HISTORY OF THE JEWS
HISTORY OF THE
JEWS
BY
HEINRICH GRAETZ
VOL. IV
FROM THE RISE OF THE KABBALA (1270 C. E.) TO THE
PERMANENT SETTLEMENT OF THE MARRANOS
IN HOLLAND (1618 C. E.)
[Illustration]
PHILADELPHIA
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
5717-1956
Copyright, 1894, by
THE JEWISH PUBLICATION SOCIETY OF AMERICA
_All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher: except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine or newspaper._
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
CULTIVATION OF THE KABBALA, AND PROSCRIPTION OF SCIENCE.
Progress of the Kabbala--Todros Halevi and his Sons--Isaac
Allatif and his Kabbalistic Doctrines--Adventurous Career
of Abraham Abulafia--He assumes the Character of Messiah
--Opposition of Ben Adret--The Prophet of Avila--Joseph
Jikatilla and his Kabbalistic Mazes--The Impostor Moses de
Leon--Forgeries of the Kabbalists--Origin of the Zohar--
Its Doctrines and Influence--Shem-Tob Falaquera--Isaac
Albalag--Levi of Villefranche--Samuel Sulami and Meïri--
Abba-Mari's Exaggerated Zeal--Jacob ben Machir Profatius and
the Controversy regarding the Study of Science--Asheri--The
Poet Yedaya Bedaresi _page 1._
1270-1328 C.E.
CHAPTER II.
THE FIRST EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM FRANCE, AND ITS
CONSEQUENCES.
Philip le Bel--The Jews of France plundered and banished--
Estori Parchi; Aaron Cohen; Laments of Bedaresi--Eleazar
of Chinon, the Martyr--Return of the Jews to France; their
Precarious Position--Progress of the Controversy regarding
the Study of Philosophy--Abba-Mari and Asheri--Death of Ben
Adret--Rabbinical Revival in Spain--Isaac Israeli II--
Samuel and the Queen Maria Molina--Don Juan Emanuel and Judah
Ibn-Wakar--The Jews of Rome--Robert of Naples and the Jews
--Peril of the Jews in Rome--Kalonymos ben Kalonymos, his
Satires--Immanuel and Dante--The Poet Judah Siciliano--
Leone Romano and King Robert--Shemarya Ikriti--Position of
Karaism--Aaron the Elder and the Prayer-Book of the Karaites
_page 46._
1306-1328 C.E.
CHAPTER III.
THE AGE OF THE ASHERIDES AND OF GERSONIDES.
Condition of Palestine--Pilgrims and Immigrants--Shem
Tob Ibn-Gaon--Favorable Position of the Jews in Castile
under Alfonso XI--Persecution in Navarre--Joseph de Ecija
and Samuel Ibn-Wakar--Increase of Anti-Jewish Feelings
--Abner-Alfonso of Burgos, Convert to Christianity, and
Persecutor of the Jews--Gonzalo Martinez--Fall of Martinez
and Deliverance of the Jews--Decline of the Study of Science
--The Study of the Talmud prosecuted with Renewed Vigor--
Jacob and Judah Asheri--Isaac Pulgar, David Ibn-Albilla--
The Provençal Philosophers Ibn-Kaspi, Leon de Bagnols, and
Vidal Narboni--Decline of the Study of the Talmud in Germany
--Emperor Louis of Bavaria and the Jews--Persecution by the
"Leather-Arms" _page 73._
1328-1350 C.E.
CHAPTER IV.
THE BLACK DEATH.
Rise of the False Accusation against Jews of Poisoning the
Wells--Massacres in Southern France and Catalonia--The
Friendly Bull of Pope Clement VI--Terrible Massacres in all
Parts of Germany--Confessions wrung from the Jews on the Rack
--The Flagellants as a Scourge for the Jews--King Casimir of
Poland--Persecution in Brussels--The Black Death in Spain
--Don Pedro the Cruel and the Jews--Santob de Carrion and
Samuel Abulafia--Fall of Don Pedro and its Consequences for
the Jews--Return of the Jews to France and Germany--The
"Golden Bull"--Manessier de Vesoul--Matathiah Meïr Halevi
--Synod at Mayence _page 100._
1348-1380 C.E.
CHAPTER V.
THE AGE OF CHASDAÏ CRESCAS AND ISAAC BEN SHESHET.
The Jews of Spain after the Civil War--Joseph Pichon and
Samuel Abrabanel--The Apostates: John of Valladolid--
Menachem ben Zerach, Chasdaï Crescas, and Isaac ben Sheshet
--Chayim Gallipapa and his Innovations--Prevôt Aubriot
and the Jews of Paris--The French Rabbinate--Revival
of Jewish Influence in Spain--The Jews of Portugal--The
Jewish Statesmen, David and Judah Negro--Rabbis and Clergy
--Persecutions in Germany and Spain--The First Germs of the
Inquisition--Second Expulsion of the Jews from France--The
Convert Pessach-Peter--Lipmann of Mühlhausen _page 136._
1369-1380 C.E.
CHAPTER VI.
JEWISH APOSTATES AND THE DISPUTATION AT TORTOSA.
The Marranos--The Satirists--Pero Ferrus of Alcala, Diego
de Valencia, and Villasandino--Astruc Raimuch and Solomon
Bonfed--Paul de Santa Maria and his Zealous Campaign against
the Jews--Joshua Ibn-Vives--Profiat Duran (Efodi)--Meïr
Alguades--The Philosophy of Crescas--Death of Henry III of
Castile and Unfavorable Change in the Position of the Jews--
Messianic Dreams of the Kabbalists--Jews seek an Asylum in
Northern Africa--Simon Duran--Geronimo de Santa Fé, Vincent
Ferrer and Benedict XIII--Anti-Jewish Edict of Juan II--
Special Jewish Costume--Conversion of Jews owing to Ferrer's
Violent Efforts--Disputation at Tortosa--The Jewish
Spokesmen at the Conference--Incidents of the Meeting--
Geronimo instigates the Publication of a Bull for the Burning
of the Talmud--Pope Martin V befriends the Jews _page 179._
1391-1420 C.E.
CHAPTER VII.
THE HUSSITES. PROGRESS OF JEWISH LITERATURE.
The Hussite Heresy--Consequences for the Jews involved in
the Struggle--Jacob Mölin--Abraham Benveniste and Joseph
Ibn-Shem Tob in the Service of the Castilian Court--Isaac
Campanton, the Poet Solomon Dafiera--Moses da Rieti--
Anti-Christian Polemical Literature--Chayim Ibn-Musa--
Simon Duran and his Son Solomon--Joseph Albo as a Religious
Philosopher--Jewish Philosophical Systems--Edict of the
Council of Basle against the Jews--Fanatical Outbreaks in
Majorca--Astruc Sibili and his Conversion to Christianity
_page 221._
1420-1442 C.E.
CHAPTER VIII.
CAPISTRANO AND HIS PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS.
Pope Eugenius IV, under the Influence of Alfonso de Cartagena,
changes his Attitude towards the Jews--His Bull against the
Spanish and Italian Jews in 1442--Don Juan II defends the
Jews--Pope Nicholas V's Hostility--Louis of Bavaria--The
Philosopher Nicholas of Cusa and his Relation to Judaism--
John of Capistrano--His Influence with the People is turned
against the Jews--Capistrano in Bavaria and Würzburg--
Expulsion of the Breslau Community--Expulsion of the Jews
from Brünn and Olmütz--The Jews of Poland under Casimir IV
--Capture of Constantinople by Mahomet II--The Jews find
an Asylum in Turkey--The Karaites--Moses Kapsali--Isaac
Zarfati--Position of the Jews of Spain--Persecutions
directed by Alfonso de Spina--The Condition of the Marranos
_page 248._
1442-1474 C.E.
CHAPTER IX.
THE JEWS IN ITALY AND GERMANY BEFORE THE EXPULSION FROM SPAIN.
Position of the Jews of Italy--The Jewish Bankers--Yechiel
of Pisa--His Relations with Don Isaac Abrabanel--Jewish
Physicians, Guglielmo di Portaleone--Revival of Learning
among Italian Jews--Messer Leon and Elias del Medigo--
Pico di Mirandola, the Disciple of Medigo--Predilection of
Christians for the Kabbala--Jochanan Aleman--Religious
Views of Del Medigo--German Rabbis immigrate into Italy--
Joseph Kolon, his Character and his Feud with Messer Leon
--Judah Menz, an Antagonist of Del Medigo--Bernardinus
of Feltre--Jews banished from Trent on a False Charge of
Child-Murder--The Doge of Venice and Pope Sixtus IV befriend
the Jews--Sufferings of the Jews of Ratisbon--Israel Bruna
--Synod at Nuremberg--Emperor Frederick III _page 285._
1474-1492 C.E.
CHAPTER X.
THE INQUISITION IN SPAIN.
Jewish Blood in the Veins of the Spanish Nobility--The
Marranos cling to Judaism and manifest Unconquerable Antipathy
to Christianity--Ferdinand and Isabella--The Dominicans,
Alfonso de Ojeda, Diego de Merlo, and Pedro de Solis--The
Catechism of the Marranos--A Polemical Work against the
Catholic Church and Despotism gives a Powerful Impulse to the
Inquisition--The Tribunal is established in 1480--Miguel
Morillo and Juan de San Martin are the first Inquisitors--
The Inquisition in Seville--The "Edict of Grace"--The
Procession and the Auto-da-fé--The Numbers of the Accused and
Condemned--Pope Sixtus IV and his Vacillating Policy with
Regard to the Inquisition--The Inquisition under the first
Inquisitor General, Thomas de Torquemada; its Constitutions
--The Marranos of Aragon--They are charged with the Death
of the Inquisitor Arbues--Persecutions and Victims--
Proceedings against two Bishops Favorable to the Jews,
De Avila and De Aranda _page 308._
1474-1483 C.E.
CHAPTER XI.
EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN.
Friendship of Marranos and Jews--Torquemada demands of
the Rabbis of Toledo the Denunciation of Marranos--Judah
Ibn-Verga--Jewish Courtiers under Ferdinand and Isabella
--Isaac Abrabanel: his History and Writings--The Jews
of Portugal under Alfonso V--The Ibn-Yachya Brothers--
Abrabanel's Flight from Portugal to Spain--The Jews of
Granada: Isaac Hamon--Edict of Banishment promulgated by
Ferdinand and Isabella--Its Consequences--Departure from
Spain--Number of the Exiles--Decline in the Prosperity
of Spain after the Banishment of the Jews--Transformation
of Synagogues and Schools into Churches and Monasteries--
The Inquisition and the Marranos--Deza, the Successor of
Torquemada _page 334._
1483-1492 C.E.
CHAPTER XII.
EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM NAVARRE AND PORTUGAL.
The Exiles from Navarre--Migration to Naples--King
Ferdinand I of Naples and Abrabanel--Leon Abrabanel--
Misfortunes of the Jews in Fez, Genoa, Rome, and the Islands
of Greece--The Sultan Bajazet--Moses Kapsali--Spanish
Jews in Portugal--The Jewish Astronomers, Abraham Zacuto
and José Vecinho--The Jewish Travelers, Abraham de Beya and
Joseph Zapateiro--Outbreak of the Plague among the Spanish
Jews in Portugal--Sufferings of the Portuguese Exiles--
Judah Chayyat and his Fellow-Sufferers--Cruelty of João II--
Kindly Treatment by Manoel changed into Cruelty on his Marriage
--Forcible Baptism of Jewish Children--Levi ben Chabib and
Isaac Caro--Pope Alexander VI--Manoel's Efforts on Behalf
of the Portuguese Marranos--Death of Simon Maimi and Abraham
Saba _page 357._
1492-1498 C.E.
