Isaac ben Ḥayim ha-Kohen

Isaac ben Ḥayim ha-Kohen was born in Xàtiva, in eastern Spain. He left the Iberian Peninsula in the late summer of 1492 and, along with other exiles from Xàtiva, arrived in Naples. He subsequently found refuge in Apulia, although he was forced to move again following the French conquest. Leaving his mother and brother in Italy, he settled in Constantinople some time before 1501. There he composed most of his works. Isaac ha-Kohen’s ‘Ets ḥayim (Tree of Life), the introduction to which includes an account of the exile and his sufferings, is a treatise on the art of poetry, including discussions of rhyming and meter. He also composed poems, riddles, liturgical poetry, and a parody of a marriage contract (dated 1503). Isaac ha-Kohen was an educated scholar and was acquainted with kabbalah, although kabbalistic (and messianic) themes are marginal in his writing. His prose works include a philosophical commentary on the Song of Songs, annotations on certain sections of the Pentateuch, on Pirke Avot (Chapters of the Fathers), and on Lamentations. Apart from ‘Ets ḥayim, his works have never been printed.