View source for Judah Leon ben Moses Mosconi

'''Judah Leon ben Moses Mosconi''' (born 1328) was a [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian]] [[Romaniote Jew]]ish scholar and [[Talmudist]] born at [[Ohrid]]. Owing to the wars which agitated [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] in the 14th century, Mosconi left his native country about 1360. He traveled in all the three continents of the Old World. He was in [[Chios]] and [[Cyprus]], in [[Euboea|Négropont]] (where he became the pupil of [[Shemariah b. Elijah al-Iḳriṭi]]), in [[Laodicea on the Lycus|Laodicea]], and later in [[Egypt]] (where he studied under [[Obadiah Miẓri]], to whom he owed "the greatest part of his learning"). He was afterward in [[Morocco]], in [[Italy]], and in [[France]]. In [[Perpignan]] he made the acquaintance of several scholars, among them [[Moses Narboni]] and [[David Bongoron]].

Mosconi was well versed in philosophical works, both Hebrew and Arabic; but, having a predilection for metaphysics, he occupied himself particularly with [[Abraham ibn Ezra|Ibn Ezra]]'s commentary on the [[Pentateuch]], on which he wrote a supercommentary. Most of the 30 supercommentaries on Ibn Ezra which Mosconi examined during his wanderings were, in his opinion, worthless. According to Mosconi, Ibn Ezra wrote his commentary on the [[Neviim|Prophets]] and [[Hagiographa]] before that on the Pentateuch, which he wrote 11 years before his death.

Mosconi insisted on the necessity of studying grammar; and he blamed the commentators who neglected it. In his commentary he quotes the other works of Ibn Ezra, those of [[Samuel ben Hophni]], [[Saadia]]'s Arabic translation of the [[Pentateuch]], [[Maimonides]]' commentary on the "Aphorisms" of [[Hippocrates]], [[Averroes]], and the other Arabian philosophers. Simultaneously with his supercommentary, Mosconi began to write other treatises, e.g.: ''En Gedi,'' an explanation of certain metaphysical passages disseminated in different works; ''Reaḥ Niḥoaḥ,'' a treatise on sacrifices; ''Ṭa'ame ha-Mibṭa,'' on grammar—all these works being left unfinished on account of the persecutions which he underwent.

Mosconi's preface to his commentary, in which he gives this information, was published by [[Abraham Berliner]].<ref>In ''Oẓar Ṭob'' (1878, pp.&nbsp;1–10</ref> Mosconi also revised the ''[[Yosippon]]'' and wrote a preface to it.<ref>Published by Berliner, l.c. pp.&nbsp;17–23</ref> [[Steinschneider]]<ref>''Hebr. Bibl.'' xiv. 90</ref> thinks that the Moses Mosconi mentioned by [[Moses Begi]] in his ''Ohel Mosheh'' as having written against the [[Karaite (Jewish sect)|Karaite]] [[Aaron b. Elijah]] is identical with Judah Leon Mosconi, whose name was incorrectly given by Begi.

==References==
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{{JewishEncyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=822&letter=M|title=Judah Leon ben Moses Mosconi |author=[[Herman Rosenthal]] |author2=[[M. Seligsohn]]}}

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[[Category:1328 births]]
[[Category:Macedonian Jews]]
[[Category:People from Ohrid]]
[[Category:Bulgarian Orthodox rabbis]]
[[Category:14th-century Byzantine rabbis]]
[[Category:Year of death unknown]]
[[Category:14th-century Byzantine historians]]