JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

empereur de Byzance, et la civilisation byzantine à la fin du IX siècle
(1908); Neubauer, Chronicles, 2 (1895), 111–24.
[Andrew Sharf]
BASILEA, SOLOMON AVIAD SAR-SHALOM (c. 1680–
1749), rabbi and kabbalist in Mantua, Italy. Solomon received
instruction from the most learned scholars in the city, including
his father, Menahem Samson Basilea, Judah b. Eliezer *Briel
(Bariel), Moses *Zacuto, and *Benjamin b. Eliezer Ha-Kohen
Vitale of Reggio. He also studied geometry and astronomy.
Solomon became rabbi of Mantua in 1729. At the age of 44 he
began a methodical study of Kabbalah according to the system
of Isaac *Luria. In 1733 he was accused by the Inquisition
of having mocked Catholicism and of retaining unexpurgated
Hebrew works, and was imprisoned for a year. He was subsequently
confined to his house and finally to the ghetto. He
courageously supported Moses Ḥayyim *Luzzatto against his
accusers in the controversy over the latter’s kabbalistic practices.
Solomon Basilea’s main work Emunat Ḥakhamim (Mantua,
1730) was intended to emphasize the continuity in Jewish
tradition of the mystic significance of the Torah and the error
of scholars opposing that interpretation. To support his thesis,
Solomon reviewed not only the whole of Hebrew literature but
also Greek, Arabic, and Renaissance philosophy. Basilea did not
believe that the Zohar was written by Simeon b. Yoḥai, but that
it nevertheless contained his esoteric doctrines as handed down
to his disciples. Basilea also rejected the views which ascribed
the authorship of the Zohar to *Moses b. Shem Tov de Leon.
The book was very well received by the kabbalists, but opponents
of the Kabbalah were critical of it. Jacob *Emden wrote
a refutation of the Emunat Ḥakhamim in Mitpaḥat Sefarim, 2
(1768). Some rabbinical decisions of Solomon Basilea are included
in the collections of his fellow student Isaac *Lampronti
and others. He also wrote on the calendar and a commentary
on Euclid’s Elements as well as notes on the 1715 edition of
Tofteh Arukh by Moses Zacuto. In his collections, he includes
the responsa of his father MENAHEM SAMSON BEN SOLOMON
(d. 1693), rabbi in Alessandria and from 1630 in Mantua. Menahem’s
responsa also appear in collections of his contemporaries,
Moses Zacuto and Nethanel b. Aaron *Segrè.
Bibliography: Ghirondi-Neppi, 36–39; S. Wiener, Mazkeret
Rabbanei Italyah (1898), 37–40 (third pagination); Milano, Italia,
667; M. Mortara, Catalogo dei manoscritti ebraici … di Mantova
(1878), 45–47; S. Simonsohn, Toledot ha-Yehudim be-Dukkasut Mantovah
(1964), index.
[Attilio Milano]
BASILICA (Greek βασιλική, talmudic יקִ ְליסִ ּב), ָ elongated rectangular
building divided by colonnades. During the Roman
period this term was broadened from the narrow meaning of a
meeting place for merchants to any assembly hall. In particular
the term referred to a hall used in the philosophers’ schools
and in wealthy homes for reading and lectures. In these basilicas,
the apse was the area set aside for the lecturer or teacher.
The entire hall was oriented toward the podium set in the
apse, which had a concave roof serving as an acoustical ceil-
basilica
ing. This type of basilica was the prototype for the early synagogues
and churches. Talmudic sources refer to three types of
basilicas, which served as palaces, bathhouses, and treasuries
(Av. Zar. 16b). They note that the basilica also served as a hall
of justice (Gen. R. 68:12) and as a place for the sale of grain
(as in Ashkelon, Tosef. to Oho. 18 end).
An early example of the basilica construction is found in
the “Royal Stoa” which Josephus (Ant., 15:411–416) describes
as having been erected along the southern wall of the Temple
Mount by Herod when he had the Temple rebuilt. This basilica
had four rows of pillars each 23 ft. (7 m.) high. According
to Josephus, its length was one stadion (606 ft. (185 m.)), but
it appears to have been longer – about 920 ft. (280 m.). The
central hall was 30 cubits wide and 60 cubits high. The width
of the side aisles was 20 cubits, and the height, 30 cubits, giving
the structure a true basilical form. Two partially carved
stone pillars have been found in Jerusalem which by their size
indicate that they were destined for this basilica. However,
they were cracked and therefore not used. It is possible that
Herod modeled his stoa after the Great Synagogue in Alexandria
which has been described as “a kind of basilica with a stoa
within a stoa” (Tosef. to Suk. 4:6). Conceivably this expression
refers to the central area which was constructed between
two colonnades. Another interpretation is that this refers to
an additional stoa which extended the width of the hall. Such
construction was typical of the early synago-gues, remains of
which have been found at Masada and in Galilee.
The Christians adopted the western form of basilica, and
most of the early churches (fourth–sixth centuries) were built
on that model, although the term “basilica” was no longer
in common usage. In the early Christian basilicas, the apse
served as the seat of the priests. The altar was set before it,
and this part of the building was separated from the remainder
by a grille which crossed the width of the church. Two
or more rows of columns extended the length of the building,
separating the main hall in the center from the narrower
aisles at either side.
The first churches in Palestine and elsewhere, e.g., the
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem and the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, were built according to this design.
In the fifth century a vestibule (narthex) was added to
the front facade of the basilica churches.
Basilicas were also used for secular purposes in the Jewish
community in Palestine. One structure of this nature
(135 × 49 ft. (40 × 15 m.)) was found in Bet She’arim. It consists
of an enclosed paved court, a vestibule, and a basilica with two
rows of five columns each. At the far end of the building, opposite
the entry, is a low platform. It would appear that this
was a hall of justice in the time of R. Judah ha-Nasi.
Bibliography: C.M. Kaufmann, Handbuch der christlichen
Archaeologie (1913); R. Cagnat and V. Chapot, Manuel d’archéologie
romaine, 1 (1916), 128–34; H. Kohl und C. Watzinger, Antike Synagogen
in Galilea (1916); S. Krauss, Synagogale Altertuemer (1922), 32–102;
E.L. Sukenik, Ancient Synagogues in Palestine and Greece (1934); J.B.
Ward Perkins, in: Papers of British School at Rome, 22 (1954), 69–89;
ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3 199