Joseph Solomon Delmedigo

Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, also known as ישר מקנדיא, "Yashar Mi-qandia" (June 16, 1591 – October 16, 1655) was a rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist.

Born in Candia, Crete, he moved to Padua, Italy, throughout most Europe and north Africa, and finally died in Prague. Yet in his lifetime wherever he sojourned he earned his living as a physician and or teacher. His only known works are "Elim" (Palms), dealing with mathematics, the natural sciences, and metaphysics, as well as some letters and essays.

"Elim" (1629, Menasseh ben Israel, Amsterdam) is written in Hebrew. The format of the book is taken from the number of fountains and palm trees at Elim in the Sinai Peninsula, as given in Numbers, xxxiii, 9: since there are 12 fountains and 70 palm trees at Elim, Delmedigo divided his book into twelve major problems and seventy minor problems. The subjects discussed include astronomy, physics, mathematics, medicine, and music theory. In the area of music, Delmedigo discusses the physics of music including string resonance, intervals and their proportions, consonance and dissonance.

Sefer Eilim is a response to 12 general and 70 specific religious and scientific questions sent to Delmedigo by a karaite Jew, Zerach Ben Nasan from Troki (Lithuania). Meein Chasom is the second part of Sefer Eilim that contains the 70 questions and answers. Mayan Ganim is a continuation of Sefer Eilim to answer the questions of Zerach Ben Nasan. It consists of the following short treatises: on trigonometry, on the first two books of the Almagest, on astronomy, on astronomical instruments, on Kabbalah (mainly the Ari) and the supernatural, on astrology, on algebra, on chemistry, on the aphorism of Hippocrates, on the opinion of the ancients concerning the substance of the heavens, on the astronomy of the ancients, who considered the motion of the higher spheres due to spirits (Delmedigo shows that their motion is similar to that of the earth), on the principles of religion, and mathematical paradoxes. Chukos Shamayim is a part of Mayan Ganim that deals with the first two books of the Almagest. Gevuros Hashem is a treatise on astronomy.

References

* "Encylopaedia judaica" (Jerusalem, 1972), Vol. 5, 1477-8
* Don Harrán. "Joseph Solomon Delmedigo", "Grove Music Online", ed. L. Macy (accessed February 5 2005), [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).
* Yoseph Schlomo Delmedigo (Yashar of Candia): His Life, Works and Times by Isaac Barzilay

External links

* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=228&letter=D&search=delmedigo Jewish Encyclopedia article on Delmedigo (1906)]