Page:Jewish Encyclopedia Volume 1.pdf/269

223 "

-Ssop Afghanistan

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

223

a century before the common

but

adds: " He was,

logue," Xo. 2369, 3; Zunz, "G. V." p. 42.5; idem, 2d ed., p. 440); liiit most of these hymns were taken from Rabbinite poets (see David Kahana in"zar

his fcillowers

iiaSifrut," vol. v., Cracow. 1896). Afendopolo had intended to translate the "Elements of Eticliii." and to write commentaries on Jabir ibn AHal.i's "Kitab

it is

true,

era,

accordinir to the opinion of the lovers of truth, a wl!« man, pious, rlcliteous. GiKl-fearfng. anted in the law and not in their nihbiiiical

wImImiu, which addittnns; and

many

of these disciples of his. sent forth in his iiitroiiiiced practises ami leachinps altotrether foivipn to hini. reriioviiiir iheit'liy the cnrntT-sioneof the I-aw. though winning; the mult it teles. 'I'll lis tiM-N.'w Testament originated, which iiairii',

separated the fliilstians ffoiu the Jews." (o) "Abner ben Xer" (1488), a series of Hebrew mtihniKiK, or sliorl, rinieil narratives, introdueiiig 8aul. Duvid. aiiit the queen of iShcba into the dialogue. () I'lMhr the Siime title, an alUgoi-y on the Song of Songs, the same being a])plled to the rela" tion of God to Israel. (7) "Iggeret ha Shehitah (1407), a work on the rites used in sliiughtering animals, in the form of lei t ers addres,sed to liis son inhiw, .lacol) b. Jiiilali: the sjtmo in condensed form

written at Ki'tinmriti near ('(instantiiKiplc (1497). (X) ".Seder 'Inyan Sliel.iitiili."!i similar work in rime, is extant in manns(ii|il (I-'irkoviteh's MS. Xo. .'iOO). (9) On the use of ariiick (in which the passage Deut. x..li. 38is applied to the Moslems, and the Christian sacrifice is alluded to; see Steinschneider, "Lcyden Catalogue," p.2:!;i; " Polemische Literatur. " p.374). (10) "Iggeret ha-Kimah" (Letter on the Pleiades), treating of forbidden marriages, and directed against Joshua's work on the sultject. (II) "Patshegen

Ketab ha-Dat" (149G). onthePentatcucli lessonsand t he Haft^rol and other IJible select ions. (12) A rejoinder to Maimonides in defense of the Karaite calculation of the Seven weeks (Stein.schneider, "Ilebr. Hibl." vii. II). (i;i) A defense of Aaron beiiElijiili's "GanEden" against Moses ben Jacob ha-.slikcniizi (Steinschneider, " Hebr. Bibl." xx. 122). (14) A ccmmentary on thr' Hebrew translation of the arilhmelic of Nicomachtis of Gerasji

(lirst

or second century).

made from the Arabic by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus in 1317. The manuscript is in the Berlin Royal Library (.Stein.sclineider,

in

" Jlonatssclirift."

xxxviii.

7(1).

Afen(h)polohasattiiched to this commentary a sort of general cncychipedia of the sciences. He commences with an analysis of the eight books of Aristotle's " Logic." Practical science, as ho cjills it. detds with man himself, with the house (family), and the state. Spei'ulalive science comprises physics, geometry, and metiiphysics. In the Siime mtinncr he runs through the other sciences, giving their various stiliilivisions. The liighest science is theology, which treats of the soul, of prophecy, and of esclialology. The course of instruclion which Afendopolo lays down follows that of Plato; namely, htgic, arithmetic, geomelry. astronomy, music, the science of aspects (D'Oabn), metnildgy. physics, and metaphysics. Aftirdisctissing fuliire bliss. h(^ deiilswiih two other sciences law, especially as regards the relii tion of failh to works, and controversy (" I loknuit lia nebarim "). In the laller ho cites freely from Ratnlytisl, without, luiwever. giving Ins authority (Steinschneider. in '" .Mdnalsschinfl," xl. 90 (< «<<y.). (l.l) An astroiKimical treatise, largely mailc up ivf a comnieiiltiry on lite purlinn {;ninn tlTp of .Xtii'dn ben

—

Kli jail's " (iaii Kileii "

(

Neiibatler. "('alalcigiii',

" Xii.

under the title " Miklal Ycfi." (Hi) " Iggerid liaMuspeki't," a wnrk on asironiimical terminology, and on the ctuislruclion of sun-dials, improving upon the meth(Hlof his teacher. Comlino. by adiling the odil hours (Giirlanil. "Gin/e Yisrael,"iii. IS. 19). which (17) "Tikkuu Keli IJi.b Im Sha'dl" (14871. was kiKiwn also to Joseph del Meiligo. Afiliiliipolo 20.VI1.

