Abraham was born in the second half of the 12th century, probably at
Lunel,
Languedoc, where he also received his education. For this reason, he is sometimes also called () or (), 'of Lunel', since the letters for "Ibn" in Hebrew, , is an acrostic for Abraham's initials. Additionally, the Hebrew is the equivalent of the French word ('moon') In Lunel, Abraham may have studied under
Abraham ben David, but his regular rabbinical studies, were pursued at
Dampierre, Aube in northern
France at the academy of
Isaac ben Samuel. Abraham subsequently left his birthplace, and, after much traveling, finally settled in
Toledo, Spain in 1204, where his learning quickly gained for him the favor of the rich and learned
Joseph ibn Shushan and that of his sons, Solomon and Isaac. To these patrons he dedicated his seminal work,
Sefer Ha-Manhig (
The Guide), or as the author called it, ''Manhig 'Olam,'' which he began in 1204 and completed some years later. In its present form the book consists of two distinct portions, the first of which comprises a collection of responsa, compiled from his numerous written and oral decisions, some of the former of which still bear the usual epistolary conclusion: "Shalom! A. B. N." (Greeting! Abraham ben Nathan). The second part contains extracts from the
halakhic works of
Isaac Alfasi,
Isaac ibn Ghiyyat and
Isaac ben Abba Mari, a relative of Abraham's. The
Manhig did not exert any important influence on halakhic literature and is only occasionally mentioned by rabbis of the
Middle Ages. However, it must be considered as of some importance in the history of
Jewish literature, for it contains numerous literal quotations from the two
Talmuds and most of the halakhic and
aggadic Midrashim, as well as from certain collections of aggadot which have been wholly lost; so that the
Manhig contributes considerably to the textual criticism of all of those works. It gives interesting and instructive details concerning special synagogical usages, personally observed by the author in northern France, southwestern
Germany,
Burgundy,
Champagne,
Provence,
England, and
Spain, and for which there is no other source of information. Thus, he tells us that it was the custom in France for children to bring their
Christian nurses to the courtyard of the synagogue on
Purim, where their parents and relatives loaded them with gifts. He relates also that this custom was strongly objected to by many, because the Jewish poor were losers thereby, and
Rashi is said especially to have denounced it. Abraham is said also to have written a work entitled
Maḥaziḳ haBedeḳ, upon the ritual for slaughtering animals for food, mention of which, however, is made by but one writer in 1467. Renan was mistaken in saying that this work is mentioned in
HaManhig, for the words
sifri maḥaziq habedeq refer, as may be seen from page 2b, line 6, to the
HaManhig, which was designed to counteract any schism in matters of ritual.
Abraham Zacuto who is followed by
David Conforte, ascribes (without giving his authority) a certain book entitled
Maḥaziḳ haBedeḳ to Abraham ben Nathan. But Reifmann's assertion that RABN was the author of a work entitled
Beit Zevul (
Habitation) is wholly unwarranted; for these two words, occurring in the introduction to
HaManhig, refer to the
HaManhig itself, as is evident from the passage on page 2, line 6. RABN wrote also a commentary on the tractate
Kallah, which is extant in fragmentary form only; specimens of it were given in the Hebrew weekly
HaMaggid. During his long stay in Spain, Abraham learned
Arabic sufficiently to translate into Hebrew a responsum by
Saadia Gaon, which is to be found in the
HaManhig. His responsa were also published in Wertheimer's
Ginzei Yerushalayim, 1896. ==References==