THE GOLDEN AGE OF JEWISH SCIENCE: SAADIAH AND CHASDAÏ.
Judaism in the Tenth Century--Saadiah, the Founder of
Religious Philosophy--Translation of the Bible into Arabic
--Saadiah opposes Karaism--The Karaite Solomon ben Yerucham
--Saadiah and the School at Sora--Saadiah retires from Sora
--His Literary Activity--Extinction of the Exilarchate--
Sahal and other Karaite writers--Jews in Spain--The School
at Cordova--Dunash ben Tamim--Chasdaï--His services to
Judaism--Menachem ben Saruk--Chasdaï and the King of the
Chazars.
928-970 C. E.
With the decay of the Carlovingian rule, the last spark of spiritual
life was extinguished in Christian Europe. The darkness of the Middle
Ages became thicker and thicker, but the spiritual light of Judaism
shone forth in all its splendor.
The Church was the seat of monastic ignorance and barbarity, the
Synagogue was the place of science and civilization. In Christianity
every scientific effort was condemned by the officials of the Church
as well as by the people, as the work of Satan; in Judaism the leaders
and teachers of religion themselves promoted science, and endeavored
to elevate the people. Far from condemning knowledge, the Geonim
considered it as an aid and supplement to religion. For three centuries
the teachers of Judaism were for the most part devotees of science, and
this position was first assumed during this epoch. Two men especially,
one in the east and the other in the west, made science a principle of
Judaism. They were the Gaon Saadiah and the statesman Chasdaï.
With them begins a new period of Jewish history, which we may
confidently call the scientific epoch. The spring-time of Israel's
history returned, and in its pure atmosphere the sweet voice of poetry
again made itself heard. Contemporary writers scarcely noticed that a
remnant of Jewish antiquity, the Exilarchate, was now at an end. It was
soon forgotten in the new life that had just made itself visible. Just
as the religious life had freed itself from the Temple of sacrifice, so
now it gradually withdrew from the influence of the temple of learning
on the banks of the Euphrates, and established a new center for itself.
The first half of the tenth century became, through the concurrence
of favorable circumstances, a turning-point in the progress of Jewish
history.
Jewish history was gradually transferred to European ground. Judaism
assumed, so to speak, a European character, and deviated more and
more from its Oriental form. Saadiah was the last important link in
its development in the East; Chasdaï and the scientific men whom he
influenced became the first representatives of a Judæo-European culture.
Saadiah (Arabic, Said) ben Joseph, from the town Fayum in Upper
Egypt (892-942), was the founder of scientific Judaism amongst the
Rabbanites, and the creator of religious philosophy in the Middle Ages.
He was a man of extensive knowledge who had absorbed the learning of
the Mahometans and Karaites, and impregnated it with Talmudic elements.
More remarkable even than his knowledge was his personality. His
was a religious spirit and deep moral earnestness. He had a decided
character, and belonged to those who know how to render account of
their actions, and who persevere in carrying out what they think right.
Little is known of his youth. There were few, if any, great Talmudical
scholars in Egypt at that time, and the fact that Saadiah became famous
in this branch of literature speaks well for his mental power. He was
more at home in the Karaite literature than previous Rabbanites had
been. In his twenty-third year (913) he made a fierce attack upon the
Karaites, which was felt by them for centuries afterwards. He wrote a
book "In Refutation of Anan." The contents of this book are unknown,
but it is probable that Saadiah attempted to prove in it the necessity
of tradition, and also to expose Anan's inconsistencies. He adduced
seven arguments in proof of the necessity of tradition, which, weak as
they are, were afterwards accepted for the most part by the Karaites.
He wrote another book in which he showed the absurdity of the boundless
extension of relationship in the Karaite law. He characterized Anan as
"an ambitious man, who possessed too much boldness and too little fear
of God," and who rejected Talmudic Judaism only in order to avenge a
personal slight.
Before he had arrived at maturity, he undertook a more difficult task,
fraught with important consequences for Judaism. Hitherto, the Karaites
had devoted special attention to the Scriptural text, whereas the
Rabbanite teachers had, to a certain extent, neglected it, because the
Talmud satisfied all the needs of their religious life.
The Karaites had composed numerous expositions of the Bible, the
Rabbanites but few. Saadiah, who felt this want, undertook to translate
the Bible into Arabic, the language understood, at this time, from
the extreme West to India. To this translation he added notes, for
three reasons. He wished to make the Bible accessible to the people.
He thought that thereby the influence of Karaism, which sought to
refute Talmudic Judaism through its exegesis, would be counteracted.
Finally, he wished to remove the misconceptions of the people, and
conquer the perversity of the mystics, who rendered the words of
the Bible literally, and thus gave an unworthy description of the
Godhead. He favored the philosophical idea which conceives God in
His exaltedness and holiness to be a spirit. His translation was to
satisfy both reason and Talmudical tradition. This was the basis of his
view of Judaism. Teachings of the Talmud are as divine as those of the
Bible, and neither the Bible nor tradition may be contrary to reason.
According to Saadiah, the contradictions are only on the surface, and
he sought by his translation and exposition to remove this illusion. To
carry out this aim, he adopted interpretations of the text which are
arbitrary and forced.
Out of deference to his Mahometan readers, Saadiah made use of Arabic
characters, which were seldom employed by the Jews who wrote Arabic.
Although Saadiah shows great mental power and independence in his
translation, his renderings cannot be highly praised. The very fact
that he does not allow the text to speak its own language, and that
he wished to find at one time the Talmudical tradition, at another
a philosophical meaning in the words and the context, necessarily
prevented him from giving a true exposition. He impressed the exegesis
of Scripture into the service of tradition and of the philosophy of
the time, and made the text imply more than the meaning of the words
allowed. At the same time that he wrote his translation, Saadiah
composed a kind of Hebrew grammar in the Arabic language. He also
composed a Hebrew lexicon (in Hebrew, Iggaron). Even here he often
missed the truth as to the grammar and etymology of the words. His
exegetical and grammatical works are of importance in so far as they
broke fresh ground in Rabbanite studies, and introduced exegesis and
philology as new departments. Even his mistakes proved instructive in
later times.
In his exposition of the first book of the Pentateuch, Saadiah again
challenged the Karaites. The dispute arose out of his endeavor to prove
that the Karaite calendar was not in accordance with Scripture. In
attacking Karaism, he had disturbed a hornets' nest, and aroused a
host of opponents. The Karaites had hitherto waged war against Talmudic
Judaism without meeting with opposition. They were, therefore, greatly
disturbed when a Rabbanite, endowed with intellect and knowledge,
entered the lists against them. A lively contest arose, which served
its purpose in awakening scientific interest. Saadiah's chief opponent
was the Karaite Solomon ben Yerucham (Ruchaïm). This Karaite (born
in Fostat in 885, died in 960), who lived in Palestine, and was only
a few years older than Saadiah, did not rise above mediocrity. He
was of a violent and acrid nature, and imagined that he could settle
scientific questions by scoffing and abuse. When he returned from
Palestine to Egypt, and perceived the impression that Saadiah's written
and oral attacks upon Karaism had made even in Karaite circles, he
was filled with rage against the young and spirited Rabbanite author,
and determined to write a double refutation--in Hebrew for the
educated, and in Arabic for the masses generally. In his Hebrew reply,
which consists of eighteen doggerel verses alphabetically arranged
(Milchamoth), he treats Saadiah like a child. The whole work breathes
nothing but slander and coarseness. In fact, the Karaite polemic
writings generally deserve consideration more on account of the method
by means of which they seek to cover up their mistakes, than on account
of their contents or their form. Ben-Yerucham's composition took the
shape of a letter to the Karaite communities in Egypt.
Ben-Yerucham was not the only Karaite who sought to defend the sect
against Saadiah's attacks. The various writers vied with one another in
the fierceness of their attacks upon the young Rabbanite by whom their
anti-Talmudic creed was threatened with destruction. If the Karaite
authors expected to silence Saadiah by means of abuse they were
mistaken. He refuted their arguments, substantiated his assertions, and
was always on the alert to take up arms. He wrote two other polemic
treatises against Karaism in Arabic, the one "Distinction" (Tamgiz),
and one against Ibn Sakviyah, who had entered the lists in defense of
the Karaites. Saadiah's works carried his fame to the communities of
the African and Eastern Caliphate. The venerable Isaac Israeli read his
writings with avidity, and his pupil, Dunash ben Tamim, fairly devoured
them. At the seat of the Gaonate, too, he was favorably known, and the
attention of the leaders was directed to him.