hymns wliiili ari' lo be Karaite Muh/.or (Xeubuucr, "Cata-

also wroti' soiiu- peniteiilial

found

in

the

al-Hiyyah" (Compendium on Astronomj') and on Ptolemy 's " Almagest. BiBLlOfiRAPilY: Fflrst, Gcxoh. <(. Karficrl. il. 301-.tl6 Jost, OcKch. (I. JiiiloitliiiniK unit sciiicr Sckteii, II. 'Mt7; idem, Oem'h. ii, hnu liti lu i.v. appendix p. iW; .Neuhauer. Ana (hr

Pctcrnliiiriif r liildiuihik. chap. i. : tiurland. (iitizc Yinrcul, Lyek, 1SI!.'>; siiliischneicler, In Ersi'h and (iniber's Eucuhlnxxvll.; idem, Hclir. irihtrs. pp. .508, .^19. roi, Ut;

liililie.

Mniial^rhiift. xxxviii. 7«; Neuhauer, Cat. hi<h:r, col.

li'Ktl.

Hdtr. MSS.

iris.

K.-G.

AFFINITY.

See M.vum.voK L.vws.

AFFRAS RACHMAELOVICH Aphraschus Kachmailcwicz)

(called

also

.V Jewish merchant of .Mohilev and Riga, wlio lived about the end of the sixteenth century. AiTras figured jiromineiitly in Lilhiianiu as an importer of miscellaneous merchiitidisc, and in While Russia as a farmer of taxes and distllleiy royalties. The records of HrestLitovsk, for March 3, 1.583, show thtit nineteen vagon-loads of miscellaneous goods, including clot lis, pepper, cinnanmn. piunes, and Hungarian leather, coming from Lublin, were passed through the custom-house in the name of jVffras IJiichmaelovich of Mohilev (" Regesty i Xadpisi." p. 298). According to Sazonov ("Matters of .Turisprudence." part vii. p. 404). on June 3. 1.5x9. an appeal was made by Jim Loveika. city marshal and I'oyal secretary, to"the bailiiT of Moliilev, in the name" of AtTiiis, "farmer of taxes and distilleries of Mohilev, to impose a fine of forty copes (1 Lilliuaiiiau cope =3 rubles 22'5 kopecks) on Lukian Pilka, for unlawfully dealing in licpiors discovered in his possession, by Moslika Julevich, AiTras's "servant." in company with the "city servants." Atlnis also appears among the lirst Jews on therecordsof Riga. Livonia, that were summoned with others, about 1.595, before the court of burgraves. in a suit concerning some l)i'oduce of the forest. The representative of Riga at the Polish court received special instructions on his account.

I!uu.i"i;i!.Ki'iiv: Iluihholz. '.'i.»r/i. <lir./ie/.' 11 iu liim. ISiW. p. 1-: litfin'til .''"'//'im' iu C..11..CIII.I1 of material forthe history of the. lews In Russia i. juilillshed by the S4Kiety forthe lYoniotion of Kdiicatlon among (he Jews «if Hiissla. vol. 1. tfroni the year «) to l«;ni, Niw. iHi. «T2, Ii70, GTS, St. Telersburg. IWW. I

H. R.

AFGHANISTAN



Country of Asia, lying to The Afghans themselves

the northwest of India. liavo a tradition that they are descendants of the lost

Ten

Tribis.

They were

carried

away by Buk-

tunasar (Nebuchadne/zar) lo Hiizanih. which they identify with the Ahsauktu (R. V. Arzareth) of the Bible. In the "Tabakati-Xasiri," a native work, it is slated that at the liineof the Shansjibi <lynaslv there was IV people called Bani Israel, who tnided with neighboring countries; they had set tied in the country of Glior. soulheasl of Herat, and about the year (i'J2 lliev wi-re convcrteil to Islam by a person called Kais This throws no light, or Kish (see Ti:n ThiuksI. however, upon the source of the niiMlern Jews of Af.L'haiiistan. siuil to number 40.000 in idxiut sixty congregalioiis. who arechietly conciiilniled at Kabul (2.0(10 souls), Herat. Kandahar. Giiazni. and Bidkh

The ruins of the synagogue a( Kabtil are said to dale from the timeof Xebuchadnez/ar. biK the present Afghan Jews spi-ak Persian, and all their religious books aiiil leachers come from Teheran or Muscat. They have iu each of the above-ineutioueil five