Isaac Canpanton

Who was Isaac Canpanton?

Isaac ben Jacob Canpanton was a Spanish rabbi. He lived in the period darkened by the outrages of Ferran Martinez and Vicente Ferrer, when intellectual life and Talmudic erudition were on the decline among the Jews of Spain. The historiographers Immanuel Aboab, Zacuto, and Joseph ben Zaddik unite in designating Canpanton as a gaon, Aboab stating that he was styled "the gaon of Castile." Among his pupils may be mentioned Samuel al-Valensi, Isaac Aboab, and Isaac De Leon. He died at Peñafiel in 1463.

He left but one work, Darche ha-Gemara, or Darche ha-Talmud, which is an important contribution to the subject, as it attempts to be a practical guide for those who are called upon to teach the Talmud. It was published at Constantinople, ca. 1520; Venice, 1565; Mantua, 1593; Amsterdam, 1706, 1711, 1754; Vienna, 1891 and Jerusalem, 1981.