Thursday 31 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March 2011
A Cohen at Shin Beth
Image via Wikipedia//What's Bibi's plan?Yoram Cohen, an observant Jew, was appointed by Benjamin Netanyahu for the top-chief of Shin Beth, a first such nomination for this position. Among other dangerous tasks, he would has to deal with the settlers. This is a message in the bottle of the nomination, but we'll have to wait a little bit more for the final delivery.
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Saadia ben Yosef Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon (b. Egypt 882/892, d. Baghdad Arabic: سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi, Hebrew: סעדיה בן יוסף גאון, Sa'id ibn Yusuf al-Dilasi, Saadia ben Yosef aluf, Sa'id ben Yusuf ra's al-Kull) was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period. On the other hand, many information about him are missing, mostly covering his beginnings in Egypt, as part of the overall problematic documentation of the Jewish life in many parts of the Muslim world.
The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature and he inaugurated a new era of Jewish learning and literature. Known for his works on Hebrew linguistics, Halakha, and Jewish philosophy, he was one of the more sophisticated practitioners of the philosophical school known as the "Jewish Kalam". In this capacity, his philosophical work Emunoth ve-Deoth represents the first systematic attempt to integrate Jewish theology with components of Greek philosophy and to go beyond the old allegorical interpretations, for reaching a systematic level. Saadia was also very active in opposition to Karaism, in defense of rabbinic Judaism.
Saadia's Arabic translation is of importance for the history of civilization; itself a product of the Arabization of a large portion of Judaism, it served for centuries as a potent factor in the impregnation of the Jewish spirit with Arabic culture, so that, in this respect, it may take its place beside the Greek Bible-translation of Antiquity and the German translation by Moses Mendelssohn.
The position assigned to Saadia in the oldest list of Hebrew grammarians, which is contained in the introduction to Ibn Ezra's "Moznayim," has not been challenged even by the latest historical investigations. Here, too, he was the first; his grammatical work, now lost, gave an inspiration to further studies, which attained their most brilliant and lasting results in Spain, and he created in part the categories and rules along whose lines was developed the grammatical study of the Hebrew language. His dictionary, primitive and merely practical as it was, became the foundation of Hebrew lexicography; and the name "Agron" (literally, "collection"), which he chose and doubtless created, was long used as a designation for Hebrew lexicons, especially by the Karaites. The very categories of rhetoric, as they were found among the Arabs, were first applied by Saadia to the style of the Bible. He was likewise one of the founders of comparative philology, not only through his brief "Book of Seventy Words," already mentioned, but especially through his explanation of the Hebrew vocabulary by the Arabic, particularly in the case of the favorite translation of words by Arabic terms having the same sound.
Saadia's works were the inspiration and basis for later Jewish writers, such as Berachyah in his encyclopedic philosophical work Sefer Hahibbur (The Book of Compilation).
Life
At a young age he left his home to study under the Torah scholars of Tiberias. At age 20 Saadia completed his first great work, the Hebrew dictionary which he entitled Agron. At 23 he composed a polemic against the followers of Anan ben David, particularly Solomon ben Yeruham, thus beginning the activity which was to prove important in opposition to Karaism, in defense of rabbinic Judaism. In the same year he left Egypt and settled permanently in Palestine.
In 922 a controversy arose concerning the Hebrew calendar that threatened the entire Jewish community. Since Hillel II (around 359 CE), the calendar had been based on a series of rules (described more fully in Maimonides' Code) rather than on observation of the moon's phases. One of these rules required the date of Rosh Hashanah to be postponed if the calculated lunar conjunction occurred at noon or later. Rabbi Aaron ben Meir, the Gaon of the leading Talmudic academy in Israel (then located in Ramle), claimed a tradition according to which the cutoff point was 642/1080 of an hour (approximately 35 minutes) after noon. In that particular year, this change would result in a two-day schism with the major Jewish communities in Babylonia: according to Ben Meir the first day of Passover would be on a Sunday, while according to the generally accepted rule it would be on Tuesday.
