orig. Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph
born 1250?, Lunel, near Montpellier, France
died after 1306
French Jewish scholar.
He revered Maimonides but argued that Maimonides' followers undermined faith by reading the Bible allegorically. Through letters he persuaded the powerful rabbi Solomon ben Abraham Adret (12351310) of Barcelona, Spain, to forbid the study or teaching of science and philosophy by those under 25 (1305). The resulting controversy almost split the Jewish communities of France and Spain. A schism was prevented when Philip IV of France expelled the Jews from France in 1306, and Astruc settled in Majorca.