^^^ 1-5 %^l l& >k ^ vi ^^(^AHvaaivi^"^ >&AavaaiH^ J,HIBRARY(7/;^ ^ijfOJiivDJo'^ ^(i/ojnvjjO'^ "^iJDNVsm^ "^/saaAiNfl^uv^ ^OF-CAIIFO/?^ ^OFCAIIFO^^ ^^WEUNIYER^ "^^Aavaan-^ ^ TuiAmn iiiV ^ vH^ ^ f V £:? VrJ AwaaiHSsV' "^^Aavjian'# %mmov^ "^^mmm"^ \im\ym//j o ^1-L1BRARYQ<' Q 1 ir^ ^ 1 ^ %0JITV3JO^ ^^OJTOJO'f^ Aj^lOSANCElfx^ ^OF-CAUFO% li jav !^oi^ "^aaAiNH-awv^ ^^Aavaani*^' .$ -^HIBRARYQc 5jflEUNIVERy/A mmn^^"^ %i3dnvso# A\lOSANCflfj> "^aaAiNn^uv^ ^•rA^fw^ ^OfCALIFOff^ .AUM1NIVER5/A CO -^smmm^ ?- - -I ^mmmsy^ ^I^HIBRARYa^ -^t-UBRARYQc %a3AINn-3rtv^ %OJI1V3JO^ ^ ^ ^ ^OFCAIIfO/?^ ^OFCAIIFO% 5 ^ iDhvsoi^^ %a3AiNn-3i\v^ '%Aavaan#' "^^Aavnani^"^ unr.'\Hra/: UllVDJO^' ^«!/0JnVT4Q>^ THE MORRIS LOEB SERIES SAADIA GAON HIS LIFE AND WORKS BY HENRY MALTER, Ph. D. Professor of Rabbinical Literature at the Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate learning ^^ Philadelphia The Jewish Publication Society of America 1921 Copyright, 1921 BY The Jewish Publication Society of America SAADIA GAON HIS LIFE AND WORKS Professor Morris Loeb, of New York, the dis- tinguished chemist, scholar and public worker, who died on October 8, 191 2, by his last Will and Testament, created a Fund under the following terms : " I give and bequeath to the Jewish Publi- cation Society of America the sum of Ten Thou- sand Dollars as a permanent fund, the income of which alone shall, from time to time, be utilized for and applied to the preparation and publication of a scholarly work devoted to the interests of Judaism." The present volume is the first issued under this Fund. f65 \A9^ .«n^«in« nn n^v:)ni xn»5yn «n^nD> ^nn nnvnn God does not leave His nation at any period without a scholar whom He inspires and enlightens, so that he in turn may so instruct and teach her, that thereby her condition shall be bettered (Saadia, Sefer ha-Galui). i;547G22 To SOLOMON SOUS COHEN, M. D. in token of high esteem and sincere friendship PREFACE The present book was originally designed to furnish a biography of Saadia Gaon for the biographical series of the Jewish Publication Society of America, at whose request the work was undertaken. At that time, about six years ago, there were already in existence (as will be seen from pp. 90 f.) a considerable number of sketches of Saadia's life, written in various languages (Hebrew, Latin, French, Ger- man, English, Russian, and Dutch) ; but all of them were based upon the epoch-making essay of Rapoport, who, writ- ing nearly a century ago (1828) — long before the Genizah gave up its treasures — had at his disposal only the scanty material scattered in the mediaeval sources. For the bio- graphical part in particular, only the Report of Nathan ha-Babli, the Epistle of Sherira Gaon, and some additional remarks by Abraham Ibn Daud were available. All that could be gathered from these sources about Saadia's Hfe was that he was born in Egypt in 892, that he was appointed Gaon of Sura in 928, was deposed by the Exilarch David b. Zakkai and later reinstated (the deposition and reinstallation being related with some detail), and that he died in 942. Rapoport's biography, if it may be so called, consists there- fore, chiefly of learned notes dealing with Saadia's writings, so far as these were accessible to him or known from quota- tions. Subsequent writers on Saadia followed Rapoport's example, adding nothing to the Gaon's biography, but enter- ing more fully upon the description and characterization of his teachings. Even after the new material of the Genizah had come to light, scholars concerned themselves in the main with the identification of the various fragments of Saadia's works 10 PREFACE and the analysis of their contents. Incidentally attention was called also to new historical facts contained in some of the fragments, but no attempt was made to interrelate these facts and to combine the isolated data into a general picture of Saadia's life. Even the fragments relating to the Ben Meir controversy, so important for our knowledge concern- ing Saadia's movements in the East, have been considered more in their bearings upon the question of calendar, than in their relation to Saadia. For the purpose of writing a biography this material was rather discouraging. It seemed that any attempt to draw a complete picture of Saadia's life on the basis of the few disconnected biographical data which had so far been utilized would prove fruitless, and that, instead, one should devote every effort to a full description of the Gaon's works and a systematic presentation of his doctrines. However, in order to get a more definite view of the subject it was necessary to submit the entire material of the old, as well as of the newly discovered, sources to a careful reexamina- tion ; to correlate the widely scattered details ; and to try to interpret them in the light of already established facts. After repeated study of certain Genizah fragments, hitherto partly ignored and partly misinterpreted, new points of view gradually revealed themselves and fresh combinations appealed for consideration. Finally, after much sifting and analyzing, grouping and classifying of the collected details, the subject of our investigation stood out in rehef . For here was Saadia, the man, with his human faults and virtues, his passions and convictions, his sufferings and rejoicings, vic- tories and defeats. His entire life opened before us and we could follow his career almost without interruption. At times we were also granted a glimpse into his family affairs and his personal relations with his pupils. At first the plan suggested itself, to use all this biographical material as external framework— as the convenient setting to what is after all the most important aspect of Saadia's life, namely, the scientific work which he bequeathed to PREFACE II posterity. Such disposition of the material would have had the advantage of enabling us to follow step by step the intel- lectual growth and development of Saadia, as he advanced in years and maturity. Upon closer examination, however, this arrangement did not appear feasible, since our knowledge of the various writings of Saadia is not of a nature to warrant definite conclusions regarding their chronological order. Moreover, the combined treatment of Saadia's life and works under such a plan would have required a volume far exceeding the limits set for the biographical series of the Jewish Publication Society. I had therefore decided to treat of Saadia's life inde- pendently of his works, and to leave the presentation of his literary activity for a separate volume. The Committee of the Jewish Publication Society, however, upon receiving the manuscript of the biography in the form in which it appears in the present volume, did not deem it advisable to issue a biography of Saadia without including between the same covers an adequate appreciation of his writings. More- over, it was desired to preserve the footnotes, which are not exactly suited for a purely popular sketch. To solve the difficulty it was considered best to have the two parts pub- lished together as the first volume in the scientific series of the Morris Loeb Foundation. This method had some drawbacks. By dividing the mate- rial into two distinct parts repetitions have in several in- stances become inevitable. Thus a work like the 'Agron, in itself of comparatively little importance, but of special significance for our understanding of Saadia's earlier edu- cation, had to be discussed in more than one connection, each time from a different viewpoint. Similarly, some of the other works, as the Commentary * on the Sefer Yezirah, the Sefer ha-Galui, and the 'Emfinot zve-Deot, had to be taken up for discussion in the biography. For no matter * Throughout this volume commentary is spelt with a capital when, as in the case before us, it forms part of the title of the Hebrew or Arabic work referred to. 12 PREFACE under what aspect the Hfe of a scholar and author is viewed, it cannot be entirely detached from his works. On the whole, however, an earnest effort has been made to avoid such repetitions as much as possible. In an exhaustive work on Saadia it might further be expected that the general characterization of his achieve- ments in the various branches of learning would be illus- trated by numerous details and quotations from the respec- tive works. This would seem especially desirable in the section dealing with Saadia's Bible exegesis, although the most important features of his work in this line have been repeatedly discussed by numerous modern authors. How- ever, the field of Bible exegesis is so immense and Saadia's contributions to it so manifold, that their elaborate discussion would have required a special monograph. Here was a case of dknde et impera! The brief summarizing exposition touches on the main features of Saadia's exegesis, and the numerous references to old and new sources, as given in the notes and the Bibliography, will do the rest. Some inconsistencies will be noticed in the transHteration of Hebrew and Arabic names, titles of books, etc. It was not thought necessary in all instances to burden the print with the devices used in technical works in the endeavor to represent the exact sounds of the Oriental words. The exceptions, however, are comparatively few and mostly in common and frequently recurring words, as Ihn, Tafsir, All, Galui, Zikron, Genizah, and the like. Proper names occur- ring in the Bible, as Anan, Berechiah, Hophni, Nahshon, etc., are reproduced without diacritical points, as they are found in the English versions. Titles of books very frequently re- ferred to are reproduced in full only when quoted for the first time. In subsequent passages they are given in some shortened form, as Beitrdge (Dukes, Eppenstein, Jellinek), Anfdnge (Bacher), or in abbreviations, as AL (Stein- schneider), and the like. In some instances the name of the author was deemed sufficient, as Bornstein, Lazarus, etc., the PREFACE 13 reader being expected to revert, in case of doubt, to the appended List of Abbreviated Titles (p. 429). In these matters, too, various inconsistencies came to my notice while revising the proofs, but it appeared too cumbersome to restore absolute uniformity in quotation. A word must be added about the ' BibHography.' The title is somewhat misleading and may needlessly frighten away the reader ; but it has been adopted in the absence of a better short title equally convenient for repeated reference. This section of the work really represents an attempt at a critical history of the entire Saadia literature. I cherish the hope that any student who in the course of his reading has become interested in some of the branches of learning here presented, will welcome the help he may receive from it. The general reader, too, while not prepared to go into literary details, may find it gratifying to learn, by a glance through these pages, of the extraordinary attention the great Gaon has commanded throughout the ages, and the amazing amount of intellectual work that has been done by Jews and Christians in editing and translating, describing and eluci- dating his numerous writings. In conclusion, I desire to express my profound gratitude to Miss Henrietta Szold, who, despite her manifold com- munal and literary activities, generously consented to go over the entire manuscript, to assist in putting it into final shape for publication. Apart from this general editorial work, which was no small task, she has made ever so many valuable suggestions in various directions, by which the work has greatly profited. I am under special obligation to my friend. Dr. Solomon Solis Cohen, who, in addition to many personal kindnesses, has taken the greatest interest in the present work. In a genuine spirit of friendhness he has given much of his precious time to a painstaking re- vision of the proofs, and, with his enviable mastery of English, removed, as by a touch of magic, many uneven- nesses in style and diction that had escaped my notice. He also was kind enou2:h to furnish a translation of one of 14 PREFACE Saadia's poems (see p. 337). My thanks are also due to my colleague and friend, Prof. Alexander Marx, of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, who greatly assisted my efforts with his rare bibliographic knowledge and placed at my disposal a large number of books, some very rare, from his rich private library. Philadelphia, Henry Malter. July, ip2o. INTRODUCTION At the outset of his task the historian or biographer has to decide how he will envisage the broad problem presented. Shall he view the idea or the fact as the impelling force in human history? Are events born of ideas, or are ideas the necessary outcome of conditions? Do circumstances shape the individual, or does the individual compel circumstance? The first view may be designated as the genetic, or real- istic, conception of history ; the second, as the ideahstic con- ception. In a measure it is true that neither of the two factors, to the exclusion of the other, is the sole creative force in human history. The real point to be determined is as to which of them should be given the greater prominence in presenting and interpreting historical phenomena. The prevailing and, it would seem, correct view, is that the individual whose influence in shaping events may appear to be paramount at a certain period of the world's development, enters the arena as a genuine product of surrounding conditions, subject to all the laws of evolution by which other mortals are gov- erned. Only gradually, the exceptional genius frees himself from the common shackles. He rises above his environ- ment and takes the guidance of history into his own hands. The first requirement, therefore, in presenting the life and work of such a genius, is to ascertain and depict the con- ditions that furnished the basis for the later developed indi- viduality. It is the only way of accounting for what seems in the beginning to be entirely out of harmony with the general laws of causation. SaadiaAl-Fayyumi is not to be classed among these highest geniuses of the world ; but his greatness is so real, and so individual in its quality, that he cannot be fully explained as a necessary product of his time and surroundings. Never- theless, it is needful to investigate the conditions of his earlier life, his education and his family relations, which 15 i6 INTRODUCTION must have contributed importantly toward making him the founder of a new epoch in Jewish history and Hterature. Unfortunately there is not enough material at hand to allow us to form a trustworthy opinion of the circumstances of our hero's earlier life. Nor are the historical records of the Jews in Egypt during the age of Saadia such that we can with certainty establish the influences at play in the shaping of that great individuality during the years of growth and development. The period in question is repre- sented in Jewish annals by an almost blank page, and there is but little hope that the page v^rill ever be written upon, unless the Genizah furnishes new material. Not even legend,' the graceful substitute for stern his- tory, has shown itself kind enough to Saadia to crown his personality with a wreath of poetry and beauty, such as it fashioned for not a few of the great men of the Jewish people before and after him. The man who was to inaugurate a new era in Jewish learning and literature springs out of the darkness to light the torch of reason in the gloom-encom- passed camp of his brethren, and, his mission performed, darkness again engulfs him; for according to the records Saadia died "in melancholia." No poet is known to have sung the praises of the departed leader ; no elegist has given expression to the grief and sorrow that must have overtaken Babylonian Israel at the untimely death of the greatest Gaon ; no .chronicler has left us even a prosaic account of the events immediately before and after this turning-point in the history of the ancient academy of Sura. The only fact that has been preserved is that a successor was installed, who failed to keep alive the orphaned institution ; for with the death of Saadia, the Gaon, the Gaonate virtually ceased to be.' ^ See below, chapter viii. * It is true that about fifty years after the death of Saadia the Sura academy was reopened under the presidency of R. Samuel b. Hophni, but the institution never regained the rank it occupied under Saadia. Its very existence was made possible only through the close family relations that were established between Samuel b. Hophni and the Gaon Hai of Pumbedita (see below, note 281). Almost no Responsa INTRODUCTION 17 But though no definite information can be obtained with regard to the beginning and the end of Saadia's career, we are much more fortunate when we approach the main period of his Hfe, a period that covered only about twenty-five years. During that time he put out one book after the other — deahng sharp blows to Karaism and the other enemies of traditional Judaism ; translating, commenting, and eluci- dating the Bible and the Talmud ; collecting and composing- hymns and prayers ; and writing the first philosophical Com- mentary on one of the most puzzling mystical works in Jew- ish Hterature. It was while engaged in this fruitful literary work that he was unexpectedly called to the highest position in the gift of tenth century Jewry. Soon tliereafter we see him in a bitter struggle with the mighty Exilarch, the tem- poral head of the Babylonian Jews. Deposition and retire- ment into private life; the appearance of his magnum opus, the first philosophical presentation of Judaism since Philo ; reconciliation with his enemies and re-installation in the office of Gaon, — all these events follow in rapid succession, and reveal to our eyes a man of astounding force and untiring energy ; a life short when measured in years, but crowded with occurrences of tremendous import for the subsequent history of the Jewish people. Such is, in brief, the story of Saadia Gaon, the details of which occupy