Yehiel Nissim da Pisa (Vitale) (1507–1574) was an Italian-Jewish banker, writer, and philosopher, who wrote a treatise on the use of credit, Ma'amar ḥayei olam at inyan haribit, as well as several texts on philosophy, usury and loans. His works were not published at the time, but circulated as manuscripts, only to be published much later.[1] He describes the use of bills of exchange in Haye Olam which translates as Eternal Life.[2]
Yehiel Nissim da Pisa | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1507  Pisa |
| Died | 1574 (aged 66–67) |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
Biography
editHis family operated a pawnshop and loan-banking business in Florence.[3][4] His grandfather was Jehiel of Pisa. He became a friend and associate of Lorenzo de Medici.[5]
After the licenses for Jews to operate the family's businesses were revoked by the Florentine government,[3] he became a scholar and a kabbalistic authority.[6]
In his philosophic works, he was critical of Aristotelianism, Gersonides and Maimonides, preferring anti-rationalism, arguing that the kabbalah, Torah and Jewish tradition were self-sufficient sources of knowledge, and emphasized the uniqueness and spirituality of the Jewish people. He cited the Zohar, Judah Halevi and Nahmanides, Averroes, particularly his commentary on Aristotle's Physics, and Agostino Nifo.[1]
Further reading
edit- Pisa, Jehiel Nissim da, 1507–1574, and David Kaufmann. Minḥat Ḳenaʼot. Berlin: Ba-defus shel Ts.H. Itsḳovsḳi, 6581898.
- Pisa, Jehiel Nissim da, 1507–1574, and David Kaufmann. Minhat Kenaot, Neged Igeret Hitnaziuto Shel R. Yedayah Ha-Penini: Hozetiv Leor Mitokh Ketav-yad Mantova. Berlin: Itzkowski, 1898.
References
edit- ^ a b Guetta, Alessandro (2014), "From Philosophy to Kabbalah: Yeḥiyel Nissim of Pisa and the Critique of Aristotelianism", Italian Jewry in the Early Modern Era, Essays in Intellectual History, Academic Studies Press, pp. 12–29, doi:10.2307/j.ctt21h4w96.5, ISBN 978-1-61811-208-8, JSTOR j.ctt21h4w96.5, retrieved 2024-09-06
- ^ "A Description of Bills of Exchange, 1559". The American Economic Review. 6 (3): 609–614. 1916. ISSN 0002-8282. JSTOR 1808527.
- ^ a b Roover, Raymond de (January 1963). "Banking and Finance Among Jews in Renaissance Italy: A Critical Edition of "The Eternal Life" (Haye Olam). By Yehiel Nissim da Pisa. Translated and edited by Gilbert S. Rosenthal. New York, Bloch Publishing Co., 1962. Pp. viii + 182 + 98. $7.50". Business History Review. 37 (4): 458–459. doi:10.2307/3112721. ISSN 2044-768X. JSTOR 3112721.
- ^ Toaff, Ariel; Landry, Judith, eds. (1996), "Banks and Bankers", Love, Work, and Death: Jewish Life in Medieval Umbria, Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, Liverpool University Press, pp. 234–254, ISBN 978-1-874774-19-8, retrieved 2024-09-06
- ^ Medieval Jewish Seals from Europe. Wayne State University Press. 2018. doi:10.1353/book.61491. ISBN 978-0-8143-4485-9.
- ^ Idel, Moshe (2007). Ben: sonship and Jewish mysticism. The Kogod library of Judaic studies. London; New York : [Jerusalem]: Continuum; Shalom Hartman Institute. ISBN 978-0-8264-9665-2. OCLC 166317455.