Joseph Albo

Joseph Albo (Hebrew: יוסף אלבו; c. 1380 – c. 1444, possibly 1430) was a 15th-century Spanish Jewish rabbi, preacher, and philosopher, best known as the author of Sefer ha-Ikkarim ("Book of Principles"), a major philosophical exposition of the fundamentals of Judaism. His thought was strongly influenced by his teacher Hasdai Crescas, while also displaying familiarity with Islamic philosophy, Christian scholasticism, and, to some extent, the writings of Arab Aristotelians.¹

Biography

Albo's birthplace is generally assumed to have been Monreal del Campo in Aragon. This identification rests on Astruc ha-Levi's account of the Disputation of Tortosa of 1413–1414, which lists Albo among the Jewish participants and describes him as the representative of the congregation of Monreal; the surviving Latin account of the disputation, however, does not associate him with that locality.

His year of birth is likewise uncertain. Heinrich Graetz argued that Albo could not have been younger than thirty when he was sent to participate in the Tortosa disputation and therefore placed his birth no later than 1380. His death is variously dated to 1430 or 1444, the latter being regarded as the more likely date; he is, however, recorded as preaching in Soria in 1433.

Albo was a student of Hasdai Crescas, author of Or Adonai, whose teaching exercised a substantial influence on his own thought.¹ It is uncertain whether Crescas was still alive when Sefer ha-Ikkarim appeared. Albo's frequent use of medical illustrations has also been taken to suggest that he possessed considerable medical knowledge and may have practised .