the following chapters. As noted, the first twenty years and more of Saadia's life, the years most essential in shaping character and indi- viduality, are wrapped in obscurity. A complete biography is therefore impossible. However, the manuscript material brought to light within the last two decades contains vari- ous details which, when properly correlated, enable us to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge of Saadia's career and to give an authentic account of certain important hap- penings hitherto unknown. For instance, on the basis of exist of Samuel b. Hophni, who had otherwise written extensively on various subjects, which also indicates that under his Gaonate the Jews of the Diaspora did not turn to Sura for legal and religious advice, but to the more important academy of Pumbcdita. i8 INTRODUCTION a new and, it would seem, plausible interpretation of some Genizah documents, we gain valuable information about Saadia's family relations, the causes that induced him to leave his native country, his travels, and his connection with the academy of Sura prior to his election as Gaon. For full appreciation of Saadia's life and work we should know the condition of the Egyptian Jews during the ninth century ; that is to say, the social and intellectual atmosphere in which the future Gaon grew up. Here again the few details at our command have not been derived from the commonly known Jewish and general sources ; it has been necessary to cull them from recently unearthed, fragmentary documents. And valuable as they are, they are not direct information ; they only afford a basis for certain inferences. Therefore, so far as concerns Saadia's surroundings during his formative period, we must confine ourselves to general re- marks showing the points of contact between the culture and learning which we later find represented in Saadia, and the culture and learning of his immediate predecessors and con- temporaries. An attempt at a more detailed description of the various channels through which Saadia received the many-sided education that made it possible for him to be- come the highest exponent of Jewish culture in the Orient would lose itself in vague hypotheses, adventurous rather than informative. The facts about Saadia's early training and education, and to some extent also the cause of his emigration from Egypt, must thus remain a matter of speculation. Happily, we are better informed about his life and activity during the many years of his sojourn in the East, prior to his installation as Gaon (928). This information likewise comes to us through the documents that are continually cropping up from the famous Egyptian Genizah. Nearly all of these documents relate to what is called the Ben Meir controversy, — a controversy in which Saadia played the most important part, and which therefore forms an essential por- tion of his biography. But it is only when we approach the last period of Saadia's life, beginning with his election to INTRODUCTION 19 the Gaonate, that the sources of information flow more abundantly, and our knowledge of the Gaon becomes more adequate. It is thus in keeping with the literary material at hand that the period covering Saadia's experiences in the Gaonate (the period which hitherto has constituted the whole of Saadia's biography) is treated here with more detail than the others. Welcome, however, as a complete knowledge of the cir- cumstances of Saadia's earlier life would be, both to the biog- rapher and the student, the absence of such information is, in this case, less deplorable than in that of other eminent persons. Saadia's historical importance, as an official per- sonage, as the religious head and representative of Baby- lonian Jewry and, in part, of the Jews in European coun- tries, is undeniably great. But he appeals to our interest less through his powerful individuality as a public leader and uncompromising fighter for his cherished ideas and principles, than through his scholarly attainments — through the literary monuments left to posterity in nearly all branches of Jewish learning and literature. Our con- cern is therefore primarily with Saadia the scholar and in- vestigator ; the pioneer and pathfinder in the field of Jewish science; the linguist, grammarian, lexicographer and exe- gete; the Talmudist and the philosopher — in brief, the first scientific expounder of Biblical and traditional Judaism. But is this not exactly what we should expect in a work on the life of a great man in the history of the Jewish people? History in its last analysis is mind material- ized, thought transformed into action. In this sense the Jews of the Diaspora, taken as a whole, had no history ; for they had little opportunity to act, they were every- where acted upon. Their story is therefore not the account of a people's national and political activity, but that of human patience and endurance. From another point of view, too, the history of the Jews difiFers from that of any other nation. The history of a people revolves, for the most part, around its great men, who by their powerful individuality give direction to its destiny ; the Jewish people, 20 INTRODUCTION having been deprived of all temporal power, had no such career to offer to those of its sons who, by virtue of extra- ordinary natural gifts, were qualified for leadership in the great movements of national life. The gifted person- alities among the Jews spent themselves, with few excep- tions, in the effort to acquire learning, sacred and secular. Essentially, Jewish history is a record of scholars and their literary productions, with the emphasis laid on the latter. It is a history of learning more than of living, of literature rather than of affairs. It is thus in keeping with the general character of Jewish history that the biography of Saadia should primarily be a record of his literary achievements and of his spiritual in- fluence. Much space must therefore be devoted to the pres- entation of his teachings in the various departments of Jewish learning of which he was the founder. In the field of religious philosophy and ethics vSaadia's theories are to be detached from all that is incidental or, from our point of view, unessential, so that his general attitude and his basic system of religion may come out clearly. A brief characterization of the Gaon's standing in the estimation of later ages and of the importance attributed to his works by Jewish medieval authors, concludes the presentation. In order to give the student of Saadia all the informa- tion he may have occasion to look for in the course of his inquiries, an exhaustive bibliography is necessary, not only of the writings of the Gaon himself, but also of the vast literature, reaching down to the present time, in which Saadia or his writings form the main subject of discus- sion. Aside from this practical purpose, the immensity of this Saadia literature in the various fields of research will make the reader realize at a glance, perhaps better than any description, the great significance of the man whose life and works were the origin and source of so much scholarly activity in generations past and present, and may stimulate him to enter upon the same field and con- tinue the chain of Saadia students for the furtherance and promotion of Jewish learning and literature. CONTENTS PAGES Preface „ ^ . Introduction 14-20 PART I. LIFE OF SAADIA GAON CHAPTER A. The First Period of Saadia's Life I. Origin and Family Relations 25-31 II. Saadia's Early Education 32.52 B. The Second Period III. Saadia's Emigration to the East 53-68 IV. Saadia's Controversy with Ben Meir 60-88 V. Saadia's Appointment to the Gaonate 89-134 PART n. THE WORKS OF SAADIA GAON VI. Saadia's Works: 1. Philology a. Grammar and Lexicography 137-141 b. Biblical Exegesis 141-146 2. Liturgy ...146-157 3. PIalakah 157-167 4. Calendar '.....16S-171 5. Chronology 171-173 6. Philosophy '.'.'.!.". ^". .174-260 7. Polemical Works 260-271 VII. Saadia's Influence on Later Generations 272-295 VIII. Legends About Saadia 296-302 PART III. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Prefatory Note 305-306 2. Philology ..!.'.'.'.!'..* '.306-329 3- Liturgy ^2^_^^^ 4. Halakah ^^^_^^^ 5. Calendar and Chronology 351-355 6. Philosophy .'.''*'.***.*! ^355-380 7. Polemics 380-394 8. Works of Uncertain Description 394-403 9. Spurious Works 403-405 10. Works Erroneously Attributed to Saadia. ...405-409 11. The Documents on the Ben Meir CoNTRovERSY.409-419 ^^^-^^CRi^-^ 421-428 Addenda o List of Abbreviations 429 Indices .0, . .< 431-446 PART I LIFE OF SAADIA GAON THE FIRST PERIOD OF SAADIA'S LIFE (4652-4675=892-915) Chapter I ORIGIN AND FAMILY RELATIONS Saadia' was born, in the year 892, in the village of " The Hebrew form of this name is, like that of similar names occurring in the Bible {e. g., n^lV^^ ,nnntJ^), nnyt?, or fuller innyp, not innyp, as Harkavy, D'>J1K'5<1^ in!)T, etc. (hereafter quoted briefly: Zikron), V, 162, 164, and Bacher, JE., X, 579, have it (but comp. Vt^'lVO). This form of the name is proved by rhymes found in MSS., where the metre positively requires it; comp. D. S. Margoliouth, Lines of Defense of the Biblical Revelation, Lon- don, 1900, p. 41, n. i; Renan, Les ecrivains Juifs Frangais (reprint from Histoire litteraire de la France, Vol. XXXI), p. 155 (501); Steinschneider, Arabische Literatur, p. 40. The correct transliteration is therefore Se'adiah which is, indeed, adopted by some recent schol- ars, as by Margoliouth, /. c; comp. JQR., XIII, 158, no. 6, and Cowley, Catalogue of the Hebrew MSS. in the Bodleian Library, II, s. v. I have preferred, however, to retain the old traditional form of trans- literation, for after all the form employed for the sake of the metre may have been merely theoretical, and is no proof that the name was generally so pronounced. Grammatically nnVD stands for nnVD^ being the (shortened) imperfect of the verb TVD, to support, and the noun n"' =God, meaning " may God support" (the bearer of the name). Sometimes the word Pl^ is supplanted by ^X = God, giving the same meaning (comp. n"*JJn = ^X3Jn). Thus the Gaon is called ^t^TVD by Moses Ibn Ezra, JQR., X, 224; JR., s. v. Saadia. This form, however, was used as a proper name mainly among the Karaites. In Arabic Saadia called himself Sa'id which means fortunate. A rhetorical description of the Hebrew language, representing a part of Saadia's earliest known work, the 'Agron (Harkavy, Zikron, V, 52), gives the double acrostic ^DV p "l"'yD, similarly in his hymn on the 613 precepts (ed. Joel Miiller, in Oeuvres completes de Saadia, IX, 67 ff. ; comp. ibidem, p. xxi) and in his 'Azharot (D'JIDIP D^J1N:i n^ ^^Vl2 niP. Berlin, 1857, pp. 52 ff.), as well as in his Polemic against Hiwi, edited by Davidson, New York, 1915, pp. 34 f. ; comp. Bacher, REJ., XXXV, 291. Occa- 25 26 SAADIA GAON Dilaz/ in the district of Fayyum, Upper Egypt. He seems to sionally Saadia is called also "'^VDn, the Egyptian (Dukes, Beitrdge, II, i6), perhaps also "'JQVn jl with allusion to njyQ DJDV (Gen., 41, 45), the name of his father being likewise Joseph; see Harkavy, MIVJ., V, 26. According to Steinschneider, JQR., XI, 327, the Hebrew name by which Saadia called himself in a later work, the Sefer ha-Galui (Harkavy, Zikron, V, p. 163, last line; 165, 11. 6, 10), was the original, of which the Arabic Said was the translation. Bacher (Rivista Israelitica, II, 46; comp. JE., X, 579), on the other hand, thinks that the Hebrew name is an artificial equivalent of the original Arabic Sa'id, which view seems to me the more probable. This is certainly the case with Saadia's Hebrew by-name "'Din''Dn, which was sub- stituted for the original Al-Fayyumi, i. e., of Fayyum (comp. Geiger Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift, V, 314, note), perhaps because of the phonetic resemblance of the two words, or more probably because the Gaon himself (as also Muhammedan writers ; comp. Steinschneider, JQR., XI, 588, no. 580) in his Arabic translation of the Bible renders the Biblical Dnp (Exod. i, 11) by DVD, though modern research has proved that the Biblical Pitom is situated in Lower Egypt and there- fore cannot be identical with the Fayyum, which is in Upper Egypt. It is a well known fact that Saadia liked to render Hebrew words and proper names by Arabic equivalents of similar sound, even when he knew that they had nothing in common but the sound ; see the refer- ences given by Taubeles, Saadia Gaon, Halle 1888, p. 2y, n. 7, espe- cially W. Engelkemper, De Saadiae Gaonis Vita etc., Miinster, 1897, p. 7, n. 3. Frankl (Monatsschrift, 1871, p. 355) takes the untenable view that ""^Din^Q is a derivation from PiriD, meaning "deceiver," and was originally given to Saadia by his adversaries with the purpose of vilifying him. Were this true it would be highly improbable that all the Hebrew authors who quote the Gaon reverentially with the adjective Pitomi should have been unaware of its disparaging mean- ing. When the Karaite Sahl b. Mazliah (960) in an Epistle published by Pinsker (DV JIOIp ""DIP^ II, 36) refers to Saadia as " the Pitomi who deceived (patah) the people," he simply plays on the by-name Pitomi by which Saadia was already known. For completeness' sake it may be added that the Arabic historian Al-Mas udi, quoted below, note 20, calls Saadia " Said Ibn Ja'kiib," which is, perhaps to be changed into Ibn AM Ja'kub, in which form it is the by-name (kunya) of Joseph; see for this matter Stein- schneider, JQR., IX, 622, Arab, Literatur, p. 46. *The information that Saadia was born in Dilaz is found first in a controversial letter of Saadia's opponent known only under the ORIGIN AND FAMILY RELATIONS 27 have been of humble parentage, his father, Joseph, probably deriving- his livelihood from some trade. If we are to put credence in certain contemporary sources, Saadia's father was successively or simultaneously a butcher, a barber, a leech,"* and a muezzin/ For some reason not stated in these sources he was exiled from Egypt and died in Jaffa/ The same documents assert that Saadia was not of Hebrew ori- gin; that his parents were descendants of Egyptians of the village of Dilaz who had been converted to Judaism. It would in no wise be derogatory to Saadia if any of these as- sertions, or all of them, proved to be true. The employ- ment of a man, if pursued honestly, detracts nothing from his personal worth, nor would the fact that his ancestors happened to be proselytes lessen in any degree our recogni- name Ben Meir. The letter was written in the winter of 921-22, and was published first by Harkavy, Zikron, V, 213-220; see particularly ib., p. 216, line i. Ben Meir repeats the same in a second letter written in the summer of the same year and published first by Schechter, JQR., XIV, 56 ff., and in Saadyana, Cambridge, 1903, p. 20; see ib., line 6. Both letters were republished with numerous corrections and notes by H. J. Bornstein in the Sefer ha-Jobel in honor of N. Soko- low, later in a separate volume under the title jINi nnVD 21 DP^HD, I^KD pi Warsaw, 1904. In the following notes I shall refer to the pages of this important work in its separate edition only. For the matter under discussion see ib., pp. 50, 90. Another opponent of Saadia, Aaron Sarjada, later Gaon of Pumbedita, also refers to Saadia disparagingly as a " Dilazian gentile " ; see Harkavy, /. c, p. 234, 1. 15. About the place Dilaz see the references given by Harkavy, /. c, p. 234, n. 9; comp. ib., pp. 145, n, 2, 165, n. ii; Wustenfeld, Geschichte der Fatimiden Chalifen, Gottingen, 1881, p. 313. For the year of Saadia's birth see also Buber, jV^ ''lytJ', Jaroslau, 1885, p. 32, n. 420, and his Introduction to t^Qin^D, p. T"D. His conten- tion, followed by Griinhut, IJD, 1899, p. 180, that Saadia was born in 862 is without basis. [For the date 882, found recently in a Genizah fragment, see Postscript.'] ^ See Bornstein, p. 90, n. 5 ; Harkavy, p. 230. ' Schechter, Saadyana, p. 20, n. 3 ; comp. Eppenstein, Beitrdge sur Geschichte und Literatur im geondischen Zeitalter (reprint from MGWJ., 1908-13), Berlin, 1913, pp. 127 f.; below, note 188. ^ Schechter, ib., n. 4. There is no reason to doubt the veracity of the sources in this point. Saadia's father may have died in Jaffa on his way East to join his son, see below, note 119. 28 SAADIA GAON tion of his character and greatness.' But coming, as these reports do, from men known to have been the bitterest enemies of Saadia, with the obvious intention of discrediting and disquahfying the object of hatred, they must be put on a level with the invectives and malicious charges against the Gaon that are found in the same documents." We may leave such hostile testimony out of our calculation. On the other hand, from the respectful tone in which a very prominent and well-informed authority " refers to Saadia's father, we may conclude that the latter, whatever his occupation may have been, was a pious and learned Jew. Moreover, I am inclined to think that the panegyric of a Gaon and his family discovered some years ago in the Genizah" has reference to none other than the Gaon Saadia * The Talmud points with pride to several eminent teachers of the Mishnah as descendants of non-Jews, and even R. 'Akiba, the " father of rabbinical Judaism," was, according to an old tradition (Nissim, nriDQ, i^b), the descendant of proselytes. R. 