Language:
English
Year of publication:
2020
Titel der Quelle:
Journal of Jewish Studies
Angaben zur Quelle:
71,1 (2020) 93-120
Keywords:
Dato, Mordecai ben Judah,
;
Bible. Commentaries History and criticism
;
Cabala History 16th century
;
Messiah Judaism
Abstract:
Mordekhay Dato was a prominent Italian Kabbalist, particularly active in the northern part of the Emilian region at the end of the sixteenth century. He was a prolific writer in Hebrew and Judeo-Italian, covering a wide range of topics – messianism, Kabbalah, poetry, liturgy and Halakhah. His mostly unpublished work opens an interesting window onto the intellectual laboratory of Renaissance Italy. In this article I address the changes in Dato’s messianic expectation for the Jewish year 5335 (1575 CE) and examine three works that manifest his creative use of religious texts to interpret contemporary events: Ora vien ò bella sposa (‘Come now, Lovely Bride’), an early sabbatical hymn; Ma’amar Mordekhay (‘An Essay of Mordekhay’), his unfinished commentary on the book of Esther; and Megillat Ester in Ottava Rima (‘The Roll of Esther in Octaves’), his later versification of the book of Esther in the Italian ottava rima.
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