Don Isaac Abravanel

An Intellectual Biography

Cedric Cohen-Skalli

Don Isaac Abravanel

Cedric Cohen-Skalli

Distributed for Brandeis University Press

368 pages | 6 x 9
The Tauber Institute Series for the Study of European Jewry
Cloth $45.00 ISBN: 9781684580231 Published November 2020
E-book $39.95 ISBN: 9781684580248 Published November 2020

Don Isaac Abravanel (1437–1508) was one of the great inventors of Jewish modernity. A merchant, banker, and court financier, a scholar versed in both Jewish and Christian writings, a preacher and exegete, a prominent political actor in royal entourages and Jewish communities, Abravanel was one of the greatest leaders and thinkers of Iberian Jewry in the aftermath of the expulsion of 1492. This book, the first new intellectual biography of Abravanel in twenty years, depicts his life in three cultural milieus—Portugal, Castile, and post-expulsion Italy—and analyzes his major literary accomplishments in each period. Abravanel was a traditionalist with innovative ideas, a man with one foot in the Middle Ages and the other in the Renaissance. An erudite scholar, author of a monumental exegetical opus that is still studied today, and an avid book collector, he was a transitional figure, defined by an age of contradictions. Yet, it is these very contradictions that make him such an important personality for understanding the dawn of Jewish modernity.

Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part 1: Don Isaac Abravanel in Portugal (1437-1483)
1. The Kingdom of Portugal and the Abravanel Family
2. Isaac Abravanel and Iberian Court Culture
3. Isaac Abravanel as a Jewish Leader in His Hebrew Epistles
4. Isaac Abravanel: Philosopher and Theologian
5. Don Isaac’s Fall from Grace in Portugal
Part 2: Don Isaac Abravanel in Castile (1483-1492)
6. Don Isaac Abravanel Immigrates to Castile
7. Isaac Abravanel’s Historical and Literary Approach to the Books of the Former Prophets
8. The Figure of the Leader in Abravanel’s Commentary on the Former Prophets
9. Don Isaac’s Republicanism
10. Success at the Courts of the Catholic Monarchs
Part 3: Don Isaac Abravanel in Italy (1492-1508)
11. Abravanel’s Arrival in Naples
12. Commentary on Kings as a Response to the Expulsion
13. Solomon: The Ideal King
14. The Temple: Construction, Glory, Destruction
15. The Military Crisis in Italy at the End of the Fifteenth Century
16. A Defense of Judaism in the Midst of the Storm
17. Messianism
18. The Last Years in Venice (1503–1508)
Afterword: Don Isaac Abravanel in the Twentieth Century
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Review Quotes
Nicholas Terpstra, University of Toronto, author of Religious Refugees in the Early Modern World
“This vibrant portrait of Isaac Abravanel departs from earlier biographies to locate him clearly in his own times and on his own terms: learned, eclectic, and deeply shaped by the Iberian expulsions and Italian sojourns. Adapting traditions to his times and position, he is pragmatic, paradoxical, and above all fully human.”
Moshe Idel, Emeritus Professor, The Hebrew University
“Cohen-Skalli’s study is an erudite and penetrating contribution to our understanding of one of the most original figures in Jewish history and thought."
Andrew Berns, University of South Carolina
“Cohen-Skalli’s elegant and comprehensive book about Isaac Abravanel— one of the most fascinating Jewish philosophers, exegetes, and political operatives in any period— represents a rare achievement: a work of history that is accessible to a broad audience yet does not sacrifice scholarly integrity. Highly recommended to anyone interested in Jewish thought of the Middle Ages and Early Modern period; the role of Jews in European politics; and the epochal story of the Sephardi diaspora.”
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