Abraham ben David (c. 1125 – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for Rabbeinu Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III , was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Mishne Torah of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah and one of the key and important links in the chain of Jewish mystics. He was born in Provence, France, and died at Posquières.
He was the son-in-law of Abraham ben Isaac of Narbonne Av Beth Din (known as the RABaD II). He was the father of Rabbeinu Isaac the Blind, a Neoplatonist and important Jewish mystical thinker. The teachers under whose guidance he acquired most of his Talmudic learning were Rabbeinu Moses ben Joseph and Rabbeinu Meshullam of Lunel (Rabbeinu Meshullam hagodol).
RABaD remained in Lunel after completing his studies, and subsequently became one of the rabbinical authorities of that city. He went to Montpellier, where he remained for a short time, and then moved to Nîmes, where he lived for a considerable period. Rabbeinu Moses ben Judah ("Temim De'im", p. 6b) refers to the rabbinical school of Nîmes, then under Rabbeinu Abraham's direction, as the chief seat of Talmudic learning in Provence.
Last night, in the moments my thoughts were adrift
And coasting a terrace, approaching a rift
Through which I could spy several glimpses beneath
Of the darkness, the light from above could not reach
I spied wings of reason, herself taking flight
And upon yonder precipice saw her alight
And glared back at me one last look of dismay
As if she were the last one, she thought I'd betray
So much better I said to myself
And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf
I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated, he slipped off the edge
And silence contagious in moments like these
Consumed me and strengthened my will to appease
The passion that sparked me one terrible night
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite
So much better, I said to myself
And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf
I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated, he slipped off the edge
And silence contagious in moments like these
Consume me and strengthen my will to appease
The passion that sparked me one terrible night
(And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite)
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite