Jewry’s most illustrious sages and commentators,

offers a panoramic view of Jewish history during

the 12th century. This is because Rav Avraham wandered

across the globe, visiting such countries as Tunisia,

Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Italy, France and England. During

these journeys, he became acquainted with the gedolim of

each country he visited.

Rav Avraham’s life, however, was fraught with hardship -

his wife died young and several of his children died in infancy.

Despite this, he produced some 60 Torah works, among

them major commentaries on Chumash and Tanach.

The Rambam urged his son to study Ibn Ezra on the Torah,

comparing Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra to Avraham Avinu.

Rav Avraham Ibn Ezra was born in 4852/1092 in Tudela,

Spain, during the height of the country’s Golden Age, which

lasted from 4471/711 to 4963/1203.

Rav Avraham came from an illustrious family - his was

one of the most prominent in Tudela. His uncles, Rav Yosef,

Rav Avraham and Rav Yitzchak were ministers in Spain’s

royal palace.

Little is known about Rav Avraham’s early years. But it is

known that although his family was wealthy, he was poor.

He notes this in a witty, two-line poem, in which he says: "If

candles were my business, the sun would never set. If I were

dealing in shrouds, no one would ever die."

One night, Rav Avraham’s deceased father appeared to

him in a dream, and altered the course of his life.

"My son," he said, "tzaddikim do not merit to rest in this

world. In order to grow in Torah, you must disguise yourself

as a pauper and wander from place to place."

Rav Avraham’s father repeated this advice three times, and

when Rav Avraham awoke, he took upon himself to fulfill

his father’s instructions. He immediately began to disguise

himself as a pauper, yet it wasn’t until years later that he

began to wander from country to country.

One day, the disguised Rav Avraham knocked on the door

of Rav Yehuda HaLevi, famed poet and author of the Kuzari,

and asked for work. Little did he know that precisely that

morning, Rav Yehuda HaLevi had vowed that the first male

to knock on his door that day would become his son-in-law.

The reason he had made such a strange vow was that he

could no longer bear the pressure his wife exerted on him to

find their excellent but still-unmarried daughter a mate.

When his daughter realized that the shabbily dressed - and

seemingly ignorant - man who had knocked on their door

would be her future husband, she began to weep uncontrollably.

But her father comforted her saying, "I will teach him

Torah and he will become a talmid chacham."

Rav Yehuda invited the pauper to move into their home

and to serve as household help. He also began to study with

him.

One day, Rav Yehuda was unable to complete the stanza of

a poem he was composing. The poem was based on acrostics,

and when he reached the letter "reish" he could not find

the words to finish the remaining line. When Rav Yehuda

left his study, Rav Avraham came in and noticed the poem.

He completed the line for him in a beautiful style, attesting

to his vast Torah knowledge.

Rav Yehuda realized immediately that the "pauper" must

have completed the poem and that he was truly a great man.

When he confronted Rav Avraham, Rav Avraham was

forced to reveal his identity. Not long afterward, Rav

Avraham and Rav Yehuda’s daughter were married.

Rav Avraham remained in Tudela for many years, studying

alongside his illustrious father-in-law. When Rav Yehuda

left Spain for Eretz Yisroel, Rav Avraham’s son, Yitzchak,

accompanied him.

After Rav Yehuda’s departure for Eretz Yisroel, Rav

Avraham decided to once more fulfill his father’s instructions.

This time, though, he not only disguised himself as a

pauper, but also wandered to other cities and then to other

countries. He began these treks at the age of 50, and continued

them for 25 years, returning to his family in Tudela from

time to time.

After leaving Tudela, Rav Avraham headed for the Spanish

city of Toledo. He lived there for a number of years and

wrote several works there.

Rav Avraham arrived in Toledo at a time when its Jews

enjoyed relative tranquility. However, this was not the case

for very long.

