Solomon Adeni

Solomon ben Joshua Adeni
שלמה בן יהושע
Personal
Born1567
Sana'a, Yemen
Died1625
Hebron,  Ottoman Empire
NationalityYemenite, Ottoman Palestinian Jew
ParentRabbi Joshua (father)
Notable work(s)
  • Melekhet Shelomoh
  • Dibre Emet
OccupationAuthor, Talmudist

Solomon ben Joshua Adeni (Hebrew: שלמה בן יהושע) or Shelomo bar Joshua Adeni (1567–1625[1]) was a Yemenite Jewish author and Talmudist, who lived during the second half of the 16th century at Sana'a and Aden in southern Arabia, from which town he received the name "Adeni" or "the Adenite." In 1571, Solomon Adeni immigrated with his family to Ottoman Palestine.[2] He was a pupil of the Talmudist Bezalel Ashkenazi and of the kabbalist Hayyim Vital.[3]

In 1624, or, according to other authorities, in 1622, he wrote a commentary on the Mishnah, entitled Melekhet Shelomoh (The Work of Solomon). Only a few fragments of this have been published, but they are quite sufficient to indicate the value of the whole work. In this commentary, Adeni exhibits considerable critical ability. He analyzes the Mishnah in a manner that is quite modern, and which is accompanied by a strictly scientific penetration that enables him to enter into the most minute details of the mishnaic text, its punctuation and spelling. The great value of Adeni's work was recognized by Manasseh ben Israel, who made use of its critical conclusions in his edition of the Mishnah of 1632. Adeni incorporated in his work Joseph Ashkenazi's valuable amendments to the Mishnah,[4] and relies heavily upon the commentaries of Rabbi Shimshon of Sens, Rashi and Rabbi Solomon Sirilio. In addition to his commentary he wrote Dibre Emet (Words of Truth), which, according to Azulai, contains critical notes on the Masorah. In 1854 the manuscript of Melekhet Shelomoh, his first work, was in the hands of Nathan Coronel of Jerusalem, whereas that of his second work, Dibre Emet, seems to have been lost. He is buried in the Old Jewish Cemetery in Hebron.[5]

  1. ^ Encyclopedia Judaica: "Solomon Adeni (1567-1625)"
  2. ^ Introduction to the Mishnah Commentary, Melekhet Shlomo.
  3. ^ The Jewish Encyclopedia Isidore Singer, Cyrus Adler - 1964 "..and he counted among his pupils such men as Isaac Luria and Solomon Adeni."
  4. ^ Abraham Isaac Laredo Les noms des Juifs du Maroc Page 383 - 1978 "Joseph ASHKENAZI, rabbin, commentateur de la Mishnah à Safed, mort entre 1575 et 1582. Quoique venu de Vérone, Joseph appartenait à une famille d'origine allemande. Ses gloses sur la Mishnah ont partiellement été publiées dans le"
  5. ^ "Hebron: A Hebron Community - Hebron, City of the Patriarchs - Official web site of the Jewish Community of Hebron". www.hebron.com. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-01-28.