CHAPTER XIII.
RESULTS OF THE EXPULSION OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.
GENERAL VIEW.
Widespread Consequences of the Expulsion--The Exiles--Fate
of the Abrabanel Family--Leon Medigo--Isaac Akrish--The
Pre-eminence of Jews of Spanish Origin--The North-African
States: Samuel Alvalensi, Jacob Berab, Simon Duran II--The
Jews of Algiers, Tripoli and Tunis--Abraham Zacuto and Moses
Alashkar--Egypt: Isaac Shalal, David Ibn-Abi Zimra--The
Jews of Cairo--Selim I--Cessation of the Office of Nagid--
Jerusalem--Obadyah di Bertinoro--Safet and Joseph Saragossi
--The Jews of Turkey--Constantinople--Elias Mizrachi:
the Karaites--The Communities of Salonica and Adrianople--
The Jews of Greece--Elias Kapsali--The Jews of Italy and
the Popes: Bonet de Lates--The Ghetto in Venice--Samuel
Abrabanel and Benvenida Abrabanela--Abraham Farissol--The
Jews of Germany and their Sorrows--Expulsion of the Jews from
Various Towns--The Jews of Bohemia--Jacob Polak and his
School--The Jews of Poland _page 382._
1496-1525 C.E.
CHAPTER XIV.
REUCHLIN AND THE TALMUD.
Antecedents of the Convert John Pfefferkorn--Pfefferkorn and
the Dominicans of Cologne--Hoogstraten, Ortuinus Gratius
and Arnold of Tongern--Victor von Karben--Attacks on the
Talmud and Confiscation of Copies in Frankfort--Reuchlin's
Hebrew and Kabbalistic Studies--The Controversy concerning
the Talmud--Activity on both Sides--Public Excitement--
Complete Victory of Reuchlin's Efforts in Defense of Jewish
Literature--Ulrich von Hutten--Luther--Revival of Hebrew
Studies _page 422._
1500-1520 C.E.
CHAPTER XV.
THE KABBALA AND MESSIANIC FANATICISM. THE MARRANOS AND THE
INQUISITION.
Internal Condition of Judaism--Division in the Communities--
The Lack of Interest in Poetry--Historical Studies---Leon
Medigo's "Dialogues of Love"--Supremacy of the Kabbala--
Messianic Hopes--The Marranos and the Inquisition--Henrique
Nunes--The Traveler David Reubeni in Rome--Solomon Molcho
--His Relations with David Reubeni--Joseph Karo and his
"Maggid"--Clement VII--Molcho in Ancona and Rome--His
Favor with the Cardinals--Death of Molcho--The Enthusiastic
Regard in which he was held--Duarte de Paz--Paul III--
Charles V and the Jews--Emanuel da Costa _page 477._
1500-1538 C.E.
CHAPTER XVI.
STRIVINGS OF EASTERN JEWS FOR UNITY. SUFFERING IN THE WEST.
Efforts towards Unity--Jacob Berab proposes the
Re-introduction of Rabbinical Ordination into Palestine--
Successful Opposition of Levi ben Chabib--Joseph Karo--His
Connection with Solomon Molcho and his Messianic Visions--
Karo's Religious Code--Converts to Judaism at the Era of the
Reformation--Expulsion of the Jews from Naples and Prague--
Their Return to the latter Town--Dr. Eck--Martin Luther and
the Jews--Moses Hamon--Jewish Histories by Joseph Cohen,
the Ibn-Vergas, and Samuel Usque--Elegy of Samuel Usque--
Reaction in the Catholic Church; Loyola establishes the Order
of Jesuits--The Censorship of Books--Eliano Romano and
Vittorio Eliano--Fresh Attacks on the Talmud--Paul IV and
his anti-Jewish Bulls--Persecution of the Marranos by the
Inquisition in Ancona--Joseph Nassi--The Levantine Jews--
Expulsion of the Jews from Austria and Bohemia--Relations
of Pope Pius IV and V to the Jews _page 529._
1538-1566 C.E.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE JEWS IN TURKEY. DON JOSEPH NASSI.
Joseph Nassi's Favor with Sultan Solyman--His Friendship for
Prince Selim--Hostility of Venice and France to Nassi--
Joseph Nassi restores Tiberias, and is created Duke of Naxos
--The Vizir Mahomet Sokolli--The Turks, at the Instigation
of Nassi, conquer Cyprus--Rebellion against Philip II in
the Netherlands--Solomon Ashkenazi--Election of Henry
of Anjou as King of Poland--Ashkenazi negotiates a Peace
between Venice and Turkey--Gedalya Ibn-Yachya and Jewish
Literature in Turkey--Joseph Karo compiles the "Shulchan
Aruch"--Azarya deï Rossi--Isaac Lurya--The Jewish "Dark
Age"--Spread of the Kabbala--Lurya's Disciple, Chayim Vital
Calabrese--Death of Joseph Nassi--Esther Kiera and the
Influence of Jewish Women in Turkey _page 593._
1566-1600 C.E.
CHAPTER XVIII.
THE JEWS IN POLAND.
Condition of Poland--Favorable Situation of the Jews in
that Country--Anti-Jewish Party in Poland--The Jewish
Communities--Judaizing Poles--Studies of the Jews--
The Talmud in Poland--Solomon Lurya--Moses Isserles--
The Historian, David Gans--"Zemach David"--Supremacy of
the Polish Authorities in Rabbinical Matters--The Jewish
Seminaries in Poland--The Disputations at the Fairs--
Chiddushim and Chillukim--Stephen Bathori--His Kindness
towards his Jewish Subjects--Sigismund III--Restriction
on the Erection of Synagogues--Jewish Synods--Vaad Arba
Arazoth--Mordecai Jafa--Christian Sects in Poland--The
Socinians or Unitarians--Simon Budny--The Reformers and the
Jews--Isaac Troki--"The Strengthening of Faith" _page 631._
1566-1600 C.E.
CHAPTER XIX.
SETTLEMENT OF JEWS IN HOLLAND. FEEBLE ATTEMPTS AT
ENFRANCHISEMENT.
Revival of Catholicism--Decay in European Culture--
Ill-treatment of Jews in Berlin--Emperor Rudolph II of
Austria--Diminution in the Numbers of Italian Jews--Pope
Gregory XIII--Confiscation of Copies of the Talmud--
Vigorous Attempts at the Conversion of Jews--Pope Sixtus V--
The Jewish Physician David de Pomis--Renewal of Persecution
by Clement VIII--Expulsion from Various Italian States--The
Censors and the Talmud--The Jews at Ferrara--Settlement
of Jews in Holland--Samuel Pallache--Jacob Tirado and the
Marranos in Amsterdam--Tolerant Treatment--The Poet, David
Jesurun--Moses Uri--Hebrew Printing in Amsterdam _page 650._
1593-1618 C.E.
CHAPTER XX.
THE DUTCH JERUSALEM AND THE THIRTY YEARS' WAR.
The Amsterdam Jewish Community--Its Wealth, Culture, and
Honored Position--Zacuto Lusitano--Internal Dissensions
--The Talmud Torah School--Saul Morteira, Isaac Aboab, and
Manasseh ben Israel--The Portuguese Congregation in Hamburg
--The First Synagogue--Lutheran Intolerance--John Miller
--Jewish Colony in Brazil--The Chief Communities in Germany
--Persecution in Frankfort--Dr. Chemnitz--The Vienna
Congregation--Lipmann Heller--Ferdinand II's Zeal for the
Conversion of Jews--Influence of the Thirty Years' War on
the Fortunes of the Jews _page 676_
1618-1648 C.E.
HISTORY OF THE JEWS
HISTORY OF THE JEWS.
CHAPTER I.
CULTIVATION OF THE KABBALA, AND PROSCRIPTION OF SCIENCE.
Progress of the Kabbala--Todros Halevi and his Sons--Isaac
Allatif and his Kabbalistic Doctrines--Adventurous Career
of Abraham Abulafia--He assumes the Character of Messiah
--Opposition of Ben Adret--The Prophet of Avila--Joseph
Jikatilla and his Kabbalistic Mazes--The Impostor Moses de
Leon--Forgeries of the Kabbalists--Origin of the Zohar--
Its Doctrines and Influence--Shem-Tob Falaquera--Isaac
Albalag--Levi of Villefranche--Samuel Sulami and Meïri--
Abba-Mari's Exaggerated Zeal--Jacob ben Machir Profatius and
the Controversy regarding the Study of Science--Asheri--The
Poet Yedaya Bedaresi.
1270-1328 C.E.
The secret science of the Kabbala, which hitherto had assumed a modest
deportment and been of a harmless character, began to foment discord
in Ben Adret's time, ensnare the intelligence and lead astray the
weak. What it lacked in intrinsic truth and power of conviction, it
endeavored to supply by presumptuousness. It had already spread from
Gerona, its original seat, and from northern Spain by way of Segovia
to southern Spain, as far as the Castilian capital, Toledo, the Jewish
community of which had before strenuously opposed obscurantism. In the
city of Toledo the Kabbala won the adherence, among others, of one man
who, by his noble birth, his princely state, his high position, his
wealth and learning, gave it great weight. This man, whose influence
is even now not fully recognized, was Todros ben Joseph Halevi, of
the noble Toledan family of Abulafia (born 1234, died after 1304).
He was a nephew of that Meïr Abulafia who had been so obstinate an
adversary of Maimuni and rationalistic thought. Todros Abulafia took
as a model his uncle, who in his old age had laid his hands on his
head, and blessed him. When he grew up, he applied himself to the
Talmud and to secret lore; but he must have been a man of affairs,
too, for he obtained an honorable position at the court of Sancho IV,
and was in special favor with the wise queen, Maria de Molina, as a
physician and financier. By the Jews he was esteemed and venerated as
their prince (Nasi). When the king and queen of Spain held a meeting in
Bayonne with the king of France, Philip le Bel, to settle their mutual
hostilities (1290), Todros Abulafia was in the train of the former, and
received the most flattering homage from the Jews of southern France.
Todros, like his uncle, was a determined opponent of philosophy and
its devotees. He had no words bitter enough against the would-be wise
people who hold everything which appears incompatible with logic as
incredible and impossible. Even Maimuni, whom he highly respected, he
censured for undervaluing the importance of the sacrifices so greatly
as to explain them merely as a concession to the heathen propensities
of the people, and for calling the offering of incense an expedient for
purifying the air. He waged vehement warfare against the philosophy
which denies the existence of evil spirits, which to him was identical
with doubting the existence of angels. Having been initiated into
the secret science by one of the earliest Kabbalists, perhaps by
Jacob of Segovia, who formed a school of his own, Todros valued it
as divine wisdom, to uncover whose veil to laymen was fraught with
danger. The recognition of the secret doctrine by a person of so high a
position could not but produce some effect. His sons, Levi and Joseph,
likewise plunged headlong into its study. Two of the four Kabbalists
of his time, who developed the Kabbala, and extended its influence,
ranged themselves under the banner of Todros Abulafia, and dedicated
their compositions to him. These four Kabbalists of the first rank,
who established new theories with more or less success, were Isaac
Ibn-Latif, Abraham Abulafia, Joseph Jikatilla, and Moses de Leon, all
Spaniards. They obscured the mental light, with which men of intellect,
from Saadiah to Maimuni, had illumined Judaism, and substituted for
a refined religious belief, fantastic and even blasphemous chimeras.
