Medieval Jewish Philosophical Writings Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy
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ASTRONOMY and ASTROLOGY in the HEBREW POETRY of SEPHARAD* Ciencia En Un Contexto Poético: Astronomía Y Astrología En La Poesía Hebrea De Sefarad
SCIENCE IN POETIC CONTEXTS: ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY IN THE HEBREW POETRY OF SEPHARAD* Ciencia en un contexto poético: Astronomía y astrología en la poesía hebrea de Sefarad JOSEFINA RODRÍGUEZ-ARRIBAS The Warburg Institute, University of London BIBLID [1696-585X (2010) 59; 167-202] Resumen: Este artículo es una primera aproximación a la presencia del conocimiento astronómico-astrológico en un considerable número de poemas escritos por judíos de Sefarad o asimilados a dicha tradición (ss. XI-XV). El conocimiento científico, en particular conceptos astronómicos y astrológicos, al igual que la poesía, jugó un papel importante en el currículo de los musulmanes y judíos de la Edad Media. Ahora bien, la transmisión de este conocimiento científico en forma poética tuvo lugar tanto en árabe, como en griego y latín (poesía didáctica). Además, en sus orígenes el piyyu̪ (ajeno a la tradición sefardí y anterior a influencia islámica alguna) también hizo breves alusiones a temas astronómicos. Con todo, parece que astronomía y astrología florecieron en hebreo en Sefarad y por influencia árabe, que también dejó una gran impronta en la poética judía; muestras de ello se tendrán en cuenta en esta ocasión (con traducciones en el apéndice). Abstract: This article is a preliminary overview of the presence of astronomical-astrological knowledge in a considerable number of poems written by Jews in Sepharad or rooted in the Sephardic tradition (11th-15th c.). Scientific knowledge, notably astronomical and astrological concepts, played an important role in the curriculum of medieval Muslims and Jews, as did poetry. However, the transmission of scientific knowledge in poetic form took place not only in Arabic, but also in Greek and Latin (didactic poetry). -
Jews and Christians: Perspectives on Mission the Lambeth-Jewish Forum
Jews and Christians: Perspectives on Mission The Lambeth-Jewish Forum Reuven Silverman, Patrick Morrow and Daniel Langton Jews and Christians: Perspectives on Mission The Lambeth-Jewish Forum Both Christianity and Judaism have a vocation to mission. In the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, God’s people are spoken of as a light to the nations. Yet mission is one of the most sensitive and divisive areas in Jewish-Christian relations. For Christians, mission lies at the heart of their faith because they understand themselves as participating in the mission of God to the world. As the recent Anglican Communion document, Generous Love, puts it: “The boundless life and perfect love which abide forever in the heart of the Trinity are sent out into the world in a mission of renewal and restoration in which we are called to share. As members of the Church of the Triune God, we are to abide among our neighbours of different faiths as signs of God’s presence with them, and we are sent to engage with our neighbours as agents of God’s mission to them.”1 As part of the lifeblood of Christian discipleship, mission has been understood and worked out in a wide range of ways, including teaching, healing, evangelism, political involvement and social renewal. Within this broad and rich understanding of mission, one key aspect is the relation between mission and evangelism. In particular, given the focus of the Lambeth-Jewish Forum, how does the Christian understanding of mission affects relations between Christianity and Judaism? Christian mission and Judaism has been controversial both between Christians and Jews, and among Christians themselves. -
3 Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes in Hebrew: Remarks on the Indirect Transmission of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy in Medieval Judaism
3 Al-FArAbi, AvicennA, And Averroes in Hebrew: remArks on tHe indirect trAnsmission oF ArAbic-islAmic PHilosophy in medievAl JudAism James T. Robinson erhaps as early as the eighth century, in the Islamic East, the traditional Sanskrit tales about the Buddha’s enlightenment—about his recognition of his own mortality and training with an ascetic monk—were translated into Persian and Arabic. The Arabic version, entitled Bilawhar wa-Būdhāsaf, then served as Pthe basis for renderings into Georgian, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and a long list of European vernacular languages.1 These renderings were, more often than not, not straightforward translations but adaptations, often introducing significant modifications into the frame narrative. The Greek version, for example, transformed Bilawhar—an ascetic teacher—into Barlaam, a saintly Christian monk, and his disciple Budasaf or Yudasaf—the Buddha—into Joasaph or Josaphat, a saintly Christian Neophyte.2 The Hebrew version is no less surprising than the Greek, when Bilawhar be- comes not a Jewish sage but a Neoplatonic philosopher, and his 1 For the Arabic and Persian versions, see D. Gimaret (1972); D. Gimaret (1971). See also S. M. Stern and S. Walzer (1971). For the Georgian and Greek versions, see: D. M. Lang (1957), idem (1966); John Damascene (1914). The Hebrew version was edited by A. M. Habermann (1951), with extensive apparatus and commentary. For the vernacular versions, see most recently the studies of the German and English versions: S. Calomino (1990); K. Ikegami (1999). 2 In fact, both Barlaam and Joasaph/Josaphat became Christian saints. 60 The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage final lesson to his young disciple is not a lesson in religious prac- tice but an introduction to neoplatonic metaphysics, based on the Arabic versions of Plotinus—namely, that complex of texts associated with the Theology of Aristotle.3 This is one example of the indirect transmission of Greek and Arabic philosophy in medieval Judaism. -
