Abraham Yagel
A northern Italian physician and intellectual highly regarded by contemporaries for his knowledge of medicine, natural philosophy, astronomy, astrology, and kabbalah, Abraham Yagel also had a career in banking. In his writings, Yagel incorporated some of the intellectual currents and genres of non-Jewish late-Renaissance literature alongside traditional Jewish sources. Ge’ ḥizayon (Valley of Vision), an early work, explores a variety of themes, including the unity of Jewish and scientific truths within the framing narrative of a nighttime visit from Yagel’s deceased father. Yagel also wrote Moshia‘ ḥosim (Savior of Those Who Take Refuge) in 1587, addressing an outbreak of plague, as well as a few encyclopedic scientific volumes.