The intellectual degradation of the Jews in the following centuries
is to a large extent their work. They led astray both their own times
and posterity through designed or unintentional imposition, and the
injuries which they inflicted on Judaism are felt even at the present
day.
The least harmful of these four was Isaac ben Abraham Ibn-Latif or
Allatif (born about 1220, died about 1290). He no doubt owed his origin
to the south of Spain, for he was acquainted with Arabic. Nothing is
known of his history beyond the fact that he was on friendly terms
with Todros Abulafia, to whom he dedicated one of his works. His
writings, as has been said by one who came after him, seem to "stand
with one foot on philosophy and with the other on the Kabbala." But
Allatif only toyed with philosophical formulæ, their meaning does
not seem to have become known to him. He was not of a thoughtful
nature, and did not enrich the Kabbala, although he attempted to give
himself the appearance of following original methods, and avoided
the usual Kabbalistic expressions. Allatif started with the thought
that a philosophical view of Judaism was not the "right road to the
sanctuary," and that it was, therefore, needful to seek a higher
conception, but, instead of making the way clear, he concealed it by
empty allusions and unmeaning phrases. Allatif laid more weight than
his predecessors on the close connection between the spiritual and the
material world--between God and His creation. For the Godhead is in
all, and all is in it. In soul-inspiring prayers the human spirit is
raised to the world-spirit (Sechel ha-Poel), to which it is united "in
a kiss," and, so influencing the Divinity, it draws down blessings on
the sublunar world. But not every mortal is capable of such spiritual
and efficacious prayer; therefore, the prophets, the most perfect
men, were obliged to pray for the people, for they alone knew the
power of prayer. The unfolding and revelation of the Deity in the
world of spirits, spheres and bodies, were explained by Isaac Allatif
in mathematical formulæ. Isaac Allatif must, however, be considered
a clear thinker, when compared with his enthusiastic contemporary,
Abraham Abulafia, who endeavored to establish a new order of things by
Kabbalistic sophisms.
Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia (born 1240, in Saragossa, died 1291) was
an eccentric personage, full of whims, and fond of adventures. Endowed
with a lively mind and with more than a moderate amount of knowledge,
he renounced the ways of common sense to throw himself into the arms of
enthusiasm. His whole life from his entry into manhood was a succession
of adventures. His father, who had instructed him in the Bible and
the Talmud, died when his son was a youth of eighteen, and two years
later Abraham undertook a journey of adventure, as he relates, in order
to discover the mythical river Sabbation or Sambation, and to become
acquainted with the supposed Israelite tribes dwelling on its banks, no
doubt with a Messianic purpose. His mind was in a constant tumult. He
wrestled for clearness, but fell ever deeper into mazes and illusions.
One thing, however, became evident to him, that the philosophy
with which he had much occupied himself offered no certainty, and,
therefore, no satisfaction to the religious mind thirsting after truth.
Even the trite Kabbala as commonly accepted, with its doctrine about
the Sefiroth, did not satisfy his soul, since both only nursed the
pride of knowledge. He, a Kabbalist, criticised the unsoundness of this
mystic theory so severely and correctly that it is surprising that
he should have conceived still more insane notions. Abraham Abulafia
sought after something higher, for prophetic inspiration, which alone
opens the fountain of truth, without traversing the laborious path of
systematic application.
At length Abulafia believed that he had found what his soul was
yearning for, and that through divine inspiration he had come upon a
higher Kabbala, in relation to which the lower mystical doctrine and
philosophy were only handmaids. This Kabbala alone, he maintained,
offers the means of coming into spiritual communion with the Godhead,
and of obtaining prophetic insight. This means was far from new, but
the firm conviction of its effectiveness and his application of it are
peculiar to Abulafia. To decompose the words of Holy Writ, especially
the all-hallowed name of God, to use the letters as independent notions
(Notaricon), or to transpose the component parts of a word in all
possible permutations, so as to form words from them (Tsiruf), or
finally to employ the letters as numbers (Gematria), these are the
means of securing communion with the spirit-world. But this alone is
not sufficient. He who desires to render himself worthy of a prophetic
revelation, must adopt an ascetic mode of living, must remove himself
from the turmoil of the world, shut himself up in a quiet chamber,
deliver his soul from earthly cares, clothe himself in white garments,
wrap himself up with Talith and Phylacteries, and devoutly prepare
his soul, as if for an interview with the Deity. Besides, he must
pronounce the letters of God's name at intervals, with modulations of
the voice, or write them down in a certain order, at the same time
making energetic movements, writhing and bending forward till the
mind becomes dazed, and the heart filled with a glow. Then the body
will be surprised by sleep, and a sensation will arise, as if the soul
were released from the body. In this condition, if it become lasting
through practice, the divine grace is poured into the human soul,
uniting with it in a kiss, and the prophetic revelation follows quite
naturally. This means of working himself up into a state of ecstasy
Abulafia certainly practiced, exciting his heated fancy to delirium. He
considered his Kabbala to be prophetic inspiration, by means of which
he alone could penetrate into the secrets of the Torah. For the plain
sense of the words and the simple practice of the religious precepts
were merely for the uninitiated, like milk for children. Experts, on
the other hand, find the higher wisdom in the numerical value of the
letters and in the manifold changes of the words.
In this way he laid down his Kabbala, in antithesis to the superficial
or baser Kabbala, which occupies itself with the Sefiroth, and,
as he gibingly said, erects a sort of Decem-unity instead of the
Christian Trinity. He lectured on his Kabbala in Barcelona, Burgos,
and Medina-Celi. So low was the general intelligence, that this
half-insane enthusiast found old and young to listen to him. Two
of his disciples, Joseph Jikatilla, and Samuel, alleged to be a
prophet, both of Medina-Celi, proclaimed themselves to be prophets and
workers of miracles. Abulafia appears, nevertheless, to have aroused
opposition in Spain, or at least not to have found any real sympathy;
he left his native country a second time, betaking himself once more
to Italy, where he reckoned upon stronger support. In Urbino for the
first time he produced prophetic writings, and alleged that God had
spoken with him. At last he conceived the mad idea of converting the
pope to Judaism (Sabbath-eve, 1281). The attempt cost him dear. He
was arrested two days later in Rome, languished twenty-eight days in
prison, and escaped the stake only through the circumstance that God,
as he expressed it, had caused a double mouth (or tongue?) to grow in
him. Possibly he told the pope that he, too, taught the doctrine of
the Trinity. After this he was allowed to walk about Rome in freedom.
Thence Abulafia proceeded to the island of Sicily, and in Messina
he met with a favorable reception, gaining six adherents. Here he
finally proclaimed that he was not only a prophet but the Messiah,
and set forth his claims in writing (November, 1284). God, he said,
had revealed to him His secrets, and had announced to him the end of
the exile and the beginning of the Messianic redemption. The gracious
event was to take place in the year 1290. Mysticism has always been the
ground on which Messianic fancies have thriven.
Through strictly moral deportment, ascetic life and revelations veiled
in obscure formulæ, perhaps also through his winning personality and
boldness, Abraham Abulafia found many in Sicily who believed in him,
and began to make preparations for returning to the Holy Land. But the
intelligent part of the Sicilian congregation hesitated to join him
without investigation. They addressed themselves to Solomon ben Adret,
to obtain information from him respecting Abraham Abulafia. The rabbi
of Barcelona, who was acquainted with Abulafia's earlier career, sent
an earnest letter to the community of Palermo, in which he severely
condemned the self-constituted Messiah as illiterate and dangerous.
Naturally, Abulafia did not allow this attack to remain unanswered,
but proceeded to defend himself from the denunciation. In a letter he
justified his prophetic Kabbala, and hurled back Ben Adret's invectives
in language so undignified that many thought the letter not genuine.
But his abusive retort was of no avail, for other congregations and
rabbis, who may have feared that a persecution might be the consequence
of his fantastic doctrines, also expressed themselves against Abulafia.
He was harassed so much in Sicily that he had to leave the island, and
settle in the tiny isle of Comino, near Malta (about 1288). Here he
continued to publish mystical writings, and to assert that he would
bring deliverance to Israel. Persecution had embittered him. He leveled
charges against his brethren in faith, who in their stubbornness would
not listen to him: "Whilst the Christians believe in my words, the Jews
eschew them, and absolutely refuse to know anything of the calculation
of God's name, but prefer the calculation of their money." Of those
who exclusively occupied themselves with the Talmud, Abulafia said
that they were seized by an incurable disease, and that they were far
inferior to those skilled in the higher Kabbala. Abraham Abulafia,
besides twenty-six on other subjects, composed at least twenty-two
so-called prophetic works, which, although the product of a diseased
brain, were used by the later Kabbalists. What at last became of the
prophetic and Messianic enthusiast and adventurer is not known.
His extravagant conduct did not fail to produce evil consequences, even
in his own time, and was as infectious as an epidemic. About the same
time there arose in Spain two enthusiasts, of whom one was probably
Abraham Abulafia's disciple. One of them made his appearance in the
small town Ayllon (in the district of Segovia), the other in the large
congregation of Avila. Both proclaimed themselves to be prophets, and
announced in mystic language the advent of the Messianic kingdom. Both
found followers. The adherents of the prophet of Avila related, that
in his youth he had been ignorant, and could neither read nor write;
that an angel, who appeared to him in his sleeping, and sometimes
also in his waking moments, suddenly endowed him through higher
inspiration, with the power of writing a comprehensive work, full of
mystical ideas, and a diffuse commentary (without which at that time
no fairly respectable book could be conceived). When the people of
Avila and remote congregations heard of this they wondered greatly. The
story excited extraordinary interest, and the representatives of the
congregation of Avila consulted Solomon ben Adret, the last commanding
authority of that time, as to whether they should accept this new
prophecy.
Himself a partial follower of the secret science, subscribing only
to the Biblical and the Talmudical miracles, the rabbi of Barcelona
replied that he would have considered the affair of the prophet of
Avila as arrant fraud, if trustworthy people had not attested its
truth. Still he could not possibly recognize him as a prophet, for he
lacked the principal conditions which the Talmud lays down as essential
to prophecy: outside of Palestine, prophecy is altogether impossible;
the age is not suitable for prophetic revelation, and the prophetic
spirit can not rest upon a perfectly ignorant person. It was incredible
that a man should go to bed an idiot and get up a prophet. The story
required the most painstaking and impartial investigation.
In spite of the warning of the most honored rabbi of the time, the
prophet of Avila pursued his course, and fixed the last day of the
fourth month (1295) as the beginning of the Messianic redemption. The
easily influenced and ignorant multitude made preparations for its
coming, fasted, and spent money lavishly in alms, that they might be
found acceptable in the Messianic kingdom, and be permitted to partake
of its bliss. On the appointed day, the deluded people, dressed as on
the Day of Atonement, hastened to the synagogues, and waited there
to hear the trumpet-blasts announcing the Messianic advent. But the
expected Messiah did not show himself, nor was there any sign of him.
Instead, they are said to have noticed on their garments small crosses,
for which they were totally unprepared, and which partly sobered and
partly terrified them. It is possible that some of the incredulous in
the congregation had fastened the crosses secretly on their garments,
either to practice a joke upon their credulous brethren, or to point
out to what end Messianic charlatanry was destined to lead them, and
thus cure them of their delusion. Some of the impostor's followers
are said to have gone over to Christianity in consequence of this
incident; others, to have been plunged into melancholy, because they
could not explain the presence of the crosses. What became of the
prophets, or beguiled deceivers, of Ayllon and Avila is not related.
