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g Q ‘ ' ’LJ‘ S j I 28/") /rr l ' ~ - SAADIA ' @ LT! -_-----'_--_ 174.7 (KEV ) V

When we interrupted this series of "Jewish Pn>f11es" last April we had dealt with some of the outstanding personalities of the Rabbinic

.Age,'from Hilfel 1n the first century B.C.E. to Rgv Ashi, who flourished in about the year 400 CrE- We are nowXKg going to mAce a Jump of half a millenium to concern ourselves with a very great Jewish leader who flourished in the early part of the 10th century.

This is a long Jump; and yofi will want to know, to begin with, A~pA what haypened 1n the intervening 500.years. As you can imagine, many things did happen; but you will also gather, from the fact that we gre making fine Jump, that no really outstanding person appeared in Jewry}:Er 031 during that period.

510mg Throughout this period the centre of gravity of Jewish life remained in Babylonia, to which country it'had shifted from Palestin /‘kawgn

) about 300 C.E. At the beginning of our period there were, perhaps, 303?o two million in Babylonia. I said something in my last talk about the way they lived. Most of them fiere farmers, though some were artisans,_merchants and sailors. They formed a collection of mofe .. \N‘x—V or less concentrated and autonomous communities, mainly in the region of the larger cities such as Bagdad and Mahhza. Politically they were ruled by an Exilérph, or Resh Galuta. whose status was virtually that of a prince. The office was hereditary, and its holders claimed descent, possibly rightly, from the ancient House of David. The

Exilaroh was reaponsible for maintaining order in the Jewish communities, and for collecting taxes from them on behalf of the Emperor. He also administefled Jewish Law, and apgointed Judges and the heads of the I - 2 _

Jewish academies. The two principal academies were those of

and . She forme} had been established by Rev in th“ first

half of the 5rd century; the latter £00k the place of Nehardéa some

thirty yearé later. The heads of these two academies were the religious

leaders of Jewry; and not only so far as Babylonia is concerned, for

their advice and guidance was often sought by Jewish communities

thousands of miles distant. At some stage the heads of these by the Government academies were given official reoognition/and'invested with the

title Gaon, whiéh means "Excellency". This meant tfiat the? could

exercise absolute authority in religious matters, without reference

to the Exileroh. It is not known for certain when this happened;

but it is probable that the honour was conferred on the President

of Sura in the 7th century, and on the President of Pumbedita two

centuries later. 'As can be imagined, there were frequent controver-

sies between the heads of the academies and the Exilaroh. For the

EXXIKXHHH power and wealth possessed by the Exilarohs ofteh went to

their heads and enticed them to rule in a tyrannical and corrupt

manner. Thane controversies, which greatly weakened Jéwish life in

Babylonie, reached theif climax in the lifetime of Saadia which we

are about to consider.

At the beginning of our 500 year period Babylonia was part of

the Persian Empire; but in the middle of the 7th century it fell into

the hands of the rapidly expanding Arab Empire inspired by the Mohammedan

faith. During. as well as before and after. this upheaval, there were

disturbances and persecutions which dauged the Exilarchate to be

suspended and the aeqdemies to be closed down. But each time these

institutions were re-established within a few years. -3-

In the secdnd half of thé 8th century a new mpvement arose among the Jews. It began in Babylonia. but spread throughout the Jewish world.

It was founded byba certain Anan ben David, who aspired to the position of Exilaroh but was disapéointed. The movement which he founded became known as-Karaism, from the word Kera or Mikra. meaning Scripture. As that name impliés, the Karaites wanted to révert to the way of life prescribed in the , and rejected all the embellishments and accretions of the Oral Law. This meant that they overthrew the wholé development of Rabbinic which had taken pléoe during the past 1000 years and which had become crystallised 1n the Mtshna and

Talmud. The aim was to sihplify and purify the practice of the Jewish

Faith and to offer an alternative to Rabbinid Judaism. But the course which the Karaites reGOLmended was neither wise nor practical. It was impossible to live by the Bible alone, since its laws required to be adapted to altered conditions of life. And indeed the Karaites were forced to revive many post-biblical traditions or to create new ones which were no more authoritative and no better than those evolved by the . In other respects Karaism made Jewish life too hard. For example, the prohibition against kindling lights on the Sabbath was taken so literally that the Karaites actually sat in darkness during the Sabbath day, and so transformed it from a day of Joy into one of gloom. , on the other hand, permitted peoyle to benefit from any illumination on the Sabbath provided that it had been kindled before the Sabbath‘began. Rabbmnic Judaism. in other words, was more adaptable than Karaite_Judaism. Nevertheless, many of the

Karaites were great scholars, especially of the Bible, as well as pious.and nbble persons; and so they exercised a considerable infhuenoe. » - 4 _

V That their influence was not stronger was due to the determined opposition of the defenders of Rabbinic Judaism; the Rabbanites. Among these the most illuétrious and influential was Saadia. From the blow which he struck against Kara1sm, the movement never recovered. It declined more and more thfough the centuries, though a héndful of Karaites have shrvived 1n variofis parts of the world to the'present day.

