Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas

Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas was native of Barcelona, Spain, where he was a merchant and communal leader. With the accession of John I in 1387 he became associated with the royal household of the Court of Aragon, and was accorded the title “member of the royal household”. He later settled in Saragossa as the crown’s chief rabbi and was empowered by royal decree to exercise over the Jewish community juridical and executive jurisdiction enumerated by Jewish law. In 1391 his son was killed in anti-Jewish riots in Barcelona, which he described in a Hebrew account written in the form of a letter to the Jewish community of Avignon. His other great works are “Refutation of the Principles of the Christians,” a critique of 10 principles of Christianity, and “The Light of the Lord”, a refutation of Maimonides.