Like Abraham Abulafia they were lost sight of, and have importance
only as the excrescences of a diseased state. It is possible that
another disciple of Abulafia, Joseph Jikatilla, who also was looked
upon as a performer of miracles, and had his dwelling not far from
Ayllon, played a part in the mad or deceitful pranks of the prophets of
Ayllon and Avila. Joseph ben Abraham Jikatilla (born in Medina-Celi,
died in Penjafiel, after 1305), heard, at the age of twenty years, an
exposition of the bewildering secret doctrine of Abulafia, and whilst
the latter still was in Spain, he composed a Kabbalistic book of his
own, in which he exhibits the same eccentricities as his master. He,
too, occupied himself with the mysticism of letters and numbers, and
with the transposition of letters. Joseph Jikatilla's writings are in
reality only an echo of Abraham Abulafia's fancies; the same delusion
is apparent in both. But far more influential and more pernicious
than these three Kabbalists, Allatif, Abulafia, and Jikatilla, was
Moses de Leon, whose ascendancy was felt both by his contemporaries
and posterity. Although a contemporary and fellow-specialist unmasked
his performances, Moses de Leon succeeded in introducing into Jewish
literature and thought a book which gave the Kabbala a firm foundation
and wide extension, in brief, raised it to the zenith of its power. The
question about Moses ben Shem Tob de Leon (born in Leon about 1250,
died in Arevalo, 1305) is only whether he was a selfish or a pious
impostor. His intention was certainly to deceive and lead astray, and
in this respect he appears much baser than Abulafia, who at all events
was sincere and naïve in his delusion. A sciolist, who had mastered
neither the Talmud nor any other subject thoroughly, Moses possessed
the skill to use deftly the little that he knew, to write easily and
fluently, to discover a connection between the most remote things and
verses of Scripture piled up in the chamber of his memory, and to
couple them with playful wit. Even the Kabbala was not present to him
as a system; he knew merely its forms and technical terms, and employed
them in a skillful manner.
Of careless prodigality, Moses de Leon expended everything that he
had without reflecting what would remain for the morrow; he made use
of the Kabbala which had come into fashion to procure for himself a
rich source of revenue. He led a wandering life, lived a long time in
Guadalaxara, then in Viverro, in Valladolid, and finally in Avila. At
first he published his intellectual productions under his own name
(about 1285). His writings, however, were not sufficiently noticed, and
brought him but little fame and money. Moses de Leon then hit upon a
much more effective means for opening hearts and purses. He commenced
the composition of books under feigned but honored names. If he put
the doctrines of the Kabbala, worn threadbare, to be sure, into the
mouth of an older, highly venerated authority, some imposing name from
the dazzling past,--taking care, of course, to make the coloring and
the method of presentation archaic--would not such a composition
be eagerly swallowed? Would he not be richly rewarded if he hinted
that he was in possession of so costly a treasure? Moses de Leon knew
well the credulity of those who devoted themselves with more or less
earnestness to the study of the Kabbala; how they eagerly sought for
every word which they were led to think originated from ancient times.
For, since the secret science had been promulgated, and had striven for
recognition, doctrines which sounded Kabbalistic had been fathered upon
old and illustrious names, and thus had found acceptance. But Moses de
Leon did his work much more cleverly than most forgers. He found the
most likely author for the secret doctrine, against whom there could be
little or no objection, in the person of the Tanaite Simon bar Yochaï,
who is said to have spent thirteen years in a cave, solitary and
buried in profound reflection, and whom ancient mysticism represented
as receiving revelations. Simon bar Yochaï was assuredly the right
authority for the Kabbala. But he must not be permitted to write or
speak Hebrew, for in this language the Kabbalists would recognize the
echo of their own voices. He must express himself in Chaldee, in a
half obscure language, peculiarly fit for secrets, and sounding as if
from another world. And thus there came into the world a book, the
book Zohar (brilliancy), which for many centuries was held by Jews
as a heavenly revelation, and was and partly is even now regarded by
Christians as an old tradition. But seldom has so notorious a forgery
so thoroughly succeeded. Moses de Leon well knew how to produce the
proper effect on credulous readers. He made Simon bar Yochaï appear
in splendor, surrounded by a halo, in the book Zohar, and impart his
revelation to a circle of select pupils (sometimes twelve, sometimes
six), "scholars who shine with heaven's light." "When they assembled
to compose the Zohar, permission was granted to the prophet Elijah, to
all the members of the celestial conclave, all the angels, spirits,
and higher souls to act in sympathy with them, and the ten spiritual
substances (Sefiroth) were charged with the duty of revealing to them
deeply hidden secrets, reserved for the time of the Messiah." Or in
another version: Simon bar Yochaï summoned his followers to a great
council, and heard the flapping of the wings of the celestial host, who
also had assembled to listen to the disclosure of mysteries till then
unknown even to the angels. The Zohar glorifies its author excessively.
It calls him the holy light, who stands higher than the greatest
prophet, Moses, "the faithful shepherd." "I swear by the holy heavens
and the holy earth," the Zohar makes Simon bar Yochaï exclaim, "that
I behold now what no other mortal since Moses ascended Sinai for the
second time has beheld, aye, even more than he. Moses knew not that
his countenance shone; I, however, know that my countenance shines."
On account of God's love for the writer of the Zohar, his generation
merited the revelation of truths till then hidden. As long as he who
illumines everything lives, the sources of the world are opened and
all secrets are disclosed. "Woe to the generation forsaken by Simon
bar Yochaï." He is almost deified in the Zohar. His disciples once
broke out into ecstatic praise that he had mounted the degrees to
heavenly wisdom, which none of his predecessors had done; and of him
it is written in Scripture, "All men are to appear before the lord,"
_i.e._, before Simon bar Yochaï. This extravagant glorification and
self-deification, sufficient to mark a forgery, are not without design.
They were to meet the objection, how the Kabbala, so long unknown, and
kept secret by the prudent Kabbalists--for they had hesitated to
impart any of it in writing--how this mysterious wisdom could all at
once come to light, and be revealed to every one's knowledge. The Zohar
frequently uses the following excuse: As the time in which Simon bar
Yochaï lived was especially meritorious and rich in grace, and as the
Messianic period was near, the veil which had concealed the book so
long could now be drawn aside.
There are certainly very few compositions which have exercised so much
influence as the Zohar, or which can be compared with it in regard to
the remarkable nature of its contents and form. It is a book without
beginning or end, of which it is unknown whether it once formed part
of a whole, whether the extant portions originally belonged to it,
or were added later, or whether at an earlier period more of it was
in existence. It consists of three principal parts, with appendices
and explanatory comments. The absence of form in this farrago made
it possible for certain portions to be imitated. It is so easy and
tempting to imitate its wild though sonorous style. Thus the forgery
was counter-forged. It is not positively certain whether the Zohar
is to be regarded as a running commentary to the Pentateuch, as a
theosophic manual, or as a collection of Kabbalistic sermons. And its
contents are just as curious, confused and chaotic as its form and
external dress. The Zohar with its appendages in no wise develops
a Kabbalistic system like Azriel's, neither does it unfold an idea
like Abraham Abulafia, but plays with the Kabbalistic forms as with
counters--with the En-Sof, with the number of the Sefiroth, with
points and strokes, with vowels, accents, with the names of God and
the transposition of their letters, as well as with the Biblical
verses and Agadic sayings--casts them about in eternal repetition,
and in this manner produces sheer absurdities. Occasionally it gives a
faint suggestion of an idea, but in a trice it evaporates in feverish
fancies, or dissolves in childish silliness.
The underlying principle of the Zohar (if we may speak of principles in
reference to this book) is that the historical narratives and religious
statutes of the Bible were never intended to be understood in a plain,
simple sense, but that they contain something higher, mysterious,
supernatural. "Is it conceivable," the Zohar makes one of Simon bar
Yochaï's circle exclaim, "that God had no holier matters to communicate
than these common things about Esau and Hagar, Laban and Jacob,
Balaam's ass, Balak's jealousy of Israel, and Zimri's lewdness? Does a
collection of such tales, taken in their ordinary sense, deserve the
name of Torah? And can it be said of such a revelation that it utters
the pure truth?" "If that is all the Torah contains," remarks Simon bar
Yochaï (or Moses de Leon), "we can produce in our time a book as good
as this, aye, perhaps better. No, no! the higher, mystical sense of the
Torah is its true sense. The Biblical narratives resemble a beautiful
dress, which enraptures fools so that they do not look beneath it. This
robe, however, covers a body, _i.e._, the precepts of the Law, and this
again a soul, the higher soul. Woe to the guilty, who assert that the
Torah contains only simple stories, and therefore look only upon the
dress. Blessed are the righteous, who seek the real sense of the Law.
The jar is not the wine, so stories do not make up the Torah." Thus
the secret lore of Moses de Leon naturally has free play to pervert
everything and anything, and give it the seal of sublimity, and in this
manner to promulgate a false doctrine, not only absurd, sometimes even
blasphemous and immoral. All laws of the Torah are to be considered
as parts and constituents of a higher world; they resolve themselves
into the mysteries of the masculine and feminine principle (positive
and negative). Only when both parts meet, does the higher unity arise.
Consequently, whenever any one transgresses one of the laws, he
obscures the brilliant image of the higher world.
It is almost impossible to give an idea of the abuse which the Zohar,
or Moses de Leon, practices in the interpretation of Holy Writ, and
how he twists the sense of the words. In the verse, "Raise your eyes to
heaven, and see who has created this," a profound mystery is supposed
to reside, which the prophet Elijah learned in the celestial school,
and revealed to Simon bar Yochaï; namely, that God had been unknown
and obscure before the creation of the world, in a manner existing,
and still not existing. He was the "Who" (the unknown subject). The
creation is part of His self-revelation. It was by the creation that He
first proclaimed Himself as God.