'Akiba's famous pupil, R. Meir, is said to have been the descendant of Nero {h. Gittin, 56a); comp. Briill, Jahrhucher, II, 154 ff. ; Harkavy, Zikron, V, 233, n. 3; see also Harkavy, Saadjah-Miscellen, Israelit- ische Monatsschrift (Beilage ziir Jiidischen Presse), Berlin, 1890, no. 12, ^ Saadia is here accused of profaning the name of God, trans- gressing in public the laws of the Sabbath, embezzling the funds collected for the poor, and leading a debauched life; see Harkavy, Zikron, V, 233. That there was not a shadow of truth in any of these charges is evident from the fact that the same men who uttered them, particularly the Exilarch David b. Zakkai, later reappointed and recognized Saadia as Gaon, as the religious and spiritual head of all Israel ; comp. Harkavy, /. c, p. 223. " R. Sherira, the Gaon of the sister-academy in Pumbedita (961- 998) ; see Sherira's Epistle, ed. Neubauer, I, 40, top ; Bornstein, p. 90, n. 5, end. " Schechter, Saadyana, no. xxxv. The MS. was already out of my hands, when another portion of this panegyric was pub- lished by Mr. Jacob Mann (JQR., N. S., vol. IX (1918-1919), PP- 153-160). Mr. Mann dismisses Schechter's tentative identification of the hero of the poem with Saadia as out of the question, because in the acrostic of the poem the author styles himself IJD*) (our teacher) which, had Saadia been the subject of the eulogy, he would certainly not have done. Space forbids to enter here upon a detailed discussion of the new portion of the panegyric. But it may be pointed out that ORIGIN AND FAMILY RELATIONS 29 and his house. There we learn that he had three sons and two married daughters. There were also a brother and nephews, the sons of his sisters, who apparently were con- sidered members of his family." In two passages we are informed that Saadia's wife, " though advanced in years, was still fresh and vigorous and bearing fruit," and the writer expresses his wish that the child to which she was about to give birth should be a son."^' Now it is known from historical sources that Rabbi Dosa, the only son of Saadia who acquired prominence as a scholar, was born during no poet would properly refer to himself in the acrostic as "' Our Teacher"! The title 1JH refers not to the author but, like the immediately following titles, to the subject of the poem. With- out basis is also Mr. Mann's contention that this part of the panegyric is the continuation of the one published in Schechter's Saadyana, because there only three sons of the hero are alluded to (p. 68, 1. 22), while here "already" four are mentioned, a fourth son having in the meantime been born. One may just as well reverse the order and say that when the part published in Saadyana was written one of the four sons had died. With such argumentation we get nowhere. " Schechter, Saadyana, p. 64. ^'' I derive these details from the text in Schechter's Saadyana, p. 66, 11. 25-6; p. 6y, 11. 18-19. My interpretation of the text will do away with the difficulty raised by Schechter, /. c, p. 65, who opposes the identification of the Gaon, to whom the panegyric is dedicated, with Saadia on the ground that no reference is made therein to R. Dosa, the only son of Saadia known to history. At that time Dosa was not yet born. If, on the other hand, we assume that the Gaon referred to is Samuel b. Hophni, we are confronted not only with the difficult}^ also pointed out by Schechter, /. c, that Samuel's son-in-law, the Gaon Hai, is not mentioned, but also that his learned son, R Israel, who is supposed to have assisted him in the Gaonate, is like- wise disregarded; see for this matter Poznanski, REJ., LXII, 120- 123, and JQR., 1912-3, p. 403, bottom ; Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 13, note. The author of the panegyric is most likely the same R. Abraham to whom Saadia in his letter to his pupils in Egypt {Saadyana, p. 25, I. 2, overlooked by Poznanski, Schechter's Saadyana, p. 8) refers as "our friend," and perhaps identical with Pin^ti^^n n^:iD DniDt? mentioned in Saadyana, no. Ivi, p. 148, 1. 17; see Schechter, Saadyana, pp. vii, 147. It may also be noted that the eulogist refers to Yannai and Elcazar [Kalir] as the Gaon's models in tlir field of poetry (p. 73, 1. 24) which is done also by Saadia in his |'n:iX 30 SAADIA GAON Saadia's first occupancy of the Gaonate (928-932)," the period in which the panegyric under discussion must have been written. If we bear in mind that we are dealing with the Orient, where the women age at a very much faster rate than with us, we shall concede that the author of the eulogy might well describe Saadia's wife, who was then about forty, in the terms quoted. That Saadia was the father of several children besides the well-known Dosa is borne out by two fragmentary letters which were like- wise discovered in the Genizah.^ These were undoubtedly written by Saadia, and in both he mentions his '' beloved children." The author of the eulogy, a certain Abraham Kohen, who appears to have acted as the Gaon's secretary, speaks with great veneration of his master's progenitors,^' perhaps including the father." The language is so vague that it cannot be decided with certainty, whether in speaking of Saadia's " forefathers " Abraham had in mind particular (Harkavy, Zikron, V, 51) and in his Commentary on the Sefer Yezirah, ed. Lambert, p. 23 ; see below, p. 44. Recently A. Marmorstein (JQR., N. S., vol. VI (1915-1916), pp. 158 ff.) has put forth the view that "there are five different Abraham Hakohen." However, as he has only four, he borows one from Schechter's Saadyana, p. 64, n. 12. The passage in no way bears out his contention. " See Poznanski's article on Dosa, ])i<^ nnyo 2"in t?> I Z^7, 'i- 49 5 idem, Bibliographisches Handbuch, Leipzig, 1859, P- xii, n. 5. " In his biography of Saadia in the Hebrew periodical Bikkuri ha-Itthn IX (1828), 20 ff. ^JQR., XIII, 314; XVII, 356; MWJ., XX, 236; comp. also ib., XIX, 260. '"/>?> Anfdnge der hebfdischen Grammatik , Leipzig, 1895, pp. 2, 38 f. ''Zikron, V, 36 f. ; comp. MWJ., XX, 149, 236. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 35 basing their views on the testimony of Abraham Ibn Ezra, who gives an historical enumeration of the first Hebrew grammarians, emphatically deny the claim of the Karaites, and assign priority to Saadia. Harkavy, the consistent op- ponent of Pinsker, even goes to the extreme of denying that the Karaites had any part at all in influencing the de- velopment of Hebrew philology ; a view espoused, however, by no other scholar. If, now, the above-mentioned Abii Kathir is identical with Judah b. 'Alan, supposedly referred to by Abraham Ibn Ezra as the author of eight works on grammar, and if he was a Karaite, as is claimed by Judah Hadassi and, follow- ing him, by Pinsker, we should have here not only the desired information on the nature and the sources of Saadia's early education, but also sufficient ground for the assumption that the Karaites had in fact taken the lead in bringing about the new era of learning and literature, of which Saadia was merely the first Rabbanite exponent. But such is not the case. There is no good reason to doubt the identification of Abu Kathir with Judah ben *x\lan, but it is altogether improbable that the latter was a Karaite. Many of the Karaite opponents of Saadia were his contemporaries, and could not have been ignorant of a circumstance so favorable to them. Had Saadia's teacher been a Karaite, and a scholar of such eminence that even a Muhammedan writer took notice of him, they would not have failed to advert to a fact that might seem to show both their own superiority and the ingratitude of their adversary ."" On the other hand, there is excellent reason to believe that the teacher of Saadia was a Rabbanite. Al-Mas'udi makes an teacher of Saadia was a Rabbanite. Al-Mas'udi makes an ex- plicit statement to this effect with reference to Ahix Kathir,'" "This becomes the more certain when we remember that some Karaites accused Saadia of such ingratitude toward his Karaitic oppo- nent Salmon b. Jeroham, whom they falsely declared as Saadia's teacher in order to base their accusation thereon ; comp. Weiss, vti^ini nn nn, wiina, 1904, iv, 124, n. i. '^That Abu Kathir was a Rabbanite may be concluded also from the fact that Ibn Hazm (see above, p. ZZ) mentions him as a Jewish 36 SAADIA GAON while in respect to Judah b. 'Alan the epithet Tabbardm ha-Medakdek ('' the Tiberian grammarian") renders it all but certain that he belonged to the school of the Tiberian Masorites, who were all adherents of traditional Judaism. The information given by Al-Mas'ijdi enables us to establish a relationship of pupil and master between Saadia and one of the scholars of his time, whoever he may have been. There is no evidence, however, that the relation ex- isted during the first period of Saadia's life, while he was still in Egypt. It may have fallen into the period of his Palestinian sojourn. Saadia emigrated to Palestine in 915, at the age of twenty-three.^" He was still young enough to sit at the feet of a master ; and Abii Kathir (who, according to Al-Mas{idi, died in 932) may have been sufficiently his senior in years to take the part of his senior in learning. From Arabic sources we know that Al-Mas udi visited Pales- tine in 926,** probably the year of the religious disputation," mentioned before, carried on by him with Abu Kathir at Tiberias. Here and on that occasion it may have been that he made the acquaintance of Abu Kathir the master, and Saadia the disciple. To be sure, in the year 926 Saadia had settled permanently in Babylonia as a member of the Mutakallim together with Saadia and Al-Mukammis (see Fried- lander, JQR., N. S., vol. I (1910-1911), p. 187, n. 6). It is not probable that this Muhammedan polemist, who was familiar with Jewish mat- ters (comp. Poznanski, JQR., XVI, 765-771) would have thus mixed together Karaites and Rabbanites on the ground that they had theories on the Kalam in common. For Al-Mukammis see below, p. 67. *" But see Postscript. '^See Brockelmann, Gcschichte dcr arab. Litcratiir, I, 144; Stein- schneider, JQR., XIT, 298. ^ One of the disputed questions was whether the divine law was intended for all times or was given with the view of being abrogated at some future time when it will be replaced by a new law. This problem greatly agitated the minds of Jewish and Muhammedan theologians of the time, and Saadia himself has devoted much space to its discussion in the third chapter of his 'Amanat; comp. Stein- schneider, Polemische und apologetische Literatur, p. 103 ; Guttmann, Die Religionsphilosophie des Saadia, Gottingen, 1882, pp. 148 ff. ; Goldziher, REJ., XLVII (1903), 41 f. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION zf academy of Sura. This does not preclude, however, his hav- ing been in Tiberias the same year ; he was in the habit of travehng. Assuming all this to have been the case, nothing has been gained so far as concerns the first period of Saadia's Hfe — tlie Egyptian period under consideration. We must again leave the safe ground of positive history and try to satisfy ourselves with conjectural indications. We shall have to set out, as it were, on a voyage of exploration to Egypt and the neighboring countries, or to countries known to have had some connection with ninth century Egypt, in order to dis- cover the learned or otherwise prominent men living there shortly before and during the time of Saadia. Such men testify to an intellectual Hfe and to Hterary activity in circles which, judging from particulars to be enumerated later, must have been accessible to Saadia, and must have deter- mined his course. In the first place, it must be pointed out that the lan- guage of the Jews of Egypt and the other Eastern coun- tries under Muhammedan rule was, without doubt, chiefly Arabic. In all probability the language of the Koran had become the vernacular of most of the Jews and the Samari- tans soon after the Hegrah.^* This being the case, it is obvious that Saadia could make use of the literature of the Arabs as well as the w^orks of Judaeo-Arabic authors. That the Arabs, even previous to the time of Saadia, had developed a vast literature, covering all fields of human knowledge, is too well known to require detailed proof. Nor can there be any doubt that the literary productions of the Arabs living in the main seats of Arabic culture (Bagdad, Basra, etc.) were current also in Egypt, which until 972, when it was ^ See A. E. Cowley, JQR., VII, 565 ; ib., XII, 495- The Arabic speaking Jews always attached a certain degree of sacredness to the Arabic language, which they considered as " corrupted Hebrew " ; see for this matter Steinschneider, JQR., XIII, 303-310; idem AL., pp. xxiv, xxxiv; Bacher, JE., V, 13. For quotations of the Koran in the works of Saadia see the references by Steinschneider, JQR., XII, 499. 38. SAADIA GAON conquered by the Faiimide Caliph Al-Mu'izz, was a de- pendency of the 'Abbaside CaHphate that had its seat in Bagdad. This poHtical connection was re-enforced by con- stant migrations between the two countries, owing to the pilgrimages to Mecca that were frequently undertaken by the Muhammedans in large troops (caravans). Numerous scholars in various fields of literature and science are known to have lived in Egypt during the ninth and tenth cen- turies."' Still closer relations existed between Egypt and thft neighboring countries in northwestern Africa (Cyre- naica, Tripoli, Algeria, and Morocco of today), especially " For the many scholars who lived either their whole life or for some period in Egypt before and during the time of Saadia, see Brockelmann, Geschichte der arahischen Literatur, I, 91, 131, 142, no. 4 (the great historian Al-Tabari), 148, i62c-d, 173 f-, nos. 7-8, 176, 178 (the 'Imam Al-Shafi'i, founder of a school of Fukaha', i. e., expounders of Muhammedan law, whose influence can be seen also in Saadia's Halakic work; comp. Steinschneider, Hehrdische Ueber- setzimgen, p. xxiii), 180, nos. 2-3, 198, no. 2 (a Siifi), 221 (the astrono- mer Al-Fargani; comp. Malter, Die Ahhandhing des Abu Hdmid Al- Gazzdli, Frankfurt a. M. 1896, pp. viii f.), 226 (the famous historian Al-Ya'kubi, died 891), 232, no. 5 (a teacher of Isaac IsraeH, but see Steinschneider, JQR., XIII (1901), 97) ; comp. also Steinschneider, Orientalistische Litteratur-Zeitung, 1904, col. 431, no. 87A (probably the same one who is mentioned in Wiistenfeld, Geschichte der Fatimiden-Chalifen, p. 38, as living in the Magreb), ib., 1905, col. 213, no, 200 (where the date 1526-7 is to be corrected to 933, as in Brockelmann, /. c, I, 173; see Steinschneider, ib., 1905, col. 489, 1. i), col. 264, no. 234. For Judah b. Joseph of Rakka in Egypt (or Meso- potamia? see Steinschneider, Hebr'dische Ubersetzungen, 378, n. 69; p. 774; idem, JQR., XI, 328, top, and below, note 135), a physician and philosopher (pupil of the famous astronomer Thabit b. Kurrah, who died in 891), with whom Mas'udi reports he had a disputation at Tiberias in 314 of the Hegra (=926, c. e.), see Steinschneider, Arabische Literatur, § 24; comp. JQR., XIII, 298, and above, notes 21, 34. All the scholars mentioned in the passages referred to were famous in the various fields of Hterature and science in which they worked. It goes without saying that these scholars were not the only ones in Egypt and the Magreb ; that there were many more in the various parts of both countries, who were not active as authors, or whose works were lost during the following centuries. It is therefore but reasonable to assume that there existed a compara- SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 39 after the rise of the Fatimide dynasty (909), which had established its seat in Kairwan/* a city subsequently famous in the history of the Jews.'* The question is to what extent did Saadia, prompted either by his own desire for learning-, or other motives, familiarize himself with the works of Muhammedan authors before his emigration from Egypt to Palestine. We shall have occasion to show the influence of Arabic literature on Saadia in works of his, written beyond a doubt at a later period of his life. Here, only the following passage can be cited to prove that the Arabic influence had begun to show its traces at the time when he was preparing one of his earliest known literary productions, the Hebrew lexicon and rhyming dictionary 'Agron. The very name of this book, written in his twentieth year,*"* is in imitation of titles used by Muhammedan authors for similar works." It is not necessary, however, to draw conclusions from such tech- nical details. Saadia expresses himself unreservedly about his indebtedness to Arabic authors, who served him as models in the composition of his work. '' It is reported," he says, " that one of the worthies among the Ishmae- lites, reahzing to his sorrow that the people do not use the Arabic language correctly, wrote a short treatise for them, from which they might learn proper usages. Simi- tively high standard of culture and civilization among the Egyptian Muhammedans of the eighth and ninth centuries, though their schools of learning, as Brockelmann (I, 131) avers, were entirely dependent upon those in the 'Irak, the main country of the Caliphs and the seat of Arabic culture, which at that time had reached the highest mark in the history of the people. ^ Comp. Wiistenfeld, Geschichte der Fatimiden-Chalifen, Gottin- gen, 1881, pp. 29 ff. "See Poznanski's \^^^^P ^^^^, Warsaw, 1909, where a full account is given of the Jewish scholars who are known to have lived in Kairwan from the beginning of the ninth to the middle of the eleventh century, when, owing to adverse political events, the Jewish community was disorganized and dispersed. ■^ See Harkavy, Zikron, V, 46, n. 6; 56, n. 40; comp. also ih., p. 28, notes 8 and 9 ; Bacher, REE, XXIV, 308. " Harkavy, ih., 29 f . 40 SAADIA GAON larly, I have noticed that many of the Israelites do not ob- serve even the common rules for the correct use of our [Hebrew] language, much less the more difficult rules, so that when they speak in prose most of it is faulty, and when they write poetry only a few of the ancient rules are ob- served, and the majority of them are neglected. . . . This has induced me to compose a work in two parts containing most of the [Hebrew] words."