Apostates and More, Part 2,The History Behind the Ashkenazi
Apostates and More, Part 2 Apostates and More, Part 2 Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here 1. Another apostate was Rabbi Nehemiah ben Jacob ha-Kohen of Ferrara, who was an important supporter of R. Moses Hayyim Luzzatto during the controversy about him.[1]Here is the the final page of the haskamah he wrote in 1729 for R. Aviad Sar Shalom Basilea’s Emunat Hakhamim. R. Isaac Lampronte, in a halakhic discussion in hisPahad Yitzhak, refers to Nehemiah, but not by name.[2] He calls him .In R .אחד מן החכמים רך בשנים אשר אחרי כן הבאיש ריחו כנודע Hananel Nepi and R. Mordechai Samuel Ghirondi, Toldot Gedolei Yisrael (Trieste, 1853), p. 229, they write about Obviously, “Ishmaelite” is a .שאח”כ נעשה ישמעאלי :Nehemiah code word for Christian.[3] The story reported by Samuel David Luzzatto is that Nehemiah used to go to prostitutes, and when the rabbis found out about this they removed the rabbinate from him. Too embarrassed to remain in the Jewish community, Nehemiah apostatized.[4] Cecil Roth cites another Italian source that Nehemiah converted so he could marry a Christian woman. Unfortunately, his son and three daughters apostatized together with him (his wife had apparently already died).[5] Another apostate who should be mentioned is Michael Solomon Alexander (1799-1844), first Anglican bishop in Jerusalem. Before his apostasy, Alexander was a rabbi.[6] Rabbi Abraham Romano of Tunis also became an apostate. He converted at the end of the seventeenth century when R. Meir Lombrozo was appointed a dayan in his place. After Romano converted, he became well known as a Islamic preacher, and after his death his tomb was venerated by Muslims. -
Competing Tropes of Eleventh-Century Andalusi Jewish Culture*
Competing Tropes of Eleventh-Century Andalusi Jewish Culture* Ross Brann Judaism and the Jews, whose very names are determined by ties of memory to a particular place (Judea), embraced the concept of diaspora out of political, religious, and historical necessity. Following the exile of Judean elites to Babylonia in 587 BCE, the idea of diaspora became enmeshed in a complex bundle of remembered and imagined experiences such as destruction and dispossession along with decidedly ahistorical aspirations such as redemption and return.1 Diaspora thus became a critical feature of the dialectic of Jewish history in that it described the current state of the Jews' dispersion and sense of rupture with a past "pristine age" yet reinforced their expectation and hope that it was destined to come to an end with the "ingathering of the exiles." Jews of very different literary, intellectual, and spiritual orientations treated Exile/Diaspora as the central trope of Jewish experience. How was this trope handled in Andalusi-Jewish culture?2 Here, I am concerned * This essay is a revised version of a talk presented at the University of California (Berkeley), the University of Washington (Seattle), King's College (London), Yale University, and Cornell University. 1 "Scattering," "dispersal" [Ezekiel 36:19: "I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries"], and recuperation [Ezekiel 36:24: "I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you back to your own land"] are already inscribed as tropes in the biblical literature of the first exile after 587 BCE. -
Orthodox Divorce in Jewish and Islamic Legal Histories
Every Law Tells a Story: Orthodox Divorce in Jewish and Islamic Legal Histories Lena Salaymeh* I. Defining Wife-Initiated Divorce ................................................................................. 23 II. A Judaic Chronology of Wife-Initiated Divorce .................................................... 24 A. Rabbinic Era (70–620 CE) ............................................................................ 24 B. Geonic Era (620–1050 CE) ........................................................................... 27 C. Era of the Rishonim (1050–1400 CE) ......................................................... 31 III. An Islamic Chronology of Wife-Initiated Divorce ............................................... 34 A. Legal Circles (610–750 CE) ........................................................................... 34 B. Professionalization of Legal Schools (800–1050 CE) ............................... 37 C. Consolidation (1050–1400 CE) ..................................................................... 42 IV. Disenchanting the Orthodox Narratives ................................................................ 44 A. Reevaluating Causal Influence ...................................................................... 47 B. Giving Voice to the Geonim ......................................................................... 50 C. Which Context? ............................................................................................... 52 V. An Interwoven Narrative of Wife-Initiated Divorce ............................................ -
