The Rise of Non-Elitist Religious Literature in Late Medieval Spain and its Reflection in Menorat ha-Maor of Rabbi Isaac Aboab
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3989/sefarad.019-012Keywords:
Religious literature, sermon, Ethical literature, Homiletic literature, Didactic literature, Teaching methods, Education, Spain at the end of the Middle AgesAbstract
Jewish religious works written in the Iberian Peninsula were characterized by elitist writing until the end of the thirteenth century. Scholars of different religious orientations addressed their works to the elite class of sages and scholars. At the end of the Middle Ages, starting from the early fourteenth century there was a clear turning point in Jewish literary activity in Spain. It was expressed by non-elitist writing for two notable groups: writing for the general public that had limited knowledge (but was capable of using Torah literature presented and accessible to it in Hebrew) and writing that was intended for beginning studens. The first part of the article deals with the extent of the phenomenon and its characteristics in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and even among the exiles after the Expulsion from Spain. The second part presents the phenomenon, regarding the writing for the general public, as reflected in Rabbi Isaac Aboab’s Menorat ha-Maor. The study of the book and its characteristics allows for a better understanding of the background and development of the phenomenon from a social and religious point of view. This part of the article deals with different aspects like the gap between available literature and social needs, the purpose of the sermon in society, the need of preachers for auxiliary literature, and also didactic aspects of Jewish literature at the end of the Middle Ages.
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