*" A few lines before this passage he mentions having met numerous scholars who spoke of the loss of many scientific works, two of which he quotes by title. The rules of Hebrew grammar adverted to in the fragments of this work possessed by us — only a little more than the Introduction has been preserved — like- wise reveal the influence of the school of Arabic gram- marians." Great as the influence of Arabic culture on Saadia may have been, his main teachers, even in the period under con- sideration, are to be looked for among his own brethren, and the chief sources that inspired him in his youth with love for knowledge and the ambition to follow a learned career must be sought in the field of early Jewish literature. To do justice to him we must take into account whatever is known, either on the testimony of available sources or by way of assumption, of his personal contact with learned contemporaries or his acquaintance with the older writings. The evidence thus secured will furnish us the background against which Saadia's figure stands out prominently. In the first place it must be taken into consideration that Jewish Hfe and some Jewish literary activity persisted in Egypt long after the Alexandrian period. In the absence of adequate historical records*" its nature cannot be accu- *^ Harkavy, ib., 45, lines 3 ff. ; comp. Bacher, Die Anfdnge der hebr. Grammatik, p. 60. ■*^ See Bacher, ih., p. 60, n. 3. ** Several interesting Greek documents, partly from the Fayyum. the birthplace of Saadia, and dating from the sixth and seventh centuries are discussed by Theodore Reinach, Nouveaux documents relatifs aux juifs d'Egypte, REJ „ XXXVII, 218-225; see in par- ticular p. 219, no. 3, and pp. 224 f., Post-scriptum. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 41 rately defined. On the other hand, so far as the mediaeval period is concerned, we can trace Jewish learning in various parts of Egypt as far back as two centuries before Saadia. This is sufficiently borne out by the various collections of Hebrew papyri found in Egypt, particularly in the district of Fayyum, where Saadia was born.*"' A rather conserva- tive estimate places the origin of the Fayyum papyri in the first half of the eighth century. Most of the fragments con- tain remnants of liturgical hymns, one of them bearing, according to Zunz " and Steinschneider, close resemblance in style to a hymn by Eleazar Kalir. The existence of syna- gogue poets in the Fayyum at so early a period, and no doubt also much later, down to the time of Saadia, may have inspired him with the idea of writing the 'Agron, which was intended to teach the art of versification.*' The spread of Talmudic learning in Egypt long before Saadia is further attested by a document brought to light from the Genizah, in which a certain Abii 'Ali Hasan of Bagdad appears as " the Head of the Congregation " of Fostat (Old Cairo) in the year 750.*' In another document one Nahum b. Abraham binds himself not to dispose of his share in a house, of which two others mentioned by name were joint owners with him, in such a way as to trans- fer his portion of the property to a certain Joseph Kohen. The agreement is drawn wholly on the basis of the Talmudic law governing the peculiar situation, and the phraseology used is also Talmudic. Mention is made of two synagogues situated in Fostat, for whose benefit the same Nahum was to pay a fine of twenty denarii in case of breach "Steinschneider, MIVJ., VI, 250-254; idem, Bibliotheca Mathe- matica, Stockholm, 1895, p. 23 ; comp. Harkavy Zikron, V, 31 ; Th. Reinach, /. c; JE., V, 60, s. v. Egypt. For the origin of the Jewish community in the Fayyum see in particular Blau, Papyri und Talmud, Leipzig, 1913, p. ID and references. ** Quoted by Steinschneider, MWJ., VI, 251. " Harkavy, Zikron, V, ZJ- **See JQR., XVII, 426 ff. ; Ginzberg, Geonica, I, p. 2, n. 1; p. 55, n. 1; p. 61, n. 1; p. 122, note, end; E. J. Worman, JQR., XVIII, iff.; comp. also Weiss, VEi^"ini 111 "IH, Wihia, 1904, IV, 124. ^ SAADIA GAON of contract. Many other manuscript fragments discovered in the Genizah, some of which belong to the ninth and tenth centuries, contain references to the same two synagogues, and make it otherwise certain that large Jewish settlements existed in Egypt, particularly in Fostat, as early as the eighth century, and probably even earlier, in the post-Alexandrian period.*' We may therefore take it for granted that a Saadia, impelled by a keen desire for learning, early familiarized himself with whatever knowledge existed among the Jews of his own country. That the Jews of Egypt before and during the time of Saadia had been in possession of the literature and learning emanating from the two academies of the Babylonian Geo- nim, the main seats of Jewish culture in those times, is like- wise to be considered a matter of course. Indeed, there was hardly any other country except Palestine, that was in such frequent communication with Babylonia in the period under consideration. The fact that, over and above a large number of unclassifiable remnants of a diversified litera- ture, so many fragments of the Babylonian and the Palestinian Talmud,"" as well as a very large collection of Geonic Responsa*^ were among the treasures of the Geni- zah in Cairo, may be taken as proof that the study of the Talmud in general and of the Geonic literature in particular " See Worman, JQR., XVIIT, 12, top, 21, 1. 5 ; 27, bottom ; 38 ; Bornstein, y'D'n DP^Iltt, p. 2>7, n. 2; 40, n. 2. «oi0^tJ>n''n nnt^^ edited by Louis Ginzberg, New York, 1909. " Forming the second volume of Ginzberg's Geonica, New York, 1909. This fact remains significant even if many of the manuscripts were written at a period later than that of Saadia, for they may be copies of much older originals, which were current in Egypt long before. Most of the Responsa published by Ginzberg, so far as the authorship can be ascertained, come from the Geonim Moses b. Jacob, Sar Shalom, Natronai b. Hilai, Amram, Zemah b. Paltoi, Nahshon (all of whom lived between 832-874), and others of the pre-Saadianic period; comp. Ginzberg, ib., pp. 19, 28, 88, 107, 143, 156, 176, 179, 186, 191, 210, 216, 237, nos. 10-13, 255, no. 2, 298, no. 26, 301 ff.; see also Appendix (Sheeltot and the Halakot Gedolot), ib., 349 ff. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 43 had had full sway among the Jews of Egypt at an early period. It goes without saying that the young and wide- awake Saadia followed the spirit of the time, and was a busy student of the entire range of Geonic writings. Pos- sibly his acquaintance with this literature and his ardent desire to see with his own eyes the great spiritual leaders of the Jews of the Diaspora, were among the causes that subse- quently induced him to emigrate to the land of the Geonim. Another and a no less important factor that must be con- sidered in the search for the sources of Saadia's early edu- cation is the relation between the Jews of Egypt and those of Palestine, especially the city of Tiberias. As early as the beginning of the eighth century Tiberias was the seat of a distinguished school of Masorites and punctuators of the Bible.'' Palestine was also the soil from which sprang the Midrashim, the oldest collections of homiletical interpreta- tions of Scripture. These originated between the sixth and tenth centuries and are as genuinely Jewish in spirit as the Talmud, next to which they rank in bulk in Jewish literature. Besides several works of Halakic content, belonging to the same period,'' the mysterious Sefer Yezirah ("Book of Creation ") is in all probability also the product of Palestine. That Saadia, while yet in Egypt, at the door of Palestine, was thoroughly acquainted with the products of Pales- tinian authors can in many instances be substantiated by quotations in his own works. Thus, in his earliest sur- viving book (the 'Agron), he mentions by name five '' ancient Hebrew poets," whose compositions, he avers, "'The p:in nOD, published by J. J. L. Barges, Paris, 1866, is probably also a product of the Tiberian Masorites. Sachs, in his introduction to the work, considers it still older. At any rate it was known also to Saadia, as he mentions it in his Commentary on the Sefer Yezirah (ed. Lambert, 94, top) ; comp. below, note 452. '^E. g. the Sheeltot (Halakic discussions) of R. Aha of Shabha (eighth century), the tractate Soferim (see the references in Bardo- wicz, Die Abfassungsseit der Baraita der 32 Normen, Berlin, 1913, p. 2>7, n. 2), and some of the fllJDP niDDDQ; see Bornstein. np^Ho! p. III. 44 SAADIA GAON served him in some points as an example/* Three of these poets are the famous Payyetanim Jose b. Jose, Yannai, and Eleazar KaHr, who, as is now ascertained, Hved in Pales- tine during the seventh, and at the beginning of the eighth, century. The identity of the two others, Joshua and Phine- has, is still doubtful, but in all probability both were Pales- tinians belonging to the school of Masorites " whose works Saadia often used. As to the Sefer Yezirah, we know that Saadia wrote a philosophic commentary on it."" It is true that this commentary belongs to a later period," and it might be assumed that he became acquainted with the Sefer Yezirah during his sojourn in Palestine. Such an assump- tion, however, does not recommend itself. The book must have been known in the East and also in Egypt some time prior to Saadia's birth. It was probably the reputation of the work that induced him to provide it with a commentary." At least two other authors, both contemporaries of Saadia, but living in different countries, also wrote commentaries on it, Isaac Israeli in Kairwan and Shabbetai Donnolo in " Harkavy, Zikron, V, 51. '^ Comp. Bacher, Anfdnge, 42, 47, 50, n. 2 ; for Phinehas see ih. 31, n. i; Harkavy, Zikron, V, 112; comp. the list of Masorites, HB., XIV, 105; Briill, Jahrhiicher, II, 174; for Joshua see Harkavy, Zikron, V, no. °* Commentaire sur Sefer Yesira .... publie et traduit par Mayer Lambert, Paris, 1901. "The year 242 Contractuuni=zg2,i common era, is given by Saadia himself (ed. Lambert, p. 52; French translation, p. 76) as that in which the work was written, hence not in Egypt, as is generally assumed. This matter will be discussed in detail later on, when the work comes up for special consideration. " Saadia himself at the end of his Introduction to the Commen- tary (Arabic text, p. 13, lines 5 f., French translation, p. 29) gives as a reason for his writing the commentary "that the book is not of frequent currency and that only few people are able to under- stand it" (DNJ^« t» n^riD^t^ i^'?) |^?-iin^N n^ri3 3^?nD in d^^ is rri^y ^i>'^). This, however, seems to mean only that the book, because of its unintelligibilit}^ was not popular among the people in general, and does not exclude its being well known and much studied by scholars, who alone concern us here. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 45 Italy. Aside from these general considerations there is strong evidence that Saadia knew the Sefer Yemrah at the time he wrote the 'Agron and was indeed influenced thereby as to certain grammatical doctrines. This is almost a cer- tainty as regards Saadia's main grammatical work, the Kitdh al-Liigah (" Book on the Language "), which was probably written in Egypt soon after the 'Agron. This book is no longer in existence/^ but various particulars found in the works of later authors made it possible for Bacher^ to give a full description of its original plan and arrangement, as well as of its contents. In his Commentary on the Sefer Yesirah "^ Saadia himself, in the course of his discussion of its grammatical features, not only quotes lengthy passages from his Kitdh, but also refers to the latter for a more elaborate treatment of certain points. If a more convincing fact is needed to prove that Saadia had the Sefer Yeqirah before him when he wrote the grammar, it is furnished by the established circumstance that Saadia's grammatical theories coincide in many particulars "^ with those of his contempor- ary, the famous Masorite Moses b. Aaron b, Asher, con- cerning whom the Sefer Yedrah's influence has been proved beyond a doubt.*" It should further be noted in this con- nection that Saadia was the one who first suggested " that the Sefer Yemrah originated in Palestine. Finally, among the general promoters of intellectual life at about the time of Saadia, mention must be made of the Karaites. It is now the consensus of opinion among scholars that there is no foundation for the claim made by Karaite ** Some fragments were published by Harkavy in Ha-Goren, VI (1897). pp. 30-38. *" Afifcingc, pp. 38-60. "Ed. Lambert, p. ys, 1- 3 from bottom, French part, p. Qy ; comp. Bacher, Anfange, p. 40, n. 3; 45, n. 6, especially the Bibliography, below, p. 307, no. 2. " Bacher, Anfange, p. 44, n. 4; 47, n. 2; 48, no. 8. '^This was first shown by D. Rosin. MGWJ., XXX (1881), 521; comp. Bacher, ih., p. 21. '* At the end of his Introduction to the Commentary, p. 13, top, French, p. 29; comp. Bacher, ih., p. 23, top. 46 SAADIA GAON authors and by some recent investigators, that the Karaites were the first to enter the field of scientific reseach, particu- larly in Hebrew philology, which marks the beginning of a new epoch."' Nevertheless, it would be futile to deny to the Karaites before and during the time of Saadia the merit of having been in some degree instrumental in bringing about this new era in Jewish literature. They may not have produced works in general comparable with Saadia's, but their very existence as a schi.smatic sect, their negative attitude toward traditional Judaism, and their active propa- ganda, in speech and in writing, for the new cause, could not have failed to incite a counter-activity among the Rab- banites. Thus, they helped to prepare the intellectual ground from which Saadia sprang, as the main defender of the besieged fortress of Rabbinism. There is no need to search for historical records to corroborate the course of events as outlined. Saadia's own works, to whatever period of his life they belong, are the clearest proof. That he early felt the necessity of combatting the Karaite heresies is obvious from the fact that in 915/°' when but in his twenty- third year, he wrote a polemical work against Anan, the founder of Karaism. This was followed by other polemical writings against the teachings of eminent members of the sect.*^ There is no room for doubt that, while yet in Egypt, he knew besides the writings of Anan also those of Ben- jamin Nehawendi, whom he mentions twice in a work be- longing to a later period," and Daniel Al-Kumisi,"" though both had probably lived in Babylonia or Palestine. The Karaites, who were ver}^ active in their efiforts to make con- verts, early selected Egypt as a favorable place for mission- *® See above, notes 24-32. [•""See Postscript]. *" For a detailed account of Saadia's writings against the Karaites see below, pp. 263 ff. ^'"Amdnat, ed. Landauer, Leyden, 1880, p. 201, 11. 2, 11; ' Emunot, ed. Cracow, p. 134. *' See Schechter, Saadyana, pp. 41 (comp. Poznanski, Schechtcr's Saadyana, Frankf. a/M., 1904. p. 4, ad locum), 144, no. Iv; comp. Poznanski. JQR., XIII. 681 ff. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 47 ary work ; " and in later years that country, especially Cairo, became their main seat.'** Thus far, the channels through which Saadia may have acquired his learning in his earlier years have been traced in a general way. We can now point out in particular a few scholars of eminence with whom, it is positively known, he came in contact in his formative period, and who undoubt- edly influenced his career. In the first place, mention must be made of that famous physician and philosopher Isaac b. Sulaiman Israeli, whom the Christian scholastics style eximkis monarcha medicinae''^ Israeli died about 953, and, as he is reported to have lived over a hundred years, he was much older than Saadia. Like Saadia he was a native of Egypt, where he was a practising oculist for some years. Subsequently '" he was called as physician to the court of Ziyadat Allah, the third and last of the Aglabite rulers of the Berber lands, who had established their seat in Kairwan. Whether Saadia, who was a young man when Israeli assumed his position in Kairwan, ever met him personally, is hard to say. It is known that the two men had a lively correspon- ^'Cornp. Pinsker, Likkfite, IT, 14, bottom; Steinschneider, JQR., XVIII, 100, bottom; Geiger, 0:;ar Nechmad, IV, 34. '" Among the learned Karaites, who probably lived in Egypt and there disputed with Saadia, is Abii-'l-Surri Ben Zuta, frequently quoted by Abraham Ibn Ezra; comp. Poznanski, Karaite Literary Opponents of Saadiah Gaon, London, 1908, p. 4; Gottheil, in Har- kavy's Festschrift, German part, pp. 115 ff. " For all details on Israeli see Steinschneider, Arab. Liter., § 28, and recently Guttmann, Die philosophischen Lehren dcs Isaak b. Salomon Israeli, Miinster, i/W., 191 1. " The date is not certain. Graetz gives the year 904, which is considered arbitrary by Steinschneider, JQR., XIII, 96. The author of the article " Egypt " in the JE., V, 6ib, declares that Israeli " was recalled to Egypt from Kairwan, and entered the service of 'Ubaid Allah," and that he was still there, in royal service, at the death of Al-Mansur (952). He is evidently unaware of the fact that neither 'Ubaid Allah, the first, nor Al-Mansiir, the third caliph of the Fa- timide dynasty had ever ruled over Egypt, which was conquered only by Al-Mu'izz, the fourth Fatimide caHph, in 972. Israeli was thus never " recalled " to Egypt. 48 SAADIA GAON dence on scientific subjects for some time previous to Saadia's departure from Egypt. This is explicitly stated by Diinash Ibn Tamim of Kairwan, a pupil of Israeli, in a commen- tary on the Sefer Yezirah'^ written by Israeli and recast by Dunash, whose version alone has been preserved, in two Hebrew translations from the Arabic. Diinash informs the reader at the beginning of his commentary that at the time when this correspondence took place he was twenty years old, and Israeli used to show him Saadia's letters, to test his ability to understand and explain their scientific content. He adds, not without self-complacency, that he was able to detect the mistakes made by the writer, which pleased the teacher greatly, because of Diinash's youth at the time. Assuming that the correspondence referred to was going on for some time before Saadia's emigration to Palestine in 915, we ccme to the conclusion that Dianash was born at about the same time as Saadia, in 892, not in 908, as has been hitherto asserted.'