The Zohar is particularly concerned with that side of man which is an
eternal riddle to man,--the soul, its origin and end. Like the older
Kabbalists, the Zohar assumed the pre-existence of the souls in the
brilliant world of the Sefiroth. They are there wrapped in a spiritual
robe, and entranced in the contemplation of God's light. When the souls
are about to enter this world they assume an earthly garment, the body;
but as soon as they are to leave the earth, the angel of death divests
them of this earthly garment. If a soul lives piously and morally here
below, it receives its former heavenly robe, and can once more enjoy
the blissful ecstasy of God's presence; if not, particularly if it
departs from the world impenitent, it wanders about naked and ashamed
till purified in hell. The nakedness of the soul, paradise and hell
--depicted in fantastic, baroque, and terrible images--are themes
for which the Zohar often and gladly makes digressions. What happens
to the soul during sleep, and the shadows of life--sin, impurity in
small and great things--are likewise favorite subjects for discussion
in the Zohar, to which it frequently reverts, presenting them in the
greatest variety of guises and repetitions. One of the older Kabbalists
arrived at the notion that to the higher world, the world of light,
of holiness, and of angels, there was a sharp antithesis--a world
of darkness, of unholiness, of Satan, in short the principle of evil,
which was likewise developed into ten degrees (Sefiroth) at the
creation of the world. In spite of their opposite characters, the two
worlds are of one origin, forming opposite poles, and are in the same
relation to each other as the right side is to the left. Accordingly,
evil is called in the language of the Kabbalists the left or other
side. The Kabbalists gave another representation of the Satanic
empire. On the border of the world of light, the world of darkness is
situated, and encompasses it as the shell surrounds the kernel of the
fruit. Hence the Zohar metaphorically designates evil, or sin, with
its ten degrees, as shell (Kelifa). This side is the favorite topic
of the Zohar; for here it can apply its peculiar exposition of the
Scriptures. The ten Sefiroth of the left side, the Satanic kingdom, are
enumerated and denominated by names which savor of barbarism. The names
sound like those of the princes of the demons in the book of Enoch,
and are perhaps borrowed thence: Samael or Samiel, Azael, Angiel,
Sariel, Kartiel. The Zohar identifies all blasphemers and wicked
people with the evil principle of the "shells" (Kelifoth)--the first
serpent, Cain, Esau, Pharaoh, and Esau's empire, Rome, and the civil
and spiritual power of Christendom in the Middle Ages, which rested
on violence and injustice. Israel and righteous people, on the other
hand, belong to the world of light, the right Sefiroth. "He who goes
after the left side (sin), and defiles his actions, draws upon himself
the impure spirits; they attach themselves to him, nor do they ever
leave him." The laws of the Torah have no other object than to effect
and cherish the union of the souls with the world of light. Every
transgression of them brings the souls to the world of darkness, evil
spirits, and impurity. The Zohar coarsely represents the connection of
the souls with light or with darkness by the image of wedded union,
as, in general, it asserts the masculine and feminine principle in the
higher world, even in reference to the Deity. As long as Israel lives
in exile, the divine unity is deficient and disrupted; God will become
one only in those days when the Mistress (Matronita) will espouse the
King.
Moses de Leon would have left a gap, if he had not spoken of the
Messianic period--the keynote of the Kabbala--and determined its
date. In fact, the sudden revelation of the doctrine so long held
secret rests on the assumption that the time of the Messiah is near.
But here the forger betrays himself. Instead of indicating a period or
a year for the appearance of the Messiah approximating the age of Simon
bar Yochaï (in the second century), the Zohar, with its casuistical
playing with letters and numbers, demonstrated that it would happen in
the beginning of the fourteenth century, therefore in the lifetime of
the author. "When the sixtieth or the sixty-sixth year will pass the
threshold of the sixth thousand, the Messiah will show himself;" but
some time will pass before all nations will be conquered, and Israel
be gathered together. The Messiah will first be summoned to appear on
earth from his secret abode in Paradise, "the bird's nest," where he
has been dwelling in bliss since the beginning of the world. A bloody
conflict will then break out in the world. Edom and Ishmael (Christian
and Mahometan nations) will vehemently contend with one another, and
eventually both will be annihilated by a mightier conquering people.
Signs and miracles will presage the time, and the resurrection of the
dead and a general diffusion of the Kabbalistic knowledge of God will
constitute the end of the world. Moses de Leon intended to arouse
in the minds of his contemporaries the hope that they would behold
the time of the Messiah with their own eyes. He was perhaps as much
a victim to Messianic enthusiasm as Abraham Abulafia. Despite the
Zohar's endeavor to exalt rabbinical Judaism and its law, and by a
mystical explanation to give every custom, however trivial, a special
signification and higher import, it carps at and criticises the Talmud
and its method, though in an obscure, equivocal manner, and with the
most innocent air in the world. It represents the study of the Kabbala
as of much higher importance than the study of the Talmud, and even
of the Bible. The Kabbala has the power of soaring, and is able to
follow the flight of the Deity in His inscrutable guidance of things;
the Talmud, on the other hand, and its adherents, have clipped wings,
and cannot elevate themselves to higher knowledge. The Zohar compares
the Mishna (Talmud) with a lowly slave; the Kabbala, on the other
hand, with a powerful mistress. The former has to do with inferior
matters, with "clean and unclean," with "permitted and prohibited,"
with "what is and is not fit to be used." As long as this woman rules
with her "now pure, at another time impure blood," the union of the
Father with the Matrona (God with Israel) cannot take place. In the
Messianic period, on the other hand, when the higher knowledge will
awake, and gain the ascendency, the Kabbala will once more assert
its dominion over the slave (Talmud), as in the time of the lawgiver
Moses. The Zohar lastly compares the study of the Talmud with a rugged,
unproductive rock which, when struck, gives out scanty drops of water,
causing only disputes and discussions. The Kabbala, on the other hand,
is like a spring flowing abundantly, to which only a word needs to be
spoken to cause it to pour out its refreshing and vivifying contents.
When the Zohar or Midrash of Simon bar Yochaï was published, it aroused
the greatest wonder among the Kabbalists. They seized upon it with
avidity. Moses de Leon received vast multitudes of orders to send
copies. The question, whence all at once had come so comprehensive
a work of an old teacher of the Mishna, not a trace of which had
been known till then, was thus answered: Nachmani had exhumed it in
Palestine, had sent it to his son in Catalonia, by a whirlwind it had
been carried to Aragon or Alicante (Valencia), where it had fallen into
the hands of Moses de Leon, who alone possessed the original document.
The repute of the newly discovered Kabbalistic treasure soon spread
through the whole of Spain. The school of Abulafia at once gave the
Zohar the tribute of its acknowledgment, and considered it indisputably
genuine. Moses de Leon's wildest hopes were more than realized. There
were, of course, Kabbalists who doubted that the Zohar had originated
with Simon bar Yochaï and his school, but none the less did they pay
homage to the book as to a pure source for Kabbalistic theories. When
the Kabbalist Isaac of Accho, who had escaped the massacre that had
ensued upon the capture of that city, arrived in Spain, and saw the
Zohar, he was staggered, and became desirous of coming to the root
of the question, whether this alleged ancient Palestinian work was
really genuine, as he had been born and educated in the Holy Land, had
associated with Nachmani's pupils, and yet had never heard a syllable
about it. When he met Moses de Leon in Valladolid, the latter took a
solemn oath that he had in his house at Avila an old copy of the book
from the hand of Simon bar Yochaï, and pledged himself to submit it to
Isaac of Accho for examination. But Moses de Leon became ill on his
journey home, and died in Arevalo (1305). The veil around the origin
of the Zohar was wrapped still closer. Two influential men of Avila,
David Rafan and Joseph de Avila, had indeed discovered the simple
truth from Moses de Leon's wife and daughter. Moses de Leon had never
possessed the original copy, but had evolved it out of his own inner
consciousness, and had written it with his own hand. His wife frankly
related that she had often asked her husband why he published the
productions of his own intellect under a strange name, and that he had
answered that the Zohar would not, under his own name, have brought him
any money, but assigned to Simon bar Yochaï it had been a lucrative
source of income.
Thus wife and daughter, without being aware of the full gravity of
their assuredly unassailable testimony, unmasked Moses de Leon as a
forger. Nevertheless, the Zohar met with the unqualified applause
of the Kabbalists, because it supplied a want which would have had
to be provided for in one way or another. The Kabbalistic doctrine,
which had already gained so much weight, had hitherto been without
firm basis; it had no other authority than the very doubtful one of
Isaac the Blind. Now the dignified figure of a teacher of the Mishna
in communion with departed spirits and celestial hosts and angels
confirmed the truths which were not only doubted by many at the time,
but absolutely ridiculed. Should they, then, not cling to it and defend
it? What Moses de Leon put into the mouth of Simon bar Yochaï, "Many
will range themselves round the book Zohar, when it becomes known, and
nourish their minds with it at the end of days," actually happened soon
after his death. If the Zohar did not bring the Kabbalists anything
essentially new, it exhibited to them what they did know in so peculiar
a form and language, that they were wonderstruck. Everything in it
is contrived for effect, for illusion, and for fascination. The long
discussions which Simon bar Yochaï holds with his circle or with the
"faithful shepherd," have dramatic power, especially the scene in
which, in premonition of his speedy dissolution, he imparts once more
what he so often had proclaimed. Full of effect, and, upon minds
easily accessible to faith, of transporting and overwhelming influence,
are the oft-recurring exclamations in the Zohar: Woe, woe to those
who believe, or do not believe, or fail to respect, this and that.
Sometimes short prayers are interspersed, which, being elevated and
imaginative, are peculiarly fitted to fill the soul with mysterious
awe. Even the characteristic terms introduced instead of the usual
Kabbalistic forms are calculated to arouse interest by their double
sense. The author designated God and the higher spiritual substances
(Sefiroth) collectively or in their single parts and effects, as
father, mother, the prototype of man, bride, matron, the white head,
the large and the small face, the mirror, the higher heaven, the higher
earth, lily, apple-orchard, and so on. The pious were gained over to
the side of the Zohar, as it attributes to every religious custom and
every practice a higher import, a higher sanctity, and a mysterious
effect.
So a new text-book of religion was by stealth introduced into Judaism.
It placed the Kabbala, which a century before had been unknown, on the
same level as the Bible and the Talmud, and to a certain extent on a
still higher level. The Zohar undoubtedly produced good, in so far as
it opposed enthusiasm to the legal dry-as-dust manner of the study of
the Talmud, stimulated the imagination and the feelings, and cultivated
a disposition that restrained the reasoning faculty. But the ills which
it has brought on Judaism outweigh the good by far. The Zohar confirmed
and propagated a gloomy superstition, and strengthened in people's
minds the belief in the kingdom of Satan, in evil spirits and ghosts.
Through its constant use of coarse expressions, often verging on the
sensual, in contradistinction to the chaste, pure spirit pervading
Jewish literature, the Zohar sowed the seeds of unclean desires, and
later on produced a sect that laid aside all regard for decency.
Finally, the Zohar blunted the sense for the simple and the true, and
created a visionary world, in which the souls of those who zealously
occupied themselves with it were lulled into a sort of half-sleep,
and lost the faculty of distinguishing between right and wrong. Its
quibbling interpretations of Holy Writ, adopted by the Kabbalists and
others infected with this mannerism, perverted the verses and words
of the Holy Book, and made the Bible the wrestling-ground of the most
curious, insane notions. The Zohar even contains utterances which
seem favorable to the Christian dogma of the Trinity of the Godhead.
The mystics dismembered the fair form of Holy Writ, indulged in mad
sport, and stupefied all sense for truth, but they were scarcely
more guilty in this respect than the so-called philosophers of the
time. Maimuni's attempt to bring Judaism and its religious literature
into consonance with reason, to give certain too realistic verses
of the Bible a philosophical, or at least a tolerable sense, and
place religious precepts on the basis of an intelligible, acceptable
purpose, encouraged half-learned men to explain everything and
anything in the same way. Hence the allegorizing of the Scriptures,
the Agada, and the rites, was carried to an incredible extreme. These
pseudo-philosophers divested the stories of the creation and of the
patriarchs of their historical character, and interpreted them as
philosophical commonplaces, in which they sported with Aristotelian
and Maimunist terms, as the Zohar with Kabbalistic terms. Abraham and
Sarah, for example, denote to the allegorists matter and form, Pharaoh
denotes vicious desires, Egypt the body, the land of Goshen the heart,
Moses the divine spirit, and the Urim and Thummim, which the High
Priest wore on his breast in the Temple, were the astrolabe of the
astronomers, with which they calculated time, longitude and latitude.
If there had been at that time any Jewish thinkers of the first rank,
they would have made serious efforts to put a stop to this childish
proceeding, whether Kabbalistic or pseudo-philosophical. But the age of
Ben Adret happened to be poor in great intellects. Even the two chief
representatives of the philosophy of that time, Shem-Tob Falaquera and
Isaac Albalag, were not above mediocrity, and were themselves tainted
with the current errors.
