Moses ben Joseph di Trani (the Elder)

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Moses ben Joseph di Trani (the Elder) (Hebrew: משה מטראני) called מבי"ט or Mabit; Talmudist; born at Salonica 1505; died in Jerusalem 1585. His father had fled to Salonica from Apulia three years prior to his birth. While still a boy Moses was sent to Adrianople to pursue the study of the Talmud under the supervision of his uncle Aaron. At the age of sixteen he went to Safed and completed his studies under Jacob Berab. In 1525 he was appointed rabbi at Safed; he held this office until 1535, when he removed to Jerusalem.

Moses di Trani was the author of: Ḳiryat Sefer (Venice, 1551), a commentary on the Bible, the Talmud, and difficult passages in the commentaries of Maimonides; Sefer ha-Teḥiyyah weha-Pedut (Mantua, 1556; Wilna, 1799; Sudzilkov, 1834; Warsaw, 1841), a commentary and notes on ch. vii and viii of Saadia Gaon's Emunot we-Deot; Bet Elohim (Venice, 1576), a moral and philosophical work on prayer, atonement, and the fundamental principles of faith; and She'elot u-Teshubot (vol. i, ib. 1629; vol. ii, ib. 1630), a collection of 841 responsa, with an index.

[edit] References

• This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.