But it must not be-imagined that all the Jews lived in Babylonia.

For one thing many migrated eastwards, following the trade-routes, to

India and China. Some travelled north to what is now Southern Russia, between the Black Sea agd the Caspian See, where, in'the 7th century. a whole Mongolian people, the Kingdofi of the , or at least its ruling family, embraced the Jewish Faith in preference to its two rivals,

Christianity and Mohammedanism. Some Jews, again, migrated in a north- westerly direction, settling in Asia Minor and the Balkan countr1es and penetrating as far as what is now Southern Poland.

Apart from these migrations from the Babylonian centre, Jewish life also continued in , through all sorts of vicissitudes. Palestine was, of coursé} part of the Roman Empire at the beginning of our half- millennium; and by this time Christianity was‘the official religion of

Rome. 0n the whole the Jews fared badly under Christtan rule.

ESpecially 1n the 6th century they suffered severely under the Christian

Emperor Justinian I. But when Palestine was conquered by the Mohammedan

Arabs in 635 conditions improved sufficiently to permit a revival of Jewish life and learning. During the following centuries the Midrashio literature was committed to writing. An important school was established at where many great Jewish scholars flourished. Some of them wrote religious poetry (piyyutim) much of which was inoorpdrated into _ 5 - the Jewish liturgy. Even more important was the study of the Bible which took place at Tiberiés. It wés during this per1od that the‘fiXWIK text of the Bible was clarif;ed and consolidated by the introduction of vowels, punctuation marks and accents. The scholars who undertook this task are known as , for they established the Masorah, the

trad1tion which regu;ated the reading And writing of Scripture.

Thereby the foundations were laid for the study of Hebrew Grammar to which our Saadia made an impértanp contribution; One of the greatest Masoretes was Ben Asher whom Saadia met personally onfia visit to Tiberias.

From Palestine, too, Jews migrated to other lands. some of them

Journeyed south into the Arabian Peninsula and established themselves especially ehong the coast of the Red Sea: It was here that Méhammed appeared in the 7th century. He was a Pagan Arab of very humble birth who was greatly impressed by Judaism and Christianity. He decided to convert 1H3 his fellow-Arabs to a higher religion, partly compounded of

Judaism and Christainity, and partly 9f his own making. He declared. himself to God's messenger, the greatest Prophet since Moses and Jesus both of whom he recogniseias such. In 622 Mohammad left his native

Mecca for Yathrib, which was re-named Medina, to proclaim the New faith.

He expected to be welcomed by the Jews, if not by the Christians. But when the Jews rejected the primitive and distorted Judaism which he proclaimed, he turned against them with bitterness and violence.

Nevertheless, Mnhammcdahism conquered the Arab masses, partly by persuasion, and partly by the sword. Mohammed's sayings were written down and emfiellished and became the Koran. Equipped with the Koran and

. a _ 6 _ with the sword, the Arabs, in a remarkably short space of time, conquered kingdom after kingdom finti; they had established an Empire stretching from in the west to India in the east. Under Muhammedan rule Jewish life was often rstrioted and insecurg; and yet, on the whole, less seriously molested than in previous-centuries. Mohammedanism not only plaoefl the Jews in a different.politiéal and religious finvlronment: it also affected their ianguage. Arabia, the language of the Koran,

so far only spoken by the Jewish tribes in the Arabian peninshla, now

became the language of the majority 6f Jews, replacing . Hebrew,

of course, remained the language of worship and,xuaxzauaguXuxxxunxxn

Kaumxuxfiuzfix to some extent} the language 9f Jewish scholarship. The Mohammedans, morebver, stiuulated a tremendous cultural revival. The

works of the Ereek philosophers and scientist; were translated into

Arabic, and exercised an increasing influence. From now on any Jew

who wished to acqumre a general education had to read literature

and, through it, to become acquainted with Greek thought. It became

necessary even to translate the Bible into Arabic; and this important

task wag undertaken - in case you have not guessed - by Saadiap

In the wake 6f Arab conqfiest the Jews travelled alsé westwards.

In the process the Jewish communities of Egypt, which had never ceased

to exist though they had dwigdled, acquired new strength. In Fostat,

near modern Céiro, Jewish learning, including Talmudic learning,

flourished already in the 8th pentufy; other fews Journeyed further\'

along the North African coast, éstablishing themselves in the cduntries

now known as Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Esepeuiaily 1n

Kairwan, pear ancient Carthage in Tunisia, there was a flourishing

Jewish community. Fez; in Morocco, not fér from Tangier. also became

, ‘ - 7 -

an important oentre. Finally, in 711. when the Arabs conquered Spain,

many Jews crossed over EXXH the Straits of Gibraltar with them, swelling

those isolated Jewish settlers who’had established themselves there much following I earlier to form a important community which, during the KHEEHHEXEE

centuries, succéeded Babylonia as the centre of Jewish gravity.

To complete the picture I need only mention that many Jews, from

North Africa as well as from Palestine, crossed the Mediterranean to

settle in the Italian peninsula (where a few Jewish oommuhtties had

existed since the Greek period) and thence Journeyed north into’the

Frankish kingdom, covering the areas now known.as'Germahy and_Franoe.

l“rom this skethh you can see that much did happen during the 500

years which elapsed betweeh the completion of the abd the

appearance of Saadia. Let me sum up the salient features. First.

Mohammedanism became the religion of the greater part of the XHKXEK

EHKIKX scene of Jewish life. Secondly, and in consequence of this,

Arabic beoameXXXKXXKKKXXIEHKXfor most Jews, the vernacular. Thirdly, the Jews came into renewed contact with Greek culture. ‘Fourth, KKK

Jewish learning was consolidated. The finishing touches were put to

the Talmud, which. slowly; became the chief text-book of Judaism

throughout the world. At the same time, a great Midrashio literature

grew up in Palestine; the text of the Bible was clearly defined;

Hebrew grammar and poetry bgaah to flourish; and the first attempts

were made to found a Jewish philosaphy. Fiffh, there was the controveryy

between the Karaités and the Rabbanites. And finally, the dispersion of the Jews made great strides in all directions from Babylonia and from Palestine. Yet all this time the focal point of Jewish life - 8 g

remained in Babylonia. A11 Jews took pride in the Exilaroh. the one

ruling prince of Davidic descent; and all looked to-the ? the

heads of the Academies of Sure and Pumbedita, as the supreme religious

authurity. Thus the unity of the Jewish People was maintained through

all vicissitudes and upheavals.

Saadia, the principal actor of our drama, was not born in Babylonia

where the greatest scenes of the drama were enacted. He was born in

a small village called Dilaz. near Fayyum, in Upper Egypt. The year

was 892. His father was a humble artisén or trader of the name of

‘J’oséph. He was, however, a pious and .learned Jew. who gave his son

as good a as he could. Probably Saadia had several

very able teachers. In any.case he wés-endowed with unusual intellectual

vigour and capacity, so that, already in his youth, he acquired a

considerable mastery of Biblical and Talmudic knowledge, as well as

Arabic and Greek philosophy. At the age of 20 he composed a Hebrew

dictionary. so far as is knoWn the first éver to be written. Probably

about the same age he began his warfare against the Kara1te seot whiéh

be regarded as inconsistent and dangerous to the unity of Jewry and

the survival of the Jewish Faith. ‘Saadia married young and had three

sons and two daughters.

In 915, at the age bf 23, he left his native land. The reason is

not known. It may be that he wished to perfect his Jewish knowledge in

the Palestinian and Babylonian centres of Jewish learning. It may be

that he gggfigg to attack the Karaites where they were strongest. It is

quite possible that these motives played a part. But most probably his

main reason was otherwise. Most probably it had become unsafe for him - 9 - to remain in Fayyum. Saadia was an outspoken and feaaless defender of what he thought to be right. As such he was bound to have many enemies, among the Karaites and others. And in a corrupt Arab rggime it was always poseible for his enemies to denounce him before the authorities and even to bribe them to take action against him. Probably, therefore,

Saadia's life was in danger; perhaps he was even expelled. At any rate there is evidence from Saadia's correspondence and from other sources that his exile was enforced rather than voluntary. Saadia wrote on several occasions how much he miésed his family and his former pupils and how much he longed to rejoin them. Evidently it was not possible or not safe for him to do so. "ventually, some seven years later, his wife and children followed Saadia into 6x119 and lived with him in Babylonia.

During these seven years Saadia sfiourned partly in Palestine and partly in Babylonia, paying,also at leést one visit to in Svr1a.

In Palestine he met the leading scholars of Tiberias, including the great

Ben Asher, and a certain Ben Meir with whom Saadia soon became involved in a controversy which determined his future $areer.‘ The contrmversy concerned the Jewish Calendar. This had HIKKKKX orxginally been fixed from year to year in Palestine. But with the decline of the Palestinian community the prerogfative had passed to Babylonia. The Jews of Palestine never ceased_to nxfifififlgfi begrudge this privilege which, in effect, meant religious leadership throughout the Jewish World. In the time with which we are now concerned the Rabbinic Academies of Babylonia were going through a bad phase, having been weakened by adverse circumstanges so that they possessed no really eminent scholars.

Ben Meir seized the opportunity to try and win back for Palestine - lo -

the cherished prerogative 1n the matter of the Calendar. By a coincidence

a oaleggricél difficulty was about to occur in the following year. The

' estab;1sheq system laid down that the New Year must never fall on a

sunga§, Wednesday or Friday. But it also ;aid down that the new month

cqgid,not bq announced if the New Moon appeared after noon. It had to

béégog@ponéd until the following day. If, however, the following day

wagiaygfinday, Wednesday or Friday, and the month was Tishri, then the

Ne%/iear had to be postponed by two days. This meant that the whole

yea; wgs shortened by two days, with the consequence that the festivals,

séfih as ?ogfigfibgbserved two days later than the exact date.

‘Ben Meir wished to overcome the difficulty by extending by 35 minutes

beyond noon the period during which the New Moon/could be announced.

It so happened that, in this particular year, the New Moon, on the

basis of precise astronomical calculations, was expected to appear

within a few minutes of midday. It may well be, therefore, that Ben

Méir's suggestibn was a sensible fine. Butxin reality it was only a

pretext for regaining the authority in this mafter for the Palestinian

community. Saadia opposed yhe innovation with a wealtfi of learning

such as only he éoulfi muster; and he was Vietorious. Apparently

Saadiafs motive was to avoid a serious split in the Jewish community.

He was also able to point out some log¢oa3 inconsistencies in Ben Meir's

suggestion. The battle was conducted with much bitterness and vituperas

ion by Ben Meir and his followers; Saadia, by contrast, was considerably

more restrained and more dignified. The outcome was that some Jewish

communities, for several years, followed the revised calendar of Ben

Meir, celebrating the fiestivals on different days; but ultimately yhe _ 11‘-

Babylonian system, defended by Saadia, prevailed.

t

This victory gained for Saadia an inmanse reputation, as the

greqfiést authorgty on the Jewish Calendar, in addition to the reputation

whiéh he had already established as the foremost defender of Rabbinic

Lfiéaism against the Karaite heresy. It may well be that at this stage

iéaadifi was invited to settle in Babylonia. He probably became one of

/theliead1ng scholars of the academy of sure. It appears that he was

aqégrdéd the title of 5;;23, master, which belqnged to the third in

rank after the Gaon. To this was added thé epithet Yeshuah, so that

he was known as "Master of Salvation", with a possible allusion to the

service he had rendered tn the Ben Meir controversy.

Of the Ben Meir episode, and of many other facts about Saadia's

life, little was known before the 19th century. Then came the important

discovery in the — the lumber—room - of a Cairo Synagogue which

brought to light a whole library of ancient manuscripts. These included,

besides tfie Hebrew text of the Book of Eoclesiasticus, a host of documents

relating to the period with which we are now dealing. Among them were

several letters written by Saadia himself. Here i; the text of one

which was evidently written shortly after the Ben Meir controversy.

1t was written to his former pupils who had remained in Egypt. He

assures them that his"love and affection for them has never waned,

for educating the young leaves indelible traces in thé heart of the

teacher, the more when it has been undertaken for the sake of the fear

of God and the glorification of His name. As I have been deéolate

ever since I left my wife and children, so I have grieved over my

separation from you. May it be the will of the Almmghty that I see - 12_-

you again in health and happiness. It 15 now six and a half years that

no word from you has reached me. I even wrmte to you condoling with

you ove} the death of the venerabke old man, blessed be his memory,

but I saw no answer. (The reference is probably to the grandfather of

thg pupils.) Only recently 1 was told by our friend David, son

of Rabbi Ahraham, that you had written to nib and requested him to

‘ secure the opinions of the heads of the academies regarding the Marcheshwan Kislew 1233 , fixation of the months and of the year

(Seieuoid Era - 921 00mmon Era). I presume that you wrote to him,

and not to me, only because, in accordance with previous refiorts,-

you thought that I was still in Palestine. He himself (Rabbi David)

suggested that you seem to have thought so. He further requested me

to write to you and to inform you regarding the stafie of affairs.

Know that when I was yet in Aleppo, some pupils came from Baal Gad

(a town at the foot of the Lebanon mountains} and brought the news

that Ben Meir intends to proclaim Cheshwan and Kislew deficient.

(XHIKXfiKKXZHKXWflx I.e. one day shorter than usual; this was the way

in which phe late New Year was compensated for:) I did not believg it.

but as a precaution I wrote to him 1n the summer not to do it. 'The

Exilarch, the heads of the academies, all the Allufim, teachers and

scholars, likewise agreed to proclaim Cheshwan and Kislew full, and

that Paséover be celebrated on Thursday. In cofijunotion with their

letters I too wrote to most of the great cities, in order to fulfil

my duty. Persist ye also in this matter and close up thhsbreaoh, and

do not rebel against the command of God. None of the people dare to

profane the festivals of Gog wilfully, to eét leaveded bread on Passover,

and eat, drink and work on the Day of Atonement. May it be the will of - lg - the Lord that there be no stumbling-block and no pitfall in your place or in any other place in . Pray, answer this letter and tell me all your affairs and your well-being. May your peaog grow and increase for‘ever!"

Next to nothing is known of Saadia's life dur;ng the next six years. Probably he studied quietly at Sure and wrote some of his many literary works, most.of which cannot be dated with certainty. Probably aléo during this period Saadia was Joined in Sure by his wife and children.

Then came the fateful year of 928 and the beginning of an even greater controversy than that of the Calendar. In that year the Gaon of Sure died. A successor was appoynted who Also died before he could assume his office. B§ this time the academy of Sure had become quite insignificant. Some fifty years earlier an epidefiic had killed most of its leading scholars; and since then, in proportion 85 Sure deciined,

Pumbedita grew in impbrtanoe, attracting the better scholérs and larger financial subsidies. Now it héd become doubtful fihether there was any point in keeping Sura alive. Some wanted to close the institution. Buy the Exilaroh, David Ben Zakkai, was determined to revive it. Saadma was

Just thé man who could achieve such a revival. But he was a foreigner and of humble birth. and the hesitated. Tfie offered the post to h an eminent scholar mum of the name of Nissi Nahrawani, who was, however, blind. Nissi declined the offer on account of his blindness, but advised the Exilarch against appointing Saadia; for, although he had a profound respect for Saadma's soholarship,‘he waé afraid that, with his independent and intrepid nature; Saadia would soon get intb - 14 - conflict with the Exilarch. (It will be remembered that there was a certain traditional animosity between the heads of the academies and the Cxilarch.) Rav Nissi's advice has been recorded. He expreSSed himself phus. "It is true that Saadia is a great man, of extraordinary leérning; but he is absolutely fearless, anfi by reason of his great learning and wisdom, eloquence and piety. he dpes not consider anybody in the World." Tye Exilarch, however; decided that Saadia was Just the man he wanted; and in the same year, at the age of 36, Saadia was installed in the office of Gaoh of the Academy of Surh, possibly the first non—Babylonian to hdld thgt position.

But Nissi's apprehensions were soon Justified. Tho years later there sprang up the bitterest controversy between Exilaroh and Gaon in the history of Babylonian Jewry. It all began with a legal disfiute over an inheritafibe. The Exilarch had to adjueicate the matter; and he contrived a decision by which 10 per cent of the disputed lggacy would accrue to himself, To make the decision legally valid he had to obtain the signatures 6f the heads of both the academies. Saadia was asked first for his signature; but seeing its illegitimaoy he VXXEE

XKXEXXKXEKIKXNIMKK tried to get out bf it by fleferring the matter to the Gaon of Pumbedita; whose name was Tsedek. Kohen Tsedek, who was less scnupulpus than Saadia, signed the document without question.

It then come back to Saadia, who sought to extricate himself by alleging that his signature was not necessary. The litigants now realised that something was wrong and preva;leé On Saadia to explain the reaéon for. his refusal. He then exposed the i;legitimacy of the EXilarch's decision. - 15 -

‘The Exilaroh was furious at such insubordinatioh, and sent his son,

‘ , to Séadia with the command:-"Go and tell him in my name that he

shall at once endordse the documents." Saadia sent him back XEXIHIK ~’

xuxxgx with the message, "Tell your father that it is written in the

Torah (Deut. 1:17) 'Ye shall not respect persons in Judgment'. "

Tfie Exilarch sent his sofi to Saadia on sefieral more occasions, with

ever more thrnatening orders. Each time Judah delivered them in the

form of polite requests. But finally Judah also lost his patience,

and was about to strike Saadia with his hand, when Saad1a's attendants

seized him and threw him out of the house.

This was the final straw. fhe Exilaroh at once excommunicated

Saadia, deposed him and appointed a young Rabbi, Joseph ben Jacob, XXI

in Saadia's pléce. Saadia replied by deposing and excommunicating the

Exilarch and appointing somebody else, in fact David ben Zakkai‘s

brother or nephew, to the Exilarchaté. At onpe the whole Jewish

community was divided into two opposing camps. Saadia was supported

by mény of the richest and most infbuential people, a; well as the

scholars of his own academy and perhaps some of the scholars of

Pumbedita. The Exilarch, of course. has the suyport of his own

oourtiers and also Kohen Tsédek, the Gaon of Pumbedita, who. apart

from being already embroiled by his signature} was envious of the

growing supremacy of the rival aoadem&. Kohen Tsedek probably helped

to draft the Exilaroh's letter of exéommunication, which was full of

the vilest vituperation against Saadia. Sagdia himself joined 1n‘

the battle with considerable ferocity, though, by compdrmson, he

.conduoted himself in'a more dignified way. -16-

A very powergul fierson who came to the support of the Exilaroh was a certain Aaron ben Joseph Ibn Sarjadah. He was a very wealthy merchant from Bagdad, who also possessed considerable scholarship.

