I. The Cause of His Leaving Spain
In 1263, when Nachmanides debated Pablo Christiani, Nachmanides was coerced to participate. But he was promised by the king, James I of Aragon, that he would be free to make his points without being punished. (Aragon was a section of Spain.)
Nachmanides did well in the debate. In his Hebrew version of the debate, he wrote that the king said to him: “I have never seen a man whose case is wrong argue it as well as you.” Pablo’s goal in the debate was to get the Jews of Aragon and the surrounding regions to convert. But that did not happen. Nachmanides showed that Pablo could not prove the truth of Christianity from either the Bible or the Talmud. But what happened after the debate?
The Bishop of Gerona asked Nachmanides to summarize what he said and Nachmanides wrote such a summary—presumably in Latin or Spanish. We no longer have it. Nachmanides also wrote a version in Hebrew for the Jewish people, which we do have. We do not know when this was written. (It is included in Chavel, Kitvei Ramban.)
Nachmanides’ fine performance in the debate and his post-debate writing very much angered Pablo and the other Dominican friars. Despite the fact that the king had promised Nachmanides freedom to speak—and that probably implicitly included freedom to write a summary of what he said—in 1265, he was brought to trial by the Dominican friars for abuses to Christianity. The punishment was banishment from Aragon for two years and the burning of his writing about the debate. (The king had sympathy for Nachmanides. But, technically, Nachmanides had not had the written permission of the king to write the version for the Bishop.)
But in 1267—at the request of the Dominican friars—the Pope wrote to the king demanding a heavier punishment. Nachmanides now realized it was time to flee Aragon. Although he surely could have gone nearby, he decided to go to Eretz Yisrael. He arrived in 1267, and lived there until his death in 1270. First he was in Jerusalem, but in 1268, he moved to Acre which was more populous. He became the rabbi of that community, succeeding Rabbi Yechiel of Paris. Nachmanides died in 1270.
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There is a disagreement among scholars about precisely what the punishment of Nachmanides was in 1265. The reason for this is that we have a document from the time describing a punishment to a “Bonastruc de Porta.” This was one of the names of Nachmanides. But there is a dispute about whether this document refers to Nachmanides or to someone else with the same name. Most believe it refers to someone else. (This person’s punishment of exile was revoked.) “Bonastruc” was a common Jewish name and means “mazel tov.”
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In his derasha for Rosh Hashanah (Acre, 1268 or 1269), he stated that what motivated him to go to Israel was the rabbinic statement (Sifrei, Re’eh, and Tosefta Avodah Zara) that dwelling in the land of Israel is equal in importance to all the commandments of the Torah. See Chavel, volume 1, page 251.
II. Letter From Jerusalem To His Son, Nachman
On arrival in Jerusalem in 1267, he wrote a letter to his son, Nachman. The letter is included in Chaim Dov Chavel’s Kitvei Ramban, volume 1. Here is my own loose translation (leaving out a bit):
“May God bless you my son, Nachman.
I write to you from Jerusalem. I praise God that I have arrived here safely on the 9th of Elul.
After Yom Kippur, I intend to go to Chevron where our ancestors are buried to hew myself a burial site. Eretz Yisrael is a very desolate land now. The holier the place was, the more it is destroyed now. Jerusalem is destroyed more than Judea, and Judea more than the Galilee.
Nevertheless, Jerusalem is ‘tovah meod.’ It has a total population of almost 2000—which includes about 300 Christians, who are refugees from the sword of the Sultan. There are no Israelites in Jerusalem, because after the Tatars came, they fled from there and some were killed by them. There are only two (Israelite) brothers who are dyers and buy their dye from the governor. A quorum of mitpallelim gather in their house on Shabbat.
We have helped them and found a house in ruins with pillars of marble and a beautiful dome and have taken it over for a beit knesset. The city is hefker. Whoever wants to acquire destroyed items can do so. We have volunteered funds for the repair of this building. They have been sent to Shechem to bring some sifrei Torah that were originally from Jerusalem and had been taken for safety reasons to Shechem. They have set up this beit knesset and will pray there.
Many come to Jerusalem regularly—men and women from Damascus and from Tzovah, and from other areas—to see the remains of the Temple and cry. Whoever sees Jerusalem in its destroyed state will be worthy of seeing it in its rebuilt state, when the kavod haShechina returns.
My son and your brother and the rest of the family, may you all merit to see the goodness of Jerusalem and the comfort of Zion.
(Signed): Your father, “hadoeg veshocheiach, roeh vesameach,” Moshe Ben Rav Nachman, zt”l.
Then there is a P.S: ‘A message for his wife’s brother: Tell him I went on Har HaZeitim and there, near the Temple, I read his poems with much crying.’”
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The synagogue founded by Ramban was originally built on Mount Zion. It moved to its current location, around 1400. It was closed in 1589, by order of the Ottomans and the building was used for commercial purposes thereafter. The building was destroyed in the War of Independence but the synagogue was rebuilt on the same site, after the 1967 war.
With regard to the issue of where Nachmanides is buried, see Chavel, note 5. With regard to the meaning of “hadoeg veshocheiach, roeh vesameach,” see Proverbs 12:25 and Chavel, note 10.
There are other letters that Nachmanides wrote to his sons from Eretz Yisrael.
III. Prayer Over the Ruins of Jerusalem
Nachmanides wrote a prayer upon visiting Jerusalem, in 1267. The prayer is discussed in an article by Oded Yisraeli, in “AJS Review” (41:2, 2017). Yisraeli compares it to something similar that Nachmanides wrote years earlier and shows how Nachmanides’ views on Jerusalem evolved.
Chavel—in his Kitvei Ramban—published the prayer and called it, “Tefilla Al Chorvot Yerushalayim.” The editions prior to Chavel did not have this title but a more general one. (E.g., “A Prayer of Nachmanides.”) This title is only the suggestion of Chavel.
Below are a few brief excerpts from this long prayer: (The English translation is that of Yisraeli.)
“Today, I have seen in you, O holy city, a grievous vision, I found in you a certain Jew, oppressed and humbled, O dyer, surfeited with contempt, in whose home both old and young would assemble if they could complete the quorum of the congregation. A community without action, without cattle or property, an afflicted people, poor and impoverished, needy, wandering beggars … ”
“The city of praise, where you formerly rejoiced, and your people were happy in the beginning, today, I have seen its dwellers sighing and crying, festering with wounds … ”
“I am a man who has seen affliction, I have been exiled from my table. I have left behind friend and companion, for the journey was too long to be embarked upon. I, who was the prince of the brethren, am now in a lodging of wayfaring men. I have forsaken my house, I have cut off my heritage. There, I have left my spirit and my soul with the sons and daughters as my own soul, and with the children whom I fondled and reared upon my knees … My eyes and heart shall be there perpetually … ”
“Our eyes shall see Jerusalem, a peaceful habitation and the cities of Judah in their restoration … Blessed are You, O Eternal One, who hears prayer … ”
Mitchell First can be reached at [email protected]. He wonders what he can accomplish in the last few years of his life.