Saadia was in Aleppo, on his way from the East, when he learned of Ben Meir's regulation of the Jewish calendar. Saadia addressed a warning to him, and in Babylon he placed his knowledge and pen at the disposal of the exilarch David ben Zakkai and the scholars of the academy, adding his own letters to those sent by them to the communities of the Diaspora (922). In Babylonia he wrote his "Sefer ha-Mo'adim," or "Book of Festivals," in which he refuted the assertions of Ben Meir regarding the calendar, and helped to avert from the Jewish community the perils of schism.
His dispute with Ben Meir was an important factor in the call to Sura which he received in 928. The exilarch David ben Zakkai insisted on appointing him as Gaon (head of the academy), despite the weight of precedent (no foreigner had ever served as Gaon before), and against the advice of the aged Nissim Nahrwani, a Resh Kallah at Sura, who feared a confrontation between the two strong-willed personalities, David and Saadia. (Nissim declared, however, that if David was determined to see Saadia in the position, then he would be ready to become the first of Saadia's followers.
Under his leadership, the ancient academy, founded by Rav, entered upon a new period of brilliancy.This renaissance was cut short, though, by a clash between Saadia and David, much as Nissim had predicted.
In a probate case Saadia refused to sign a verdict of the exilarch which he thought unjust, although the Gaon of Pumbedita had subscribed to it. When the son of the exilarch threatened Saadia with violence to secure his compliance, and was roughly handled by Saadia's servant, open war broke out between the exilarch and the gaon. Each excommunicated the other, declaring that he deposed his opponent from office; and David b. Zakkai appointed Joseph b. Jacob as gaon of Sura, while Saadia conferred the exilarchate on David's brother Hassan (Josiah; 930). Hassan was forced to flee, and died in exile in Khorasan; but the strife which divided Babylonian Judaism continued. Saadia was attacked by the exilarch and by his chief adherent, the young but learned Aaron ibn Sargado (later Gaon of Pumbedita, 943-960), in Hebrew pamphlets, fragments of which show a hatred on the part of the exilarch and his partisans that did not shrink from scandal. Saadia did not fail to reply.
He wrote both in Hebrew and in Arabic a work, now known only from a few fragments, entitled "Sefer ha-Galui" (Arabic title, "Kitab al-Ṭarid"), in which he emphasized with great but justifiable pride the services which he had rendered, especially in his opposition to heresy.
The seven years which Saadia spent in Baghdad did not interrupt his literary activity. His principal philosophical work was completed in 933; and four years later, through Ibn Sargado's father-in-law, Bishr ben Aaron, the two enemies were reconciled. Saadia was reinstated in his office; but he held it for only five more years. David b. Zakkai died before him (c. 940), being followed a few months later by the exilarch's son Judah, while David's young grandson was nobly protected by Saadia as by a father. According to a statement made by Abraham ibn Daud and doubtless derived from Saadia's son Dosa, Saadia himself died in Babylonia at Sura in 942, at the age of sixty, of "black gall" (melancholia), repeated illnesses having undermined his health.
Works
Saadia translated most, if not all, of the Tanakh into Arabic, adding an Arabic commentary.
Kutub al-Lughah - "Tafsir al-Sab'ina Lafẓah," a list of seventy (properly ninety) Hebrew (and Aramaic) words which occur in the Hebrew Bible only once or very rarely, and which may be explained from traditional literature, especially from the Neo-Hebraisms of the Mishnah. This small work has been frequently reprinted.
Halakhic Writings - Short monographs in which problems of Jewish law are systematically presented. Of these Arabic treatises of Saadia's little but the titles and extracts is known, and it is only in the "Kitab al-Mawarith" that fragments of any length have survived.
A commentary on the thirteen rules of Rabbi Ishmael, preserved only in a Hebrew translation. An Arabic methodology of the Talmud is also mentioned, by Azulai, as a work of Saadia under the title "Kelale ha-Talmud".
The "Siddur" - Of this synagogal poetry the most noteworthy portions are the "Azharot" on the 613 commandments, which give the author's name as "Sa'id b. Joseph", followed by the title "Alluf," thus showing that the poems were written before he became gaon.
