ר' יוסף כספי

Joseph Caspi, Rabbi Yosef ibn Kaspi (ר’ יוסף כספי), son of Rabbi Abba Mari, was a rishon of Provence who wrote peirushim on Tanach, works on Hebrew grammar and works of philosophy. He was born in Arles in 1280 and was niftar in Mallorca in 1345. His family came from Largentière, a town known for its silver mines, and the name Caspi (“of silver”) comes from it; in Provence he was called Don Bonafous de Largentera.

He traveled a great deal, to Tarascon, Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca, and also to Egypt. The Rambam was the figure he admired above all, and in Egypt he hoped to learn Torah from the Rambam’s descendants. As he writes in his Tzava’ah (ethical will), he found them righteous but not learned. He also wished to travel to Fez in Morocco, where he had heard that great chachamim lived, but did not make the journey. During the persecution of the Pastoureaux (the Shepherds’ Crusade) he suffered greatly and was threatened with punishment unless he gave up his faith.

His peirushim on the pesukim keep to the pshat (plain meaning) and his philosophical views stirred opposition already duromg his lifetime. After his death, some chachamim spoke out against him. He wrote many sefarim on Tanach, philosophy and the Hebrew language, and only some of them have reached us.

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