אברהם כהן מזנטי

Rav Abraham Cohen of Zante (5430/1670–5489/1729), Rav Avraham ben Shabbetai HaKohen, was a physician, rav, and paytan on the Ionian island of Zante (Zakynthos), then an overseas possession of the Venetian Republic. He was born on Crete to a family of moderate means, took his medical degree at the University of Padua, and spent most of his adult years in the town of Zante, where he practiced medicine alongside his Torah.

In 5460/1700 he printed in Venice Derashot al HaTorah, his thoughts on the Chumash, a work also known as Kevod Chachamim. His better-known sefer followed in 5479/1719, again in Venice: Kehunat Avraham, a collection of Hebrew religious poetry composed after the pattern of Tehillim, in which he worked in a variety of meters. The book drew warm acclaim from the Jews of the Venetian lands and of Italy; Yosef Fiametta, Yitzchak Vita Cantarini, and Shabbetai Marini each greeted it with a sonnet of praise, in the fashion of the day. An engraved portrait of the author, wig and all, faces the title page.

In 5639/1879 M. Ventura of Corfu discovered a Hebrew poem by Rav Avraham inscribed on the wall of the shul in Candia, Crete, and later published his find.