1089 - 1164 (1 Adar 4924) ABRAHAM IBN EZRA (Cordova, Spain)
Poet, mathematician and prolific Biblical commentator. He signaled the end of the classical period in Jewish secular poetry. His commentary on the Pentateuch is based on grammar and philosophical interpretations which strive to give a simple explanation rather then exegesis or homiletic interpretation and is considered the first scientific interpreter of the Bible. An unsuccessful businessman, he wrote of himself: "If I were to take up shroud making, men would stop dying - if I sold candles, the sun would never set."
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