The school of Sora was in a sad state of decadence, and was so
deficient in learned men, that the Exilarch David ben Zaccaï found
it necessary to invest a weaver named Yom-Tob Kahana ben Jacob, with
the honor of the Gaonate, but he died in his second year of office
(926-928). The Gaon of Pumbeditha, Kohen-Zedek, who did his best to
establish his college as the exclusive authority, made an agreement
with the Exilarch, to whom he had become reconciled, to close the
school of Sora, to transplant the members to Pumbeditha, and to appoint
a titular Gaon of Sora, who should have his seat in Pumbeditha. The son
of a Gaon, named Nathan ben Yehudaï, was invested with this titular
dignity, but he died suddenly. His sudden death seems to have been
taken as a condemnation of the intention to abolish the old college at
Sora. The Exilarch David then determined to fill up the vacancy and
to restore the ancient school of Sora. He had two candidates in view:
Saadiah, and Zemach ben Shahin, an obscure member of the old nobility.
The Exilarch appealed to the blind Nissi Naharvani to assist him in
his choice. His advice was the more disinterested as he himself had
declined the honor. Nissi voted for Zemach, but not because he had
any personal dislike to Saadiah; on the contrary, he manifested much
love for him. "Saadiah surpasses all his contemporaries in wisdom,
piety, and eloquence," he said of him, "but he is very independent, and
shrinks from nothing." Nissi justly feared that Saadiah's inflexible
spirit would be the cause of disputes and dissensions between him and
the Exilarch. Nevertheless, David decided for Saadiah. He was called
from Egypt to Sora, and formally installed as Gaon (May, 928). It was
an exceptional circumstance that a foreigner who had not studied in the
Talmudic schools, and had not passed step by step through the various
offices should, at a bound, attain to the highest honor next to the
Exilarchate. Besides, Saadiah was more known for his scientific work
than for his Talmudic scholarship. With his call to office, Babylonia
in a sense resigned the supremacy which for seven centuries it had
held over all other lands. This supremacy was now enjoyed by another
country, and philosophy was placed on a level with the Talmud. The
spirit of inquiry that had been banished from the halls of the schools
with Anan, the founder of Karaism, made a solemn return into those
halls with Saadiah.
Saadiah invested the college of Sora with new splendor by his character
and fame. During his presidency Pumbeditha was thrown into the shade.
He sought to fill up the gaps that had arisen in the academy. He
appointed worthy young men to academic offices, and was faithful to
the duties of his position. What must have been his feelings when
he entered for the first time the halls of learning where the great
authorities, the Amoraïm, had taught before him! Soon, however, he no
doubt became conscious of the fact that there existed but the smallest
remnant of that former greatness, and that the high-sounding titles
and dignities were mere semblances of things long since sunk into
oblivion. The Exilarchate, the head of the Judæo-Babylonian community,
was without intrinsic excellence, and was constantly at variance with
the schools. Not being officially recognized at court, the Exilarchate
had to purchase its existence from courtiers and ephemeral rulers,
and was threatened with extinction, whenever its opponents should
offer a larger sum. The money needed to maintain the Exilarchate was
forcibly exacted from the people. Alike in the Exilarchate and in the
academic colleges, corruption and oppression were the order of the
day, the only object in view being to maintain the authority of the
chiefs. Eloquence, virtue, piety, were wanting in the hearts of the
leaders. The Exilarch David once sent his sons to levy an extraordinary
contribution from the different communities; and when the congregation
at Fars (Hamadan?) refused it, David excommunicated them, denounced
them to the vizir, who accused them before the Caliph, when a heavy
fine was imposed upon them. The Geonim had not a word to say against
all this! Saadiah himself had to be silent; he had not been in office
long enough to protest. His eminence had raised him many enemies who
were eager for his downfall. Not alone Kohen-Zedek was jealous of him,
because Pumbeditha was thrown into the shade, but a young man from
Bagdad, Aaron (Caleb) Ibn-Sarjadu, learned, rich, and influential,
distrusted and opposed him. Saadiah observed the great defects in
the Jewish communal life in Babylonia in silence. He wished first to
be on firmer footing. His sense of justice was, however, too deeply
wounded, when he was expected to take part in the iniquities of the
representative of the Jewish community. He could no longer restrain
himself, and now revealed his inflexible character.
An unimportant circumstance revealed the moral corruption of the Jewish
Babylonian chiefs. There was a lawsuit about a large inheritance,
which had not been conscientiously decided by the Exilarch David.
His decision was influenced by the prospect of great gain. To make
his decree legal and unimpeachable, David demanded the signatures of
the two Geonim to the document prepared by him. Kohen-Zedek signed
without objection; Saadiah, however, would not countenance the
injustice. On being pressed by the parties, he gave the reason for
his refusal. The Exilarch David, who now was doubly interested in
obtaining his signature, sent his son Judah to ask him to sign the
document without delay. Saadiah calmly replied that the Law forbade
him to do such things, as it is said, "Ye shall not respect persons
in judgment." Once more David sent his son to Saadiah to threaten him
with deposition in case he still refused. Judah at first assumed a
quiet demeanor, and begged Saadiah not to be the cause of quarrels in
the community. When, however, he found him determined, he raised his
hand against Saadiah, and vehemently demanded his signature. Saadiah's
servants soon removed Judah, and locked the door of the meeting hall.
David ben Zaccaï, who felt himself insulted, deprived the Gaon of his
office. He excommunicated him and appointed a young man, Joseph ben
Jacob ben Satia, as his successor. Saadiah, however, was not the man
to be terrified by force. He, in turn, declared David to be no longer
Exilarch, and named Josiah Hassan as Prince of the Captivity (930). Two
factions immediately arose in Babylonia, the one for Saadiah, the other
for David. On Saadiah's side were ranged the members of the academy
of Sora and many respected and learned men of Bagdad, amongst whom
were the sons of Netira. Opposed to him were Aaron Ibn-Sarjadu and his
party, and probably also Kohen-Zedek and the members of the college
of Pumbeditha. Both parties appealed to the Caliph Al-Muktadir, and
bribed his favorites and courtiers to gain him over to their side.
Ibn-Sarjadu spent 10,000 ducats to effect Saadiah's deposition. The
Caliph wished to hear both parties, and ordered a formal trial to take
place in Bagdad under the presidency of the vizir, who was assisted
by many important men. The dispute was not settled. This was probably
owing to the fact that the Caliph Al-Muktadir was constantly changing
his vizirs during the last two years of his reign, and to the disturbed
state of the capital during this time (930-932). Saadiah asserted his
authority as Gaon, though there was a rival Gaon in the person of
Joseph ben Satia. There were likewise rival Exilarchs, David and his
brother Josiah Hassan.
It was only when Al-Muktadir was killed in a rebellion (October, 932),
and Kahir, who was so poor that he was obliged to borrow clothes for
the ceremony of installation, became Caliph, that David's party,
which could pour more money into the empty treasury, gained the
victory. In order to bring about the downfall of his opponent, the
Exilarch squandered the money that had been extorted from the various
communities. Saadiah was soon forbidden by the Caliph to continue in
office, perhaps also to stay in Sora (commencement of 933). The rival
Exilarch Hassan was banished to Khorasan, where he died. Saadiah now
lived in retirement in Bagdad for four years (933-937). His health had
suffered severely through the constant quarrels and the annoyance he
had received, and he became melancholy. But this did not interfere with
his intellectual activity. It was during his retirement that his best
works, bearing the stamp of freshness and originality, were written.
He wrote Talmudic treatises, composed poetical pieces and prayers
in prose, full of religious fervor. He also arranged a prayer book
(Siddur), after the manner of Amram, collected the rules of the
calendar (Ibbur), wrote a polemic against the Massoret, Aaron ben
Asher, of Tiberias, and was in general particularly prolific in
literary composition during this period. The greatest of his works,
however, are his two philosophical writings, the one a commentary on
the "Book of the Creation" (Sefer Yezirah), the other his _magnum opus_
on Faith and Creed. Both these works are in Arabic. Saadiah was the
first to set up a tolerably complete system of religious philosophy.
The Karaite teachers, it is true, were fond of lengthy philosophical
disputations, which they frequently introduced on most unsuitable
occasions, but they were never able to develop a complete and perfect
religious system, and the Arabs, too, had as yet no systematic
philosophy. Saadiah, by his own unaided intellectual power, built up
a Jewish philosophy of religion, although he borrowed his method of
treatment and his philosophical themes from the Arabic Mutazilist
school. His composition on the Ten Commandments, in which he strove to
bring them into relation with the Ten Categories of the Aristotelian
philosophy, belongs to his earlier and less excellent efforts.
He wrote his work on the philosophy of religion, Emunoth we-Deoth, in
934. Its object was to oppose and correct the erroneous views of his
contemporaries as to the meaning of Judaism; on the one hand were the
opinions of the unbelievers, who degraded it; and on the other, those
of the ignorant people, who condemned all speculating on religious
subjects as involving a denial of God. "My heart is sad," he writes in
the introduction, "by reason of my people, who have an impure belief
and a confused idea of their religion. Some deny the truth, clear as
daylight though it be, and boast of their unbelief. Others are sunk in
the sea of doubt, and the waves of error close over their heads, and
there is no swimmer strong enough to stem the tide and rescue them.
