Monzon, Abraham
MONZON, ABRAHAM
MONZON, ABRAHAM , the name of two scholars.
(1) (d. after 1603), halakhic authority and preacher, and apparently of North African origin. During his youth he lived in Egypt, where he studied under R. Bezalel *Ashkenazi. His pupils in Egypt included R. Abraham *Iskandari. He later went to Constantinople, where he died. He wrote halakhic decisions, and homiletical interpretations; some of his responsa are scattered in various manuscripts and in the works of contemporary scholars, such as Joseph di *Trani, Samuel de *Medina, Bezalel Ashkenazi, and Solomon b. Abraham ha-Kohen. *Azulai saw in manuscript a composition of his on the work Imrei Emet, by Menahem de *Lonzano, criticizing the kabbalistic system of R. Ḥayyim *Vital. Azulai also saw a collection of his sermons.
(2) (18th century), rabbi and author. He was born in Tetuan, Morocco, where he engaged unsuccessfully in commerce. He therefore wandered to Algiers and Oran and in about 1732 arrived in Egypt, where he was considered one of the most prominent rabbis. His works are extant in manuscript.
bibliography:
J. Ayash, Responsa Beit Yehudah (Leghorn, 1746), Ḥoshen Mishpat, no. 4 (75a); Conforte, Kore, 39–43, 48–49; J.M.Toledano, Ner ha-Ma'arav (1911), 158–9, 230–1; J. Ben-Naim, Malkhei Rabbanan (1931), 13b; Rosanes, Togarmah, 5 (1938), 336–7; S. Assaf, Mekorot u-Meḥkarim (1946), 206–8; Hirschberg, Afrikah, 2 (1965), 115.
[Abraham David]