Carca, Samuel

Carca, Samuel (called Ibn-Seneh, i.e. "son of a bush."), a Jewish rabbi of Castile, flourished about 136080. It is related, in the book Juchasin, that, at the reading of a nuptial contract in the synagogue, he publicly protested against its being dated from the creation, and contended philosophically for the eternal existence of. the world. This argument, though not novel as an Aristotelian speculation, yet, when propounded in open congregation, so alarmed the more orthodox party that, during the tumult which followed, R. Isaac Campanton cried out, ' Why is the bush (alluding to his name) not burned?" The assembly then dragged the so-called blasphemer before the judges, who condemned him to be burned alive as an atheist. Three of his writings remain, Sacred Purification, טהרת הקדש: — The Fountain of Life, ס8 מקיר חיים, a super-commentary to Aben-Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch:-Perfection of Beauty, מכלל יופי, a philosophical elucidation on Hagadoth and Midrashim. See Furst, Bibl. Jud. i, 142; De' Rossi, Dizionario Storico (Germ.transl.), p. 287 sq.; Gratz, Gesch. d. Juden, viii, 27 sq.; Finn, Sephardims, p. 388. (B. P.)