There were, however, certain men of bolder spirit, who from
philosophical premises drew conclusions endangering the stability of
Judaism. Like their predecessors, the Alexandrine allegorists, many
intelligent and consistent thinkers were induced at this time to
disregard the ceremonies of Judaism by assigning erroneous purposes to
religious precepts. As the ceremonies are intended simply to awaken
certain religious, philosophical, or moral feelings, they argued, it
is sufficient to call up these thoughts, to be penetrated by them,
to occupy one's mind constantly with them, while the observance of
religious customs is superfluous. Several members of this school denied
Moses' prophetic character, accepting him only as an ordinary lawgiver,
such as other nations had, and thus rejected the divinity of the Torah.
The pseudo-philosophers cast a doubt upon the very fundamentals of
Judaism, and thereby provoked a reaction injurious to free inquiry.
The chief authority of this allegorical school was a man of vast
erudition, but full of crotchets, who, without desiring it,
occasioned violent conflicts. This was Levi ben Abraham ben Chayim,
of Villefranche, not far from Perpignan (born about 1240, died after
1315). Coming from a respectable family of scholars, he was deeply
read in the Talmud; but he was more attracted by Maimuni's philosophy
and Ibn-Ezra's astrology, being a warm adherent of the belief of the
latter in the influence of the stars over human destiny. Of a volatile
rather than a solid mind, Levi ben Chayim had no perfect conception
of Maimuni's aims. To him Judaism resolved itself into philosophical
platitudes, which, preposterous and childish as they sound to us, were,
strange to say, regarded by the people of early times as profound
wisdom. Ben Chayim was the disseminator of that superficial method
satisfied with formulæ instead of thoughts. He composed two chief
works, one in verse, the other in prose, a kind of encyclopædia, in
which he applied the theory derived from Maimuni to all branches of
knowledge. In these books he translated the historical narratives in
the Bible into philosophical generalities, explained the standing
still of the sun on the occasion of Joshua's victory as a natural
occurrence, and in general, adopted any method of expounding which
depends on word-twisting. Levi ben Chayim repudiated the allegorical
interpretations of laws; in fact, he denounced the allegorists as
heretics, and desired to preserve the historical character of the
biblical narratives as much as possible. Like his prototype, Ibn-Ezra,
he tried to keep secret his deepest convictions, so that not even his
friends could fathom his ideas. This Judaism, disfigured by absurd
philosophical interpretations, was not only privately taught, but
preached in the synagogues.
The home of this pseudo-philosophy was the not insignificant
congregation of Perpignan, the capital of the province of Roussillon,
which belonged to the kingdom of Aragon. Although the Jews had no
enviable lot, and were compelled to live in the most miserable part of
the town, that assigned to lepers, they nevertheless preserved a taste
for science and free inquiry, and eagerly awaited the new theories
taught by the exponents and followers of Maimuni's philosophy. Here
poor Levi of Villefranche had found a place of refuge at the house
of a rich and influential man, Don Samuel Sulami or Sen Escalita,
whose piety, learning and liberality were praised beyond measure
by his contemporaries. "From Perpignan to Marseilles there is not
another who can be compared with Samuel Sulami in knowledge of the
Law, benevolence, piety and humility. He gives charity in secret, his
house is open to every traveler; and he is indefatigable in getting
books for his collection." He corresponded on learned topics with
Ben Adret, and took interest in the philosophical interpretation of
the Bible and the Agada. Even the rabbi of Perpignan was a friend of
free thought and a determined enemy of mummified orthodoxy and the
unreflecting faith of the literalist. This was Don Vidal Menachem ben
Solomon Meïri (born Elul, 1249, died about 1306), little celebrated
in his own time, but none the less of great importance. Though not of
commanding influence, he possessed an attractive personality. He had
what nearly all his contemporaries sorely lacked, moderation and tact.
These qualities are revealed particularly in Meïri's style. Nearly all
the Jewish authors of Spain and Provence wrote their prose and verse
in a redundant, bombastic style, as if the whole literary thesaurus of
the Bible were needed to express a meager idea. The much-admired model
of this time, the moral poet Yedaya Bedaresi, is so prolix in saying
the most ordinary platitude, that one has to peruse whole pages of his
apology, reflections, and miscellaneous writings before coming across
a tolerable idea. The style in vogue, a mosaic of Biblical phrases,
favored verbosity. But Don Vidal Meïri forms a glorious exception to
this practice, his style being terse and clear. In his commentaries
to the tractates of the Talmud which relate to ceremonial duties, he
proceeds throughout in a methodical manner, advances from the general
to the particular, arranges his material in lucid order, and seeks to
give the reader information, not to confuse him. Of a similar character
is Meïri's exposition of Holy Writ. The philosophers and mystics always
endeavored to find some higher meaning in it, the simple explanation
being too prosaic for them, and accordingly they put upon the Bible
their own extravagant nonsense. Not so Meïri. He certainly assumed
that there are many commands and narratives in the Bible which point
to something higher than the literal meaning, but the majority of them
must, he maintained, be taken quite literally. Meïri was naturally
dissatisfied with the extravagant mannerisms of the allegorists, but
it did not enter his mind to reject the good together with the bad, to
interdict learning because of its abuse.
These proceedings were not regarded quite so calmly by certain bigots,
dwelling in the city which had produced the obscurantist Solomon of
Montpellier, the proscriber of Maimuni and his compositions, and
author of so much dissension and evil. Although pseudo-philosophical
extravaganzas were not more dangerous than the follies of the
Kabbalists, the watchers of Zion nevertheless overlooked the latter,
and waged energetic warfare with the former, so that the philosophers
obtained more weight than they would otherwise have had. The bigots of
Montpellier well-nigh kindled the fire of discord in Jacob. The first
instigator of this ill-timed zeal belonged to that class of men who
mark off the province of faith according to an exact rule, denounce
every movement and opinion which transgress their limit as heresy,
and desire to have them rooted out with anathemas and scourges, where
possible with fire and sword--a class of men in whom fanatical zeal
cannot be separated from a kind of egoism. To this category belonged
Abba-Mari ben Moses, of Montpellier, or, as his aristocratic title
ran, Don Astruc En-Duran de Lünel. Of a respectable family, and of
great influence in the capital of Languedoc, Abba-Mari was certainly
not without culture, and he had great veneration for Maimuni and his
compositions; but he had irrevocably attached himself to the Jewish
creed as laid down by Nachmani, and was indignant if any one ventured
to consider it from the point of view of another system. He did not
object to miraculous tales; on the contrary, the more the better. The
conclusions of philosophy and science, which denied the possibility
of these miracles, in no way disturbed him. In the choice between
Moses and Aristotle, or between the authorities of the Talmud and the
upholders of philosophy, he was not for a moment doubtful to whom to
give the preference. To be sure, this narrow-minded point of view is
justifiable; but Abba-Mari wanted to thrust his opinion upon every
one else, and to persecute all who thought otherwise. Not only did he
hold in abomination the allegorical exegesis publicly preached, but he
reprobated the study of all profane literature as the cause of this
aberration. He regretted that the scourge could no more be brought into
requisition to silence those who filled their minds with such learning
as endangered religion.
Abba-Mari, however, did not possess sufficient authority to proceed
against Levi of Villefranche and his school. He addressed himself to
the most influential rabbi of the time, Ben Adret of Barcelona, and
charged that their perversities would accomplish the dissolution of
Judaism, if a restraint were not put upon them. He importuned Ben
Adret to exercise his great influence. The rabbi naturally found the
circumstance deplorable that "strangers had forced their way through
the gates of Zion." He exhorted Abba-Mari to organize a party to oppose
this extravagant movement, but positively refused his support, as he
did not like to interfere in the affairs of congregations abroad. Other
bigots, however, took up the cause, and hurried it to a crisis, among
them Don Bonafoux Vidal, of Barcelona, and his brother, Don Crescas
Vidal, who had moved to Perpignan, both highly respected and learned,
but as intolerant as Abba-Mari. Don Crescas made a proposition,
which met with much applause. The study of science, and the reading
of profane literature in general, was to be prohibited to Jewish
youths till their thirtieth year. Only men of mature age, "who had
filled their minds with the Bible and the Talmud, were to be allowed
to warm themselves by the strange fires of philosophy and the natural
sciences." Although Ben Adret did not feel disposed to take measures
against the study of science, he nevertheless considered it his duty
to persecute the provoker of so much animosity. He took umbrage at the
pious Samuel Sulami for granting a heretic shelter in his house, thus
giving him an opportunity to spread his pernicious views. He harassed
Samuel Sulami so unmercifully, and subjected his conscience to such
torment, that the man, not very remarkable for strength of character,
became shaken in his previous convictions. When a daughter of his died
he believed that it was a punishment for his sinfulness, and renounced
his hospitality to Levi. Many members of the congregation of Perpignan
bitterly resented the suspicion of heresy cast upon Levi, and as they
knew Ben Adret to be a man of stainless character, they vented their
dissatisfaction on the instigator, Abba-Mari, to whom they imputed
sordid ulterior designs and personal motives.
Abba-Mari and his allies, who felt themselves helpless without
powerful support, labored without intermission to inflame the zeal of
the Barcelona rabbinate, that it might forbid free inquiry and the
study of science. At the same time they promised the co-operation of
the whole congregation of Montpellier, which, being the chief one in
southern France, would draw other communities after it. Ben Adret and
his college, imagining from Abba-Mari's exaggerated description that
Judaism was in the greatest danger, were at last determined to take up
the matter, but desired first to sound the congregation of Montpellier
as to its feeling on the subject, and for this purpose sent a letter
to be read before the members in case they felt disposed to join them
in interdicting the study of the natural sciences. But as soon as the
proposed ban against the sciences became known, decided opposition
arose among the most important men of the congregation.
There was at that time in Montpellier a man, who by reason of his
family, position, wealth and knowledge, was held in high estimation
by his people, and who had imbibed a love for the sciences with his
mother's milk. Jacob ben Machir Tibbon, known in Christian circles
as Don Profiat, or Profatius (born about 1236, died after 1312), was
descended on one side from the celebrated Meshullam of Lünel, the first
to promote a revival of learning in southern France, and on the other
side he was related to the Tibbonides. From his birth he was taught to
look upon Judaism and science as twin sisters, dwelling together in
the utmost harmony. Like all educated Jews of his time, he was well
grounded in Jewish literature, the Bible, and the Talmud, practiced
medicine as his profession, but devoted himself with particular zeal to
mathematics and astronomy. His accurate observation of the inclination
of the earth's axis to the orbit was taken by later master astronomers
as the basis of their investigations. As he had acquired a knowledge
of Arabic, he was able to translate useful scientific works from that
language into Hebrew. His wealth of knowledge was not employed as a
means of gratifying his vanity or ambition, but he properly regarded it
as the distinction of man, enabling him to arrive at self-knowledge.
Jacob Tibbon maintained that in the happy time of the Jewish people
science had its home in their midst, but exile and suffering had
banished it, and its former exponents now had to become students in
order to learn the results arrived at by foreign nations. In his
scientific labors Jacob ben Machir had a very noble end in view. He
aimed at elevating his co-religionists in the eyes of the Christian
world, and silencing the sneers of their enemies, who tauntingly said
that they were destitute of all knowledge.
