Editing Abba Mari (section)

==''Minchat Kenaot''==
Abba Mari collected the correspondence and added to each letter a few explanatory notes. Of this collection, called ''Minchat Kenaot'', several manuscript copies survive (at [[Oxford]];<ref>Neubauer, ''Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.,'' Nos. 2182 and 2221</ref> [[Paris]];<ref>Bibl. Nat. No. 976</ref> Günzburg Libr., [[Saint Petersburg]]; [[Parma]]; [[Ramsgate]] [[Montefiore College]] Library;<ref>formerly Halberstam, No. 192</ref> and [[Turin]]). Some of these<ref>Oxford, No. 2221, and Paris, Bibl. Nat.</ref> are mere fragments. The printed edition (Presburg, 1838), prepared by M. L. Bislichis, contains: (1) Preface; (2) a treatise of eighteen chapters on the [[incorporeality]] of [[God]]; (3) correspondence; (4) a treatise, called ''Sefer ha-Yarḥi,'' included also in letter 58; (5) a defense of ''The Guide'' and its author by [[Shem-Tob Palquera]].<ref>Grätz, ''Gesch. d. Juden,'' vii. 173</ref>

As the three cardinal doctrines of Judaism, Abba Mari accentuates: (1) Recognition of God's existence and of His absolute sovereignty, eternity, unity, and incorporeality, as taught in revelation, especially in the ''[[Ten Commandments]]''; (2) the world's creation by Him out of nothing, as evidenced particularly by the Sabbath; (3) special [[Divine providence]], as manifested in the Biblical [[miracle]]s. In the preface, Abba Mari explains his object in collecting the correspondence; and in the treatise which follows he shows that the study of philosophy, useful in itself as a help toward the acquisition of the knowledge of God, requires great caution, lest we be misled by the Aristotelian philosophy or its false interpretation, as regards the principles of ''[[creatio ex nihilo]]'' and divine individual providence. The manuscripts include twelve letters which are not included in the printed edition of ''Minḥat Ḳenaot.''<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/>

The correspondence refers mainly to the proposed restriction of the study of the Aristotelian philosophy. Casually, other theological questions are discussed. For example, letters 1, 5, and 8 contain a discussion on the question, whether the use of a piece of metal with the figure of a lion, as a [[amulet|talisman]], is permitted by Jewish law for medicinal purposes, or is prohibited as [[idolatry|idolatrous]]. In letter 131, Abba Mari mourns the death of Ben Adret, and in letter 132 he sends words of sympathy to the congregation of Perpignan, on the death of Don Vidal Shlomo (the [[Meiri]]) and Rabbi Meshullam. Letter 33 contains the statement of Abba Mari that two letters which he desired to insert could not be discovered by him. MS. Ramsgate, No. 52, has the same statement, but also the two letters missing in the printed copies. In ''Sefer haYarchi'', Abba Mari refers to the great caution shown by the rabbis of old regarding the teaching of the philosophical mysteries, and recommended by men like the [[Hai Gaon]], Maimonides, and [[David Kimhi]]. A response of Abba Mari on a ritual question is contained in MS. Ramsgate, No. 136; and Zunz<ref>''Literaturgeschichte der Synagogalen Poesie,'' p.&nbsp;498</ref> mentions a ''ḳinah'' composed by Abba Mari.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/>

''Minchat Kenaot'' is instructive reading for the historian because it throws much light upon the deeper problems which agitated Judaism, the question of the relation of religion to the philosophy of the age, which neither the zeal of the fanatic nor the bold attitude of the liberal-minded could solve in any fixed dogmatic form or by any anathema, as the independent spirit of the congregations refused to accord to the rabbis the power possessed by the Church of dictating to the people what they should believe or respect.

At the close of the work are added several eulogies written by Abba Mari on Ben Adret (who died in 1310), and on Don Vidal, [[Solomon of Perpignan]], and Don [[Bonet Crescas]] of Lunel.<ref name=JewishEncyclopedia/>