Hasdai Crescas
1340 – 1410 Catalan (Sephardic Jewish) Rabbi, philosopher, community leader
Philosopher who challenged Aristotle and led Aragonese Jewry through the 1391 massacres.
- Religion
- Judaism (Rabbinic)
- Affiliations
- Barcelona and Zaragoza; Crown of Aragon
Crescas was crown rabbi of Aragon and guided its communities through the devastating anti-Jewish riots of 1391, in which his own son was killed. His work 'Or Adonai' (Light of the Lord) mounted a sharp critique of the Aristotelian philosophy that Maimonides had embraced. His ideas on space and infinity later drew interest from thinkers including Spinoza.