* Dunash does not show much admiration for Saadia. He speaks of him rather disrespectfully,'" though at the time when this commentary was written, in 955-956, Saadia was dead, and his fame was established, of which facts there is no hint in the book. This is strange, but it is not the only difficulty in connection with this commentary, which in other respects too, which cannot be discussed here, is one of the most complicated literary problems.'" However, the attitude of Dunash toward Saadia is of little importance. ''^ Poorly edited, with irrelevant notes, by M. Grossberg, London, 1902. On the question of the authorship of this commentary see the references given below, note 76. "Comp. Poznanski, |t5n^"5 ^^^^, p. 18, top. [See Postscript.] " 1 do not know on what ground Steinschneider bases his assertion to the contrary {Hehr. Ubersctzungen, p. 399, and Bibliotheca Mathe- matica, 1895, p. 25, bottom) ; comp. for instance the passages pp. 24, 46, 73' The main passage, p. 17, even contains clear allusions to Saadia's conceit. "These problems were treated exhaustively by Steinschneider, Hebr. Ubcrs., pp. 394-402 ; Arab. Liter, der Juden, pp. 44, yz. SAADIA'S EARLY EDUCATION 49 We are here concerned merely to bring out the points that as early as the middle of the ninth century, when Israeli was born, Egypt was a fertile soil to produce men of the highest type of learning and that Saadia did not rise as a solitary palm in a desert, but grew up in an inteller>'ial atmosphere created by scholars of various occupations and interests, though only a few of them are recorded in the available sources of our history." Besides Israeli and Dunash numerous scholars are known to have lived in Kairwan with whom Saadia had re- lations, or whose literary productions he knew. There are references in one of his own works to the " men of Kair- wan " and the " men of Africa," who " in our time " wrote a Hebrew work provided with accents and arranged in verses in the manner of the Biblical writings. This work, he says, served him as a model for his own.^^ It is true that these references to the scholars of Kairwan occur in a work written by Saadia long after his emigration from Egypt ; but considering the facts that the Jewish community of Kairwan was very prominent during the ninth century, and that even the Babylonian Geonim had carried on correspondence with " Comp. Guttmann, Die philosophischen Lehren des Isaak hen Salomon Israeli, Miinster i/W., 191 1, p. 2. Of the many Muham- medan scholars in Egypt before Saadia mention has been made above, note 37. Here the Jewish scholar Mashallah, should be pointed out, " one of the earliest and most eminent astrologers " (770-820), who, as Steinschneider assumes (Arab. Liter., § 18; Bibliotheca Mathematica, 1894, p. zj), lived in Egypt. He is credited with thirty works on astronomy and astrology. Among the learned contemporaries of Saadia mentioned by Mas'udi (see above, notes 20, zy) is one Sa'id b. 'Ali Ibn «^»^ti'N* of Rakka in Egypt, perhaps a Jew; comp. Steinschneider, JQR., XI, 328. In Kairwan there lived at that time a Jewish scholar by the name Ziyad b. Halfun, who participated in the war waged by "Ubaid Allah ; see Wiistenf eld, Geschichte der Fatimiden Chalifen, 34, 59; Steinschneider, Arab. Liter., p. 44, n. 4. For Judah b. Joseph al-Rakki see above, note 37. '* Harkav}^ Zikron, V, 151, 1. 19 ; 163, 8 ; 180, 10, especially pp. 209 f . ; com.D. Schechtcr, JQR., XVI, ^27; Poznanski, Anshe Kairwan, p. 2. 50 S A AD I A GAON some of its learned members as early as the eighth century," it would be absurd to assume that Isaac Israeli was the only scholar of Kairwan whom Saadia knew while in Fayyiim, and that of all other '* men of Africa " he learned only after he himself had left that continent and was travelling in Asia."' No doubt the other early works which he mentions in connec- tion with those of the Kairwan scholars were also known to him before he left Egypt. Especial mention should be accorded to a passage in his Introduction to the 'Agron, in which he informs us that to substantiate his views he cites parallels from the works of the ancient poets, as Jose b. Jose, Yannai, Eleazar KaHr, and others, whenever this is possible, and then adds, " As to the productions of more recent poets, I shall quote their authors by name only when I wish to praise them, but not when I criticize their words." ^ The passage shows that Saadia had a literature of considerable extent at his dis- posal when he wrote his first work. As the main part of the 'Agron is lost, it is of course impossible to identify the authors or their works. Ouly the name of one poet, Nahra- wani, is preserved in a passage quoted from the 'Agron by a certain Mubashshir,*' a contemporary of Saadia, who criti- " Poznanski, Anshc Kairwan, pp. sf.; comp. Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 32, 51, n. 2. **• Comp. Harkav)', Zikron, V, 35, n. 2. The words " in our time " (Jnm»n ti'KI).'' ^ This title of honor was given first to R. Judah b. Ilai, one of the most celebrated teachers of the Mishnah in the second century; comp. h. Berdkot, 63&. There the phrase designates R. Judah as the first speaker in the assembly of scholars, as the one who was to open the learned discussions. Abraham Ibn Ezra was the first to apply this Talmudic title to Saadia, but in a diverted sense, mean- ing to say, that " Saadia first introduced the cultivation of all branches of Jewish knowledge, which was continued ever since without noticeable interruption" (Steinschneider, Bibliotheca Mathe- matical 1894, p. T02) ; comp. Steinschneider, Arab. Literatiir, p. 46, and Ewald-Dukes, Beiirage, II, 10. THE SECOND PERIOD Chapter III SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST (4675 = 915)^^ Dividing the life of a human being into periods marked by events carries with it the danger of arbitrariness. Man's life in reality is a continuous, though fluctuating, process of becoming and unfolding, which does not halt at any mental land-mark. Circumstances may step in one's way and prevent one from proceeding on a course as planned, but the life-energy of an individual is not paralyzed thereby. After many detours it asserts itself in its own way. This is especially true of men of genius and great mental energy of whatever kind. In designating Saadia's emigration to the East as the beginning of the second period in his career, we do not mean to convey the idea that this external event was the cause or the efifect of any radical change in Saadia's pur- suits and aspirations, thus becoming essentially respon- sible for what we know of him from history. The chief aspect of Saadia's life as generally presented is that of a great scholar, and perhaps, to use a hackneyed modern phrase, of an " active worker " in the cause of traditional Judaism. He had begun his labors in both fields before he left Egypt. His first literary work (the 'Agron) was issued in 913, and two years later, before departing from his native country ,*°" he wrote another to defend Rabbinism against the innovations of Anan. His work in the following period, though greater in scope and extent, was but a continuation of one or the other form of literary activity. Not even his ap- pointment to the Gaonate of Sura, important as this incident [*'"See Postscript]. S3 54 SAADIA GAON is from the viewpoint of his public career, was in any way instrumental in the making of Saadia, for by that time (928) he had passed the formative years. We have to think of Saadia simply as one who, from his early boyhood to the end of his days, was animated by two desires : to acquire and impart knowledge and to oppose the enemies of Talmudic Judaism. All the positions and relations into which he was brought during the period we are now to consider must be viewed merely as episodes in his Hfe-hi story. They help us greatly to appreciate the man's character and disposition, but they do not represent a particular and significant phase in his intellectual development. It was not by virtue of these that he became the founder of a new epoch in Jewish history. It is nevertheless useful, if only as a matter of form, to treat Saadia's arrival in the Holy Land as a turning-point in his career. It is at this juncture that Saadia, however slowly and dimly, emerges, as it were, from Egyptian dark- ness into the light of documentary history. It has been generally assumed, hitherto, that Saadia lived in Egypt until the year 928, when, owing to his exceptional reputation as a scholar and to the lack of great men in Baby- lonia, he was called by the temporal head of Babylonian Jewry from his native country to occupy the seat of the Gaons of Sura.^ It was also pointed out, with some pride and satisfaction, that the Babylonian authorities, for the first time disregarding a tacit rule or custom to appoint as Gaon only a native of Babylonia, had resorted to the importation of a foreign scholar." The opening of the Genizah has changed the face of this chapter of Jewish history. Two little scraps of paper preserved among the numberless shreds of literature in the Cairene mausoleum for dilapidated books make it certain that Saadia had departed from Egypt not later than 915, and had sojourned for many years in various **The source for this view is a passage in the T\'?1\>\] TID of Abraham Ibn Baud, who, as it seems, misunderstood his source, namely the Epistle of Sherira Gaon ; see below, notes 125, 126. *' Graetz, History of the Jews, English translation. III, 193, and as late as 1902, S. Kraus in lezuish EncycL, II, 413. SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 55 parts of Palestine, Syria, and Babylonia prior to his instal- lation in the office of Gaon. These fragments are parts of two letters written by him somewhere in Babylonia, during the winter of the year 922 (January-March), and addressed to three of his former pupils who had remained in Egypt/^ The master assures his disciples that his " love and affection for [them] *'' has never waned, for educating the young leaves indelible traces in the 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 desolate ever since I left my wife ^^ and children, so I have grieved over my separation from you. May it be the will of the Almighty that I see you '^ again in health and happiness. It is now six and a half years that no word from you has reached me. I even wrote to you condoling with you over the death of the venerable old man,®"^ blessed be his memory, but I saw no answer. Only recently I was told by our friend R. David, son of R. Abraham, that you had written to him and re- quested him to secure the opinions of the heads of the academies regarding the fixation of the months Marheshwan ®* The first letter, part of which is given here in English transla- tion, was published first by Schechter in the JQR., XIV (1901), 59, also Saadyana, pp. 24 ff., while the second was published earlier by Neubauer, JQR., IX, 37 and, with a French translation, also by Epstein, REJ., XLII, 201 ff. Both were then re-edited with addi- tional notes by Bornstein, np^HD, pp. 67-71 ; see below, Appendix, p. 412, nos. 4-5. *'The passage might also be translated, "your love and affection for me," but the corresponding passage at the beginning of the second letter supports the rendering as given in the text. ***The Hebrew here is rather obscure and none of the editors has commented upon it. The wording suggests Is. 28, 16. *^ Literally, "my tent," but the word ^HX, like r\^1 (house), is used in a figurative sense to designate the mistress of the house; comp. Moed Katan, yh ; Bereshit rabbah, section 41, § 4; Shabbat, 118^ (the saying of R. Jose). "" The parallel passage in the second letter reads here " to make me see thetn (i. e. his family) and you" (DD^JDI DH^JD). "* Probably the grandfather of the pupils. 56 SAADIA GAON and Kislew of the year 1233 [Seleucidan era = November and December, 921, common era] . I presume that you wrote to him, and not to me, only because, in accordance with previous reports, you thought that I was still in Palestine. He himself [R. David] suggested that you seem to have thought so. He further requested me to write to you and to inform you [regarding the state of affairs] ." ^ The rest of this letter, as well as nearly the whole of the second letter, written two months later, deals with the ques- tion of the calendar, which does not concern us for the present. But it should be mentioned that in both letters we are informed incidentally that the writer had spent the pre- ceding summer, or part of it (921), in Aleppo (Syria), and from the second letter we learn that he returned thence to Bagdad. The important facts derived from these documents are the following. Saadia had been married in Egypt, and left a wife and children behind when he emigrated to the East. He was recognized as a scholar and teacher in his native country, and from his new home kept up a correspondence with his former pupils. He left Egypt in June or July, 915, and lived for some time in Palestine,'' then in Bagdad and in Aleppo.^^ From Aleppo he returned to Bagdad, in all likelihood before the Jewish New Year's festival (autumn, 921). Incidentally we learn also of a certain R. David, who, as the epithet " our friend " indicates, was known to Saadia's pupils in Egypt, and like Saadia may have been a former resident of that country, but now lived in Babylonia. The father of this R. David is possibly identi- "^The Hebrew text suggests here the supplement "that it is not so," meaning to say that he is no longer in Palestine, A comparison with the corresponding passage in the second letter, however, proves that he has reference to the matter discussed by him in the following lines, the dispute with Ben Meir, which is the main burden of the letter. The words supplied by me should therefore be taken in the same sense. ^'^ See below, pp. 64 f. [and especially Postscript]. ^ Comp. Poznanski, The Karaite Literary Opponents of Saadnah Caon, p. 14. SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 57 cal with the R. Abraham who acted as the secretary of Saadia several years later, and who is the author of the panegyric which was discussed above."' What induced Saadia to leave his birth-place, to sep- arate from his kith and kin, and to wander about in foreign lands, cannot be made out from these sources. The sugges- tion has been made that his thirst for knowledge, which, he thought, was more readily obtainable in the East, and particu- larly his desire to come in closer contact with the main repre- sentatives of Jewish learning in the two Babylonian academies, drove him from Africa to Asia.^^ Others think that he started out originally with the pious intention of settling on the holy soil of Palestine,'*'' but that untoward circumstances forced him to proceed further. In either case his family was to follow at some later period. Another suggestion may be derived from the history of his time. He may have left Egypt because of the political unrest and the perils of war that had troubled the country since the new dynasty of caliphs, the Fatimide, had pitched its tent in Kairwan (909), the closest neighbor of Egypt.'""' But these assumptions can serve at best only as explana- tions for Saadia's departure from Egypt and later from ®^ Pp. 28 ff. This possible identity has been overlooked, so far as I can make out, by all who have dealt with the matter, also by Poznanski, Schechter's Saadyana, p. 8, s. v. Abraham ha-Kohen; comp. above, note 13. ** Eppenstein, MGWJ., 1910, p. 314 (Beitrdge, p. 90) ; comp. above, p. 43. ^ Bacher, JE., X, 579- ^"° In 914 a large army sent by the first Fatimide caliph, 'Ubaidallah Al-Mahdi, invaded northern Egypt under the leadership of his son, Abu-'l-Kasim, who later succeeded to the throne, conquering the city of Alexandria and other parts of the country. After much fighting, which must have lasted over a year, the Egyptians succeeded in driving out the intruders, who are said to have left 7000 dead on the field. In consequence an epidemic broke out in Egypt and the adjacent countries, killing thousands of people, among them numerous well- known scholars. The defeated caliph did not, however, give up the fight but prepared for another invasion, though the plan was not carried out until three years later, when Abu-'l-Kasim actually took 58 SAADIA GAON Palestine to Babylonia. None of them explains why he did not return home when his attempts to establish himself elsewhere had failed, especially as he yearned to rejoin his family, and, as we shall see later, prayed for this consum- mation. It would be surprising in the extreme if, for no other reasons than those cited, a man like Saadia, who was to become the Gaon of Sura, the religious head of all Israel, should, for nearly seven years and perhaps longer, have accepted separation from his wife and children, and lived the life of an itinerant scholar. TravelHng Jewish scholars are not, indeed, rare phenomena in later mediaeval history. None of the more prominent instances, however, that might be thought of in this connection, is in any way similar to that of Saadia. It would therefore appear that Saadia did not leave Egypt voluntarily, either because he was seeking knowledge, or because he wanted to live in the Holy Land. He was either banished by the authorities for some real or fancied offense, or he apprehended grave danger to his life, and decided to go into exile before it was too late. As we shall have occasion to observe later, Saadia was of a somewhat pugnacious disposition. He was a man of iron will and un- bending determination, coupled with a keen sense of justice and uprightness. A man of this type may have a few friends and admirers, but certainly many more enemies and adver- saries. We further know that Saadia began his battle with the Karaites by writing a book against Anan, the founder of the sect. It was written while Saadia was still in Egypt, and it was the first signal of a struggle that was to last all his life, and that made him the most hated and most feared possession of the Fayyum, Under such conditions it would appear very likely that Saadia and many others, of whom we do not know (comp. above, p. 56, with reference to David b. Abraham), thought it best to leave the troubled country and seek refuge among their brethren in the Holy Land; see for the content of this note Wiisten- feld, Geschichte der Fatim. Chalifen, pp. 50-55, and Aug. Miiller, Der Islam, pp. 610 ff. [but see Postscript]. SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 59 champion of Rabbinism against Karaism."' Any one ac- quainted with social and poHtical conditions in Muham- medan countries, and particularly with the administration of justice by the Islamitic rulers of those days, knows how little it took to bring death upon the most prominent men of the country.'