This man was now asked to assist in banishing science from the Jewish
world. If Abba-Mari wished to carry out in Montpellier his scheme of
holding the Jewish youth aloof from the study of the sciences, he was
bound to take Jacob ben Machir into consideration. For he was held
in high esteem by his congregation on account of his many excellent
traits and his meritorious achievements, and had the greatest influence
with the members entitled to a vote. Indeed, he was the first to whom
Abba-Mari disclosed the project, supported by the Barcelona rabbinate,
against the study of the profane sciences, and he reckoned upon Jacob's
co-operation. With impressive decisiveness, Profiat not only refused
participation, but pointed out the sad consequences of so serious a
step, and importuned him to omit the public reading of Ben Adret's
letter. Abba-Mari and his ally, Todros of Beaucaire, nevertheless
persisted in their determination, and summoned the members of the
congregation to an important conference in the synagogue on a Sabbath
(Elul-August, 1304). It was immediately apparent that the zealots had
deceived themselves, or had been too confident in their assertion that
the Jews of Montpellier would give unanimous consent to the interdict
to be laid on science. A portion of the congregation even abstained
from taking part in the deliberations, and Jacob ben Machir raised an
emphatic protest against the proposed enslaving of the intellect. A
violent discussion ensued, and the meeting dispersed without coming to
a resolution. Soon a party, consisting of advocates of science, and
of friends, adherents and parasites of the highly esteemed leader,
rallied round Jacob Machir, the most distinguished representative of
science. The obscurantists and the simple-minded attached themselves
to Abba-Mari, so that the congregation became a prey to division and
conflict. Each party endeavored to gain supporters, both within and
without the community.
It became a point of honor with Abba-Mari to bring the affair to a
conclusion conformable to his own views, for his defeat had exposed his
true position to Ben Adret and the Barcelona congregation. After the
unfavorable issue of the first deliberation in the synagogue, he hardly
ventured to answer the man whom he had assured of a unanimous adoption
of his proposal. He, therefore, worked very energetically in collecting
at least twenty-five signatures of members of the congregation, to give
Ben Adret proof that he did not stand alone in his extreme views.
It was no less a point of honor with Jacob Tibbon not to allow the
interdiction of science to come into force. For he and the Tibbonides
believed that the attacks were directed chiefly against their
highly-venerated ancestors, Samuel Ibn-Tibbon and Jacob Anatoli,
because the latter's book of sermons (Malmed) had been the first to
explain away Biblical tales and religious laws, and at that time
was used in certain quarters for Sabbath devotions. Ben Adret, at
Abba-Mari's instigation, did, indeed, treat Anatoli, the favorite of
the Tibbonides, with scorn. Of Samuel Ibn-Tibbon, the translator of
Maimuni's works, and propagator of his theories, the austere bigots
had not a good word to say. Judah ben Moses, his great-grandson,
consequently became the soul of what may be called the Tibbonide party,
which agitated against Abba-Mari's plan. To attract outsiders, the
Tibbonides gave out that the adversaries of science once more had in
view the denunciation of Maimuni and his compositions as heretical,
and that Abba-Mari wanted to take up the position of Solomon of
Montpellier. This was a very happy party manœuvre; it won over even
those who had shown indifference to the burning topic of the day,
for they thought themselves in duty bound to take up arms on behalf
of Maimuni's honor. The Tibbonide party, thus strengthened, sent a
trenchant and pointed letter to Ben Adret and the Barcelonians, to
ask them to reconsider their decision. It is true, they were not able
to offer any convincing reasons for the admission of science into the
Jewish curriculum; but the arguments which they set forth in its favor
were considered satisfactory in a superficial age. They appealed to
King Solomon's wisdom, "from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop on the
wall," which, they said, referred to nothing but natural science. From
the Talmud, too, reasons were adduced for the study of science. They
would not admit the validity of the reply that it was not intended
to interdict research generally, only to prohibit immature young men
from its pursuit. That, they said, was an evasion of the main point at
issue. For a man not familiar with science before his thirtieth year
was permanently incapable of engaging in its study, and in advanced
age could never retrieve the loss. The Tibbonides, moreover, protested
that they were branded as heretics, because along with the Torah
they paid homage to the profane sciences. They did not recognize the
superiority of any one in piety and orthodoxy. Lastly, the Tibbonides
exhorted Ben Adret and his college to bury the hatchet of denunciation
and discord. The spirited and defiant tone assumed by Jacob ben Machir
and his adherents greatly provoked the Barcelonians. The tension
increased. Bitter and caustic letters flew hither and thither. Both
sides labored to gain new adherents in other congregations, and to draw
over the waverers. The communities of Argentière, Aix, Avignon and
Lünel, through their representatives, declared in favor of Abba-Mari
and his followers. In Perpignan, the chief seat of the much-assailed
enlightenment, a relative of Abba-Mari agitated in his favor. The
latter was particularly desirous of securing the assistance of a man
who, by reason of his noble birth and highly honorable position, had
powerful influence in Perpignan and elsewhere. This was Kalonymos
ben Todros of Narbonne, thought to be a descendant of the house of
King David. Kalonymos did not at first appear inclined to take part
in the proscription of science; but Abba-Mari from the one side and
Ben Adret from the other assailed him with such pertinacity that at
length he promised his consent and co-operation. As the Tibbonide party
had also gained new adherents, Ben Adret himself shrank from pushing
the controversy to extremes, and decided not to issue the decree
of excommunication till at least twenty congregations had declared
themselves unequivocally in favor of it.
Whilst in southern France and Spain the balance was inclining now to
one side, now to the other, in the dispute about the admission of
scientific studies into Jewish circles, the German communities were
passing through a series of the most deplorable events, which drove to
Spain a man who spoke the deciding word in favor of the excommunication
and proscription of free inquiry. He was of high morality, rare
disinterestedness, of pure aspiration and sincere piety, and possessed
profound Talmudical learning, but was filled with the fanatical hate
of his countrymen against profane knowledge. The emigration of Asheri
or Asher from Germany to Spain inaugurates an unhappy period for the
Spanish and Provençal Jews in their efforts for the progress of culture.
Asher ben Yechiel (born about 1250, died 1327) of the Rhine district,
sprang from ancestors who centered their whole world in the Talmud. A
disciple of the celebrated Meïr of Rothenburg, Asher acquired the acute
Tossafist method, composed Tossafist works, but had a finer sense
of system and order than this school. After the death of his master,
whose corpse the unprincipled emperor, Adolph of Nassau, refused to
give up for burial without remuneration, Asheri was reckoned among
the most influential rabbinical authorities of Germany. A paroxysm
of persecutions of the Jews broke out in his time, far worse than
those during the crusades; it robbed thousands of innocent men of
their lives, or sentenced them to a lot worse than death. A civil war
raged at that time in Germany between Adolph of Nassau and Albrecht
of Austria, who were contending for the empty glitter of the German
crown. This strife promised impunity for audacious attacks on the Jews,
who were proscribed by the church and society, and an opportunity was
easily found. A report was spread that the Jews of the little town
of Röttingen (in Franconia) had desecrated a sacramental wafer and
pounded it in a mortar, and blood was said to have flowed from it. A
nobleman of the place, named Rindfleisch, took up the cause of the
host alleged to have been desecrated, declared that he had received
a mission from heaven to root out the accursed race of Jews, and
gathered a credulous, besotted mob around him to assist in his bloody
intentions. He and his troops first of all consigned the Jews of
Röttingen to the flames (7th Iyar-20th April, 1298). From this place
the rabble of slaughterers, under Rindfleisch's leadership, traveled
from town to town, always swelling their numbers with others of their
description, and destroyed all the Jews who fell into their hands, even
those converted to Christianity. Rindfleisch, impelled by audacity and
spurious enthusiasm, fairly forced the inhabitants of various towns to
ill-treat their Jewish fellow-citizens brutally. The great community of
Würzburg was completely blotted out (12th Ab-24th July). In Nuremberg
the Jews had at first fled for refuge into the fortress, but being
attacked there, too, they took to arms, and though assisted by humane
Christians, were overpowered at last, and all butchered (22d Ab-1st
August). Asheri's relative and fellow-student, Mordecai ben Hillel,
who had compiled a very important rabbinical work, fell at about the
same time, together with his wife and five children. Many parents, lest
their children from fear of death should renounce their faith, threw
them with their own hands into the flames, and plunged in after them.
In Bavaria the congregations of Ratisbon and Augsburg were the only
ones to escape the slaughter. In the first city, where they had the
right of citizenship from time immemorial, the mayor protected them
with great zeal. In Augsburg, too, the mayor and council defended them
against the destroyers, Rindfleisch and his horde.
This bloody persecution spread from Franconia and Bavaria to Austria,
swept away more than a hundred and forty congregations and more than
100,000 Jews, and lasted nearly half a year. The Jews of Germany all
trembled, and were prepared to meet destruction. This would certainly
have come if the civil war in Germany had not been brought to an
end by the death of Emperor Adolph, and the election of Albrecht.
The second Habsburger energetically restored the country to a state
of peace, brought to book the perpetrators of the outrages on the
Jews, and imposed fines on the towns which had participated in them,
on the ground that he had suffered losses in his purse through the
immolation of his "servi cameræ" and their goods. The majority of
the Jews baptized through fear returned to Judaism, apparently with
the connivance of the emperor and the representatives of the church.
The after-throes of this massacre were likewise bitter enough. The
wives of those who had perished could not authenticate the death of
their husbands through Jewish witnesses, as no men remained alive
competent to give testimony. They could appeal only to the statement
of baptized Jews, whose evidence was considered by many rabbis to be
invalid according to the Talmudical marriage laws. Asheri, however, was
sensible enough to unbend from this strictness, and allowed the widows
to marry again on the evidence of baptized Jews returned to Judaism.
Asheri did not feel very secure in Germany after this bloody massacre,
or perhaps he was threatened with danger on the part of Emperor
Albrecht. It was said that the emperor demanded of him the sum of
money which the Jews were to pay as ransom for the imprisoned Meïr
of Rothenburg, for which Asheri had become security. He accordingly
left Germany (summer of 1303), and traveled from one country to
another with his wife, his eight sons and grandsons, and on account
of his reputation, he was everywhere treated with the utmost respect,
especially in Montpellier, even before the breaking out of the
controversy. He finally settled in Toledo, the largest city of Spain
(January, 1305). With joy the illustrious German rabbi was installed by
the Toledo congregation in the vacant rabbinate. With Asheri the dismal
spirit of over-piety, so hostile to knowledge, entered into the Spanish
capital.
Asheri did not conceal his antipathy to profane culture. He could not
conceive how pious Jews, in southern France and in Spain, could occupy
themselves with subjects outside of the Talmud. With the utmost scorn
he discountenanced the very aspiration of the Spanish and Provençal
Jews on which they prided themselves. He thanked his Creator that
He had protected him from the baneful influence of science. He did
not give the southern Frenchmen and the Spanish Jews credit for
thoroughness even in knowledge of the Talmud, and maintained that the
German and northern French Jews alone had inherited wisdom from the
time of the destruction of the Temple. A man like this, incapable of
appreciating the sciences, and harboring enmity to everything not
in the Talmud, was bound to exercise an influence prejudicial to
knowledge. Next to him Solomon ben Adret himself appeared more or less
of a freethinker. Abba-Mari forthwith availed himself of the man, from
whom he expected effectual support for his party. He requested him to
express his views on the pending question. Asheri, of course, gave
Abba-Mari his unqualified approval, but was of opinion that he did not
go far enough, for the evil would not be eradicated, if the pursuit
of the sciences were allowed at a ripe age. The poison of heresy had
spread too far, every one was infected by it, and the pious were open
to the reproach that they shut their eyes to it. His proposal was
that a synod should be convoked, and a resolution be taken that study
was to be devoted solely to the Talmud, while the sciences were to be
pursued only when it was neither day nor night--that is, not at all.