Philosophy of Religion
Emunoth ve-Deoth (Kitab al-Amanat wal-I'tikadat): This work is considered to be the first systematic attempt to synthesize the Jewish tradition with philosophical teachings. Prior to Saadia, the only other Jew to attempt any such fusion was Philo (1989 Ivry).
"Tafsir Kitab al-Mabadi," an Arabic translation of and commentary on the Sefer Yetzirah, written while its author was still residing in Egypt (or Israel).
Refutations of Karaite authors, always designated by the name "Kitab al-Radd," or "Book of Refutation." These three works are known only from scanty references to them in other works; that the third was written after 933 is proved by one of the citations.
"Kitab al-Tamyiz" (in Hebrew, "Sefer ha-Hakkarah"), or "Book of Distinction," composed in 926, and Saadia's most extensive polemical work. It was still cited in the 12th century; and a number of passages from it are given in a Biblical commentary of Japheth ha-Levi.
There was perhaps a special polemic of Saadia against Ben Zuta, though the data regarding this controversy between is known only from the gaon's gloss on the Torah.
A refutation directed against the rationalistic critic Hiwi al-Balkhi, whose views were rejected by the Karaites themselves.
"Kitab al-Shara'i'," or "Book of the Commandments of Religion."
"Kitab al-'Ibbur," or "Book of the Calendar," likewise apparently containing polemics against Karaite Jews;
"Sefer ha-Mo'adim," or "Book of Festivals," the Hebrew polemic against Ben Meir which has been mentioned above.
"Sefer ha-Galui," also in Hebrew and in the same Biblical style as the "Sefer ha-Mo'adim," being an apologetic work directed against David b. Zakkai and his followers.
Saadia Gaon was a pioneer in the fields in which he toiled. The foremost object of his work was the Tanakh; his importance is due primarily to his establishment of a new school of exegesis characterized by a rational investigation of the contents of the Tanakh and a scientific knowledge of the language of the holy text.
Sources:
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1449859
http://www.archive.org/stream/saadiagaonhisli00maltgoog/saadiagaonhisli00maltgoog_djvu.txt
Sunday 27 March 2011
No half-ways
Image via WikipediaI will not talk about Judaism without Jews. The big responsibility of the Jews is to keep the Mitzvot and our tradition; in the aforementioned case, it is not the case. The case is interesting from the historical point of view to observe various mutations and formula, but from the point of view of the Judaism, it's an example of how the tradition is challenged by various more or less friendly and self-branded well-intentioned "interventions". You can't be one foot in Judaism and another one in another religion and still call yourself a Jew.
Thursday 24 March 2011
Yemenite Jewry
Some live posts and observations, while reading Yemenite Jewry. Origins, Culture and Literature, by Reuben Ahroni, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1986
- Not surprinsingly, when Yemeni Jews arrived in Israel, many Askenazim were took by surprise as they never saw Jews with a different complexion before. More to come after the Ethiopians arrived. See also the problems of discrimination at the beginning of the state.
- According to a legend, they are considered the descendants of the group whom Ezra called upon to return to Jerusalem for the building of the second Temple, but they refused it. Another source accuse them of not being of Jewish extraction, as descendants of indigenous Arabs who embraced Judaism in pre-Islamic times.
- About 80% of the Yemeni Jews lived in villages and in small towns, the only non-Muslim minority in a country with strong tribal divisions and frequent fratricid wars.
- The community didn't generate reknown writers and scholars, but their isolation contributed to the preservation of old customs and traditions. Meanwhile, there are not available sources to establish precisely the origins of the Jews of Yemen.
- "The Galut theme, namely lamentation, mourning, and woe, is central in Yemenite Jewish literature" (p. 134). In 17th century, the Jews from Yemen were forced to move to Mauza and the synagogues from the rest of the country destroyed.
Eating insects
or, at least, some of them...my inspiration while reading a book about Yemenite Jewry.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Creative ideas for Reform Judaism?