Judaic Studies (JUST) 1
Judaic Studies (JUST) 1 JUDAIC STUDIES (JUST) JUST 3023 Great Thinkers: Maimonides-Politics, Prophecy and Providence (4 Credits) Using "The Guide for the Perplexed" as our central text, we explore the complex philosophical ideas of Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), one of the central figures in medieval philosophy and Jewish thought. Our study includes analyses of his ideas on: principles of faith, human perfection, intellectual vs. "imaginational" approaches to truth, pedagogy and politics, reasons for the commandments, the nature of God and divine will, the limits of human knowledge, the mechanics of prophecy, and the parameters and implications of providence. Cross listed with PHIL 3023 and RLGS 3023. Prerequisite: junior standing or instructor's permission. JUST 3024 Maimonides: Greek, Islamic, and Christian Encounters (4 Credits) Using the "Guide of the Perplexed" as our central text, we explore the complex philosophical ideas of Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), a central figure in the history of philosophy and in the history of Jewish thought. In this course, we examine in depth the relationship between Maimonides’ core ideas and various Greek, Muslim and Christian thinkers, including: Aristotle, Plotinus, al-Farabi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), al-Ghazali, Averroes (Ibn Rushd), and Aquinas. Topics to be explored include: what is "metaphysics?"; God’s unity and essence as existence itself; the mystery of knowing and not knowing God (including a consideration of God’s ways as well as "negative theology"--viz. the extent to which we do not know God); God as pure intellect; the nature of the cosmos and the "separate intellects"; creation vs. eternity vs. emanation: philosophical and religious perspectives on the origins of the universe and implications for "living in the world with/out God." In our study, we will also address the methodological implications of cross-religious and cross-language analyses, and how to spot and address (in your own work and in the work of others) tacit cultural biases at play in the interpretive process. -
The Theology of Nahmanides Systematically Presented
The Theology of Nahmanides Systematically Presented DAVID NOVAK THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED Program in Judaic Studies Brown University BROWN JUDAIC STUDIES Edited by Shaye J. D. Cohen, Ernest S. Frerichs, Calvin Groldscheider Editorial Board Vicki Caron, Lynn Davidman, Wendell S. Dietrich, David Hirsch, David Jacobson, Saul M. Olyan, Alan Zuckerman Number 271 THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED by David Novak THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED by DAVID NOVAK University of Virginia Scholars Press Atlanta, Georgia THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED By David Novak Copyright © 2020 by Brown University Library of Congress Control Number: 2019953676 Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program. The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeriva- tives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. To use this book, or parts of this book, in any way not covered by the license, please contact Brown Judaic Studies, Brown University, Box 1826, Providence, RI 02912. STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL JUDAISM Edited by Lenn E. Goodman To the Memory of Harry H. Ruskin (1905-1989) The righteous man lives in his faith. - Habakkuk 2:4 other works by David Novak Law and Theology in Judaism (2 volumes) Suicide and Morality The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism Halakhah in a Theological Dimension Jewish Christian Dialogue Contents Editor's Foreword ix Preface xi Introduction 1 Notes 17 Chapter 1 The Human Soul 25 Chapter 2 Faith 31 Chapter 3 Tradition 51 Chapter 4 Miracles 61 Chapter 5 Natural and Supernatural 77 Chapter 6 The Land of Israel 89 Chapter 7 The Commandments 99 Chapter 8 Eschatology 125 Bibliography 135 List of Abbreviations 136 Index of Names and Subjects 137 Index of Passages 141 Publishers’ Preface Brown Judaic Studies has been publishing scholarly books in all areas of Ju- daic studies for forty years. -
A Whiteheadian Interpretation of the Zoharic Creation Story
A WHITEHEADIAN INTERPRETATION OF THE ZOHARIC CREATION STORY by Michael Gold A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida May 2016 Copyright 2016 by Michael Gold ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to express sincere gratitude to his committee members, Professors Marina Banchetti, Frederick E. Greenspahn, Kristen Lindbeck, and Eitan Fishbane for their encouragement and support throughout this project. iv ABSTRACT Author: Michael Gold Title: A Whiteheadian Interpretation of the Zoharic Creation Story Institution: Florida Atlantic University Dissertation Advisor: Dr. Marina P. Banchetti Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year: 2016 This dissertation presents a Whiteheadian interpretation of the notions of mind, immanence and process as they are addressed in the Zohar. According to many scholars, this kabbalistic creation story as portrayed in the Zohar is a reaction to the earlier rabbinic concept of God qua creator, which emphasized divine transcendence over divine immanence. The medieval Jewish philosophers, particularly Maimonides influenced by Aristotle, placed particular emphasis on divine transcendence, seeing a radical separation between Creator and creation. With this in mind, these scholars claim that one of the goals of the Zohar’s creation story was to emphasize God’s immanence within creation. Similar to the Zohar, the process metaphysics of Alfred North Whitehead and his followers was reacting to the substance metaphysics that had dominated Western philosophy as far back as ancient Greek thought. Whitehead adopts a very similar narrative to that of the Zohar. -
