Leone Modena

Leon Modena or Yehudah Aryeh Mi-modena (1571–1648) was a Jewish scholar born in Venice of a notable French family that had migrated to Italy after an expulsion of Jews from France.¹ He was a precocious child and grew up to be a respected rabbi in Venice. However, his reputation within traditional Judaism suffered for a number of reasons, including an unyielding criticism of emerging sects within Judaism, an addiction to gambling, and lack of stable character. As Heinrich Graetz points out, this last factor prevented his gifts from maturing: "He pursued all sorts of occupations to support himself, viz. those of preacher, teacher of Jews and Christians, reader of prayers, interpreter, writer, proof-reader, bookseller, broker, merchant, rabbi, musician, matchmaker and manufacturer of amulets." Though he failed to rise to real distinction, Leon of Modena earned a place in Jewish history in part by his criticism of the mystical approach to Judaism. One of his most effective works was his attack on the Kabbala ( Ari Nohem , first published in 1840). In it, he attempted to demonstrate that the "Bible of the Kabbalists" (the Zohar ) was a modern composition. He became best known, however, as the interpreter of Judaism to the Christian world. He wrote a fascinating autobiography entitled "Chayye Yehuda," literally "the life of Judah". In this highly candid and sometimes emotional work, he admitted to being a compulsive gambler. He also mourned his children (two of whom died in his lifetime - one from natural causes and one killed by gangsters). Another son was a ne'er-do-well who traveled to Brazil and returned to Venice only after his father's death. At the behest of an English nobleman, Leon prepared an account of Jewish customs and rituals, Historia de' riti hebraici (1637). This book was the first Jewish text addressed to non-Jewish readers. It was widely read by Christians, rendered into various languages, and in 1650 was translated into English by Edmund Chilmead . At the time, the issue of whether Jews should be permitted to resettle in the U.K. was coming to the fore (See Resettlement of the Jews in England ), and Leon of Modena's book did much to stimulate popular interest. He died in Venice. Leon of Modena is the basis of the character Judah Aryeh in the novel People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks . His written works include: She'elot u-Teshuvot Ziqnei Yehudah (Collected Responsa, Mossad ha-Rav Kook ed. Shelomo Simonson, 1956 [1] ) Beit Lechem Yehudah (Anthology of statements of Hazal organized by topic, Venice, 1625]] [2] and Prague, 1705 [3] Diwan (Collected Poems, JTS Publications, ed. Modena (Letters and musings, ed. Yehuda Blau, Budapest, 1906) Magen ve-Tzinah (Responsa, ed. Geiger , Breslau, 1857) Tzemach Tzadiq (Ethical Treatise) Lev ha-Aryeh (Monograph on Memory improvement and Mnemonics, in which he greatly extols the use of the method of loci [5] ) Sur me-Ra (A philosophical dialogue on gambling, written at the age of 13, Amsterdam 1692 [6] , Vilna 1896 [7] Historia de' riti hebraici (See above, translated into Hebrew by Shelomo Rabin, Vienna, 1867 [8] ) Pi ha-Aryeh (Italian-Hebrew dictionary of all difficult words in Tanakh , Venice 1640 [9]²