Leone Ebreo's Dialoghi d'amore:Elliptical Revelation? Joachim Küpper (bio) The Dialoghi d'amore are a text whose title is familiar to everyone working in the broader field; nevertheless, they are hardly ever studied except by specialists. This situation may be due to the fact that the text—which was broadly received and provoked a surprising amount of discussion in Early Modern times—presents what may, at first sight, seem a startling mixture of most conventional and highly unconventional (even provocative) elements. The Dialoghi constitute a compendium of Neo-Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy, as well as a document containing thoughts regarding the Pentateuch—a holy text shared by Judaism and Christianity—which one would rather tend to ascribe to the age of the Enlightenment. The present paper will chiefly discuss the latter, anticipatory aspect of the work. On the one hand, the way the author deals with questions pertaining to the status of Biblical revelation demonstrates a high degree of commitment to the religious tradition he considers as his cultural roots; on the other, it presents a critical stance vis-à-vis this tradition, which is radical to a degree hardly to be found in the writings of other authors from the same period. It may be the circumstances of Leone Ebreo's biography that account for this amazing combination of "rootedness" with an intellectual mobility so striking that it has remained largely undetected by scholarship so far.1 [End Page 1134] Judah ben Isaac Abrabanel, later known as "Leone Ebreo," was born in Lisbon around 1460. He died in Naples, Italy, sometime after 1521.2 He came from one of the most illustrious families of the Early Modern European Jewry. His father, his grandfather, and his greatgrandfather had held important positions as advisors at the Castilian and Portuguese courts and were (highly) learned men. Judah was instructed by his father in all matters concerning the Jewish tradition, including philosophy (Maimonides). Since he was educated in a period before the watershed date of 1492, it is probable that he learned much about the Islamic tradition, as well. It goes without saying that he was familiar with the religious and general culture dominant in all of the countries where he lived: Portugal, Spain, and Italy. As an adolescent, Judah started studying medicine; he becomes listed in the register of Lisbon physicians in 1483. In that same year, however, he and his family had to leave their country of origin. It cannot be determined to what extent there was an anti-Judaic cause to this event. In any case, there seems to have been a political context motivating their departure. Judah's father, Isaac, was accused of having taken part in the high treason for which the Duke of Braganza, Ferdinand II, was executed. Isaac Abrabanel, who was also sentenced to death, managed to flee with his family. After they fled, the family first settled down in Spain, and succeeded in regaining a relevant position. Judah became the private physician of the Reyes católicos. His father supported Queen Isabel in raising funds for the siege of Granada and for Columbus's expedition. In 1492, however, the Abrabanel family rejected Isabel's and Ferdinand's attempts to pressure them into baptism. They belonged to those Iberian Jews, who would prefer to lose their social position than abandon their traditions. The family moved to Italy. It was at this time that Judah became known as "Leone" (the Lion).3 In Naples, where the family settled, Judah was welcomed by King Ferdinand I; and after a short while, he was given the same position he had held at the Spanish court. Yet when [End Page 1135] the French King conquered the city (1495), violence against the Jews got out of hand during the ensuing turmoil. The Abrabanel family fled to the Republic of Genoa. But there, too, in 1501, the situation became dangerous; so they returned to Naples, where in the meantime the ideological climate had become less restrictive. Although the city came under Spain's control in 1504, Judah Abrabanel was able to reassume an outstanding position; he became the private physician of the Spanish Viceroy. In 1510, the Spanish implemented the...
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