As God has given me the capacity of being useful to them, I consider
it my duty to lead them to the right path. Should any one object and
ask, 'How can we attain a true belief through philosophic thought, when
many consider this as heresy and unbelief?' I would reply, 'Only the
stupid do so, such as believe that every one who goes to India will
become rich, or that the eclipse of the moon is caused by a dragon's
swallowing the disc of the moon, and similar things.' Such people need
not trouble us. Suppose, however, that one were to quote the warning of
the Talmud against philosophical speculation, 'If any one searches into
the mystery of eternity and space, such a person does not deserve to
live,' we should reply that the Talmud could not have discouraged right
thinking, since Scripture encourages us to it. The warning of the sages
was intended to keep us only from that one-sided speculation which does
not take into account the truth of Scripture. Limitless speculation
can give rise only to error, and should it even eventually lead to
truth, it has no firm foundation, because it rejects revelation, and
puts doubt into its place. But when philosophy works hand in hand
with faith, it cannot mislead us. It confirms revelation, and is in a
position to refute the objections that are made by unbelievers. The
truth of revealed Judaism may be premised, since it was confirmed
through visible signs and miracles. Should, however, some one object
that if speculation arrives at the same conviction as revelation,
the latter is superfluous, since human reason could arrive at the
truth without divine interposition, I should reply that revelation
is necessary, inasmuch as, without it, men would have to go a long
way round to reach clearness through their own thought. A thousand
accidents and doubts might hinder their progress. God, therefore, sent
His messengers to us in order to save us all this trouble. We thus have
a knowledge of Him direct, confirmed by miracles."
Unbelief had already made such progress in the Eastern Caliphate, in
consequence of the teachings of the Mutazilist school of philosophy,
that an Arabic poet, Abul-Ala, a contemporary of Saadiah, who had
rebuked the weaknesses of his time, said, "Moslems, Jews, Christians
and Magi are steeped in error and superstition. The world is divided
into two classes, those that have intelligence but no belief, and those
that believe but have no understanding." In Jewish circles, many began
to criticise the responses of the Geonim, and no longer looked upon
them as oracular utterances. This criticism was not restricted to the
decisions of the Geonim or the Talmud, but went so far as to doubt the
trustworthiness of the Bible, and the very fact of revelation.
The unbelief of this time was best illustrated by the Rabbanite Chivi
Albalchi, from the town of Balch in ancient Bactria. Chivi wrote a work
against the Bible and revelation, in which he propounded two hundred
objections against them. Some of these objections are of the same
kind as those used even now by opponents of the Bible. Chivi was the
first thoroughly consistent, rationalistic critic of the Bible. He had
followers in his time; and teachers of the young spread his heretical
views in the schools. In combating Chivi's unorthodox opinions, the
two opponents, Saadiah and Solomon ben Yerucham, met on common ground.
Saadiah, whilst yet in Egypt, had written a book in refutation of
Chivi's doctrines. In his philosophy of religion he especially kept in
view this tendency, hostile to revelation, and sought to expose its
weakness. He likewise did not lose sight of the objections made against
Judaism by Christianity and Islam.
Whilst Saadiah was developing thoughts for the elevation of future
generations, he was still under the ban of excommunication. He
had, therefore, no sphere of action but that of an author. But
circumstances had changed meanwhile. The just Caliph Abradhi was now
on the throne, in the place of the cruel and avaricious Kahir, who
had decreed Saadiah's deposition. His vizir Ali Ibn-Isa was favorably
inclined towards Saadiah. The Gaon Kohen-Zedek, who had made common
cause with the Exilarch, had died in 936. His successor, Zemach ben
Kafnaï, was a harmless man. So David had only Aaron Ibn-Sarjadu to
assist him in his quarrel; the people, however, in increasing numbers,
sided with Saadiah. It happened that an important lawsuit had to be
decided; one party proposed the banished and deposed Gaon as judge,
whilst the opposite party proposed the Exilarch. David, in his rage,
had personal violence done to the man that had appealed to Saadiah.
This act of violence caused the more ill-feeling, as the person so
maltreated was not under the jurisdiction of the Exilarch, and had
a perfect right to choose his judge without interference from the
Exilarch.
Respected members of the community now took counsel as to the best
means of putting an end to the contention between the Prince of the
Exile and the Gaon. The peacemakers met at the house of an influential
man in Bagdad, Kasser ben Aaron, the father-in-law of Ibn-Sarjadu,
and impressed upon him the fact that the quarrel had already exceeded
all bounds, that the community had been split into two camps, and
that these things had been followed by the saddest consequences.
Kasser assured them of his co-operation in restoring peace, and
succeeded in overcoming the hostility of his son-in-law towards
Saadiah. The peacemakers thereupon went to David, and argued with him
till he yielded. When Kasser was sure that the Exilarch was inclined
to reconciliation, he hastened to inform Saadiah of it. The whole
community of Bagdad joined in the rejoicing. Some accompanied David,
others Saadiah, until they met. The enemies embraced each other, and
henceforward were the firmest of friends. The reconciliation was so
complete that Saadiah accepted David's hospitality for several days.
The latter restored him to his office, with many marks of honor.
The academy of Sora regained some of its former glory through Saadiah,
and threw its sister academy into the shade. In the latter, two men,
otherwise unknown, successively filled the post of Gaon. The questions
from home and foreign communities were again sent to Sora, and Saadiah
answered them without delay, although his health was severely impaired,
and he was suffering from incurable melancholy. The responses which
have been preserved are numerous; they were probably composed in the
last year of his Gaonate. Many of them are in Hebrew, though most
of them are in Arabic. His magnanimity was displayed in his conduct
toward the family of his opponent, David. When the latter died, in
940, his son Judah, through Saadiah's influence, was elected in his
stead, though he filled the post for only seven months, leaving a son
twelve years old, whom Saadiah appointed his successor. He received
the grandson of his former enemy into his house, and adopted him.
Meanwhile a distant relative, a member of the Bene-Haiman family, from
Nisibis, was to fill the office. He had scarcely been appointed before
he had a quarrel with a Moslem. Witnesses testified that he had spoken
disparagingly of Mahomet. For this offense he was put to death. When
the last representative of the house of the Exilarch, who had been
brought up by Saadiah, was raised to the princedom, Moslem fanaticism
raged also against him. It was determined to assassinate him whilst he
was riding in his state carriage, because the mere shadow of princely
power among the Jews was disliked. The Caliph tried to prevent his
murder, but in vain. Thus died the last of the Exilarchs, and the
representatives of Judaism, in order to allay this fanatical hatred,
determined to leave the office vacant.
Thus, after an existence of seven centuries, ended the Exilarchate,
which had been the sign of political independence for Judaism. Just
as the dignity of the Patriarchate had ceased in Judæa through the
intolerance of the Christian emperors, so the Exilarchate now ceased
through the fanaticism of the Mahometans. The two schools alone
remained to represent the unity of the Jews, but even these were soon
to vanish. With Saadiah's death (942), darkness settled upon the
academy of Sora. It is true that he left a son, Dossa, who was learned
both in the Talmud and in philosophy--the author of several works--but
he was not appointed his father's successor. Joseph ben Satia, who had
been deposed, was again made the chief of the school. He, however, was
not able to maintain its superiority over the sister academy, which
having at its head Aaron Ibn Sarjadu, the former opponent of Saadiah,
again rose to importance.
Ibn Sarjadu, a rich merchant of Bagdad, had not gone through a regular
course of academic instruction. He was chosen on account of his riches,
as well as for his knowledge and energy. He occupied his position for
eighteen years (943-960). He possessed a good philosophical education,
wrote a philosophical work, and a commentary to the Pentateuch. Like
Kohen-Zedek, Ibn Sarjadu endeavored to exalt the school of Pumbeditha
at the expense of that of Sora. Questions were addressed to him from
foreign countries. The school of Sora consequently, neglected and
impoverished, received none of the revenue, and therefore could not
train new pupils, who turned to richer Pumbeditha. This decline and
decay of the school induced its chief, Joseph ben Satia, to abandon
it, and to emigrate to Bassora (about 948). The school that had been
founded by Rab was now closed, after it had continued in existence
for seven hundred years. The people of Sora felt this so much that
they made an energetic attempt to restore it. Four young men were sent
abroad to awaken interest in the school, and to get contributions for
it. But they did not attain their object. It seemed that fate was
against them. They were captured at Bari, on the coast of Italy, by
a Moorish-Spanish admiral, Ibn-Rumahis. They were transported, one
to Egypt, another to Africa, a third to Cordova, and the fourth to
Narbonne. Instead of assisting to raise the school of Sora, these four
Talmudists unwittingly contributed to the downfall of the Gaonate.
