Aaron (Ben Abraham Ben Samuel) Ibn Ḥayyim

Moroccan Biblical and Talmudic commentator; flourished at the beginning of the seventeenth century at Fez; died at Jerusalem in 1632. He was a member of the bet din, or court of justice, of Fez, and removed to Venice about 1608, to print his voluminous manuscripts. From Venice he went to Jerusalem, where he spent the last years of his life. Aaron published: (1) "LebAharon" (Aaron's Heart), commentaries on Joshua and Judges in a double form, one containing simple explanations of words (peshaṭ), the other being of a homiletic character (derush); (2) "Ḳorban Aharon" (Aaron's Offering), a commentary on the Sifra; (3) "Middot Aharon" (Aaron's Rules), an important treatise on the thirteen hermeneutic rules, perhaps the only adequate treatment of this difficult subject in existence. All three were published at Venice in 1609, and went through a second edition at Dessau in 1742. Aaron's responsa were published in Mordecai ha-Levi's "Darke No'am," Venice, 1697. While at Venice, Aaron lectured in several of the congregations; and when the news of his death reached that city the famous preachers Azariah Figo ("Binah la-'Ittim," lxxii.) and Judah Aryeh of Modena delivered eulogistic addresses concerning him.

Bibliography:

  * Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, No. 272;
  * Fürst, Bibl. Jud. i. 159.



M. B.