ר׳ חסדאי בן אברהם קרשקש

ר׳ חסדאי בן אברהם קרשקש was a Catalan-Aragonese halakhist, communal statesman, and original Jewish philosopher. Born in Barcelona around 1340, he studied in the academy of ר׳ ניסים בן ראובן גירונדי and was recognised by 1370 as a scholar and judge. Royal confidence and communal standing made him a central spokesman for the Jews of the Crown of Aragon. In 1389 he moved to Zaragoza as rabbi and communal leader. The anti-Jewish violence of 1391 killed his only son and devastated communities across Iberia; thereafter he organised relief, sought to rebuild Jewish life, and helped endangered Jews and coerced converts. His philosophical masterpiece אור ה׳ attacked the necessity of Aristotelian physics and metaphysics and reconstructed Jewish belief around divine unity, love, providence, and creation. His critique later influenced major Jewish thinkers and is often discussed in relation to Spinoza. He also wrote a Catalan refutation of Christian dogma and a historically important letter describing the persecutions. He died in Zaragoza in late 1410 or early 1411. The supposed portrait formerly attached to this record could not be authenticated and has been removed.