The copies of the Talmud in Sora, which were now no longer used, were,
later on, transferred to Spain. Babylonia, so long the center of
Judaism, had to yield its supremacy in favor of a foreign place. The
decay of one of the Babylonian schools, and the decline of interest
that followed upon it, were utilized by the Karaites to make converts
amongst the Rabbanites. They did this with such zeal that they thought
they were about to strike the death-blow to Rabbanism. As long as
Saadiah, the mighty champion of Rabbanism, lived, they did not venture
to do anything to expose themselves to his criticism. But after his
death, when they perceived that there was no man of any importance to
stand in the breach, they hoped to obtain an easy victory. Saadiah's
opponent, Solomon ben Yerucham, immediately hastened from Palestine to
Babylonia, in order to prove to the followers of Saadiah, that he had
misrepresented facts in his defense of the Talmudists. Thus he expected
to bring over the Rabbanites to Karaism.
But a more vehement, zealous and cunning proselytizer was Abulsari
Sahal ben Mazliach Kohen, an inhabitant of Jerusalem, who belonged
to the ascetic section of the Karaite community. Abulsari Sahal had
a thorough knowledge of Arabic and Hebrew, and wrote in a much more
elegant style than any of his contemporaries. He compiled a Hebrew
grammar, commentaries to several books of the Bible, and also a
compendium of religious duties under the title "Mizvoth." However,
he did not write anything of great consequence. The Karaites seem to
have had no ability to get beyond beginnings; certainly not Sahal,
who was possessed by sombre, monkish piety. To his co-religionists,
nevertheless, he appeared in the light of a great teacher. Sahal
also wrote a refutation of Saadiah's attacks upon Karaism. It was,
doubtless, considered an honorable thing amongst the Karaites, to win
one's spurs in combat with this great champion. Sahal appears to have
delivered his lectures against the Rabbanites in Bagdad. He called
upon the people to renounce tradition, and to refuse obedience to
the schools, "which were the two women of whom the prophet Zechariah
speaks, and who carried sin and left it in Babylon." Sahal implored
his hearers to renounce the indulgences that their Rabbanite teachers
allowed them, such as keeping oil in camel-skins, purchasing bread from
Christians and Mahometans, and leaving their houses on a Sabbath.
Sahal's attacks upon the Rabbanites were too offensive to remain
unanswered. An influential Rabbanite seems to have forced him into
silence by aid of the government. Saadiah's pupil, Jacob ben Samuel,
stung to the quick by the abuse which Sahal and other Karaites had
heaped upon his master, took up the cudgels in his behalf. He delivered
speeches in the streets and in the public places against Karaism and
the proselytizer Sahal. The latter, however, did not remain silent. In
a passionate letter to Jacob, written in beautiful Hebrew, he continued
his attacks, and gave a faithful picture of the state of Karaism and
Rabbanism in his time, leaving out neither the light nor the shade of
both sides. After the versified attack and the reproaches for Jacob's
incorrect Hebrew and the injury done to Judaism by the Rabbanites,
Sahal proceeds:
I am come from Jerusalem in order to warn the people, and to
bring them back to the fear of God. Would that I had the power
of going from town to town to awaken the people of the Lord.
You think that I came here for the sake of gain, as others
come who grind the faces of the poor; but I came in the name
of God, in order to bring back the thoughts of the people to
true piety, and to warn them not to rely on human institutions,
nor to listen to the sayings of the two evil women (the Gaonic
schools). How shall I not do it, since my heart is moved by
the irreligion of my brethren, who are walking in the wrong
path, who impose a heavy yoke upon the ignorant people, who
oppress them and rule over them through excommunication and
persecution, who call to their aid the power of the Mahometan
officials, who compel the poor to borrow money on interest, in
order to benefit by it and to be able to bribe the officials?
They feed themselves, but not their flocks, and they do not
teach the word of God in the proper way. If any one asks them
the reason for anything they do, they antagonize him. Far be it
from me that I should be silent, when I see that the leaders
of the community, who say that they constitute the Synhedrion,
eat without compunction with non-Jews. How shall I be silent,
when I perceive that many of my people make use of idolatrous
practices? They sit on the graves of the departed and invoke
the dead, and pray to Rabbi José the Galilean, saying, "O heal
me, and make me fruitful." They make pilgrimages to the shrines
of the pious dead, light candles there, and burn incense. They
also make vows that they may be cured of their diseases. O that
I had the power to go everywhere and to proclaim it aloud, to
admonish men in the name of the Lord, and to deter them from
their evil course. And now, O House of Israel, have mercy on
your souls, and choose the right path. Do not object and say
that the Karaites, too, differ among themselves as regards
religious duties, and that you are in doubt with whom to find
truth. Know, therefore, that the Karaites do not wish to
exercise authority; they only desire to stimulate research. You
ask, What should the ignorant do who is unable to search the
Holy Scriptures? I tell you that such a one has to rely upon
the results arrived at by the investigator and the expounder of
Holy Writ.
At the end, Sahal prophesied that God would destroy the yoke of the two
women, as it is written in the prophets: "Then and then only will the
sons of Israel be reconciled and united, and the Messiah come."
Another prolific Karaite author from Bassorah, Jephet Ibn-Ali Halevi
(950-990), wrote polemics against the same Jacob ben Samuel. Jephet
was considered a great teacher by the Karaites. He was a grammarian,
commentator and expounder of the Law, but he was not free from the
errors of the members of his creed. His style was bombastic and
diffuse, and like them, he was superficial and literal-minded. The
want of Talmudic dialectics is severely missed in the Karaite authors,
for it rendered them tedious talkers. Jephet's absurd polemic against
Saadiah's pupil bears this stamp of superficiality and insipidity, and
it never displays the beautiful Hebrew style of his contemporary and
friend Sahal.
Solomon ben Yerucham, who continued to write till a very old age
(certainly till 957), composed commentaries to the Pentateuch and the
Hagiographa, and other works no longer known. He was a sworn enemy to
philosophical research. In his commentary on the Psalms, he bitterly
complains that Jews occupy themselves with heretical writings, whose
authors and teachers he curses severely.
"Woe to him," he cries, "who leaves the Book of God and seeks
others! Woe to him who passes his time with strange sciences,
and who turns his back upon the pure truth of God! The wisdom
of philosophy is vain and worthless, for we do not find two
who agree upon a single point. They propound doctrines which
directly contradict the Law. Amongst them there are some who
study Arabic literature instead of always having the word of
God in their mouths."
What a contrast there is between Saadiah and his Karaite opponent! The
one studied philosophy, and took it into the service of Judaism; the
other (without any knowledge of it) declared it heretical, and allowed
his Judaism to become petrified. The Rabbanites entered into the temple
of philosophy, and the Karaites shunned it as an infected house.
The zeal with which the Karaites sought to exalt their creed over
Rabbanism had the desired effect of spreading it widely about the
middle of the tenth century. They penetrated to Spain, and attained
influence in Africa and Asia. We know that the Egyptian Rabbanites
accepted much from the Karaites. Moses and Aaron ben Asher, a father
and son of Tiberias, exercised a powerful influence at this period
(890-950). They were grammarians and Massorets. They wrote on the
Hebrew accents and Biblical orthography, but in so clumsy a style and
such miserable verse, that their observations are for the most part
incomprehensible. But these insignificant works were of no importance,
while considerable value attached to the copies of the Bible, which
were corrected by them with the greatest care and exactness according
to the Massoretic rules, which they had mastered completely. The
Ben-Asher copies of the Bible were looked upon as models both by the
Karaites and the Rabbanites, and treated as sacred. New copies were
afterwards made from these in Jerusalem and Egypt. The Massoretic texts
of the Bible now in use are largely derived from Ben-Asher's original
copies, because the Rabbanites afterwards overlooked the fact that the
scribe was a Karaite.
Saadiah, on the contrary, who had known Ben-Asher, the son, was
dissatisfied with these Massoretic works, and wrote a very keen polemic
against him. In addition to Saadiah, Ben-Naphtali raised objections
against the results of Ben-Asher's Massoretic investigations, though
mostly on insignificant points. Nevertheless, the text of the Bible
according to the Massorets of Tiberias maintained its superiority.
The old Eastern signs for vowels and accents to the Bible text were
changed, extended and improved, by the Massoretic school of Ben-Asher.
With the decay of the Exilarchate and of the school of Sora, Asia lost
the leadership of Judaism. If Pumbeditha, under Aaron Ibn-Sarjadu,
flattered itself that it possessed the supremacy, it was deceived.
After Ibn-Sarjadu's death, internal quarrels prepared for its
destruction. Nehemiah, the son of Kohen-Zedek, who had been the rival
of Ibn-Sarjadu, but had not met with success, obtained the post of head
of the school through cunning (960). The college, however, led by the
chief Judge Sherira ben Chananya, opposed him. There were a few members
and rich laymen who supported Nehemiah, but his opponents refused
to recognize him during the whole period of his office (960-968).
During the time that the two parties were contending for the Gaonate
of Pumbeditha, and with it for the religious authority over the Jews,
the four men who had been sent from Sora to collect contributions from
the various communities, and who had been taken captive, had founded
new schools in Egypt, Africa (Kairuan), Spain and France, and thereby
separated these communities from the Gaonate. These four men who caused
the seeds of the Talmudic spirit to blossom in various places were:
Shemaria ben Elchanan, who was sold by the admiral Ibn-Rumahis in
Alexandria, and then being ransomed by the Jewish community, finally
reached Misr (Cairo). The second was Chushiel, who was sold on the
coast of Africa, and came to Kairuan. The third was probably Nathan
ben Isaac Kohen, the Babylonian, who perhaps reached Narbonne. The
fourth was Moses ben Chanoch, who underwent more dangers than the other
three. He was the only one of the four who was married. His beautiful
and pious wife and his young son had accompanied him on his journey,
and were taken prisoners together with him. Ibn-Rumahis had set eyes
upon the beautiful woman, and designed to violate her. The wife,
however, asked her husband in Hebrew whether those that were drowned
could hope for resurrection, and when he answered in the affirmative,
and confirmed his answer by a verse from the Bible, she threw herself
into the sea and was drowned. In deep sorrow and in the garb of the
slave, Moses ben Chanoch with his little son was carried to Cordova,
where he was ransomed by the Jewish community. They did not imagine
that with him Spain obtained the supremacy over the Jews of all other
countries. Moses did not betray his deep knowledge of the Talmud to
the community into whose midst he had been cast, so that he might not
derive any advantage from his knowledge of the Law. He, therefore, at
first behaved like any ordinary captive. Moses soon made his way to
the school of Cordova, the president of which was Nathan. He was a
rabbi and also judge, and possessed but slight Talmudical knowledge,
but was regarded as a shining light in Spain. Moses sat near the door
in the corner like an ignorant listener. But when he perceived that
Nathan, in expounding a passage in the Talmud, made a childish mistake,
he modestly ventured to make some objections, in which he betrayed
his scholarship. The audience in the school was astounded to find so
thorough a Talmudist in the ill-clad captive who had just recovered his
freedom.
Moses was called upon to explain the passage in question, and also
to solve other difficulties. He did this in a thorough manner, to
the intense delight of all present. On that very day Nathan declared
before those who were under his jurisdiction, "I can no longer be your
judge and rabbi. That stranger, who is now so miserably clothed, must
henceforth take my place." The rich community of Cordova immediately
chose Moses for their rabbinical chief, gave him rich presents and
a salary, and placed a carriage at his disposal. When the admiral
Ibn-Rumahis heard that his prisoner was so precious to the community
of Cordova, he wished to retract the sale in order to get a higher
ransom. The Jews appealed to the just Caliph, Abdul-Rahman III, through
the Jewish statesman Chasdaï, and represented to him that they would
be able, through Rabbi Moses, to sever themselves from the Gaonate
of the eastern Caliphate. Abdul-Rahman, who, to his intense regret,
had seen considerable sums of money yearly taken out of his land for
the Gaonate, _i. e._, to the land which was hostile to him, was glad
that a place would now be founded in his own kingdom for the study of
the Talmud, and signified to the admiral the wish that he desist from
his demand. Thus Cordova became the seat of an important school that
was independent of the Gaonate. Moses' former fellow-prisoners also
were recognized by the communities of Kahira and Kairuan as eminent
scholars, and founded important Talmudical schools in Egypt and in
the land of the Fatimide Caliphate. These men undesignedly severed
the communities of Spain and of Mahometan Andalusia from the Gaonate.
The state of politics and culture eminently fitted Spain or Mahometan
(Moorish) Andalusia to become the center of united Judaism, and to
take the leadership which Babylon had lost. Egypt was no longer an
independent kingdom, but only a province of the Fatimide Caliphate,
which had conquered it through the policy of a Jewish renegade. In
addition to this, Egypt did not offer a favorable field for higher
civilization, but continued to be what nature had made it, the granary
of the world. The empire of the Fatimides in north Africa, whose chief
town was Kairuan (afterwards Mahadia), at least afforded the principal
conditions for the development of Judaism, and might well have become
one of its chief centers. The rich community of Kairuan took the
liveliest interest in the study of the Talmud, as well as in scientific
efforts. Even before Chushiel's arrival they had had schools, and
a chief who bore the title of Resh-Kalla or Rosh. Just as they had
befriended and honored the banished Exilarch Ukba, they now bestowed
the title Rosh on Chushiel, and enabled him to give a stronger impulse
to the study of the Talmud. The latter educated two pupils during his
office (950-980), and they were afterwards recognized as authorities.
These were his son Chananel and a native, Jacob ben Nissim Ibn-Shahin.
The physician and favorite of the first two Caliphs, Isaac Israeli, had
sown the seeds of Jewish science, which was developed by a pupil of his
who likewise obtained court favor.
This pupil, Abusahal Dunash ben Tamim (900-960), the head of Jewish
science in the Fatimide dominions, was physician to the third Fatimide
Caliph, Ishmael Almansur Ibnul' Kaim, perhaps also to his father.
Dunash was held in such favor by this ruler that he dedicated to
him one of his works on astronomy. Dunash ben Tamim came from Irak,
perfected himself in his youth under Isaac Israeli in Kairuan, learning
from him medicine, languages, and metaphysics. Dunash ben Tamim was
accomplished in the whole circle of sciences then known, and wrote
books on medicine, astronomy and mathematics. He also classified the
sciences; in his opinion, mathematics, astronomy, and music rank
lowest; next come physics and medicine; highest of all is metaphysics,
the knowledge of God and the soul. The Arabs thought so highly of
Dunash that they said that he had became a convert to Islam, doubtless
in order that they might count him amongst their own, but he certainly
remained faithful to Judaism to the end of his life. He corresponded
with the Jewish statesman Chasdaï, for whom he composed an astronomical
work on the Jewish calendar.
Meanwhile, though Dunash was not a genius, he was able to give the
community of Kairuan, and through them to a wider circle, a more
scientific understanding of Judaism. The Fatimide Caliphate, however,
was not calculated to become a seat of culture for the Jews. The
fanatic Fatimide dynasty--raised to power through an enthusiastic
missionary, who saw in the Caliph of the house of Ali a kind of
embodied divinity, and founded by a deluded deceiver who considered
himself the true Imam and Mahdi (priest)--could not logically tolerate
Judaism. The successors of the first Fatimide Caliph used, just as the
successors of the first Christian Emperor had done, the sword as the
means of spreading religion. Soon there came to the throne a Fatimide
who repaired what his ancestors had in their indulgence neglected, and
preached the doctrines of the divine Imamate with bloody fanaticism.
In such surroundings Judaism could not flourish; it required a more
favorable situation.
The European Christian countries were still less fit to become the
center of Judaism than were the Mahometan kingdoms of Egypt and
northern Africa. At that time the greatest barbarity prevailed there,
and circumstances were not at all favorable to the development of
science and literature. The literary status of the Jews was very
low, and the historical reports are therefore silent on the Jewish
communities of Europe. Here and there in Italy appeared Talmudical
scholars, as in Oria (near Otranto), but scarcely any of them rose
above mediocrity. Though the Italian Jews never attained superiority,
they were diligent and faithful disciples of foreign teachers. In
Babylonia they laughed at "the wise men" of Rome or Italy. Even
Sabbataï Donnolo, the head of Jewish science in Italy at the time of
Saadiah, could scarcely be described as a moderate scholar. This man
is known rather through his career than through his works. Sabbataï
Donnolo (913-970) of Oria was taken prisoner when the Mahometans of the
Fatimide kingdom pressed forward across the straits of Sicily, invaded
Apulia and Calabria, plundered the town of Oria, and either murdered
the inhabitants or took them away as captives (9th of Tammuz--4th
July, 925). Donnolo was twelve years old at this time. Ten of the chief
citizens were put to death, and Donnolo's parents and relations were
transported to Palermo and Africa. He himself was ransomed in Trani.
Orphaned and without friends, the young Donnolo was thrown upon his own
resources. He studied medicine and astrology, in both of which he made
himself proficient. He now became physician to the Byzantine viceroy
(Basilicus) Eupraxios, who ruled Calabria in the name of the emperor.
He became rich through his medical practice, and spent his money in
buying up works on astrology and in traveling. In his journeys Donnolo
went as far as Bagdad. He embodied the result of his researches in a
work published in 946. But little wisdom was contained in this book, if
we are to judge by the fragments that still remain to us. The author,
however, put so high a value upon it, that he thought that through it
the name Sabbataï Donnolo of Oria would be handed down to posterity.
Meanwhile, unimportant though Donnolo was compared with his
contemporaries Saadiah and others, he appears to have been far superior
to the head of the Catholics at this time. This was his countryman,
Nilus the Younger, whom the Church has canonized. The relations of the
two Italians--the Jewish physician and the abbot of Rossana and Grotto
Ferrata--serve as a standard by which we can estimate the condition of
Judaism and Christianity in Italy in the middle of the tenth century.