He Was an ambitious and unsorupulpus person and had long aspined to the Gaonate of Sura himself. Thus his motives require little explanation. Qhe battle now became fierfloer and fieroer. There were street riots KHKXZKpXXKfiEmEEIK leading to imprisonments when the

Government was called to intervene. Saadia himself was beéfen up on more than one occasion. Growingly vitupefative letters were exchanged.

Sarjadah especially excelled in this aft. One letter written by

Sarjadah against Saadia has been preserved. 0f it a Jewish scholar has said: "In virulence and obscenity it exceeds Anything of the sbrt

I have ever seen - the manifesto of the Spaniards at the time of the

Armada scarcely comes near it." (D.S. Margoliouth) Sarjanah did not even hesitate to offer the Caliph's government a bribe of 1006 zuz for Saadia's deposition and perhaps banishment. The bribe did not succeed; instead the Galiph tried to establish what we migfit call an ena of peaceful co-existenoe by giving é non-committal vegdict. But when this Caliph was killed, three yearé later, in a rebellion, he was subceeded by a destitute ahd unprincipled man who did not hesitate to accept a further bribe from Sarjanah and the Exilarch. Saadia was deposed by governmen$ order and compelled to leave sura. For the next few years he lived in retirement in Bagdad, where he wrote his greatest work, the philosophécal treatise called flBeliefs and Opinions". Saadia seems to have borne remarkably little malice against his eneéies; for in another book writteh soon after his forcible deposition he referred to the controversy in such a restrained way that the most derogatory -17- epithets which he applied to his opponents were "wicked" and "ignorant".

But this is not the and of the story. There was to be a reconciliation. Once again the chain of events was set in motion by a legal problem of inheritance. or the contending litiganté, who were foreigners and therefore not strictly subject_to the Exilarch's authority, one chose the Exilarch as his arbiter and the other Saadia.

The Exilarch was furious that anyone should choose Saadie, whom he had deposed, to arbitrate in a legal matter. He summoned the man to hms palace, and when he refused to change his mind, had him beaten up.

Wounded'and his clothes torn to shreds the man ran into the street complaining t6 everyone about the treatmgnf he héd received. At this the Jewish Community woke up at last and decided that an end must be

I fiut to this unholy feud. Influential leaders of the community assembled in the house 5f one Bishr ben Aaron, who was SarJadah's father-1n—law, and urged him to intervene. He was apparently unable to influence his incorrigible son-in-law, but he promised to act as peacemgker between the Exilnroh and Sandie.

Bishr invited the Yxilaroh to his home, and in the phesence of the whole distinguished assembly he‘said to him: “See what you have done!

How long will you keep up this quarrel without fearing God's punishment?

Fear your God and desist from strife, for you know how grave are its consequences. It is time now that you try to improve your conduct towards Saadia, that you make peace with him, and abandon whatever grudge you have against him." _ 13 -

It appears that, instead of resenting this unexpected admonition. the Exilarch 1mméd1ately agreed to make peace with Saadma. As a biographer writesk Malter, p.122): "It Wpuld seem that the wrongs he had committed towfirds Saadia in the heat of conflict were not wholly due to faukts of character; but sprang rather from the ungaverned impulses of a hot-headed aristocrat with a somewhat exaggerated opinion of his inherited dignity and place, who would not brmok interference on the part of one whom he had himself appointed to office and naturally considered his subordinate.“ Moreover, the

Exilaroh appreciated Saadia's high qualities, as is evident from the fact that he‘appointed him to the Gaonate desP1te the blind

Nissi's contrary advice. Furthermore, unlike Kohen Tsedek and

SarJana. David ben Zakkai really had the welfare of the aura Academy at heart; and he probably realized that by his deposition of Saadia

he had done that academy great harm. Apart from all that, the

Exilarch was now aware how much influential opposition there was in the Jewish community against his.policy.

The reconciliation was arranged at once. XKHKIK Bishr immediately fetched Saadia, and in a house opposite that in whiéh the Exilarch and the others fiere still assembied, urged him tax also to make peace.

Saadia was only to glad to accedé to the suggestion and agreed without condition. "Thereupon the leading personages present in both houses formed themselves into two divisions, the age conducting the “xilaroh, the other Saadia, and each proceeded toward the other until théy met. The two men, who for the last six years had fought

one another so bitterly, now embraced and kissed, and their

reconciliation, as shown by later events, was sincere and complete." ( “4.14% 1123‘“) -19-

It happened to be the eve of the Feast of - the 27th of

February 936 - and both the Exilarhh and Saadia invited each other to their homes. In the spirit of $ne Festival they cast lots. and the ilarch Egg, 59 that daadia spent two days as his guest. Then

Saadia was reinstated as Gaon of Sura.

Needless to say Sarjada was not ieconoiled. fie-probably went fio Pumbedita, KEEXNKKHXKEKKKXRKEREKXEIHEXZfiKXfiEKiKXXEXEIX where K,hen

Tsedek contihued as Gaon. KNEE Tho.years later Knhen Tsedek died, and was succeeded by one Hananiah, who continued the traditional hostility towards Saadia. Hananiah, incidentally,'was the fgther of the great

Gaon sherira to whom we are indebted for most 6f our knowledge of the

Gaonic period. Sherira's son, Hai, was the last of the great Geonim.