At first, King Alfonso VI, whose palace was in Toledo,

maintained excellent terms with the Jews. But when he died,

the anti-Semitic masses whom he had restrained began to

harass the Jews. As a result, Rav Avraham left Toledo, censuring

the Christians for their cruelty in a pointed ode.

From Christian Spain he headed to Moslem Spain, where

he passed through the cities of Cordova, Lucena and

Granada.

In all these stopover points, he formed close bonds with

local chachamim and Jewish poets. During his wanderings,

he earned a livelihood by writing poems for wealthy Jews.

One year, Rav Avraham spent Pesach in the Algerian city

of Arglan, and was invited to the home of a very pious Jew

whose kashrus he could trust. The first part of the Seder was

held inside. However, when the time to eat the meal came,

the family prepared sacks of matzos, took their rods and

staffs, and prepared to go for a long walk.

Rav Avraham was stunned, and asked what they planned to

do. The host said that they don’t partake of a festive meal on

Leil Haseder, but rather eat their matzos outside in haste.

Rav Avraham was stunned that an entire community had

for generations been celebrating the Seder night incorrectly,

and assumed that the Karaites had been responsible for

entrenching this erroneous custom.

When he explained their error to them, the people of

Arglan were very upset that they hadn’t conducted the Seder

properly until then. Rav Avraham writes about this in one of

his peirushim.

After spending time in Arglan, Rav Avraham returned

once again to Toledo.

In 4908/1148, the barbaric Almohades - a fierce Arab tribe

- overran Morocco, and from there continued on to Spain.

Seeing the destruction these tribes had wreaked in

Morocco and their cruelty, Rav Avraham left Toledo and

headed to northern Spain. He describes the parting from

Toledo in his introduction to Eicha.

From Spain, he continued on to Rome where he settled in

its Jewish quarter.

In Rome, he was supported by prominent Jews who recognized

his greatness, and he occupied himself with his writings.

While there, he wrote his commentary on Koheles and

Iyov, as well as "Sefer Hamoznayim," his first work on the

grammar of Lashon Hakodesh.

After five years, he left Rome and visited the Italian cities

of Lucca, Pisa, Mantoba and Vorone, remaining in each for

brief periods.

In Lucca, he completed his short commentary on the

Chumash (as opposed to a longer one that he wrote in later

years.) While there he also wrote a commentary on

Yeshayahu, as well as two other grammar books, "Sefer

Hayesod" and "Sefas Yesser."

At that time, he also wrote "Sefer Halachos," which deals

with astrology and astronomy.

From Italy, he continued to France and Provence, which

were close to the German border.

Since Provence’s Jew were accustomed to Sephardic

sages, Rav Avraham enjoyed the support and respect of the

city’s Jewish community.

While there, he wrote a number of books on astronomy,

such as "Sefer HaShem" and "Ta’amei Halachos."

One evening as he Rav Avraham sat engrossed in his studies,

news of the horrifying massacres of entire Jewish communities

in Spain and North Africa reached him. Some

100,000 Jews had been murdered in Fez alone, and 120,000

in Marakesh, while entire communities in Spain had been

wiped out.

Rav Avraham, whose relatives, close friends and students

were still in Spain, was deeply pained by the calamity.

Fortunately, his wife and other children were unharmed.

He expressed his sorrow in several lamentations he composed

about the massacres.

Although Rav Avraham was happy in Provence, he continued

on to Rhodes. When he arrived there, he knocked on the

door of the first Jewish home he found - that of the great sage

Rav Moshe ben Meir.

The very day of his arrival, though, he fell seriously ill and

lost consciousness.

Rav Avraham was comatose for many days. One day he

awoke, and with each passing day his health began to

improve, despite the doctor’s prognosis that he would not

survive.

The moment he was able to get off his bed, he asked his

host for a quill and some parchment. Rav Moshe ben Meir

tried to persuade him not to resume studying and writing

until he had recuperated fully, but Rav Avraham refused to

listen to him.