This exclusive fidelity to the Talmud, which rejected all compromise,
advocated by an energetic man of pure character, made an overpowering
impression on the unsettled minds of Spanish Jews. Ben Adret himself,
who had hitherto always hesitated to lead the movement, all at once
declared that he was prepared to pronounce the ban, if Abba-Mari and
the prince, Kalonymos, would prepare it. An officious zealot, Samson
ben Meïr, disciple of Ben Adret, took upon himself to collect assenting
signatures from twenty congregations. Toledo was especially reckoned
upon, having been swayed by Asheri's mind, and next, Castile generally,
which as a rule followed the guidance of the head community.
How artificial and opposed to the sentiment of the majority this zeal
was, became apparent especially in the congregation of Montpellier,
styled the tower of Zion by Abba-Mari's party. In this congregation
the zealots did not venture to collect signatures for the sentence of
excommunication. As if in defiance, one of the Tibbonides announced
that he would give a reading from Anatoli's book of sermons on a
certain Sabbath, and immediately drew a numerous audience. Abba-Mari,
who had repeatedly boasted to Ben Adret of his mighty influence, and
had persuaded him that the whole congregation, except a few deluded
people, were on his side, now had to admit that Montpellier was not
to be reckoned upon in this affair. In the consciousness that their
party was in a minority in southern France, the two leaders, Abba-Mari
and Kalonymos, of Narbonne, made the ecclesiastical ban unexpectedly
mild, both as to wording and contents. First, the reading of works on
natural science and of metaphysical books only was to be prohibited,
all other branches of learning being expressly allowed. Secondly, the
writings of Jewish authors, even those dealing with natural science
or metaphysics, were to be excluded from the inhibition. Abba-Mari,
with a view to meeting his adversaries half-way, had made the proposal
to fix the period when the study of every department of learning was
to be allowed, not at the thirtieth, but at the twenty-fifth year
of the student's age. Ben Adret, however, who could not tolerate
half-measures nor brook retreat, had now become more severe. He who
formerly had to be driven and urged on, now became the propeller.
Asheri's influence is not to be mistaken. On the Sabbath of Lamentation
in commemoration of the destruction of Jerusalem, he and his colleagues
ordered the anathema against the study of the sciences to be read
amid solemn ceremonies, the scroll of the Law in the arms of the
reader (4th Ab-26th July, 1305). Whoever read any scientific book
before the twenty-fifth year of his age was liable to the penalty of
excommunication. The ban was to remain in force for half a century.
The philosophical expounders of Holy Writ were doomed in the hereafter,
and in this world subjected to excommunication, and their writings
condemned to be burnt. As no exception was made of scientific works
composed in Hebrew, according to the formulation of the ban, not
only Anatoli's book of sermons was exposed to proscription, but also
Maimuni's philosophical writings. Ben Adret and his college allowed
only the study of medicine, on the ground that its practice is
permitted in the Talmud. This was the first heresy-tribunal in Jewish
history, and Ben Adret was at its head. The Dominicans had found docile
emulators among the Jews.
According to the communal system in the Middle Ages, every congregation
was independent, and the resolutions of one congregation had no force
with another. The ban accordingly had validity only in Barcelona,
unless some other congregation confirmed it. Ben Adret, however,
labored to have it adopted by other congregations. The sentence,
signed by Ben Adret, his two sons, and more than thirty of the most
influential members of the Barcelona congregation, was dispatched to
the congregations of Spain, Languedoc, northern France, and Germany.
But the ban was not so readily adopted as the authorities of Barcelona
had flattered themselves it would be. Jacob ben Machir and his party
had already received notice that a blow was being meditated against
them, and accordingly made preparations for a countermove. They
resolved from the first to frustrate the effect of the ecclesiastical
interdict of the study of science. They drew up a resolution in
Montpellier which contained three important points. A sentence of
excommunication was to fall upon those who, out of religious scruples,
ventured to debar or withdraw their sons, whatever their youth, from
the study of any science whatsoever, regardless of the language in
which it was treated; secondly, upon those who presumed to utter an
irreverent or abusive word against the great Maimuni, and, lastly,
also upon those who presumed to denounce a religious author on account
of his philosophical system. The last point was introduced for the
sake of Anatoli's memory, which his opponents had vilified. Thus
there was ban against ban. Jacob Tibbon and his friends caused their
resolution in favor of science and its advocates to be announced
in the synagogue, and the great majority of the congregation of
Montpellier took his side. Party zeal, however, impelled the Tibbonides
to take an ill-advised step, which threatened to produce the same
evil consequences as had ensued at the time of the first conflict in
Montpellier with the obscurantists. As Jacob ben Machir Profatius
and others of his party had influence with the governor of the city,
they wished to secure his assistance in the event of their opponents'
endeavoring violently to carry the Barcelona interdict into effect. The
governor, however, explained to them that he was interested only in
one point: that the Jewish youth should not be prevented from reading
other than Talmudical works. He should strongly deprecate any attempt
to discourage the study of extra-Talmudical literature, because, as he
frankly expressed himself, he would not consent to their being deprived
through fear of excommunication of the means to potential conversion to
Christianity. To the other points he was indifferent.
Abba-Mari and his party were now in despair on account of the activity
of their opponents. As the resolution in favor of the unrestricted
study of science had been adopted by the majority of the community,
according to rabbinical law it was binding on the minority as well,
and therefore on their leader, and they could not legally stand by
the interdict of Barcelona. Thus the zealots, the provokers of the
conflict, had their hands tied, and were caught in their own net.
They did what they could; they protested against the resolution of
the Tibbonides, and advertised their protest far and wide. But they
could not conceal that they had suffered a defeat, and were obliged
to consult certain authorities as to whether the resolutions of the
Tibbonides were binding on them. Ben Adret was thus placed in an
embarrassing position. The party of Jacob ben Machir believed, or
wished to have it believed, that the prohibition of the rabbis of
Barcelona in reference to the study of scientific books, was meant
to apply to Maimuni's works, too. They obtained the credit of having
taken up the cudgels in behalf of Maimuni's honor, and of contending
for the glory of Judaism; whilst their opponents, Ben Adret included,
through their narrow-mindedness and obstinacy, were exposing their
religion to the scorn of educated Christians. The vindicators of
science seemed to be continually gaining in public opinion. There now
appeared on their side a young poet, whose eloquent defense, written
in a highly imaginative style, made a great impression. It gives a
faithful picture of the feeling and excitement which agitated the
souls of the champions of science, and, therefore, awakens interest
even in the present day. In a modest manner, but with manly spirit,
the poet tells Ben Adret truths which he never had the opportunity of
hearing in his own circle. This young poet, more famous through his
letter than through his verses, was Yedaya En-Bonet ben Abraham, better
known under the name of Bedaresi (of Béziers) and under the poetical
pseudonym of Penini (born about 1280, died about 1340). Yedaya Penini,
son of the bombastic poet, Abraham Bedaresi, had more talent as a poet
than his father. He possessed a lively imagination and overflowing
wealth of language, and lacked only restraining tact, and a dignified,
universally acceptable, uplifting aim for poetry. This deficiency gave
his poems the appearance of empty grandiloquence and artificiality.
He had inherited the defect of his father, inability to control the
superabundance of words by the law of beauty. He was too ornate, and
he moralized, instead of elevating and impressing. In his seventeenth
year Yedaya Bedaresi wrote a book of morals (Pardes), and in his
earliest years, whilst his father was still alive, he composed a prayer
of about one hundred verses, in which all the words begin with the
same letter (Bekashoth ha-Memin), and which his father, and perhaps
his contemporaries, admired, but which is nevertheless very insipid.
An admirer of Maimuni and Ibn Ezra, Bedaresi considered science and
philosophy of equal importance with Judaism, or, like most thoughtful
men of that time, he believed that the one contained the other.
Bedaresi conceived that his deepest convictions had been assailed
by Ben Adret's anathema, and that it had in reality been directed
against Maimuni's name, and, therefore, he could not restrain himself
from addressing a sharp rebuke to the excommunicators. As he lived in
Montpellier and was certainly attached to Jacob ben Machir's party, it
is quite probable that he wrote the defense of Maimuni and of science,
sent to Ben Adret, at their instigation (December, 1305, or January,
1306). This missive, like most of those written in this controversy,
was intended not only for the individual addressed, but for the Jewish
reading public in general. After Bedaresi had expressed his respect for
the upright, learned rabbi of Barcelona, he remarked that he and his
friends were not indignant about the ban, for science was invulnerable,
and could not be injured by the fulmination of excommunicators. They
were only hurt that Ben Adret should brand the Jewish congregations
of southern France as heretics and renegades, and expose them to
contempt in his message to many congregations and countries. Ben Adret,
he continued, had allowed himself to be taken in tow by Abba-Mari,
and had made a mountain of a mole-hill. From time immemorial, from
Saadiah's age, science was not only tolerated in Judaism, but cherished
and fostered, because its importance in religious knowledge was
indisputable. Moreover, the denouncers of heresy were not consistent;
they excluded the science of medicine from the ban, although this
science, like every other, had a side which was in conflict with
religion. How could they dare impugn the writings of Maimuni, whose
dazzling personality outshone all his great predecessors? At the end,
Yedaya Bedaresi observed that violent faction fights had broken out in
Montpellier. Did they wish to continue to foment party strife, that
the absence of unity among the Jews might occasion the Christians
unholy satisfaction? "We cannot give up science; it is as the breath
to our nostrils. Even if Joshua would appear and forbid it, we could
not obey him, for we have a warranty, who outweighs you all, Maimuni,
who has recommended it, and impressed it upon us. We are ready to
set our goods, our children, and our very lives at stake for it." In
conclusion, he invited Ben Adret to advise his friends in Montpellier
to relinquish heresy hunting, and desist from stirring the fire of
discord.
At the same time, furious disputes broke out in the church, between
King Philip IV of France and Pope Boniface VIII, but here the subject
of the dispute was not ideal good, not science and free research, but
purely dominion, power and mammon. There was war to the knife between
the chiefs of the two parties. The king accused the pope of heresy,
simony, covetousness, perjury, and impurity. And the pope released the
subjects from their oath to their hereditary king, and gave away his
empire. The Jewish hostilities had neither the same wide range, nor yet
the same bottomless wickedness.
Ben Adret and several who had signed the decree of excommunication,
Moses Iskafat Meles and Solomon Gracian, were so unpleasantly affected
by Bedaresi's letter, and feared its effect so much, that they hastened
to offer the explanation that they had in no wise animadverted upon
Maimuni's writings, whom they revered in the highest degree. They even
exhorted Abba-Mari's party to make peace with their opponents, to
vindicate their dignity before their common enemy. But the controversy
was now at a stage when it could no longer be settled peaceably. The
mutual bitterness was too violent, and had become too personal. Each
party claimed to be in the right from its own standpoint; neither could
consent to a compromise nor make concessions. Each adhered to its own
principles; the one sought to enforce the freedom of science, the other
protested that Jewish youth, before maturity, must be guarded from the
deleterious poison of knowledge. Whilst the adherents of Abba-Mari
were seeking legal decisions to prove the ban of their opponents
unauthorized, a sad event happened, which, like a whirlwind, tore
friends asunder, and dashed enemies against each other.