Judah ben Eliezer ha-Levi Minz

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Judah ben Eliezer ha-Levi Minz (ca. 1408-1508) was an Italian rabbi, the most prominent of his time. He officiated as rabbi of Padua for forty-seven years, during which time he had a great number of pupils, among whom were his son Abraham Minz and the latter's son-in-law Meir Katzenellenbogen. In a quarrel he had with Elijah Delmedigo he was supported by Elijah Mizrahi (comp. Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Maẓref la-Ḥokmah, p. 3b; idem, Elim, p. 29; Mizraḥi, Responsa, No. 56).

It appears from Solomon Luria's responsa (No. 6) that Minz was the author of a number of ordinances ("taḳḳanot") at Padua. According to Ghirondi, he was professor of philosophy at the University of Padua. Ghirondi further states that in recognition of Minz's services as professor the authorities of the university placed his portrait, with an appreciative inscription, in the hall of the university, over the staircase. But it is very likely that Ghirondi confounded Minz with Elijah Delmedigo or Abraham de Balmes, both of whom lectured on philosophy before Christian audiences. In the sack of Padua soon after Minz's death almost all of his writings were destroyed. Joseph ben Abraham Minz, his grandson, discovered sixteen of his responsa, and these were published (Venice, 1553) by Meïr Katzenellenbogen, who printed in the same volume his own responsa and the Seder Giṭṭin wa-Ḥaliẓah of Abraham Minz. These responsa have been edited, and supplemented with an extended commentary and preface, by Johanan ben Moses Preschel (Munkacs, 1898). Judah's responsa, though scanty, afford interesting information on the history of his age and on Jewish customs in Padua. He died at Padua in 1508.