JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

iographies and autobiographies
in a religious conflict, e.g., the biography of Anan, the founder
of the Karaite sect. Sherira describes him as a frustrated, ambitious,
evil man; the Karaites wrote hagiographies to extol his
deeds. Biographic elements are scattered throughout Hebrew
epistolary, hagiography, and historiography, but as a literary
form, biography came into its own only in modern Hebrew
literature. An exception to this, however, is the biographical
introduction to the Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah of Isaac *Abrabanel
by Baruch Uzziel b. Baruch Forti (Ḥazketto) in 1551. The author
probably gleaned Abrabanel’s autobiographical fragments
from his introductions to commentaries to Joshua, Kings, and
Deuteronomy, and from his responsa to Saul Kohen. *Ahimaaz
b. Paltiel wrote his Megillat Yuḥasin in the middle of the 11th
century on the history of his family.
Historiography Written as Personal Experience
The autobiographic genre was a more apt vehicle of literary
expression than the biography in the Middle Ages. This
was mainly due to the intrinsic nature of the art itself. The
need for self-scrutiny (the characteristic of autobiography)
has greater impetus than the biographic sketches of authors.
Medieval and Renaissance writings, letters, introductions to
books, apologies, and personal diaries contain autobiographic
elements and sketches much more than biographic elements.
In these works, however, the writer also focused on the historical
event and the part he had played in it rather than on
his own personal life. Maimonides, describing his life in his
letters, gives an account of his daily working schedule and of
certain aspects of his life. Azariah dei *Rossi, in the introduction
to his Me’or Einayim (Mantua, 1574), describes the Ferrara
earthquake of 1570 which he witnessed and which in part was
the stimulus of the book.
Legendary Autobiography
Since the early Middle Ages, another aspect of autobiography
was known in Jewish writings: the legendary autobiography.
*Eldad ha-Dani, the first writer of this autobiographic form
(appeared in Babylonia in the late ninth century), claimed to
be a member of the tribe of Dan. In his work, he describes
the life of the Ten Lost Tribes in detail. This, however, forms
only part of his whole account, much of which is devoted to
his various adventures in faraway lands among strange peoples.
This narration is typical of imaginary or legendary autobiography.
The thread of this literary expression was picked up centuries
later by a much more accomplished autobiographer,
David ha-*Reuveni. In a detailed autobiography he describes
his birthplace in the lands of the Ten Lost Tribes, his numerous
adventures on his way to Italy and especially in Palestine,
and his political and diplomatic efforts to organize an army
to conquer Palestine. He even includes in his work a detailed
expense account, listing his expenditures at every step of his
travels. His autobiography is, in fact, an apology: he blames
various treacherous friends for the failure of his venture.
Another autobiography, also an apology, is Gei Ḥizzayon
by Abraham *Jagel (16th century). It is an imaginative vision of
the afterworld containing autobiographical elements. Jagel, in
prison, relates his life story and how he came to be imprisoned,
to his dead father who appears to him in a dream and takes
him on a trip to the various heavenly spheres. This autobiography
is probably the first to be written in Hebrew by a minor
writer about a comparatively trivial life. The focus is not on
any major historical event, nor on the author’s participation in
a noteworthy adventure. Jagel used the autobiographic form to
express his misery and to complain about the injustice done to
him. Due to its concentration on the personal. Gei Ḥizzayon
may be described as the first autobiography to be written in
Hebrew. Earlier works belong more to the field of historiography
which were written as personal experience.
Modena’s Hayyei Yehudah
Probably the most representative work of the genre and literally
the best-developed autobiography written in Hebrew
during the Middle Ages is Ḥayyei Yehudah (“The Life of
Judah”), by Leone (Judah Aryeh) *Modena. In short passages
and sometimes long stories, Modena describes in detail a 20year
span in his life. The sincere revelation of the inner self
in Modena’s account has not been equaled by any Hebrew
writer until modern times. He candidly describes his addiction
to card-playing, which repeatedly threw him into debt
and obliged him to use any means and choose any work to
earn enough to cover them. He depicts in detail the tragic fate
of his three sons: one was killed in an unsuccessful alchemic
experiment, the second, in a street fight, and the third left Italy
after being condemned to row in the galleys without his
father ever learning of his whereabouts. His various illnesses,
those of his wife and of his relatives, are discussed in detail, as
well as his dreams, his visions, and his astrological beliefs. A
profound cynical skepticism can be discerned in his writings.
Modena’s work may also be seen as an apology: the apology of
a man who saw himself as a failure in every way (history today
contradicts this judgment). He blamed the stars for the tragedies
he had suffered and the misfortunes which befell him.
Probably his belief in astrological determinism psychologically
allowed him to lay bare unashamedly the different facets of
his character (of which he was far from proud).
Other Autobiographic Elements and Sketches
In line with Modena’s work, almost full autobiographies can be
reconstructed from the letters of R. Moses Ḥayyim *Luzzatto,
and from the letters of other writers. Some autobiographic
elements and sketches are to be found in ḥasidic literature
where various rabbis sincerely describe their own spiritual
development, e.g., R. *Naḥman of Bratslav. In kabbalistic literature,
another type of autobiography is to be found: kabbalists
describing their visions and the development of their
mystical insight. The most noteworthy among these are the
visions of Solomon *Molcho which, together with some actual
autobiographical passages, form a full spiritual autobiography
in the modern sense (Abraham b. Joseph Rothenburg,
Ḥayyat Kaneh, Ḥazon Shelomo Molkho, ed. by A.S. Aescoly,
1938). Such elements are found also in Maggid Meisharim, R.
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