Editing Jewish philosophy (section)

=== Don Isaac Abravanel ===
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[[Isaac Abravanel]], statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator, and financier who commented on Maimonides' thirteen principles in his ''Rosh Amanah''. [[Isaac Abravanel]] was steeped in Rationalism by the Ibn Yahya family, who had a residence immediately adjacent to the ''Great Synagogue of Lisbon'' (also built by the Ibn Yahya Family). His most important work, ''Rosh Amanah'' ("The Pinnacle of Faith"), defends Maimonides' thirteen articles of belief against attacks of Hasdai Crescas and Yosef Albo. ''Rosh Amanah'' ends with the statement that "Maimonides compiled these articles merely in accordance with the fashion of other nations, which set up axioms or fundamental principles for their science".

[[Isaac Abravanel]] was born and raised in Lisbon; a student of the Rabbi of Lisbon, ''Yosef ben Shlomo Ibn Yahya''.<ref>"Isaac Abarbanel's stance toward tradition: defense, dissent, and dialogue" By Eric Lawee</ref>  Rabbi Yosef was a poet, religious scholar, rebuilder of ''Ibn Yahya Synagogue of Calatayud'', well versed in rabbinic literature and in the learning of his time, devoting his early years to the study of Jewish philosophy.  The Ibn Yahya family were renowned physicians, philosophers and accomplished aides to the Portuguese Monarchy for centuries.
{{Location map many | Italy
|caption= Padua and Verona in modern [[Italy]]
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Isaac's grandfather, Samuel Abravanel, was forcibly converted to Christianity during the pogroms of 1391 and took the Spanish name "''Juan Sanchez de Sevilla''". Samuel fled Castile-León, Spain, in 1397 for Lisbon, Portugal, and reverted to Judaism - shedding his ''[[Converso]]'' after living among Christians for six years. Conversions outside Judaism, coerced or otherwise, had a strong impact upon young Isaac, later compelling him to forfeit his immense wealth in an attempt to redeem Iberian Jewry from coercion of the [[Alhambra Decree]]. There are parallels between what he writes, and documents produced by Inquisitors, that present [[conversos]] as ambivalent to Christianity and sometimes even ironic in their expressions regarding their new religion - [[crypto-jews]].