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Joseph Ibn Kaspi on the Secret Meaning of the Scroll of Esther*

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Joseph Ibn Kaspi on the Secret Meaning of the Scroll of Esther* Robert EISEN George Washington University JOSEPH IBN KASPI ON THE SECRET MEANING OF THE SCROLL OF ESTHER* RÉSUMÉ Dans son commentaire du Livre d’Esther, Joseph ibn Kaspi fait allusion à une inter- prétation ésotérique de l’histoire; pourtant il n’offre aucune indication de la nature de cette interprétation. Le présent article essaie de montrer, en se fondant sur des indices figurant dans ses autres écrits, que Kaspi regarde l’histoire d’Esther comme une allégorie révélatrice d’importants secrets philosophiques concernant le carac- tère des prédictions prophétiques. L’article essaie aussi de démontrer que Kaspi voit, en ces secrets philosophiques, d’importantes ramifications pour comprendre le développement de l’histoire juive — notamment, le déroulement de l’époque mes- sianique. En fin de compte, l’article montrera que la compréhension ésoterique de l’histoire d’Esther par Kaspi rend son commentaire extrêmement original parmi les commentaires juifs traditionnels du moyen âge sur le Livre d’Esther en général. ABSTRACT In his commentary on the Scroll of Esther, Joseph ibn Kaspi alludes to an esoteric reading to the story; however, he provides no information as to what this reading might be. In this article, an attempt is made to show, on the basis of clues in his other writings, that Kaspi treats the Esther story as an allegory unlocking important philosophical secrets about the nature of prophetic predictions. An attempt is also made to demonstrate that Kaspi saw these philosophical secrets as having important ramifications for understanding the process of Jewish history — in particular, the unfolding of the messianic era. Finally, it will be shown that Kaspi’s esoteric under- standing of the Esther story makes his commentary highly original within the tradi- tion of medieval Jewish commentaries on Esther in general. Of the many medieval Jewish philosophers neglected by modern scholar- ship, Joseph ibn Kaspi (b. 1280) is certainly one of the more significant and intriguing. Born in Provence, this early fourteenth-century thinker produced * I would like to thank Barry Walfish for reviewing this paper and providing helpful com- ments. Revue des Études juives, 160 (3-4), juillet-décembre 2001, pp. 379-408 380 JOSEPH IBN KASPI ON THE SCROLL OF ESTHER over twenty works most of which were exegetical1. Kaspi was one of a number of Jewish philosophers in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries who composed biblical commentaries in the spirit of the exegetical enter- prise set forth by Maimonides in his Guide of the Perplexed 2. As a philosopher, Kaspi’s orientation was radical but not particularly original. He belonged to the camp of philosophers that included such think- ers as Gersonides and Moses Narboni who were influenced by both Maimonides and Averroes, and produced a brand of naturalism anchored in a thoroughly Aristotelian, hence impersonal, conception of God. But where Kaspi did display originality was in his capacity as exegete. Kaspi exhibited great ingenuity in reading his non-traditional philosophical outlook into the biblical text. One of Kaspi’s major innovations was in the application of the canons of Aristotelian logic to unlock the esoteric meaning of Scripture3. And if this is not enough to pique the reader’s curiosity, Kaspi’s colorful personality certainly should. Throughout his commentaries, he displays a penchant for bombastic rhetoric in asserting his views and attacking those of his opponents. He also exhibits a keen sense of sarcasm, mischief, and playfulness in his attempt to hide his true philosophical ideas from the 1. Kaspi was born in the town of Argentière. Hence the name ‘Kaspi’ which is from the Hebrew word kesef meaning ‘silver’, an allusion to the French argent. The date of his death is not known but appears to have been sometime after 1332 which is the last year explicitly re- ferred to in any of his works. Relatively little is known about his life, but the scant biographi- cal information we have along with a discussion of his literary activity can be found in a number of sources. See M. STEINSCHNEIDER, “Joseph Kaspi”, in H. MALTER - A. MARX (eds.), Gesammelte Schriften, Berlin, 1925, vol. 1, p. 89-135, originally published in Ersch und Grubers Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschatfen und Künste, sec. II, vol. 31, p. 59- 70; E. RENAN - A. NEUBAUER, “Joseph ibn Kaspi, philosophe et exégète”, in “Les écrivains juifs français du XIVe siècle”, Histoire Littéraire de la France, Paris, 1893, vol. 31, p. 477- 548; I. TWERSKY, “Joseph ibn Kaspi: Portrait of a Medieval Jewish Intellectual”, in I. TWERSKY (ed.), Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature, Cambridge, MA, 1979, p. 231-57; B. HERRING, Joseph ibn Kaspi’s Gevi‘a Kesef: A Study in Medieval Jewish Philo- sophic Bible Commentary, New York, 1982, p. 3-33; H. KASHER, introduction to Kaspi’s ShulÌan Kesef (in Hebrew), H. KASHER (ed.), Jerusalem, 1996, p. 11-36. A summary of Kaspi’s literary activity is also contained in B. MESCH, Studies in Joseph ibn Caspi, Leiden, 1975, p. 43-58, and H. KASHER, “Joseph ibn Kaspi as Philosophical Exegete” (in Hebrew), Ph.D. diss., Bar Ilan University, 1979, p. 5-11. 