Works
Only one work by Krinsky is known, though more might show up in the future. This one work is the five-volume Meḥōqeqē Yehudā or Mechokekei Yehudah (Hebrew: מחוקקי יהודה), a super-commentary on Abraham Ibn `Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch and certain of the Megilloth. (The title, meaning The Lawgivers of Judah, is a reference to Krinsky's first name.) Krinsky worked on the Genesis volume from at least 1903 (the date of the first haskama, or rabbinic letter of approbation) until 1907, when it was published. The volume on Exodus was published in 1910. He continued to work on the remaining three volumes, but they did not get published until 1928, by which time Krinsky was probably no longer living.
The published Meḥōqeqē Yehudā includes the Hebrew text of the Pentateuch, the Aramaic text of Targum Onqelos, and the commentaries of Rashi and Ibn `Ezra. Beneath these sources appear Krinsky's annotations. Krinsky's notes on Ibn `Ezra are divided into two columns. The first column is entitled Yahēl Ōr ("may light shine", an allusion to Krinsky's given name, YeHuda Leib), and it consists of straightforward explanations of Ibn `Ezra's words. The second column is entitled Qarnē ’Ōr ("beams of light", also a pun on Krinsky's name, based on its value in gematria); it consists of short essays relating to Ibn `Ezra's work. These essays often include quotes from one or more of the following three sources: (1) classical rabbinic literature; (2) other writings by Ibn `Ezra himself; and (3) reactions to Ibn `Ezra by other mediaeval Jewish writers. When the other writers criticize Ibn `Ezra, Krinsky tries to defend him. One of the most valuable aspects of the Qarnē Ōr is the extensive quoting from Ibn `Ezra's other works. The commentary of Ibn `Ezra on the Torah is a very concise and cryptic work; often, paragraphs that Ibn `Ezra has written in other works shed invaluable light on understanding these cryptic interpretations.
The first volume is preceded by a short history of the Ibn Ezra's life and a bibliography of his works.
Attached to the Meḥōqeqē Yehudā is a work Minḥath Yehudā, a very brief super-commentary on Rashi's commentary on the Pentatuech, which notes the ancient Rabbinic sources for Rashi's comments, and clarifies the correct reading of Rashi's text.
Read more about this topic: Yehuda Leib Krinsky
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