Creator Bio
Joseph Ibn Abītūr
ca. 940-after 1024
Joseph ben Isaac Ibn Abītūr, sometimes known as Ibn Shaṭnash, was a prominent Spanish poet active during the period of the great Jewish courtier Ḥasday Ibn Shaprūṭ (ca. 915–ca. 970). Unlike Ibn Shaprūṭ and his circle, Ibn Abītūr was apparently more loyal to eastern modes of writing and thinking than to the emerging Andalusi traditions. Abraham ibn Dā’ūd (ca. 1110–ca. 1180) recounted that Ibn Abītūr interpreted the entire Babylonian Talmud in Arabic for the Muslim ruler. Ibn Dā’ūd further wrote that, following a leadership dispute in Spain, Ibn Abītūr was placed under a ban of excommunication and traveled to the East, where he sought to enlist some support. Ibn Abītūr was a prolific poet; more than four hundred of his poems survive.
Content by Joseph Ibn Abītūr
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Cry, my brethren
Cry, my brethren, and mourn for Zion and its many people,like the mourning for Hadadrimon or Josiah son of Amon.Cry, O dainty soft people, who now walk barefoot and tread on thorns,who draw water for…
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Let Aaron kindle it
Let Aaron kindle it,and count seven lamps, opposite the ark of the covenant.Oil of the first pressing and not of the last— In front of the Lord, as a memorial.If [the priests], who pour oil on their…
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Those who say father, son, and spirit
Those who say: Father and Son and Spirit, the thirdThose who gather on Sunday and also observe FridayThose who create a form of clay to worshipThose who are gathered to replace dignity by ignominyThos…
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Responsum: On Levirate Marriage
Question: We have heard that a sister-in-law who falls before an apostate is not permitted to [re-]marry unless he [i.e., her brother-in-law] performs ḥalitsah for her, as he remains sanctified [i.e…