But to return to his grandfather, Hananiah, he died five years after his appointment, in 943. Sarjadah took the opportunity of satisfying his long-cherished ambition and appointed himself, by illegitimate means, to the fipsition of Gaon. In that capacity he ruled the Academy with an iron hand until his death in 96;.

Long before this, indeed only tw0 years after the reconciliation, the Exilaroh David ben Zakkai passed away. He was succeeded by his son

Judah, the one who had tried to strike Saadia at the begingind of file controversy. But Jgdah also died within seven months, leaving a son twelve years old. Saadia - and this is one of the most moving aSpeots of our drama - took the boy into his home and cared for him as a father, and gave him a good education fitting him for an Exilarch's career.

But before he was ready to embark on that career bothxthe Exilarchate and the sure Gaonate had gone out of existence. - 2 o _

Saadia himself died two years after the Exilarch, in September

942. He was then 50 years old. His son ggégn was too young to

succeed him, though he later attained great fame as a scholar.

Sandia's other sons prObably did not possess the necessary

scholastic qualifications to succeed their father at the Sura

Academy. Instead Joseph bcn Jacob, the one Whom the Exilarch had

appointed to replace Saadia, became Gaon of Sure. But without

the support of a strong Exilaroh, and against the rivalry of the

unscrupulous Sarjada at Pumbedita, he could not long maintain his

position. 50 he retired to Basra, and the was closed,

after a more or less continuofis existence of over 709 years.(about

as Long as Oxford and Cambridge have been in oxis¥enoe to—day.)

It was re-opened half a century later uhder one Samuel ax ban Hophni,

a grandson of Kohgn Tsedek, and under his leadersnip endured for

a further forty years before it closed for good. That was in 1054.

Four years later there died the last of the Geanim of Pumbedita,

the famous Hai, son of Sherira, who had married one of Samuelés

daughter. And so ended the history of the Geonim.

Meanwhile, as already mentioned, Saadia's son Dosa established

a gregt reputation as a scholar, which spread ag far as ޤrth Africa

and Spain. He even entered into correspondence with that great patron

6f Jewish learning, Chasdai Ibn Shaprut, at Cordova. This Chasda;

persuaded Dose to write a biography of his father. Unfortunately the

biography has not come down to us; if it had, my account of Saudia's

life might have been more interesting. but it ficuld also have been,

undoubtedly, much longer. ‘And with that comforting thought I come - 21 - to my conclusion. I hafie said next to nothing about Saad1a's writings in which resides the real reason of his permanent importance. But his chief Work. the Beliefs and Opinions, is philosophical in character and would require a ratger difficult philosophical explanation. I hfipe in a moment to read you a few extracts from it, which will give you at least a taste of the quality of Saadia's writings. For our purpose this evening it must suffice to say that Saadia was virtually the first to attempt to construct a consistent system of Jewish ph}losophy. , of course, had attempted it 900 iears earlier; but rhilo was more influenced by Ereek thought than by Judaism. Saédia had a brilliant mastery of fill fields of Jewish knowledge; and the philosophy which he constructed was authentically Jewish throughout. He was, of course,

much influenced by Greek philosophy, bbth Plato and Aristotle. and espécmally Zhfi~by.the Mohammedan philosaphers of his day who were

similarly influenced. But he used the current methods in an independent way. His aim was to show that the Jewish Religion, as it emerges from

Bible and Talmud, is thoroughly in aceord with reason. It could have

been arrived at by pure reason, though the process, without ,

would have been much slower. Although Judaism is, therefére, based

on revelation, it is also based on reason; and as long as revealed

literature is taken as a guyde and basis which prevents the reason

from going astray, as long as that it is it is thmmogghly commendable,

and even a duty,’to examine Judaism in the light of reason. Thereby

the yropcr undersvanding of it can be greatly aided. Saadia.also

aimed to refute various religious theories bf his day which he

considered to be mistaken, including of course Braism but also

I _ 22 _

Christianity. 39 devotes much thought to the refutation of the

Christién doctrine of the Trinity and the Christian abrogation of

the Mosaic Law. “6 deals with such basic subJeqts as the existence

and nature of God. the bélief in the Creation, the nature of man

.with emphasis on man's freedom of will, the immortality of the

soul and the resurrection of the body, and the Messianic Age and.

the World to Come. 'Hié-opinions aré such 85 would be exFected from a Jew of his age and culture. He writes'in a brilliantly oléar

style, and §K§fi§§xnzx supgorts his argéments with an extraordinarily choice of Biblical and Talmudic quotations.