"While I was ill," he explained, "I vowed that if I recovered

I would write another commentary on the Chumash. - a

broader, more extensive one than that which I had written in

Italy. I don’t want to delay fulfilling my pledge."

Rav Avraham bases this monumental commentary on the

laws of Hebrew grammar. However, in many places, he also

offers deep ideas and outlooks that bear evidence of his

greatness of spirit.

While in Rhodes, he also wrote his commentaries on

Daniel, Esther, Shir Hashirim, Tehillim and Trei Asar, as

well as "Sefer Yesod Mispar" on grammar and "Sefer

HaEchad" on mathematics.

In Rhodes, he formed close friendships with many Baalei

HaTosafos, among them Rabbeinu Tam, the Rosh and a

number of Rashi’s grandsons.

Rav Avraham’s journeys brought him as far as Egypt,

where he met the Rambam.

The Rambam served as the court doctor, and he also built

a special hospital in Cairo for the country’s Jewish residents.

He personally attended to each of the patients and personally

subsidized the costs of their treatments.

Interested in observing the Rambam’s behavior firsthand,

Rav Avraham one day entered the hospital and waited to be

accepted. When one of the doctors asked him what was

wrong, he complained about various aches and pains so that

he would be permitted to remain in the hospital for a while.

As Rav Avraham lay in his hospital bed, he watched the

Rambam go from patient to patient, diagnosing their illnesses

and attaching notes to their beds, including Rav

Avraham’s, with instructions for the staff.

Rav Avraham, who really wasn’t ill, wondered why the

Rambam had reached a diagnosis and had prescribed medications.

After he read the note, he was truly astounded by

the Rambam’s brilliance. It read, "Illness: poverty. Cure:

four hundred dinars."

The next encounter between Rav Avraham and the

Rambam took place in the Rambam’s home. Afterward, the

two agreed to become study partners.

Years later, when Rav Avraham had long left Egypt, his

eyesight began to dim. Although Rav Avraham had never

been perturbed by illness and pain, the possibility of losing

his eyesight worried him, for how could he study Torah and

write his commentaries if he wouldn’t be able to see?

Suddenly, he remembered the Rambam, and felt that it

would be worthwhile to travel all the way to Cairo to consult

with him.

Once he was admitted to the hospital, the Rambam seemed

not to recognize him. Then he asked the doctor who had

admitted him, "Did he pay?"

"I saw that he has no money and let him in without

demanding a fee," the doctor replied.

Sternly, the Rambam ordered, "Throw him out, and then

tie him to one of the posts in the stable. He deserves a punishment

for daring to seek treatment if he knows he can’t pay

for it."

Rav Avraham was led to the stable and tied to a post.

Feeling that all hopes of curing his illness had been dashed,

and deeply hurt by the Rambam’s attitude toward him, Rav

Avraham burst into uncontrollable tears.

Time passed, and no one came to release him. In his sorrow,

Rav Avraham continued to weep all night.

Early the next morning, the Rambam came into the stable

and gently said, "Shalom, my rav, my mentor."

Then he untied the ropes that bound Rav Avraham to the

post and explained his behavior.

"When I saw you," said the Rambam, "I realized that you

were on the verge blindness. I also knew that you could be

cured only if you cried for many, many hours. I pretended

not to recognize you and was so stern with you because I

wanted to help you as quickly as possible.

"Please forgive me for having disgraced you and causing

you sorrow. But Hashem knows that I was only concerned

for your welfare."

"I am the one who must beg your forgiveness. I suspected

you of behaving cruelly, when you really had my best interest

at heart," replied Rav Avraham, whose eyesight had

already begun to improve.

Rav Avraham’s commentaries on the Torah and on Nach

are one of Jewry’s most priceless treasures. Concisely written,

these commentaries are based on grammatical rules and

on pshat. Due to their conciseness, many people found them

difficult to understand, and over 50 commentaries were written

on them.

Rav Avraham was niftar on Rosh Chodesh Adar

4925/1165. May his remarkable works continue to enrich

Klal Yisroel forever.