Donnolo had known Nilus from his youth; perhaps they had suffered
together when southern Italy was plundered. The Jewish physician once
noticed that the Christian ascetic was very ill, owing to excessive
mortification. He generously offered him a remedy. The holy Nilus,
however, declined his offer, remarking that he would not take the
medicine of a Jew, lest it be said that a Jew had cured him--the holy
one, the worker of miracles--for that would lead the simple-minded
Christians to place more confidence in the Jews.
Judaism ever strove towards the light, whilst monastic Christianity
remained in the darkness. Thus in the tenth century there was only one
country that offered suitable soil for the development of Judaism,
where it could blossom and flourish--it was Mahometan Spain, which
comprised the greater part of the peninsula of the Pyrenees.
Whilst Christian Europe sank into a state of barbarism, from which the
Carlovingians endeavored to free it, and the Eastern Caliphate was in
the final stage of its decay, the Spanish Caliphate, under the sons of
Ommiyya, was in so flourishing a condition, that it almost makes us
forget the Middle Ages. Under Abdul-Rahman III (An-Nasir), who was the
first to enjoy the full title of the Caliphs, "Prince of the Faithful"
(Emir-Al-Mumenin), Spain was the exclusive seat of science and art,
which were everywhere else proscribed or neglected. With him began the
classical period of Moslem culture, a period of prosperity and vigor,
which could be attained only under the rule of noble princes free from
prejudice against the votaries of other religions.
Specially honored in Spain were the favorites of the Muses--the poets.
A successful poem was celebrated more than a victorious battle, which
itself became the subject of poetry. Every nobleman, from the Caliph
down to the lowest provincial Emir, was anxious and proud to number
learned men and poets among his friends, for whom he furnished the
means of a livelihood. Scientific men and poets were appointed to high
offices, and entrusted with the most important state affairs.
This spiritual atmosphere could not fail to have its effect upon the
Jews, with their naturally emotional and responsive natures. Enthusiasm
for science and poetry seized them, and Jewish Spain became "the
home of civilization and of spiritual activity--a fragrant garden
of joyous, gay poetry, as well as the seat of earnest research and
clear thought." Like the Mozarabs, the Christians who lived amongst
the Mahometans, the Jews made themselves acquainted with the language
and literature of the people of the land, and often surpassed them in
knowledge. But whilst the Mozarabs gave up their own individuality,
forgot their own language--Gothic Latin--could not even read the
creeds, and were ashamed of Christianity, the Jews of Spain, through
this contact with Arabs, only increased their love and enthusiasm
for their mother-tongue, their holy law, and their religion. Through
favorable circumstances Jewish Spain was in a position at first to
rival Babylonia, then to supersede it, and finally to maintain its
superiority for nearly five hundred years. Three men were the founders
of the Judæo-Spanish culture: (i) Moses ben Chanoch, the Talmudical
scholar, who had been carried captive to Cordova; (2) The first
Andalusian grammarian, Menachem ben Saruk; (3) and the creator of
the artistic form of Jewish poetry, Dunash Ibn-Labrat. This culture,
however, unfolded through one man, who by means of his high endowments,
his pure character and prominent position, was enabled to give it the
proper impulse. This man was Abu-Yussuf Chasdaï ben Isaac Ibn-Shaprut
(915-970), a member of the noble family of Ibn-Ezra. He was the first
of a long succession of high-minded persons who made the protection and
furthering of Judaism the task of their lives.
Chasdaï was quite modern in his character, entirely different from the
type of his predecessors. His easy, pliant, and genial nature was free
both from the heaviness of the Orientals and the gloomy earnestness
of the Jews. His actions and expressions make us look upon him as a
European, and through him, so to speak, Jewish history receives a
European character. His ancestors came from Jaen; his father Isaac, who
probably lived at Cordova, was wealthy, liberal, and in a measure, a
Mæcenas. The son inherited from him a love of science, and the worthy
application of riches. He attained only a theoretical knowledge of
medicine, but in literature, as well as in diplomacy, he was a master.
Not only did he know Hebrew and Arabic well, but he also knew Latin,
then understood only by the clergy amongst the Spanish Christians.
The Caliph Abdul-Rahman III, who stood in diplomatic relations with the
small Christian courts of northern Spain, perceived Chasdaï's value and
usefulness, and appointed him as interpreter and diplomatist (940).
At first Chasdaï only had to accompany the principal ambassadors to
the Spanish Christian courts. But the more able he proved himself, the
more was he honored and advanced. On one occasion Chasdaï's diplomacy
proved very useful. He once induced a king of Leon (Sancho Ramirez) and
a queen of Navarra (Toda), together with the clergy and other great
people, to visit Cordova, in order to conclude a lasting treaty of
peace with Abdul-Rahman. The Caliph rewarded his services by appointing
him to various offices. Chasdaï was, in a certain sense, minister
of foreign affairs. He had to receive foreign ambassadors and their
presents, and to give them presents from the Caliph in return. He was,
at the same time, the minister of trade and finance, and the revenue
that arose from the various taxes and tolls that went to the treasury,
passed through his hands. In spite of all this Chasdaï had no official
title. He was neither vizir (the Hagib of the Spanish Arabs) nor the
secretary of state (Katib). For the Arabs at first also had a strong
prejudice against the Jews, in consequence of which they did not allow
them to be included amongst the state officials. The dawning culture
of Mahometan Spain was not yet sufficiently advanced to overcome the
anti-Jewish sentiments of the Koran.
Even the just and noble prince who in his time was the greatest
ornament of the throne, dared not throw off these inborn prejudices.
It remained for the Jews themselves to overcome them gradually through
their spiritual superiority. Chasdaï inspired a favorable opinion of
his co-religionists amongst the Andalusian Moslems, and was able,
through his personal intercourse with the Caliphs, to shield them from
misrepresentation. And so a Jewish poet was able to say of him:
"From off his people's neck he struck the heavy yoke;
To them his soul was given, he drew them to his heart;
The scourge that wounded them, he destroyed,
Drove from them in terror the cruel oppressor.
The Incomparable vouchsafed through him
Crumbs of comfort and salvation."
This praise is by no means exaggerated. Chasdaï was indeed a comforter
and deliverer to all the communities far and near. His high position
and wealth rendered him useful to his brethren. His deep religious
feeling caused him to see that he must thank God for the high
estimation in which he was held, and that it was not due to his own
deserts; he therefore felt a call to be active in the cause of his
religion and his race. He was, to some extent, the legal and political
head of the Jewish community of Cordova. The Babylonian school, which
received many contributions from him, gave him the title "Head of the
School" (Resh-Kallah), although he knew less of the Talmud than the
Nathan who had resigned his position in favor of Moses. He corresponded
with Dunash ben Tamim, whom he asked to work out some astronomical
calculations on the Jewish calendar. He also corresponded with
Saadiah's son Dossa, and requested him to send him a biography of his
father. The ambassadors of many nations, who either sought the favor or
the protection of the Caliph, brought him presents in order to secure
his interest in their cause. From them he always asked particulars as
to the condition of the Jews, and obtained favors for his brethren.
Chasdaï played an important part in two embassies from the mightiest
courts of Europe. The Byzantine empire, oppressed on all sides, had
remained lifeless for several centuries, and was now in need of foreign
assistance. The weak and pedantic Emperor Constantine VIII, the son and
brother of the emperors who had caused the Jews so much trouble, sought
a diplomatic alliance with the mighty Moslem conqueror of Spain, in
order to gain an ally against the Eastern Caliphate. He therefore sent
a magnificent embassy to Cordova (944-949) with rich presents, amongst
which was a beautiful copy of a Greek medical work by Dioscorides on
simple remedies, which the Caliph and his medical college greatly
desired to obtain. The ambassadors from the most anti-Jewish court
were received by the Jewish statesman and introduced to the Caliph.
But the work upon which the Arabic physicians and naturalists had set
so high a value was a sealed book to them. Abdul-Rahman, therefore,
begged the Byzantine emperor to send him a scholar who understood both
Greek and Latin. Constantine, who wished to show his good-will to the
Mahometan court, sent a monk named Nicholas as interpreter. Amongst
all the physicians of Cordova, Chasdaï was the only one who understood
Latin, and he was, therefore, requested by the Caliph to take part in
the translation. Nicholas translated the original Greek into Latin,
and Chasdaï re-translated it into Arabic. Abdul-Rahman was pleased
with the completion of a work which, according to his thinking, lent
great splendor to his reign. Chasdaï also had a peculiar rôle to play
in the embassy which was sent by the powerful German emperor Otto I
to the court of Cordova. Abdul-Rahman had previously sent a messenger
to Otto, and in a letter had made use of certain unseemly expressions
against Christianity. The Andalusian ambassadors had to wait several
years before they were admitted to an audience with the emperor. After
they had been received, the German emperor sent an embassy, at whose
head was the abbot John of Gorze (Jean de Vendières), and a letter,
in which there were harsh expressions against Islam. The Caliph, who
suspected something of the kind, asked Chasdaï to find out for him the
contents of the diplomatic letter. Chasdaï treated with John of Gorze
for several days, and although the latter was very clever, Chasdaï
outwitted him, and learnt from him the purport of the letter. Thereupon
Abdul-Rahman kept the German envoys waiting for a whole year before
admitting them to an audience. He would have kept them waiting still
longer, had not Chasdaï and the Mozarab Bishop of Cordova induced John
of Gorze to procure a new and unobjectionable document from the emperor
(956-959).