University of Groningen Moses/Musaeus/Mochos and His
University of Groningen Moses/Musaeus/Mochos and his God Yahweh, Iao, and Sabaoth, seen from a Graeco- Roman perspective van Kooten, G.H. Published in: The revelation of the name YHWH to Moses IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2006 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): van Kooten, G. H. (2006). Moses/Musaeus/Mochos and his God Yahweh, Iao, and Sabaoth, seen from a Graeco-Roman perspective. In G. H. V. Kooten (Ed.), The revelation of the name YHWH to Moses: Perspectives from Judaism, the pagan Graeco-Roman world, and early christianity (pp. 107-138). (Themes in Biblical Narrative; No. 9). Brill. Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). The publication may also be distributed here under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the “Taverne” license. More information can be found on the University of Groningen website: https://www.rug.nl/library/open-access/self-archiving-pure/taverne- amendment. Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. -
Chapter Sixteen. the Christian Attack on Greco-Roman Culture, Ca. 135
Chapter Sixteen The Christian Attack on GrecoRoman Culture. ca. 135 to 235 Over the course of about four hundred years, from the early second century to the early sixth, Greco-Roman civilization was replaced by Christendom. More precisely, the gods were replaced by God and by Satan. When all the other gods were driven from the field the sole remaining god ceased to be a common noun and became instead a proper name, AGod.@1 That sole remaining god was the god of the Judaeans and Christians. Satan was his diametrically opposed counterpart, the personification of Evil. The god of the Judaeans and Christians had begun in the southern Levant, during the Late Bronze Age, as Yahweh sabaoth (AYahweh of the armies@). He became the patron god of the Sons of Israel, and during the reigns of David and Solomon his cult-center was moved to Jerusalem in Judah. In the seventh century BC monolatrist priests and kings in Jerusalem made Yahweh the only god who could be worshiped in Judah and began addressing him as Adonai (Amy Lord@). For Hellenistic Judaeans he was Adonai in Hebrew, and in Greek was Kyrios (ALord@) or ho theos hypsistos (Athe highest god@). For the Pharisees and rabbis, who supposed that even the title Adonai was too holy to be uttered, he was simply ha-shem (Athe Name@). Among early Christians he was Athe Father@ or Aour Father,@ and in the fourth century he became AGod the Father,@ a title which distinguished him from AGod the Son.@ Although they addressed him with different terms, Judaeans and Christians agreed that they were invoking the same god,2 who had created the world, had wiped out almost all living things in Noah=s Flood, had been worshiped by all of Noah=s immediate descendants, but had then been forgotten by humankind until he made himself known to Abraham. -
The Philosophy of Don Hasdai Crescas
Hl~ ILLINOI S UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN PRODUCTION NOTE University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Brittle Books Project, 2009. 296 W56p Ri _ _ r THE PHILOSOPHY OF DON HASDAJ CRESCAS COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS SALES AGENTS NEW YORK: LEMCKE & BUECHNER 30-32 EAST 20TH STREET LONDON : HUMPHREY MILFORD AMEN CORNER, E.C. SHANGHAI : EDWARD EVANS & SONS, LTD. 30 NORTH SZECHUEN ROAD COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ORIENTAL STUDIES VOL. XVII THE PHILOSOPHY OF DON HASDAI CRESCAS BY MEYER WAXMAN SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY Qltu Pork COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 1920 All rights reserved PRINTED IN ENGLAND AT THE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS NOTE A PECULIAR interest attaches to Hasdai Crescas. He swam against the current of the philosophical exposition of his day. He was bold enough to oppose the speculative reasoning of Aristotle, the man who held nearly all the philosophers in his grip during so many centuries; and, above all, he dared to criticize the introduction of Aristotelian views into the religious philosophy of his own people, even though these views were dressed in Jewish garb by the master hand of Maimonides. The current passed him by; it could not overwhelm him. In the following pages Dr. Meyer Waxman has given us a detailed and a very interesting exposition of Crescas's philosophic system; and he has added to this a comparison of Crescas's views, not only with those of Maimonides, but also with those of Spinoza. We have thus lined up for us the three greatest minds that speculative Jewish theology produced during the Middle Ages; and the means are afforded us to estimate the value of their dip into the Unknown.