*"' Slander and calumny were strong weapons in the hands of revengeful and unscrupulous enemies such as the Karaites often proved to be, and where these failed, bribery might prevail. It does not require a great stretch of the imagination to assume that Saadia was the victim of such persecution in youth, as he was in later life, because he stood up unflinchingly for his religious convictions and for the principles of right and justice. His emigration from Egypt as well as his prolonged travels in the East were thus against his will. Like Moses of old, he may have waited for the message, '* Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead that sought thy life." '"^ The message was never to come. He was not to see Egypt again. This supposed course of events lends especial significance to the repeated '"* expression of his desire to return home. Otherwise it would have to be taken as a mere phrase, since no other obstacle is imaginable that would satisfactorily explain why he did not carry his heart's desire into efifect. I do not advance this theory on account of its plausibility, or because it helps us out of a difficulty. It is again a frag- ment from the Genizah "" that suggests the thought and throws new light upon this very important period in Saadia's life. The nature of the work, of which the fragment in question originally formed a part, cannot be defined "^ For a detailed account of this matter see the learned study of Poznanski, The Karaite Literary Opponents of Saadiah Gaon, Lon- don, 1908. For the book against Anan see below, pp. 263, 379. '*" Comp. for instance Brockelmann, Geschichte der arab. Literatnr, I, 232, no. 5, and Steinschneider, JQR., XIII, 97. ^"^^ Exodus, 4, 19. *** So in the two fragmentary letters discussed above (pp. 55 f.) and in another fragment translated in the following pages. "" Schechter, Saadyana, pp. 133-135. 6o SAADIA GAON with certainty. What we have consists of two discon- nected leaves, containing together fifty Hnes, written in BibHcal style and provided with vowels and accents, a method observable in other writings of Saadia/*" Unfortu- nately, just where our interest grows keenest, several lines are mutilated beyond repair. From what remains legible it appears that it formed part of some sort of a diary, evi- dently written by Saadia on his journey from Babylonia to Aleppo,"' and thus preceding the two letters discussed above, ^"^ Schechter, /. c, p. 133, n. 2. ^*"The exact time of this journey is not stated, but circumstances point to the winter of the year 920/21. The fact that it was winter is mentioned explicitly in the second leaf of the fragment {Saadyana, p. 135, 1. 2), which contains also the information that the goal of the journey was the city of Aleppo, giving the route as follows: Babylon (probably Bagdad, see Bornstein, p. 71, n. 2), Arbela (see Rapoport, 'Erek Millin, p. 192, s. v. '•^'•mK), Mosul (see Bornstein, p. 71, n. 3). In the last city he met a "caravan of Arabs" coming from Aleppo, who described the hardships they had experienced on the road, adding that " many people died on the way on account of the heavy snow and the severe cold." This induced him to interrupt his travel and to remain for some time in Mosul, where he was asked to set down the genealogy of R. Judah the Patriarch, the compiler of the Mishnah, which he did (see below, p. 173, no. 3). Now we have seen above that he subsequently carried out his desire and actually visited Aleppo in the summer of 921, This makes it more than probable that he stayed in Mosul only during the pre- ceding winter, taking up his interrupted journey as soon as the winter was over. Bornstein (p. 71), and Eppenstein (Beitrdge, p. 90, n. 4) take the altogether untenable view, according to which the beginning of the fragment under discussion (fol. 2 recto) has reference to the time when Saadia was about to leave Egypt. The passage reads: .... U^^^V \2 ""D Xni JINV VIT) X^ HflK nVJ ""D ("Thou art young, knowest not how to go out or come in, for thou art twenty ....") and obviously represents part of the argument of those who tried to keep him back from the proposed journey. In the dotted space after the word U^^l^V (twenty) the aforementioned authors supply the word tJ'^tJ'l (three), because at the time of Saadia's departure from Egypt (915) he was 23 years old. This interpretation is entirely out of the question, for Saadia immediately goes on to say that all the persuasions notwithstanding he left Bag- dad (see above) for Arbela. This, as we have shown above, must have taken place during the winter 920/21, when Saadia was already SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 6i which were written subsequent to Saadia's stay in Aleppo. The first leaf, which contains a prayer for protection on the way, seems to have been written at the outset of the journey. With a few words added in some places where the original shows a lacuna, it runs as follows : " . . . . and now look down from Thy holy tabernacle **" and be jealous for Thy Torah; [for excellent is Y"^ her teaching-. Not for the sake of [Thy servant, O God] , but for the sake of Thy great name by which he is called,"" [guide me in]"' Thy holy Torah, which Thou hast given to us ; truly, Thou hast tried my heart and known me, hast searched me and found that [I am innocent]."^ Now Thy servant has set his face to go into the land of Canaan and the land of [Babylonia], for he heard that . . . ." Here, where we expect to hear his reason for having emi- grated to the land of Canaan, our curiosity is baffled by a blank of about two lines, and we remain as wise as before. From the last three words, however, it may be concluded with some degree of probability that it was something new and 28, or 29 years of age, and the Hebrew text should be supplied accordingly. That a man of that age should be described as *iy^ (youth) is not surprising. Saadia imitates throughout the style of the Bible, where the word is often applied to men of mature age ; comp. e. g. Genesis, 41, 12, where Joseph, who according to Gen. 41, I and 41, 46, was at the time referred to by the chief butler 28 years old, is called IV ^. In the passage before us in particular Saadia makes use of the verse I Kings, 3, 7. It may be added in this connection that in the Midrash on Proverbs, i, 4, the rabbis of the Mishnah dispute the question how long one may be considered a 1V^, R. Meir setting the limit at 25, and R. 'Akiba at 30. [See re- garding this note Postscript, pp. 422 f.]. ^"'Deuteronomy, 26, 15. As the following references will show, the author uses whole phrases of the Bible throughout. ***The passage seems to have read as follows: "tD Timing' J<^P*1 nir:in Dn>[a:; comp. Proverbs, 8, 6; Ps. 19, 15; 49, 4. The last word might perhaps be better translated by meditation. There is, however, the difficulty that in the Bible the suffix in all passages refers to the individual, while here it is made to refer to the Torah. "^^^ Comp. Deut., 28, 10. Saadia uses the same phrase also in the Scfer hn-Gdlui (Saadyana, 6, II. 11-12). "* Comp. Ps., 5, 9 ; 1.39, 24, "* Comp. Ps., 139, I, 23. 62 SAADIA GAON unexpected that had happened and made him feel insecure at home. The following lines seem to support this view : " And now, O Lord, that Thou hast taken me out of my city, mayest Thou lead me to my desire, and bring me back in peace to the house of my father. Turn me not away empty from before Thee,'" for in the shadow of Thy mercy I take refuge.""* O prosper the way which I go,"' save me from the hands of the enemy and the ambush,"" and provide all my needs as those were provided who went forth out of Egypt "^ . . . so that my persecutors may be confounded, and my enemies be put to shame and say not in their heart, Aha .... Hear, O God, the supplications of Thy servant and let not his enemies say. Our hand is exalted . . . ." "* While much of this language may be accounted for by the desire of the author to imitate the Biblical style, it is highly improbable that this was the sole motive of the whole com- position. At any rate we see here not only that the writer had bitter enemies, but also that he was desirous of return- ing to his father's house and prayed for the opportunity to do so. This surely indicates that his stay in Asia was an en- forced one. How long Saadia was separated from his family subse- quent to the writing of the quoted letters to his pupils cannot *"Comp. 2 Sam., i, 22; Is., 55, 11. "^ Comp. Ps. 57, 2 ; 61, 5. "' Gen., 24, 42. "' This line is part of the prayer prescribed in the Talmud Berakot, 2gb for one who sets out on a journey Cl^lTH n^DD). "' In these words Saadia evidently alludes to his departure from Egypt, comparing himself to the Israelites in the narration of the Bible, whose needs were provided for in the desert. ^^* The text is here badly mutilated. I would suggest the fol- lowing reading: [nvj]iD^3^ ivo^ ^D[nn ^nip]n ^3 "-jji^t^n^ '•:[tj'^]nn ^x '•^tj'p ^x lani^fc^ij^pti^n '?i< nj2[inijy^n]. For the phrases here used by Saadia see Jeremiah, 17, 18; 20, 11; Psalms, 35, 4; 34, 6; 71,13; 35, 25; 69, 17 ', Deuteronomy, 9, 27; Psalms, 119, 31, 116. The word ^PT (1. 7) does not belong to the text, but is probably a gloss referring to the placing of an accent known under this name. SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 63 be learned from the available sources. I am tempted to believe that his reunion with his family took place on Babylonian soil only a few months after the date of the letters, that is, in the summer of the year 922. In a letter of the Palestinian Ben Meir, whose bitter quarrel with Saadia will occupy us in the next chapter, the writer, in an effort to belittle his opponent, informs his friends, among other things of a very discreditable nature, that Saadia's father was '' thrust out of Egypt and died in Jafifa." "' It is quite possible that Saadia's father undertook the journey to his son with all the members of the latter's family, but, being advanced in age, could not endure the hardships of the long journey, and died on the way. Ben Meir's letter was written toward the end of the summer 922."" There was then about half a year's interval between this date and that of Saadia's correspondence with his pupils in Egypt (Jan- uary-March, 922), during which time his family may have moved to the East. This view commends itself for several reasons. The year 922 was of decisive importance in Saadia's career. In the bitter war waged at that time be- tween Ben Meir on the one side and the Babylonian Geonim on the other, regarding the right of fixing the Jewish calen- dar, it was Saadia's energetic support of the latter that brought about their ultimate victory. That his participation could be of such consequence is proof that he had already gained great influence among the Jews of the Orient. The Babylonian authorities no doubt had by that time recognized his resolute character and his great intellectual power, and they probably prevailed upon him to abandon forever his plan of returning to Egypt. Thereupon, having decided to make his permanent abode in Babylonia, it was natural to have his family follow him thither. It is also more than probable that he was then ofifered a position of honor and income within the academic circle, which he accepted. "" Schechter, Saadyana, p. 20, n. 4; Bornstein, p. 90, n. 5; above, note 7. ^''' A few days before the Jewish New Year; see Bornstein, pp. 12 f. 64 SAADIA GAON In a letter dated Fifth day, igth of Tamtnuz, 1^33, Seleu- cidan Era ( =July, 922), of which only the closing lines and the signature have been preserved among the fragments of the Genizah, Saadia adds to his name, so far as known for the first time, the title 'Alluf Yeshudh ( = Master of Salva- tion)."^ The title 'Alluf was usually accorded in the Baby- lonian colleges to the scholars who were third in rank after the Gaon. Besides, it was sometimes granted as a special distinction to foreign scholars, particularly Palestinians/^ The addition Yeshuah would indicate that the title was given to Saadia as a distinction, in appreciation of his services in the controversy with Ben Meir."^" I am inclined to believe that Saadia was actually made one of the 'Allufim of the Sura academy, and thus became a regular member of the institution about six years prior to his installation as Gaon. The statement of R. Sherira, Gaon of Pumbedita (968-987), that Saadia "was not one of the scholars of the college, but from Egypt," ^ does not mean that previous to his installation he did not belong to the rank and file of the academic body, but only, as we might say to-day, that he was not a graduate of the college; while the asser- ^" Schechter, Saadyana, p. 15, especially Bornstein, p. 72, n. 2; comp. Miiller, Introduction to Saadia's fllVQ ;i''''in (in Oeuvres completes, vol. IX, p. xxi) ; below, note 332. I do not know on what ground Bornstein, p. 12, asserts that when the Exilarch turned to Saadia for assistance against Ben Meir Saadia had already been bearing the title 'Alluf. ^^ Comp, Ginzberg, JE., s. v. 'Alluf; Epstein, REJ., XLII, 192. n. 4 ; Bornstein, p. 48, n. 11; Poznanski, D^JItJ^ D^J"'jy, pp. 50, 62, 67; Eppenstein, Beitrdge, p. 103. It is therefore not necessary to assume with Harkavj'-, Oeuvres completes, vol. IX, p. xli (see also Schechter, Saadyana, p. 15. n. i) that 'Alluf was the title of Saadia's father, comp. also Harkavy D"'j1«Jn nmt^*n, p. 377. "'Bornstein, p. 72, n. 2, thinks that the title was given to him in recognition of his successful defense of traditional Judaism against Karaism. So far as the available historical records go. Saadia's assumption of the title coincides with the time of the Ben Meir controversy. ^^ Epistle of R. Sherira, toward the end (Neubauer, MJC, I, 40, top). SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 65 tion of Abraham b. David (1160), according to which Saadia was brought directly from Egypt and installed as Gaon, is based upon a misinterpretation of R. Sherira's statement, and does not deserve credence/^ It is altogether improbable that Saadia was living in Egypt when called to the Gaonate"^; far more credible is it that he was made 'Alluf during the Ben Meir controversy, and six years later rose from this position to that of Head of the Academy. The foregoing discussion has carried us a little beyond the point with which we are immediately concerned. It was necessary to anticipate somewhat, in order to show that dur- ing the years of his sojourn in the East, Saadia main- tained the same high standard of learning and Hterary pro- ductivity that had made him a conspicuous figure in his native country. Thus he became early an eminent factor in the intellectual and religious life of the Jews of the Orient. There is evidence that some of his works were writ- ten during this period, though no definite dates can be given ."^ The first few years he probably spent in Palestine, perhaps in Tiberias, where he made the acquaintance of "^Cornp. Poznanski, REJ., XLVIII (1904), 149, n. 3; Bornstein, p. 72; Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 69, note. "^This is the view also of A. Epstein in REJ., XLII (1901), 201, who thinks that Saadia returned to Egypt after the struggle with Ben Meir was over; comp. also recently Eppenstein, Beitr'dge, pp. 103, 116 f. As said above, there is no sufficient basis for this view. Eppenstein seems to base his view on the fact that the Kitdb Al- Tamyiz, one of Saadia's polemical works, was written in 926, which, he says, probably following Poznanski (JQR., X, 244, bottom), was "at all events done in Egypt." But Poznanski wrote in 1898 before the letters of the Genizah came to light, and the passage from a work of Abraham b. Hiyya which he quotes there (p. 245) as proof, only gives the year (926), not the country of the composition. If our assumption, that Al-Mas'udi met Saadia in Tiberias is correct (see above, p. 36) we should have additional proof that in 926, the year in which the work mentioned above was written, Saadia was in the East ; for it was in that year that Mas'udi is known to have visited Tiberias ; comp. above, note 34. ^''' Regarding the chronological order of Saadia's writings see below, note 293. 5 66 SAADIA GAON 'Abu Kathir, who became his teacher."^" In Tiberias, Saadia must have come in close contact with the School of Masor- ites,"* especially with Ben Asher/'" the last and most dis- tinguished member of this school, of whose grammatical views Saadia wrote a refutation."^ In all probabiHty it was there that he made the personal acquaintance of Ben Meir,'^' with whom he was subsequently engaged in a bitter literary feud. There he may have met also some Muhammedan writers as well as learned Karaites, whose writings he refuted in special works."