R. Jonah was a thirteenth-century scholar who lived in Spain. Although originally opposed to Maimonides’ philosophical works (most notably, his Guide for the Perplexed), he later changed his views, and even vowed to travel to Maimonides’ gravesite to posthumously beg for forgiveness. (He indeed began the long journey, but passed away before completing it.)
R. Jonah authored Shaarei Teshuvah (an ethical work on repentance), a commentary on R. Isaac Al-Fasi’s halachic compendium, and a commentary on Ethics of the Fathers, among other works.
Others date his passing as 1 or 28 MarCheshvan.
Link: Rabbeinu Jonah Gerondi
When the spies that Moses sent returned from their reconnaissance of the Land of Canaan, they included in their report these words:
“We felt like ants before them,
and so we were in their eyes.”
Because they felt like ants in their own eyes,
therefore, others saw them as ants as well.