Or Hashem [“Light of the Lord” - philosophy].
Auction 94 |
Thursday, June 17th,
2021 at 11:00am
Rare & Excellent Hebrew Printed Books: From the Library of Arthur A. Marx
Lot 102
CRESCAS, HASDAI.
Or Hashem [“Light of the Lord” - philosophy].
Ferrara: Abraham ibn Usque 1555
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
PRICE REALIZED $2,600
An outstandingly original Jewish philosopher, Hasdai Crescas (c. 1340-1410) was the disciple of the preeminent Iberian rabbinic personality of the day, R. Nissim ben Reuben of Gerona (Ra”N). The Or Ado-Nai is an important work of Jewish philosophy as it subjected Maimonides’ Aristotelian conceptions to rigorous critique. It has long been contended that Crescas produced a form of religious determinism, however, a careful reading will show that his thoughts on this perennial philosophical problem are much more nuanced and complex.
In the realm of astrophysics, Crescas’ conception of infinite space is strikingly modern. His physics anticipated that of Newton; while parallels have been drawn as well between Crescas on the one hand and Galileo Galilei and Giordano Bruno on the other.
See J. Guttman, Philosophies of Judaism (1973) p. 259; p. 511, n. 250; and H.A. Wolfson Crescas’ Critique of Aristotle (1929) pp.269-73.