^ All these men must have served as a stimulus to Saadia in his literary pursuits, and thus, directly or indirectly have furthered his scholarly career. Special mention should be made of an eminent scholar whose name is well known in the history of Jewish philos- ophy, and whose works and personality had a decided influence on Saadia — the philosopher and controversiaHst ^^^ See above, pp. 36 f . ^Comp. Bacher, Anfdnge, p. 50. Possibly Abu Kathir himself, as the identiiication with Judah b. 'Alan would indicate, was a member of the Masoretic school, though to judge from the nature of the questions that were disputed between him and Al-Mas'udi (comp. Goldziher, REJ., XLVII, 41) he appears to have been a philosopher ; see above, note 35. ""Comp. Graetz, Geschichte, V, 4th edition, p. 324 (English version, III, 207) ; Bacher, JE., X, 582. "^ Bacher, /. c, doubts, however, that it was done in a separate work; see below, Bibliography, section VIII, p. 399. ^■^ Comp. Bornstein, p. 60, n. 3 ; see also Poznanski, REJ., XLVIII (1904), 149, n. 2. '"■' Comp. Poznanski, JQR., X (1898), 238 ff. The Arabic historian Hamza al-'Isfahani (beginning of the tenth century) tells in his Chronicles (ed. Gottwald, St. Petersburg-Leipsic, 1844-1848), the fifth chapter of which is devoted to the history of the Jews, and was translated into Germ.an by Steinschneider {MOW J., 1845, p, 271 ff.), that in 920-921 he met, at Bagdad, a celebrated Jewish scholar, named Zedekiah, " who communicated to him a short S3mopsis of the old Jewish chronology"; see JQR., XIII, 299. Many other Jewish scholars may have lived at that time in Bagdad with whom Saadia probably came in contact. SAADIA'S EMIGRATION TO THE EAST 67 David Ibn Merwan Al-Mukammis/"' of Rakka, in Meso- potamia/^ Al-Mukammis is the first known Jewish writer on metaphysics in the Orient. Various philosophic theories of his that have recently become known through lengthy extracts from his works, show a striking resemblance to theories propounded by Saadia.'"" This may not be absolute proof of an interdependence of the two authors, as both may have drawn upon common Arabic sources ; but in addition to this identity of doctrines, which makes a personal or hter- ary relationship very probable, there is also the testimony of Judah b. Barzillai, a noted scholar of the eleventh cen- tury, and author of an important commentary on the Sefer Yezirah^^'' Jwdah incorporated several chapters of one of Mukammis's works into his own, and in introducing him to his readers he says : " I do not know, whether he [Mukam- mis] was one of the Geonim, but I have heard that R. Saadia, of blessed memory, having been his contemporary, knew him personally and was instructed by /izm''(lJ^O ID^I) . Judah adds that he is " not quite sure about it," which, if the Hebrew style is interpreted strictly, seems to refer, not only *^ For details on Mukammis see Steinschneider, JQR., XIII, 450 and Arabisckc Literatur, pp. 27, ZZ^^ bottom ; Poznanski, Zur judisch-arahischen Literatur, pp. 39 f . ; Hirschf eld, JQR., XV, 682, 6S8; XVI, 41 1; comp. also above, note 2)2)^ the quotation from Ibn TyTazm. A synopsis of Al-Mukammis's philosophy was given by Schreiner, Der Kalam in der jiidischen Literatur, Berlin, 1895, pp. 22 ff.; comp. also Gratz, Geschichte, V (4), 322, note 5; Harkavy, 5'Kn{i'''n niDDH nniP^ in the Hebrew translation of Graetz's His- tory, vol. Ill, pp. 498 f. ^^'^ See Harkavy, as quoted in the preceding note. A place by the name of Rakka is, according to some, also in Egypt, so that Mu- kammis, too, might be a native of that country, and an emigrant to Palestine and Babylonia ; see, however, Steinschneider, Arabische Literatur, p. 37, n. i, and § 25 ; idem, Hehrdische Uehersetsungen, p. 378, n. 69 ; for other references see above, note Z7- hi the short frag- ment of a work of Mukammis published by Hirschfeld, JQR., XV, 682, Mukammis is called ''TNT^ti'^t?, i. e. of Shiraz, in Persia. "' Schreiner, Der Kaldm, pp. 22 ff. "^ Published by Halberstam, Berlin, 1885. The passage referred to in the text is on p. yy; comp. Goldziher, REJ., XLII (1903), 184, n. 2, where 178 is a misprint for 78. 68 S A AD I A GAON to the last words, but to the whole statement. Because of this we may accept the report as true, especially as the con- temporaneity of the two authors has in the meantime been established from other sources."' Whether Saadia met Mukammis while traveling through the cities of Syria and Babylonia, or at a later period, when he had settled in Sura, cannot be decided, and it is irrelevant. The former view seems more probable, and for that reason the relation between the two has been discussed in this place. "* From a work of the Karaite Abu Jusuf Ja'kub al-Kirkisani (loth century), see Harkavy's additions to the Hebrew edition of Graetz's History, HI, 499; Poznanski, The Karaite Literary Opponents of Saadiah Gaon, pp. 8-1 1. Chapter IV SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR ( 468 1 -82 = 92 1 -922 ) The subject of Saadia's controversy with Ben Meir forms an entirely new chapter in the history of the Jews in the Orient ; for it is only half a century since the very name of Ben Meir appeared on the scene for the first time, while the literature on the controversy was brought to light only with- in the last two decades."^" In connection with the present work the material on this topic, which came from the Genizah, is of the greatest importance from many points of view. It was through the discovery of this material that we first learned of the movements and activities of Saadia prior to his appointment as Gaon. For nearly all the details about his life and work following his departure from Egypt, discussed in the preceding chapter, we depend on these finds as the only source. Aside from the historical facts, which we incidentally learn from these singular documents on a remarkable political and religious struggle between the Palestinian and Babylonian authorities of the tenth century, we are granted a more complete picture of Saadia's char- acter and personality than was obtainable before. Though "^ The first notice of the existence of a man by the name of Ben Meir was brought to light by the noted Karaite scholar Abraham Firkovich in an article on his discovery of fragments of Saadia's 'Agron and the Sefer ha-Galui, published in the Hebrew periodical V^fOn, St. Petersburg, 1868, nos. 26, 27, also separately under the peculiar title nx .... Dn^DD .... ni^lVn fllD^ ni^TPH^ XUD 3"Din . . . . ^tJ> im^lD, Odessa, 1868; see Harkavy, Zikron, V, 12, 136; Bornstein, p. 41. Firkovich quotes the passage from the Sefer ha-Gahii (now in Harkavy, /. c, p. 151, last line) in which the name Ben Meir occurs, but nothing could be learned from that passage about his identity and his relations to Saadia, until, a quarter of a century later, the literature on his controversy with the latter was unearthed. For the details of that literature see below, pp. 409-419- 69 70 SAADIA GAON we cannot possibly accept as true the immoderate charges made against Saadia by the writers of some of these docu- ments, they are nevertheless of value, inasmuch as they present him to us in the light in which he was seen by some of his contemporaries,''*' thus enabling us to make up our account of him after a careful consideration of the facts on both sides. Before the two opposing parties are arrayed in their pro- longed contest, an explanation of the historical causes that led to the struggle is unavoidable. Otherwise I should prefer to escape discussion of a subject that ranks as one of the obscurest and most complicated in Jewish literature. Besides, the origin and history of the Jewish calendar does not readily lend itself to a popular presentation. Our pur- pose here will be served best by a brief summary of prin- ciples, avoiding as far as possible the details of compu- tation. It is generally accepted that the Jewish festivals were, in Biblical times, fixed by observation of both the sun and the moon. Gradually, certain astronomical rules were also brought into requisition, primarily as a test, corrobor- ating or refuting the testimony of observation. Such rules are mentioned for the first time in the Book of Enoch, in the Book of Jubilees, in the Mishnah, and later in the two Talmudim. It has been authoritatively proved that in spite of a more advanced knowledge of astronomy the practice of fixing the new moon and the festivals by obser- vation was in force as late as the latter part of the fifth century.''*^ The right to announce the new moon after re- ^^ Though the aspersions and denunciations of Saadia are con- tained only in the letters of his chief opponent Ben Meir, it is a matter of course that the latter was not the only one who enter- tained such opinions of Saadia, but was the mouthpiece of a large following, especially in Palestine, where Saadia had lived for several years. "^ See for the whole matter Bornstein's learned Introduction to his work, pp. 15 ff., and the important work of F. K. Ginzel, Hand- buch der mathematischen jind technischen Chronologie, IT, Leipzig, 191 1, pp. 63 ff. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 71 ceiving and testing the witnesses who had observed its ap- pearance was the prerogative of the Palestinian Patriarchs, and the repeated attempts of the authorities in Babylonia to arrogate this right unto themselves were promptly frustrated by interdicts from Palestine."^ With the beginning of the fourth century, however, Palestine, owing to the terrible persecutions suffered at the hands of the Romans, grad- ually ceased to be the spiritual center of Jewry. Babylonia, where better conditions prevailed under the Persian rule, took its place, and the religious right to fix the calendar likewise passed over to the heads of its flourishing academies, though not without protests from Palestine/*^ In Babylonia also, the practice of observation was continued until the time of the last Amoraim, although a practical system of reckoning had been known to scholars for more than a century. It was only after the close of the Babylonian Talmud, in the sixth or perhaps later, in the seventh cen- tury, that the observation of the moon was entirely given up, and a complete and final system of calendation intro- duced. This was adopted by all the Jews of the Diaspora, and has been accepted as binding down to the present day."* The real originators of this calendar as well as the cir- cumstances under which it Vv^as enforced are lost in the general obscurity of the history of the Oriental Jews during the first two centuries after the completion of the Talmud. It is certain, however, that the whole system of calendation, although promulgated in Babylonia, originated in Palestine.^*^ There are indications that the Palestinian Jews felt sore at heart that they had to bow to the Babylonian authorities, whom they must have considered as usurpers of their in- herited rights, and from time to time they must have tried to re-establish their lost authority, but in vain.""* ^^ Bornstein, pp. 8 ff. ^*''' Bornstein, p. 10; comp. Poznanski, JQR., X, 158. ^"Bornstein, pp. 17-19; Ginzel, II, 70 f. "° For a full account see Epstein, Ha~Gorcn, V, 120 ff. ; see, how- ever, Ginzel, II, 78. ^'*® Bornstein, p. 10. n SAADIA GAON With the beginning of the tenth century the situation was again changed. The once flourishing Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbedita, especially the former, owing to gen- eral conditions and to the lack of strong leaders, began to show a marked decline, so that the Sura academy was on the point of closing its doors, and the sister-academy in Pumbe- dita was greatly reduced in strength by a bitter struggle be- tween its leading scholars and a pugnacious exilarch."' At this juncture a man of marked ability arose in Palestine, who, recognizing the propitious moment, sought to take advan- tage of the situation in order to restore its former preroga- tives to his country"' This man was [Aaron?] "' Ben Meir, a Palestinian by birth and the head of a school in his native land. He claimed to be a descendant of the Patriarchs • of the house of Hillel, mentioning particularly R. Gamliel and R. Judah Hanasi as his progenitors."" With genuine scholarly attainments and considerable facility in writing he combined strong will and determined character ; all of which gained for him great influence even outside of Palestine. "^The reports of Sherira Gaon and of Nathan the Babylonian regarding the quarrel in Pumbedita differ very essentially in many points. Various attempts at reconciling the two sources have been made. This is not the place to discuss the matter. See below, chapter V, and in particular Ginzberg, Geonka, I, 55. "^'A. Epstein in Ha-Goren, V, 125 ff. (comp. ZfhB., X, 6y), pre- sents the matter as if Ben Meir's motives in starting the conflict were purely scientific, that he tried to rectify what he considered erroneous in the established calendar. This view can be accepted only with great reservation. For whatever the merits of Ben Meir's calcula- tion may have been, there is no doubt that his personal ambition and perhaps still more, his desire to reassert the authority of the Holy Land, played, consciously or unconsciously, a very important part in his contention. More than once in his letters he emphatically denies to the Babylonians the right to fix the calendar, which, he constantly reiterates, is the exclusive prerogative of his country; comp. below, note 158. *' The name Aaron in reference to Ben Meir occurs in a fragment of Saadia's Sefer ha-Moadim. The context, however, is rather unclear; comp. Bornstein, p. 58, n. 2; in, bottom; Poznanski, RE/., LXVII (1914), 291, n. I, and below, note 175. ''"Bornstein, p. 58, n. 2; above, note 18. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 73 In order to bring out Ben Meir's point of view it is neces- sary to explain some of the elementary rules of the Jewish calendar : The Jewish lunar year consists of twelve alternating months, of 29 or 30 days, respectively. Such a year, count- ing" 354 days, is called normal or regular. For certain reasons, to be explained presently, the year is sometimes made to count only 353 days, in which case it is designated as deficient; or a day is added, making 355, and then it is called full. To make a year full or deficient, the months of Heshzvdn and Kislew (approximately November and De- cember) were selected for the necessary addition or sub- traction. In a regular year Heshzvdn always counts 29 and Kislezv 30 days ( = 59) ; in a full year a day is added to Heshwdn (=60), and in a deficient year a day is subtracted from Kislew ( = 58) . Whether a year is to be declared regu- lar, full, or deficient depends upon four rules, called " Post- ponements," (nrm) or the "Four Gates,'"'" These must be observed in the appointment of every Jewish New ^ The Four Rules, for which see Ginzel, II, 91 f ., are found together in a writing called W^IV^ TW^^^, the Four Gates, because it treats of the four days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), on which alone Rosh ha-Shanah is allowed to fall, the days forming thus, as it were, the gates through which we enter into the respective new year. The original work of which the Four Gates formed a part, is lost. Nor can it be ascertained when and where or by whom it was composed. From the Ben Meir con- troversy we can see that as early as the beginning of the tenth century its authority was generally recognized. A certain Jose Al-Nahrawani, probably a contemporary of Saadia, versified that part of the work which dealt with the Four Rules, and his versifica- tion also bears the name D''^ytJ^ nymt<. Steinschneider discovered the work of Jose in a MS. at the Bodleian library, written in 1203, and published it in the periodical Kerem Chemed, IX (1856), 41. A. Epstein re-edited the same with copious notes in the RE/., XLII (1901), 204-210. At the same time a commentary on Genesis and Exodus by Menahem b. Solomon (12th century) under the title IID ^DtJ^ t^no was published by S. Buber (Berlin, 1901), wherein a different recension, of Palestinian origin, is found in connection with the verse Exod., 12, 2 (vol. II, 90-92). This recension was 74 SAADIA GAON Year's day (first of Tishri, approximately September). We shall here mention only the two rules necessary for the understanding of Ben Meir's attempted reform. The first of these rules is that New Year's day should never be appointed on either a Sunday, or Wednesday, or Friday. Sunday is considered unfit, because with Rosh ha- Shanah falling thereon, the seventh day of the Feast of Tabernacles {Hoshana Rabbah) , on which the ceremony of " beating the willow-twigs " is an important part of the ser- vice, would fall on the Sabbath, and the observance of the ceremony could not be permitted. Wednesday and Friday are likewise inadmissible, because the Day of Atonement would then, to the great inconvenience of the people, fall on either Friday or Sunday immediately before or after the Sabbath. If, therefore, the new moon of the month of Tishri was observed in the night preceding one of these three days (Sunday, Wednesday, Friday), New- Year was proclaimed on the day following; a custom still in force now that cal- culation has been substituted for observation, the calendar having been fixed in agreement with this rule of Talmudic • • 1S2 origm. republished and fully discussed by Bornstein, pp. 26, 103-107 ; comp. also Epstein, RE J., XLIV, 230-236, and Ha-Goren, V, 131. The same recension in a more concise form was published by Marx in his Untersuchimgen zum Siddtir des Gaon R. Amram, Berlin, 1908, pp. 18 f., from a MS. belonging to Sulzberger (originally Halberstam), In a fragment from the Genizah published by Schechter, JQR., XIV, 498 (Saadyaim, p. 128), which contains an ancient list of books, Saadia is credited with a book by the name of D''iyK^ nynx. This is not identical with the fragment published by Schechter (ib., pp. 128-130), which, though likewise discussing the Four Gates, is of a polemical character and forms part of the Sefer Zikkaron; see below, p. 415, no. 9; comp. below, pp. 168 f., nos. 1-2, and Bibliography, IV, p. 352, no. 2. Saadia mentions ' the D''iy^ nvmt< also in his Arabic Commentary on the Sefer Yeqirah (ed. Lambert, p. 80) ; comp. Bornstein, p. 25, n. 2. A short but clear exposition of the Four Rules was given also in Hebrew, by L. Steinitz, Bikkure ha-Ittim, 1822, pp. 236-240, and recently by Ch. Tschernowitz, Tl^O^nn *1"1VP, Lausanne, 1919, pp. 283- 288. ^'^^ Rosh ha-Shanah, 20a; comp. Bornstein, pp. 119-21; Ginzel, 11,67. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 75 The second rule is that in order to proclaim a New-Year's Day it is necessary, that the new moon be seen before noon of this day. If the new moon is not observed until exact noon, or later, no matter on what day of the week, the New Year has to be postponed to the following day. If that happens to be one of the three days declared inadmissible for Rosh ha-Shanah, the festival is of course postponed for two days. The supposed reason for this rule is that it takes fully six hours from the moment the new moon is caught sight of from some place of vantage until it becomes again visible. Now if the conjunction (Mdlad), that is, the meet- ing of the moon and the sun in the same degree of the zodiac, takes place at 12 (noon) sharp, or still later, there is no chance for the moon to become visible until sunset (six o'clock), when the Jewish astronomical day is considered over. In strictness, this rule (which is also Talmudic),""^ has per- tinence only to a system depending on observation; but, as stated before, the rules of calendric calculation were made to agree with the original rules of practice, though the rea- sons given may have lost their value. It will be readily understood from the above that whenever New Year is postponed, the year is made shorter, being reduced to 353 days and thus turned into a deficient year. The month of Tishri, however, is not made to suffer by this reduction. As stated before, the two days are taken off from the next following months, Heshimn and Kislew, which are made to count only twenty-nine days each. To use the technical term, they are both made deficient. It may be added to complete our survey that to bring the solar year and the lunar year into coincidence in a certain cycle (19 years), an intercalary month is inserted into the Jewish year at necessary periods, making a leap year of 383 to 385 days. ^'^ Rosh ha-Shanah, 20b: ^lOD HN^Jti^ ^H^n DlVn D11P I^IJ ny^ptj^^ 11DD nt^nj ^'?^ yn^n m^^^n D-np i^ij «^ hdhh r\V'^\>^'> n?onn. The meaning of this passage, however, is not clear, which gave rise to differing interpretations; see Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 120 f.; below, note 164. ^(i SAADIA GAON When observation was replaced by calculation, the calen- dar did not, indeed, have to be fixed by the authorities from year to year. Anybody familiar with the rules on which it was based could determine many years ahead on what day of the week New Year or any other festival would fall in a given year. In fact it was most essential to know, in order to arrange the calendar for any year, on what day Rosh ha-Shanah would fall two years later. In the year 4681 of the Jewish era (=921 common era) it was anticipated that in the year 4684 (September, 923) the rule of two days' postponement, described above, would come into operation. Calculation showed that if observation had been still in practice, the new moon of Tishri could not be observed till about thirteen or fourteen minutes after meridian on the Sabbath. Consequently the accepted rules required, observation or no observation, that New Year be postponed to Monday. Now, it must be borne in mind that there is a difference of four, occasionally of five, or even of six days (leaving fractions out of consideration) between two successive years. That is to say, the festivals of a given year fall from four to six days later in the week than those of the preceding year. This is due to the fact that fifty weeks of the regular common year and fifty-four weeks of the regular leap year contain, the first only 350, and the second 378 days, while a complete year of twelve regular months counting alternately twenty-nine and thirty days, contains 354 days, and thirteen such months make a year of 384 days. If, therefore, in 923, the year under consideration. New Year was to fall on Monday, Rosh ha-Shmmh of the previous year (922) must take place four days earlier, i. e., on Thursday. Again, in 922 New Year had to be approximately six days later than in 921, because the year 921 happened to be a leap year. This would bring New Year of 921 on Friday ; but as Friday had been declared unfit, Thursday had to be substi- tuted. To sum up: the accepted order of the calendar in those three years was as follows : In 4682 (921/22) New Year on Thursday, the year full (385 days),* that is, Hesh- * Because it was leap year, 355 -]- 30. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 77 wan and Kislew containing each thirty days, and Passover (which is also to be mentioned for reasons that will become obvious later), falling on a Tuesday.* In 4683 (922/23) New Year on Thursday, the year regular (354 days), Hesh- wdn and Kislezv counting together 59 days (29 + 30), and Passover on Sabbath.* * In 4684 (923/24) New Year Mon- day (Postponement), the year deficient (353 days), Heshzvdn and Kislew counting together fifty-eight days (29+29), and Passover on Tuesday. § We may now return to Ben Meir, but for a full understand- ing of his position it is necessary to mention one more point, namely that in the system of the Jewish calendar the hour is divided not into 3600 seconds but into 1080 haldkim (parts). As a learned man, the head of an academy, Ben Meir was naturally well informed on the question of the Jewish calen- dar. The four principal rules of calendation had been known for centuries,""'* and in the main he recognized them as binding. All that he apparently asked, when he began the controversy, was a modification of the rule which required that to proclaim any day as Rosh Hodesh the new moon must be discovered (or, in times of reckoning, be due to appear) before noon.*''' Following either another com- putation or a definite Palestinian tradition,*"" he added 642 " parts " (about thirty-five minutes) to the time limit, so that if, for instance, the new moon of Tishri was due to appear on the Sabbath at noon or within the 642 haldkim after noon, * In Hebrew this order is marked by the letters ;i"t^n; PI, the fifth letter of the alphabet, denoting Thursday, the fifth day of the week; B^ stands for HD^ti^. full, and :i, the third letter, for Tuesday (Passover). ** In Hebrew T^DH, H = Thursday, 3 is an abbreviation of niTDD, which means regular, and T, the seventh letter, = Sabbath. § Hebrew letters :i''nn, n = Monday, H stands for mpn, meaning deficient, and i for Tuesday. "* See Bornstein, p. 25, n. 2; Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 132, and above, note 151. "° See Bornstein, p. 64, n. 4. "* See below, p. 80. 78 SAADIA GAON no postponement should take place. The Sabbath would thus be declared Rosh ha-Shanali, while according to the accepted calendar the festival had to be postponed until Monday (Sabbath being ineligible on account of the belated appear- ance of the new moon, and Sunday on account of rule i). This being precisely what was due to happen in Tishri of the year 4684 (September 923), Ben Meir, believing the time favorable for the long-sought overthrow of the Baby- lonian authority, came out in the summer"' of 4681 (921) with the declaration that Heshwan and Kislew of the ensuing year (4682 = Noven:'1)er and December 921) should both be made deficient. Now the year 4682 could be declared defi- cient only when tlie year 4684 was to be declared full ; that is, if Rosh ha-Shanah of the last named year was not to be postponed on account of a belated new moon, but was to take place on the Sabbath of the new moon's appearance. In fact it was the anticipated postponement of the New Year of 4684 which Ben Meir attacked. He contended that inasmuch as in that year the new moon was due only 237 haldkhn (about fourteen minutes) after midday and thus much in advance of the allowed 642 parts, it was not to be considered as late, and hence no postponement could be admissible."^' Such, and apparently so technical if not trivial, was the actual issue between Ben Meir and Babylon. The question forces itself upon us : What was Ben Meir's reason for the addition of 642 parts to the given time limit ? It is hardly credible that a learned and pious man, as Ben Meir undoubtedly was, should have undertaken to change essentially one of the most sacred religious institutions of the Jewish people, one upon w^hich depended the celebration of the festivals in their proper season, unless there were "^ Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 138, end of note i. ♦ Ben Meir's order for the three years was accordingly : 682 K''nn, i. e., New Year Thursday (Tl), deficient (H), Passover Sunday (K) ; 683 n"D:i, New Year Tuesday (:i), regular O) . Passover Thursday (H) ; 684 ^"m, New Year Saturday (T), full (tT), Passover Tues- day (3). SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 79 strong reasons to justify his action/'" Moreover, it would have been the most injudicious step for a leader to take, as he could foresee that no conscientious Jew would follow him, unless the religious expediency of his procedure was proved. As a matter of fact, many Jewish communities in Palestine and outside ''' accepted Ben Meir's view, and soon after were ready to celebrate, or actually did celebrate, the Passover of the year 4682 on Sunday instead of Tuesday, Various views have been advanced in explanation of the matter; among them that the accepted calendar being based on the time in the city of Babylon, where noon is approxi- mately 56 minutes earlier than in Jerusalem, Ben Meir, claiming Jerusalem as the right basis, added 642 parts (35 minutes) partly to offset the difference."" Against this it has been properly pointed out ^^'^ that the fixing of the calendar was originally the prerogative of Palestine, and it is therefore inconceivable that it should have been based on Babylonian time.'*^ Nor is there any proof that later Babylonian authorities assumed to transfer the basis from Jerusalem to Babylon. Besides, if this was the reason for the addition, Ben Meir would certainly not have failed to men- tion it. Finally, the addition of precisely 642 parts (35 minutes instead of 56) would after all be an arbitrary and futile act. ^^^ Ben Meir guards himself against the reproach that his desire to re-establish the authority of the Holy Land was the only reason for his reforms, by pointing out to his opponents the correctness of liis calculation; comp. Bornstein, p. 51, n. 6, and above, note 148. ^"^ As may be seen from a letter of Saadia to three Rabbis in Egypt, published by Hirschfeld, JQR., XVI, 290-297, the Egyptian com- munities too, or at least some of them, during the time of the quarrel celebrated the festivals according to the computation of Ben Meir; comp. also Bornstein, p. 12. ^^^ Bornstein, pp. 20, 28, 34 ff. "^ Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 1 19 ff. "^This view is maintained by D. Sidersky in his recent work, Etude sur Vorigine astronomique de la chronologie juive, Paris, 1911 ; comp. his article in the periodical i:in H^^D nSIVn, III (Buda- pest, 1913), ZZ, i7, top. 8o SAADIA GAON Another, more acceptable explanation is that Ben Meir's real purpose was to reduce the number of postponements provided for in the accepted calendar/" These postpone- ments were, in his opinion, frequently the cause of cele- brating the festivals at a time other than that prescribed in the Torah. Most of them resulted from the rule concerning the belated new moon, and when this operated in connection with another rule, it might readily necessitate a postpone- ment for two days. Finding that a slight extension of the time set for the appearance of the moon around mid-day would greatly reduce the number of such postponements, he considered it a religious duty to issue a proclamation to this effect. The claim that the rule opposed by him was based on the authority of the Talmud did not appeal to Ben Meir, as the passage in question is rather obscure and allows of differing interpretations.^^* Plausible as this explanation seems to be, it is still difficult to see why he should have selected exactly the number of 642 for his addition, and the suggestion has therefore been made that in this respect Ben Meir relied on a definite Palestinian tradition.^^ Various passages in the controver- sial letters dealing with the subject seem to support this view. It is quite possible that others before Ben Meir had attempted to rectify the calendar by the same addition of 642 parts, but that the literary records, if there were such, have not been preserved. At this point the subject of the calendar may be dismissed, and we may revert to the discussion of the course of events connected therewith, which led to the defeat of Ben Meir and ultimately to the rise of Saadia to the Gaonate. Ben Meir's intention to make Heshwan and Kislew of the year 4682 deficient and to have the Passover of the same year celebrated two days earlier than that fixed by the Baby- lonian authorities (Sunday instead of Tuesday) became '•" Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 125 ff. ^" See above, note 153. A new interpretation of the passage is offered by Sidersky, "I^H nXD HDIVn, III, 41; comp. Ginzel, II, 514. ^" See above, p. 77 ; Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 133. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 8i known in the summer of the year 4681 (921). In what way he had manifested this intention, cannot be ascertained from the available material. At that time it seems he had not yet issued an official proclamation."® The rumor reached Saadia in Aleppo. He at once addressed several letters to Ben Meir, demonstrating to him the correctness of the es- tablished calendar and warning him against the change advocated. This is reported by Saadia himself in the two letters which he addressed during the subsequent winter to his pupils in Egypt."' He further informs us, in the same letters, that in Bagdad, whither he had gone from Aleppo, he learned that his repeated warnings had had no effect on Ben Meir, who had meantime issued his official proclamation, much to the perturbation of the Babylonian Geonim. The date of Ben Meir's proclama- tion"' is not given by Saadia. In all probability it was issued on Hoshana Rabbah (the seventh day of the feast of Tabernacles) in the year 4682 (autumn, 921), on which day, as is known from other sources, it was customary among the Palestinian Jews of that period to assemble annually on the Mount of Olives (east of Jerusalem) for prayer and solemn processions around the mount (Hakka- fot). The occasion was used for the discussion of the "® Epstein, ibidem, p. 138, end of n. i. "^ Bornstein, pp. 68, 70. ^"^ The sources do not explicitly mention Ben Meir's proclamation. In his first letter Ben Meir speaks of the proclamation of his son (Bornstein, p. 51, line 10: IJIIOH T''13n), which, as we know from Saadia's Sefer ha-Mo'adim (Bornstein, p. 60), took place about three months later, in Tebet (comp. Epstein, H'a-Goren, V, 138, n. i, as against Bornstein). In his second letter, however, he speaks of a "proclamation of his pupils on the Mount of Olives" (nTIDH D^nnn nnn irT'O^ri; Bornstein, p. 91, bottom; 92, top), which seems to refer to a previous proclamation on Hoshana Rabbah; comp. the text recently published by A. Guillaume, JQR., N. S,, vol. V. (1914- 1915), P- 555, 1- 15- In the second letter of Saadia (Bornstein, p. 70) we also read twice Dfl^H with reference to Ben Meir. It is possible, however, that the writers had in mind the proclamation of Ben Meir's son; comp. below, Appendix, no. 9, pp. 415 ff. 6 82 SAADIA GAON various religious and communal needs of the people, and decisions as to future actions were adopted. As soon as the news of this proclamation reached Babylon the Exilarch David ben Zakkai, in conjunction with the Geonim of both academies and probably also Saadia/"" ad- dressed an official letter to Ben Meir setting- forth in urgent words the validity of the established calendar and warning him against the contemplated change "" At the same time the Geonim sent out circular letters to the various Jewish communities, advising them to abide by the old order, and not to heed the innovations proposed. It was about this period that Saadia wrote to his Egyptian pupils. The first half of his letter was given above (pp. 55 f.) ; the second reads as follows: " Know that when I was yet in Aleppo, some pupils came from Ba'al Gad '"and brought the news that Ben Meir intends to proclaim Heshwan and Kislew deficient. I did not believe it, but as a precaution I wrote to him in the summer [not to do so]. The Exilarch, the heads of the academies, all the 'Allufim"' teachers and scholars,"' likewise agreed to pro- claim Heshzvan and Kislew full, and that Passover be cele- brated on Thursday. In conjunction with their letters I "'This results from a passage in Ben Meir's letter (Bornstein, p. 50, 1. 8: ^Vfc^^n^N ^\2V U I^VO DH^^N innnQHI). It is possi- ble, however, that Ben Meir refers here to letters he received directly from Saadia, who, as stated, wrote to him from Aleppo. "" For the chronology of the various letters see below, pp. 410 ff. "'A town at the foot of the Lebanon Mountains (Joshua, 11, 17; see Dillmann, ad locum). It is mentioned also by Judah Al-Harizi, Tahkemoni, makama 30, beginning, and in the Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, ed. London, 1840, p. 27; comp. also JQR., XVI (1904), 7Z2, n. 3. ^" For the meaning of this title see the references above, note 122. "'The phrase "i^O^D UV pHD is taken from I Chronicles, 25, 8. The word I^D^D in the usage of Arabic-speaking Jews has not always the common meaning of pupil, but more often designates a recognized scholar; comp. Ginzberg, Geonica, I, Z2, n. 4; