Isaac ‘Akrish

A book collector, publisher, and writer, Isaac ben Abraham ‘Akrish was born in Salonika to a Sephardic family. He led the life of a wanderer until he settled in Cairo, staying in the house of R. David Ibn Abi Zimra, where he tutored the latter’s grandchildren. ‘Akrish’s large collection of manuscripts was confiscated by the authorities of Crete, but he was able to save it from being burned by debating with the governor. The works were, however, lost in a fire in Istanbul in 1569. ‘Akrish printed three major collections of (mostly medieval) texts between 1575 and 1578: Sheloshah perushim (Three Commentaries) contains commentaries on Song of Songs (by Se‘adya Ga’on [882–942], Joseph ibn Kaspi [1279–1340], and an anonymous author, “She’ar yashuv”); Kol mevaser (The Voice of the Herald) includes letters about the ten lost tribes; and Igeret ogeret (The Epistle of Gatherings) is a collection of polemical writings.