Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat

Who is Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat?

Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat was a Spanish Talmudist and rabbi; born at the end of the 15th century in Estella, Navarre; died probably in Istanbul about 1550.

He was the author of Kelal Ḳaẓer mi-Kol ha-Rashum Beketab, containing a short compendium of rabbinic theology, Halakah, morals, ethics, jurisprudence, and political science. The book appeared in manuscript in Istanbul in 1530, and could be obtained from the author only for a limited time, on the payment of one florin as a fee for perusal. Besides, Bulat published the Talmud methodology Halikot 'Olam of Joshua ben Joseph. Tam ibn Yaḥyah, in his work "Tummat Yesharim," and Elijah Mizraḥi, in his responsa, both colleagues of Bulat in Istanbul, cite some of his responsa.

Bulat, possessing a thorough knowledge of the Talmud, opened up new methods in Talmudic study. He decided that the method of Talmud interpretation practiced by some of his contemporaries was contradictory to the real meaning of the Talmud. It was their custom to regard every opinion, even every sentence, in the Talmud as a binding rule; and they went so far as to look upon every "poseḳ" in the same way. Consequently, a vast number of new "ḥumrot" continued to be introduced; and it was considered a duty of the pious to refrain from acts tabooed by their predecessors, though only by a few of them.