2. Not all of Kaspi’s exegetical works are commentaries strictly speaking. For instance, works like Gevi‘a Kesef and ShulÌan Kesef are topically arranged. Nonetheless, even in these works the problems discussed are often of an exegetical nature. 3. For a discussion of Kaspi’s hermeneutics, see HERRING, p. 33-76; KASHER, p. 19-38, 103-144; S. ROSENBERG, “Logic, Language, and Biblical Exegesis in the Writings of Joseph ibn Kaspi” (in Hebrew), in M. HALLAMISH - A. KASHER (eds.), Religion and Language, Tel Aviv, 1981, p. 105-114. Rosenberg mentions that Kaspi is preceded by ZeraÌiah Îen in ap- preciating the importance of logic for biblical exegesis. There are others. See, for instance, Jacob Anatoli’s introduction to Malmad Ha-Talmidim, Lyck, 1866, p. 2, in which Anatoli opens with a logical analysis of the first verses of Ecclesiastes. Yet, neither of these thinkers is nearly as comprehensive as Kaspi in applying logic to the reading of Scripture. JOSEPH IBN KASPI ON THE SCROLL OF ESTHER 381 masses. Kaspi’s determination to conceal his views explains why he is of- ten difficult to read. He is frequently elusive, reveling in obscurity and con- tradiction in order to ensure that the masses will not be privy to his philo- sophical secrets4. Thus, not infrequently, Kaspi will voice support for tradi- tional doctrines only to overturn them elsewhere, sometimes in the very same work5. The subject of this paper is Kaspi’s commentary on the Scroll of Esther, entitled Geliley Khesef (Rods of Silver)6. It is a work that like most of Kaspi’s corpus has received little treatment in modern scholarship7. How- ever, it is, I believe, important in that it gives us insight into both Kaspi the philosopher and Kaspi the exegete. The commentary is certainly an odd one. It is short — a mere nine pages in the printed editions — and it dwells on a highly specific and seemingly marginal problem in the Esther story. Kaspi is troubled by the fact that after Haman’s downfall, Mordecai is able to issue a decree that is given the king’s seal instructing the Jews to defend themselves on the day they are to 4. Compounding the problem of Kaspi’s difficult style is the fact that the printed editions of Kaspi’s works are inadequately edited, some being worse than others. The exceptions are Herring’s critical edition and English translation of Gevi‘a Kesef and Kasher’s recently pub- lished critical edition of ShulÌan Kesef. 5. In my overall approach toward Kaspi, I stand firmly with those who consistently read Kaspi as a radical Aristotelian-Averroist. These include Hannah Kasher, Barry Mesch (see especially, p. 96-106) and I. DIMANT, “Exegesis, Philosophy and Language in the Writings of Joseph Ibn Caspi”, Ph.D. diss., University of California, Los Angeles, 1979. This view is not unanimous. Cf. TWERSKY, p. 251 n. 23, who appears to reject this approach. Cf. also Her- ring’s discussion of Kaspi’s views on miracles, p. 99-124, where he insists on taking Kaspi’s assertions regarding divine intervention into the natural order at face-value. More convincing is Kasher’s contention that such statements are meant to mask a thoroughly naturalistic un- derstanding of miracles. See KASHER, “Joseph ibn Kaspi”, p. 76-83, and her notes to the fourth and fifth sections of ShulÌan Kesef, p. 189-210. See also DIMANT, p. 131-144 who takes a similar approach to Kaspi’s views on miracles. 6. The commentary is printed in ‘Asarah Keley Kesef, I. LAST (ed.), Pressburg, 1905, vol. 2, p. 30-39, which was edited on the basis of two manuscripts. Kaspi informs us at the begin- ning of his commentary that the work was composed in Majorca in 1331, a relatively late date compared to his other compositions. The title is taken from the Scroll of Esther itself where in verse 1:6 reference is made to “rods of silver” that, among other items, adorned the palace garden in which King Ahasuerus held his feast in the opening scene of the story. It should be noted that Isaac Last found a brief two-page supplement to Kaspi’s commentary on Esther in an Oxford manuscript which he published in Millu’im: Recensionen, Varianten, und Ergänzungen zu der Edition ‘Asarah Keley Kesef, Pressburg, 1904, p. 20-22. The supple- ment explicates individual words and phrases in the biblical story. Its content will not be dealt with in our discussion since it does not take up issues that are relevant to our discussion.
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