Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman), Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman) poetry, Jewish, Jewish poetry, poetry, poetry, poetry Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman)
Spain (1194 - 1270) Timeline
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Poems by Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman)
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Moses ben Nachman (sometimes written Nahman/Nahmanides) lived in Spain in the 13th century, during the time when the Christian kingdoms were expanding and Muslim Spain was in retreat. He sometimes used the name Ramban (an acronym for Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman).

He was a physician and Torah scholar. As a younger man, he was fascinated by Kabbalah, which was emerging as a highly refined philosophical and mystical movement in Muslim-influenced Spain and nearby Cathar-influenced Provence.

While Catholic Christianity was reasserting itself on the Iberian Peninsula, it was not yet the brutal, xenophobic Christianity of the later Spanish Inquisition. Christian courts of Spain in this era aspired to the cultural richness once exhibited by the Cordoban Caliphate. This created an environment where Jews were often among the most respected scholars and translators, and, in some cases, even rose to high government office within both Muslim and Christian courts.

Rabbi Nachman himself became the highest Jewish religious authority in Spain at the time. Although Rabbi Nachman found favor with King James I of Spain, he later ran into conflict with the Pope and was forced to flee the country. He finally settled in Palestine and helped to found several important synagogues and religious schools in the area.

Poems by Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman)


Recommended Books: Nachmanides (Moses ben Nachman)

The Penguin Book of Hebrew Verse The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poetry from Muslim and Christian Spain, 950-1492 The Poetry of Kabbalah: Mystical Verse from the Jewish Tradition The Holy Letter: A Study in Jewish Sexual Morality The Theology of Nahmanides Systematically Presented
Ramban Nachmanides: Commentary on the Torah (5 Vol. Set)



Related Links

Nahmanides - Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahmanides
A good, detailed exploration of Nachmanides, his writings, philosophy and personal history.
Nachmanides