Chasdaï, who, from his elevated position, was accustomed to deal with
public affairs on a large scale, was deeply grieved when he thought
of the state of the Jews, of their dependent and suffering position,
their dispersion, and their want of unity. How often must he have heard
Mahometans and Christians pronounce that most powerful argument against
Judaism, "Inasmuch as the scepter hath departed from Judah, God hath
rejected it!" Even Chasdaï shared the restricted view of the time,
viz., that a religion and a people without a country, a king, a court,
sovereignty, and subjects, has neither stableness nor vitality.
The rumor of the existence of an independent Jewish community in
the land of the Chazars, which had penetrated to Spain, roused
his interest. Eldad's appearance in Spain, several decades before
Chasdaï's birth, had given probability to the vague tradition, but,
on the other hand, rendered it improbable through the exaggeration
that the ten tribes were still in existence in all their strength.
Chasdaï never failed to make inquiries about a Jewish kingdom or a
Jewish ruler when embassies came to him from far or near. The news of
a Jewish community in the land of the Chazars, which he received from
ambassadors from Khorasan, was very welcome to him, especially when
he learnt that a Jewish king was on the throne there. He now heartily
wished to enter into communication with this king. He rejoiced when
the news was confirmed by the Byzantine ambassadors, who gave him
the additional information that the reigning king of the Chazars was
called Joseph, and that they were a powerful and warlike nation. This
information served only to increase his desire to enter into close
communication with the Jewish kingdom and its ruler. He therefore
sought a trustworthy messenger who could take charge of his letter
of homage, and at the same time bring back further particulars.
After several vain attempts, he succeeded in effecting the desired
communication. In an embassy of the Slavonic king from the Lower Danube
there were two Jews who had to act as interpreters in Cordova. Chasdaï
gave the Slavonic ambassadors a letter to the king of the Chazars. This
letter, in beautiful Hebrew prose, with introductory verses, written
by Menachem ben Saruk, is a priceless document for the history of
the time. The author, in his pious wishes and in his humble bearing,
skilfully permitted his statesmanship and a sense of his own worth to
be seen. Chasdaï's letter fortunately reached the hands of King Joseph,
through the instrumentality of a man Jacob ben Eleazar from the land
of Nemes (Germany). Joseph was the eleventh Jewish prince since the
time of Obadiah, the founder of Judaism in that country. The country
of the Chazars even at that time (960) still possessed great power,
although it had already lost several districts or feudatory lands. The
residence of King Joseph was situated on an island in the Volga, and
included a golden tent-like palace having a golden gate. The kings
had to oppose the Russians, who had become more powerful since the
immigration of the Waragi, and who had always coveted the fruitful
country of the Chazars. They found it necessary to keep a standing army
so as to be able to attack the enemy at a moment's notice. In the tenth
century there were 12,000 regular soldiers, partly cavalry, provided
with helmets and coats of mail, and partly infantry armed only with
spears. The decaying Byzantine empire was forced to respect the kingdom
of the Chazars as a great power, and to recognize the Jewish ruler
as "the noble and illustrious king." Whilst the Byzantine emperors
used to seal their diplomatic letters to the Pope and to the Frankish
emperors with a golden bull of light weight (two solidi), they made it
one-third heavier when they wrote to the kings of the Chazars. Whoever
is acquainted with the pedantic etiquette of this unstable court will
at once recognize how much of fear was expressed by this mark of honor.
The Chazar kings took great interest in their foreign co-religionists,
and made reprisals for wrong done to the Jews. The king expressed his
joy at receiving Chasdaï's letter, and corrected the false impression
that the land of the Chazars had always been inhabited by Jews. "The
Chazars were rather of heathen origin," he wrote in his answer, and
narrated how his great ancestor Bulan had been converted to Judaism. He
went on to enumerate the successors of Bulan, all of whom had Jewish
names. He then describes the extent of his dominions, and the various
peoples that were subject to him. As regards the hopes of a Messianic
redemption which he also cherished, he remarks that neither he nor his
people knew anything definite. "We set our eyes upon Jerusalem," he
says, "and also upon the Babylonian schools. May God speedily bring
about the redemption." "You write," he says, "that you long to see me.
I have the same longing to make the acquaintance of yourself and your
wisdom. If this wish could be fulfilled, and I might speak to you face
to face, you should be my father and I would be your son, and I would
entrust the government of my state to your hands."
When Joseph wrote this letter, he could boast of the peaceful state of
his kingdom. But circumstances changed in the course of a few years.
One of Rurik's descendants, the Russian Prince Sviatislav of Kief,
formerly almost a subject of the Chazars, made a formidable attack
upon the country, and captured the fortress of Sarkel (965). The
conqueror grew more powerful, and, a few years later, in 969, the same
Sviatislav took the capital, Itil (Atel), and also captured Semender,
the second town of the Chazars. The Chazars took to flight, some going
to an island in the Caspian Sea, others to Derbend, and yet others to
the Crimea, in which many members of the same race lived, and which
henceforth received the name of "the Land of the Chazars." Its capital
was Bosporus (Kertch). Thus did the kingdom of the Chazars decline, and
Joseph was its last king who possessed any power. When Chasdaï received
his letter, his patron, Abdul-Rahman, had died. His son Alhakem, a more
zealous patron of science and poetry even than his father, now sat
upon the throne. More peacefully disposed than his father, he honored
Chasdaï, whom he made an important state official, and whose superior
talents he employed as freely as his father had done.
Imitating the example of two Caliphs, who respected genius, Chasdaï
protected the Jews, and to him is credit due for having given the
impulse to the Jewish-Andalusian culture. He gathered around him
at Cordova a band of talented philosophers and poets, who in turn
immortalized him in their works and poems. "In Spain far and wide,
wisdom was cherished in Chasdaï's time. His praise was sung by eloquent
tongues." Only two of the philosophers and poets of this time became
famous, Menachem ben Saruk and Dunash ben Labrat. Both of these made
the Hebrew language, which they considerably enriched, the object of
deep research. They went far beyond all their predecessors that had
worked at philology, the Karaites and even Saadiah.
Dunash ben Labrat in his works developed a symmetry and harmony of
expression in the holy language such as was scarcely conceivable by
his predecessors. He was the first to employ meter in Hebrew poesy,
which he made melodious through the introduction of the strophe. Dunash
was blamed by Saadiah for this as though he had made an unheard-of
innovation. Saadiah thought that violence was done to the Hebrew
language thereby. However, the new Hebrew poetry was enriched through
the efforts of the Jewish-Andalusian writers. Hitherto, poetical
compositions had been of a synagogal character, always gloomy, and
never assuming a joyful tone. Even hymnal poetry was not devoid of
this characteristic, and continued halting and rugged like Kaliri's.
In didactic and controversial poems a miserable doggerel was used, as
in the verses of Solomon ben Yerucham, of Abu-Ali Jephet, of Ben-Asher
and Sabbataï Donnolo. Chasdaï, however, gave the poets an opportunity
of changing their subjects. His imposing person, his high position,
his deeds, and his princely liberality had an inspiring influence upon
the poets, and whilst they sang his praises in animated strains,
they breathed new life into the apparently dead Hebrew language,
rendering it harmonious and capable of development. Of course, the
Jewish-Andalusian poets took the Arabs as their model. They in truth do
not deny that "Arab became the teacher of Eber." But Dunash and others,
who imitated him, did not slavishly adhere to their Arab pattern, nor
adopt its unnatural meter, but they selected its beauties and imitated
them. The verses at the beginning of this flourishing period of poetry
were brisk and lively in their measure, and yet the Hebrew poetry of
the epoch of Chasdaï did not entirely cast off its fetters, nor change
its high-flown style. "The poets in Chasdaï's time first began to
chirp," as the inimitable critic of a later time remarks. The favorite
themes of the new Hebrew poesy now became panegyric and satire, but it
did not lose sight of liturgical poetry, which it also adorned with the
beauty of meter.
Little is known of the life and character of the first two founders of
the Andalusian-Jewish culture. As far as can be gathered from existing
sources, Menachem ben Saruk, of Tortosa (born 910, died 970), was in
needy circumstances from his earliest years; at any rate, his patrimony
was too small to maintain him. Chasdaï's father Isaac was interested
in him, and took care that pecuniary difficulties should not destroy
the germ of poetry which was latent in him. His favorite occupation
was the study of the Hebrew language; he made use of the works of
his predecessors, but he did not acquire his noble Hebrew style from
them--that was inborn.
