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434 ;

Almon Alms xxxvii.

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 19).

ciilleil Ift;, its

Once (Gon. xxx. 37) the same tree is name in Amniiiic, Arnl)ic-. and Etliinpic.

alinimd is the Aim/f/diiluH nnniiiniiin (L.), of the order llijsiictii. Its Hebrew name (Klukol) is derived from a stem nuanini; to "waken" or "watcli," to which Jeremiah maiies reference in his use of it The name is said to have been fjiven be(Jer. i. 11). cause it was the tirst tree to awaken from the sleep of winter: hiil it more probably ex pres.ses its color or some other physical quality. Al>out January tlie hare tree, still devoi<l of leaves, is suddenly covered with blo.ssoms an inch or an inch and a half broad. The petiils, pink at the bottom, become white at the top, pnxlucing the effect of a perfectly white tree. It is a native of western Asia. The fruit was considered a delicacy (compare Oen. xliii. 11). In Ecd. xii. 5 it is used metapliorically. according to most interpreters, of au old man's gray head. G. A. B. Till'

ALKOIf BIBLATAIM: A Moab

ill

stopiiinir idace in

the Israelites' jminicy from

xxxiii. 46,47). 22.

Kirypt(Num.

Called IJelh Diblataim in Jer. xlviii. G. B. L.

ALMOKA VICES (AX-MtTRABATIN) Moorish dynasty

in uorilnvestcrii

Africaaiid

in



A

Spain

eleventh and twelfth lentiiries. The ri.se of dynasty marked a lu-w epoch: for the first time non-Arab rulers occupied a Moslem throne. Yusuf ibn Taslitin, the founder of this dynasty, did not even understand Arabic. He was, therefore, unacquainted with many traditions and customs of Moslem governmenl, but was also free from Moslem prejudices, rjeligious observances were anything hut rigid: the in the

this

treatment of non-Moslem subjects was. therefore, dictated by liberal iirinciples. Yusuf was of a kind disposition and a lovi'r of justice, and the Jews under his sway had little to complain of. In Africa he indirectly provided new homes for them by

founding Morocco and Tlem<;en (ll)(i2l, and no doubt brought about a welcome change for many Jews living in Spain when he conquered the Oni miades. Only on one occasion is he said to have threatened the Jews of Lucena with compulsory change of faith but they ultimately bought him off with large .sums of money. Under the rule of his son Ali (110(i-4;!). when the Almoravides were at tlu' heightof their power, Jews occupied important posts. The poet Solomon Al Mu'allim ( Abu Ayyub). praised also



by Alharizi

for his great talent,

was

his physician.

Among

other prominent Jews was the physician Abndiam ben Meir ibn ICanuiial (Abu al-Ha.san). to whom Jud;ih ha Levi (who spent the years of his training in a place belonging to the rulers) dedicated seven poems, Isaac (Abraham) ibn JIuliajir, and Solomon ben Farusal (Ferrisol). The Almoravide domini(m soon declined, and was superseded in Spain by that of the Ai.moh.de8 in 1149. II. H.

ALMOSNINO A distinguished

Jewish family

originally dwelling in Aragon. The name, according to Jellinek (see Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl." Xo. 6430), is derived from the Arabic and denotes "an orator." The following members of the family are those best known to fame: Abraham Almosnlno Fatherof Joseph, a phvsician,aud Hayyim. 1 le and Abraham Canombrial weregrandfathersof I he mot her of Jloses Almosnlno, and were burned at the stake by the Inquisition (Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl." col. i771).

Hasdai Almosnino



Rabbi

in

Tetuan.

He

is

the author of " .Mishmerct ha-Kodcsh (The Holy Charge), a supercommentarv on Rashi's commentary on the PentaU'ueh, published at Leghorn, 1825 "

434

and "He.sed El" (The Mercy of God), a series of annotations upon Biblical anil Talmudical passages, publislii-d at Leghorn, isid. Isaac Almosnino Itabbi at Gibraltar and later hakam of the Ijindon Spanish and Portuguese congregalionfBcvis .Marks): died in 1784. Isaac Almosnino Named as the author of a



translali<in of Aiistnlle's "Ethics" into Hebrew (see Kayserling, " Bibl. Esp.-Port. Jud." p. 11); but in all

probability he has been confused with

Moses

Almosnino.

Joseph Almosnino Son of Isaac and grandson of .Moses b. Barucli Almosnino: born HU'i; died at Nikolsburg, Moravia, in lI: dieil in Constantinople about l.")8l): elected rabbi of Neveh Shalom community of Spanish Jews in that city in 1553. and of the Liwyat lien congregation in' 1560. He was eminent alike for knowledge of ralibinical matters and for scholarship in the science of hisday, particularly natural physicsanda-stronomy. furnishing commentaries upon many treatises translated from the Arabic and Latin. In 1,565 he .successfully re|>resentcd his brethren at an audience with the sultan SelimlL, petitioning forthe confirmation of their civil rights. He wrote, in 1570, a rather prolix Hebrew commentary on the Biblical " F'ive Rolls, " under the title "Yede ^losheh " (The Hands of Moses) also an exposition of the Talmudical treat ise " Abot " (Ethics of the Fathers), published at Salonica in 1563; and a collection of sermons delivered upon various occasions, particularly funeral orations, entitled "Meammez Koah " (R<'enfoicing Strength). These were published in Hebrew by his son Simon, the expense being defrayed by two other .sons, Abraham and







Another Hebrew work bv Almosnino was "Tetillah le-Mo.sheh (The Prayer "of Moses), an apologetic work on the Pentateuch, published at Salonica in 1-563. and republished at Cracow in 1598 Absidom.

"

and 1S5. In Spanish he wrote a homiletic work, " Regimiento de la Vida." which treats among other things of the origin of good and evil, the influence of the stars. Providence, the moral

life,

education of

chihlren, and freedom of the will. To this was appended a chapter on " Dreams. Their Origin and True Nature," written, as it is stated, at the request of Don Joseph Nasi, duke of Naxos. Although written in Spanish, the work was printed in Hebrew characters at the press of Joseph Jaaliez, Salonica. 1564, and was republished at Venice in 1604, and at Salonica in 1729. An appendix of live pages contains a list of difiicult Spanish words, occurring therein, translated into Hebrew. An edition in Spanish letters was published by Samuel Mendes de Sola and associates in Amsterdam, 1729, dedicated to Aaron David Pinto. This work is considered by Sanchez to be one of the rarest in the Spanish language. historical work

A

by Almosnino, "Extremos y Grandezas de Constantinopla," also in Spanish with Hebrew characters, was transliterated and republished by .Jacob Cansino, .Madrid, 1638. According to Steinschneider (" Hebr. Uebers." p. 215). Moses Almosnino was also author of a commentary upon Aristotle's "Ethics." Carmoly (p. 12) mentions it under the title of " Pene Mosheh " (The Face of Moses), stating that it was written by Moses at Palestria near Salonica, and that his son Simon, after his f.ither's death, desired to publish it (1584). Samuel Almosnino : Rabbi at Salonica in the