Apart from this magnum gggg, which gave a tremendous impetus to medieval Jewisg philosophy, Saadia also wrote, as has already been on\a mentioned, variety of othér sfibJects. He composed a Hebrew dict13nary nnd other words on Hebrew grammar and lexicography.

He translated the Bible into Arabiq and supplied it with a valuable commentary. He XXXEEXXME arrafiged the Book, and included therein many religious poems, some of which had not uuxn previously formed part of the liturgy. composed fie a good deal of synagogue poetry himself, as well as some very finé prayers in pIose.

He wrote a number of Halakhic works ifi many aspects of Jewish civil \ qnd ritual law. Most of these have not survived. One which has survived is an important Work on the Calendar which Saadia wrote at the Exilarch's request at the time of his controversy with Ben

Meir. Among his more philosophical works, there were several polemioal treatises against the Karaites, which, however, have not survived.

And there was also a learned commentary on a very obscure book entitled Serer Yetsirah (Book of Creation.) ' - 23 -

Saadia's greatest‘work, the Book of Beliefs and Opinions, was, of

course.written in Arabic, and was later trabslated into Hebrew under

I the title "Emunot ve-Deot".

Such, then, is Saadia: the most learned Jew of his age, thoroughly

versed in Biblical and Talmudic kfiowledge, and with a considerablé

knowledge of Arabic literature and consequently of Greek thought,

a man of absolute integrity, fearless and somewhat quarrelsome, yet

basically very humble, a man with a passion for Justice, and with

great power to forgive, a man with a strong affemtion for his family

and his pupils, a lucid thinker, a brilliant writer, a passionate

believer in reason and in the reasonableness of the JeWish faith,

a borad-minded man who wanted his fellow—Jews-to become more broad-

minded and more cultured, the great defender of Rabbinic Judaism

against the Karaites and of induism generally against Christianity,

the most illustrious of the Geonim of Sura who, in the dying days of

fihe Academy, gave it and Babylopian Jewry a new lease of life and

a world-wide reputation. Such was Saadia. It is not impossible that

one or two of us maybfiis biological descendants. Ifi any case we are

his spiritual descendants. And he is a spiritual ancestor of whom

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. g.

1. 500—1000 known as Gaonic Age; Saadia yeatest Jew of that period 2. Pre-eminence of Babylonian J awry; Exilarchs and Geonim; Anan & Karaism

3. Palestinian Jewry: Yannai and Kallir, Mifiash and Masorah 4. Expanding

5. Rise of Islam and Arabic 6. Saadfiza born 892 riser Fayyum, Upper Emt. Father Joseph. Good education. By about 20 had begun to teach and write books: (to anticipate) and grammar, litexary criticism, poetry, liturgy, Halachah and philosophy; Bible.

7. At 23 left Egypt, reason not known, leaving wife and 5 children, who followed. him 7 years later. During those years lived sometimes in Palestine, sometimes in Babylonia.

Established great reputation for (a) critique of Karaism (b) calendar controversy with , head of academy. Appointed Alluf at Sure.

9. 0f next 6 years npthing lmown, then 928 began the greatest controversy of all. Sure had been declining because of epidemic 50 years earloer which killed most of its scholars. In 928 the Gaon died, and. his successor also died. before he could talus office'. Question whether it should be closed. David ben Zakkai determined to keep it 3013. Offered ppst to Nissi Nahrawani who, being blind, declined. Then appointed. Saadia, 36 years old.

10. 2 years later the Exilardh made a decision about a. legacy by which he would receive 10%. Saada asked to ratthfy, referred to KohenTzedek of Pumbedita who complied. Litigants asked Saadia to explain; he exposed illegitimacy. Exilarch sent his son Judah to demand Saadia's endorsemtnt. He sent him back with the mesaage: "Tell your father that it 'is written in the , "You shall not respect persons in judgment" (Dt. 1:17). Judah sent several more times, with ever more threatening demands, finally struck Saadia.’ and was thrown out.

11. Exilarch excommunicates Seadha and appoints a young man in his place. Saadia excommunicates David ban Zakkai and appoints his brother. Warring factions. Saadia. supported by scholars of Sure. and many honest people. DbZ by K "hen Tzedek (already embroiled and envious of Sure) and many wealthy merchants in Baedad, incl. ZAaron ben Joseph i'bn Sam-jade}: who had long aspired to Gaonate of Sure. Battle greiv ever fiercer; denunciatory letters, street riots leading to imprisonments.’ Sarjanah eveh bribed the Caliph who deposed Saadia and ordered him to leave Sura.

12. Next few years liired. in Bagdad, writing inter alia the Beliefs and Opinions. Then another inheritance dispute arose, one litigant asked Saadia to arbitrate. DbZ had him seized and beaten up. Then the comuni‘ty realised things had gone too far and attempted to bring the dispute to an end. Sarjadah's fathsr—inplaw, Bishr ben Aaron, appealed. to Exilarch to make peace. He ageed. Here continue with Lecture p. 18.