When Chasdaï attained his high position, he invited the favorite of his
father, with flattering words and glowing promises, to come to Cordova.
Menachem became Chasdaï's court poet, and was warmly attached to him,
praising him in every kind of verse, and, as he himself affirms,
"exhausted poetry in singing Chasdaï's praises." Chasdaï encouraged
him to write on the philology of the Hebrew language, and to endeavor
to ascertain its various forms, and to investigate the meanings of
words. Menachem in consequence wrote a complete Hebrew dictionary
(Machbereth), with some grammatical rules, in which he corrected his
predecessors in many respects. Brought up amidst surroundings by which
harmonious and impressive speech was prized, the grammarian of Tortosa
valued language in general very highly, and the Hebrew language in
particular, and it was the aim of his work to discover the peculiar
refinements of this language. Menachem ben Saruk was the first to
distinguish clearly the pure roots in the Hebrew language, and to
separate them from the formative prefixes and suffixes--a theory which
now appeared for the first time, and which had been misapprehended by
previous grammarians. This misapprehension, indeed, had led them into
using malformed and ill-sounding words in their verses. Menachem, in
his lexicographical work, puts the various forms under each root, and
often expounds their meanings with surprising clearness and nicety.
In cases where he gives a peculiar explanation according to his
understanding of the Biblical verse, he often shows healthy thought
and refined taste, and there is a marked step forward in exegesis
from Saadiah to Menachem. Now and again he gave explanations which
were opposed to Talmudic tradition and the ideas of the time. His
lexicographical work was much read and used, because it was written in
Hebrew. It found its way into France and Italy, supplanted the works
of Saadiah and the Karaites, and, for a long time, was the guide-book
for Bible expositors. But grand and flowing as Menachem's Hebrew prose
is, his verse is unattractive and awkward; he did not understand how to
handle Hebrew meter. He was, however, supplemented by his rival, Dunash
ben Labrat.
This poet (also called Adonim) came from Bagdad, and was younger than
Menachem (born 920, died 970). He afterwards lived in Fez, and was
likewise invited to Cordova by Chasdaï. Dunash appears to have been
wealthy, and was thus able to be freer and more independent than
the grammarian of Tortosa. He was a man of spirited and reckless
disposition, who did not weigh his words, and was well qualified for
literary controversy. He, too, possessed a deep knowledge of the Hebrew
language, and was a far more successful poet than Menachem. As has
been mentioned, he was the first of the Rabbanite circle in Spain to
introduce meter into the new Hebrew poetry, to which he thereby gave
a fresh charm. He was, however, bold and venturesome. He criticised
Saadiah's exegetical and grammatical works in a polemic (Teshuboth),
assuming rather a harsh tone, although he was personally acquainted
with the author, and was perhaps his pupil. As soon as Menachem's
dictionary reached him, Dunash determined to write an unsparing
criticism of it, and to bring its mistakes to light. His review was
witty but scornful. Dunash did not keep within the limits of scientific
discussion, but used it to promote his own interests. He dedicated
his critical works against Menachem to the Jewish statesman, whom he
flattered so abjectly in some prefatory verses, that we can hardly fail
to see that his object was to gain over the Jewish Mæcenas to his side,
and to injure Menachem in the eyes of the latter.
Dunash's flattery of the Jewish statesman and his coarse polemic
against Menachem are not wanting in power. The admiration of Chasdaï
for Ben-Saruk was diminished when he perceived that Dunash was a better
poet, and at least as good a philologist. When various calumniators
who wished to ingratiate themselves with the Jewish prince, traduced
Menachem before him, Chasdaï's favor was withdrawn from the latter,
and changed into direct hostility. In what their defamations consisted
is not known.
Menachem appears to have died before his rival Dunash, and his pupils
undertook to justify him. Jehuda ben Daud, Isaac Ibn G'ikatilia, and
Ben-Kafren (Ephraim) were the most important of these. They, too,
dedicated their polemical writings to the Jewish minister, and sent
him a panegyric and a satire against Dunash. Chasdaï seems to have
just returned from a diplomatic victory which he had won for the
Caliph Alhakem. The followers of Menachem celebrated his triumph: "The
mountains greet the protector of learning, the prince of Judah. All the
world rejoices at his return, for whenever he is absent, darkness sets
in, the haughty rule and fall upon Judah's sons. But Chasdaï brings
back peace and order. God has appointed him prince, and granted him the
king's favor, whereby He exalted him above all the nobles."
Menachem's defenders endeavored to appeal to Chasdaï's love of truth,
and to make him the arbiter against Dunash, "who set himself up as the
chief of commentators, who knows neither law nor limit of change, and
who desecrates and spoils the holy language through his foreign meter."
The study of the Hebrew language was carried on in Spain by means of
severe contention and virulent satire. The pupils of Dunash continued
the quarrel. The followers of Menachem and Dunash hurled witty lampoons
against each other, which fact contributed largely towards making the
Hebrew language at once pliant and rich.
As Chasdaï Ibn-Shaprut had given an impulse to various poets and
writers by means of encouragements and rewards, so also he founded a
home in Spain for the study of the Talmud. Jewish science in Europe had
not yet attained a sufficiently firm footing to enable it to dispense
with the fostering care of a protector. Moses ben Chanoch, too, who
had been chosen to collect contributions for the school of Sora,
and who had been brought as a slave to Cordova and there redeemed,
found a patron in Chasdaï, and the two Caliphs who were friendly to
science beheld with pleasure the study of the Talmud springing up in
their realms, because it would tend to sever their Jewish subjects
from the Caliphate of Bagdad. Moses could have come to Spain at no
more favorable time for establishing firmly the study of the Talmud,
without which the literary activity just springing up could not have
made progress. Just as the Spanish Moors had busied themselves with the
task of casting the Caliphate of Bagdad into the shade, in the hope of
monopolizing all political and literary distinctions, so the Spanish
Jews longed to obscure the Babylonian schools, and to transfer to the
school which Moses had opened in Cordova the supremacy which the former
had hitherto enjoyed, owing to the deeper knowledge of the Talmud there.
They consequently treated Moses with great deference, surrounded him
with splendor, and recognized him as their head. Religious questions
which had hitherto been sent to the Babylonian schools, henceforth
were directed to Moses. From all parts of Africa, eager students
flocked to his school. There now arose a strong desire for thorough
Talmudical knowledge, which would enable them to dispense with the
Babylonian teachers. Chasdaï gave orders for copies of the Talmud to be
bought at his expense in Sora, where many lay idle and unused. These
he distributed amongst the pupils, whom he doubtless furnished with
means of subsistence. Thus Cordova became the Andalusian Sora, and the
founder of the school there had the same significance for Spain as Rab
had for Babylon. Although he bore the modest title of judge (Dayan),
he yet performed the various functions of a Gaon. He ordained rabbis
for the various communities, as it appears, by the ceremony of laying
on the hands (Semicha); he expounded the Law, the highest appeal was
made to him in legal cases, and he could excommunicate rebellious
members of the community. All these functions devolved upon the rabbis
in later times.
Thus Spain became in many ways the center of Judaism. Several
apparently accidental events contributed to this result, and the
aroused self-importance of the Spanish Jews did not allow this
supremacy to depart from their midst; in fact, they took the greatest
pains to assert and to deserve it. The prosperity of the Cordova Jewish
community made it possible for them to make the Andalusian capital
the center of all undertakings. Cordova numbered several thousand
rich families, well able to vie with the Arabs in display. They
clothed themselves in silk, wore costly turbans, and drove in splendid
carriages. They rode on horses, and adopted the manners of chivalrous
society, which distinguished them from the Jews of other lands. It
cannot be denied, however, that some of them owed their wealth to
their trade in Slavonian slaves. These they sold to the Caliphs, who
gradually formed their body-guard from them.
After Moses' death (965) the community of Cordova was threatened with
a division on account of the succession. On the one side was Moses'
son Chanoch, who, when a child, had shared his parent's captivity, and
had seen his mother throw herself into the sea. His rival was Joseph
ben Isaac Ibn-Abitur, who was the distinguished pupil of Moses. He
possessed sound knowledge of Arabic literature, was a tolerable poet,
and a native of Spain. But Chanoch possessed no attainments except
knowledge of the Talmud, and the advantage of being the son of a man
who had been highly esteemed.
The two rivals were equally distinguished for their piety and their
character. There were consequently two parties--the one siding with
the native, who was the representative of culture, the other with
Moses' son. Meanwhile, before the strife had taken a serious turn,
Chasdaï exerted his powerful influence in favor of Chanoch. The latter
thus became rabbi of Cordova and the authority for the Jewish-Spanish
communities. As long as the Jewish minister of Alhakem lived, Chanoch's
right to the rabbinate remained unchallenged. Chasdaï Ibn-Shaprut died
during the lifetime of the noble Caliph (970), and left behind him an
illustrious name, and both Jews and Mahometans vied with each other in
perpetuating it for posterity.