- Josiah ben Joseph Pinto
Josiah ben Joseph Pinto (c. 1565 - c. 1648) (
Hebrew : יאשיהו בן יוסף פינטו) was a Syrian rabbi and preacher born atDamascus . His father, Joseph Pinto, was one of the rich and charitable men of that city. Josiah was a pupil of various rabbis inTalmud andKabala , and later, after his father's death, he studied Talmud underJacob Abulafia , who ordained him as rabbi. Pinto's permanent residence was at Damascus, where later he officiated as rabbi until his death in Feb. or March of 1648. He went twice toAleppo , and in 1625 he removed toSafed with the intention of settling there, but the death of his young son, Joseph, which occurred a year later, induced him to return to Damascus.Works
Pinto was the author of the following works:
*"Kesef Nibḥar" (Damascus, 1616), a collection of homilies and comments onGenesis andExodus
*"Kesef Mezuḳḳaḳ" (finished 1625, and published at Venice, 1628), a homiletic commentary on thePentateuch , followed by a pamphlet entitled "Kesef To'afot," glosses on the Pentateuch
*"Me'or 'Enayim," commentary onJacob ibn Ḥabib 's "En Ya'aḳob," which is a collection of thehaggadot of theBabylonian Talmud (part i, with the text, Venice, 1643; part ii, with other commentaries and the text, Amsterdam, 1754)
*"Kesef Ẓaruf" (ib. 1714), commentary on Proverbs
*"Nibḥar mi-Kesef" (Aleppo, 1869).Some of his responsa are to be found in the collection of
Yom-Ṭob Ẓahalon and inAaron Alfandari 's "Yad Aharon." His unpublished works are: "Kesef Nim'as," a commentary on Lamentations, "Ḳebuẓẓat Kesef," a collection of civil laws and of laws concerning women, and a collection ofresponsa .Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography
*
Azulai , "Shem ha-Gedolim," i;
*Fuenn , "Keneset Yisrael," p. 382;
*Fürst, "Bibl. Jud." iii.104;
*Elijah Vita Sassoon, in "Ha-Lebanon," vii.15, 23;
*Steinschneider , "Cat. Bodl." cols. 1546-1547.References
*JewishEncyclopedia
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