I hope the new trend will not be dancing or making various kind of acrobatics. And if it is a problem with the Reform is the direction taken in some cases and the lack of consistency of the educational system. This book says something about the current situation, with lots of facts and real time events, but fails to answer many fundamental aspects of the division.
This is a thousand years story...
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Monday 21 March 2011
Friday 18 March 2011
Purim is here! Ready?
Thursday 17 March 2011
Hamantashen, anyone?
In only a couple of hours, everything should be ready!
Marais, Brooklyn or Tel Aviv, the preparations for Purim are entering the hasty stage.
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Friday 11 March 2011
Thursday 10 March 2011
Monday 7 March 2011
Gideon Rafael, a personal Memoir about the first generation of Israeli diplomats
Image via Wikipedia//Kibbutz guard, 1936"In our conversation in 1961 Pandit Nehru had asked me how Israel, with a population two hundred times smaller than that of India, managed to find so many suitable heads of mission to man such a variety of posts. (...)
He was astonished to learn that quite a few of Israel's ambassadors had graduated from kibbutzim rather than from professional schools for diplomats. The man from behind the plough who was familiar with the intricacies of modern rural economy, who understood how to get along with his Arab neighbours and to negotiate with hard-headed bankers and thick-skinned bureaucrats, who had innate intelligence and human culture, was at least as good ambassadorial timber as the professional diplomat reared in the precincts of academic exclusivity. Some of our best people had a background of both. They were deeply immersed in the life of the country, had toiled and fought for it, grown up and gained experience in its struggle for independence, were educated in the ways of other nations and imbued with the knowledge and sense of the history of their own people. Most of them had swiftly acquired their professional polish, others had remained rough diamonds, attractive and valuable in their own way".
Gideon Rafael, Destination Peace. Three Decades of Israeli Foreign Policy. A Personal Memoir, p. 376
Thursday 3 March 2011
Where is your Shtender?
Maybe during the next Shabbes you'll be invited to visit a honorable religious house and you will see an interesting piece of furniture, reminding you of your time spent in school. If it looks like in this picture, it might be a Shtender.
This is the place where you stay to learn or davening, where you put your siddur, at home or at your yeshiva.
From the pedagogical point of view, it shares a different conception on education, where anybody is directly responsible for acquiring knowledge, praying and the interaction with the professor/rav is individual.
My movie selection
I had the time last night to watch a couple of interesting - but different - long and short movies.
In this order:
Lost in Tel Aviv is a sour-sweet animation movie about a couple of young graficians living in Tel Aviv, looking to promote their Guystershow movie, against all and everything: from the hectic taxi drivers in Tel Aviv, the changing mood of the financial system, the pressure of the family, the daily accidents and everything spontaneous occuring into your life. I felt everything as very human and simple. Sometimes our life is a cartoon, because of the simplicity of its complicated ways.
My favorite of the evening/day/week was Elyokim, a short story about love, friendship and betrayal in Mea Sharim and the unfairness of the limits of our dreams.
Willingly is another short movie. The topic: the divorce as the priviledge of the man, who can play with this right, use it as a way of psychological pressure against the woman. Sometimes might be too late, or sometimes - as in the case of this movie - it is just the beginning of the woman's awakening. Interesting exploration of the divorce procedures, but also an interesting soul lecture.
Exoneration
2 March 2011, Planet Earth - Pope Benedict exonerated the Jewish people for the death of J-Christ.
On the other hand, what about agreeing to fully open the Archives of Vatican in order to clarify the situation of the Catholic Church in the mass murder of Jews during WWII. The passivity if not direct support, of Pope Pius XII and parts of the Catholic clergy for the racist and anti-semitic regimes from Europe are not a secret anymore and there are many books addressing this case, on the base of documents and personal accounts. And we are talking in this case about documents, testimonies and many victims.
A new episode from the discussion about conversions
The Canadian fall (or failure)
But, in the same time, I am wondering what the approach could be in the case of this small community from Gambia, suddenly fascinated with Judaism, without any previous preparation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)