (under "Books"): "Portraits of an author occasionally appear in Hebrew books printed in Holland and Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries for example... Moses Hefez (Gentili) in his Melekhet Mahashevet (Venice, 1701). (sic)"

Why include an author's portrait?
This is the first Hebrew book printed with an author's portrait, ever. It was "quite normal for authors' portraits to be included in books published in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries" (see Planets, Potions, and Parchments: Scientifica Hebraica from the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Eighteenth Century).

Was Moshe Chafetz really 100 when this book first printed?
No. Very common mistake. The frontispiece says "meah" ("I am meah years old today") which literally means 100, but in Gematriah (Hebrew numerology) adds up to 46, his age in 1710. The frontispiece inscription is misleading. In fact, the second edition printers were fooled: It wasn't only the printers in Warsaw that saw R. Moshe Hefez Gentili as a 100 year old author

1819 Italian Hebrew writers review mention.
A description of Italian Hebrew writers from a review of Della illustrazione delle lingue antiche (readable online, p. 216 of PDF file, numbered 49 top-right) by Cesare Lucchesini (1819), in an 1828 edition of The Monthly Review, mentions "the Philological Commentary on the Pentateuch, by Moses Chefetz, of Trieste, who began printing it when he was a hundred years of age, and which contains dissertations on God's attributes, on angels, on the human soul, free-will, on the punishments and rewards of a future life, and on the souls of animals." (from It wasn't only the printers in Warsaw that saw R. Moshe Hefez Gentili as a 100 year old author)

1800 Hebrew authors reference mention.
Giovanni Bernardo de Rossi's Dizionario storico degli autoi ebrei e delle loro opere (1800) also mentions the book, stating the incorrect 100 year age, too: Additions to the Chefetz-Gentili post

More word games - Machashevet a word and acronym? (1710 Italian literary journal mention)
An Italian literary journal from 1710 mentions the new book, and notes that Machashevet is itself an acronym as well as a literal word: (Moshe Chefetz Shocheyn Ben-Ir Trieste) (from Additions to the Chefetz-Gentili post).

Another description of the book
Hebrew Bible Exegesis in #19, Sixteenth Century to Middle of Eighteenth Century: "Commentaries were written in Italy by... and Moses hefeZ (Gentile), whose interesting Pentateuch commentary draws also upon the principles of secular science."

Another description of the book, including the age error
Monthly Review (from May to August inclusive, 1828 London) about Della illustrazione delle lingue antiche e moderne, e Orientali... by Di Cesare Lucchesini. (Lucca. 1827) p. 368, under "Italian Writers on Languages," says "Lucchesini afterwards notices the works of several learned Italian Jews... the Philological Commentary on the Pentateuch, by Moses Chafetz, of Trieste, who began printing it when he was a hundred years of age, and which contains dissertations on God's attributes, on angels, on the human soul, free-will, on the punishments and rewards of a future life, and on the souls of animals."

Historical context for the book
Jewish Virtual Library says, "The 16th to the 18th centuries are characterized by an almost complete neglect of the study of the Bible as such. Talmud and Kabbalah became almost the sole subjects of study. Only in Italy was the study of the Bible as such pursued, and it produced such epoch-making works as... the commentaries of... Moses Hefez (*Gentili).

Reference to the book
A History of Jewish Literature (vol. 12): Hasidism and Enlightenment (1780-1820) says "He (Moses Leib Lilienblum) read Moses Hefetz's Melechet Mahashevet (commentary on the Torah), and in it became aware that this great man in Israel in no way believed that there are demons in the world." (p.211)



TIMELINE



Major Events





1663 - Moshe Chafetz born in Trieste (raised in Venice)
1675-1678 - One of Moshe's poetic works, written at age 13, is in the Venice edition of the Bible
1682 - Poet Yomtov Valcasson wrote a poem for Moshe Chafetz's wedding to Yvonah Karbonnah, in Venice, Italy
1683 - Gershom Chafetz born on Tuesday, 11th of Adar (March 9th)
1696 - Moshe Chafetz publishes Hanukkat HaBayit in Venice
1699 - a great plague in Venice 1700 - Gershom Chafetz dies of plague, fourth shabbat of Tevet (the 25th) (January 25th)
1700 - Moshe Chafetz posthumously publishes Gershom's Yad Charuzim in Venice
1710 - Moshe Chafetz publishes Melechet Machashevet in Venice
1711 - Moshe Chafetz dies, 30th of Cheshvan (November 12)
1737 - Venice Jewish community declares bankruptcy
1740 - Yad Charuzim second edition published in Venice
1766 - Venice Jewish population down to 1,700 (from 4,800 in 1655) because many prominent families left for port cities (citation)

1766 - Several Jewish exoduses to other Italian cities or elsewhere in Europe
1817 - Koenigsberg Jewish population reaches 1,027 (from 307 in 1756)
1859 - Melechet Machashevet second edition published in the port city of Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad)
1914, 1929 - New editions of Melechet Machashevet published in Warsaw (~170 miles south of Koenigsberg, modern Kaliningrad, Russia)








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