Azday/Hasday Cresques/Crescas: spiritual leader and statesman

Abstract

On the basis of information from documents in the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (in Barcelona) and the Archive of Notarial Protocols of Zaragoza, much of it previously unpublished, I have attempted to reconstruct the biography of Hasday Crescas or, as he himself wrote his name in the Latin alphabet, Azday Cresques. Born into a family of high social status, his long, intense life began in Barcelona, where he trained as a Talmudist, went into business, married his first wife (Tolrana Descortal) and, as a leader of the city’s aljama, took his first steps in political activity. In the late 1380s, finding himself utterly opposed to the prevailing political and social situation in Barcelona’s aljama, he took up the proposal of some prominent Jews from Zaragoza and moved to Aragon to become the community’s spiritual leader. There, he was exceptionally active as rav of Zaragoza’s aljama, a judge of malsines (slanderers), a pro tect or of his people (especially after the disturbances of 1391), an adviser to kings (those of Aragon and Navarra) and a statesman, earning him privileges that made him one of the most powerful and influential Jews of his time. He remained in Zaragoza until his death in 1411, accompanied by his two wives, one from Catalonia (Tolrana Descortal) and one from Aragon (Jamila Abenafia, with whom he had four children), who both outlived him. This study does not extend to his activity as a writer and philosopher.

Keywords: Hasday Crescas, Azday Cresques, Crown of Aragon, Barcelona, Zaragoza, rabbi, chief judge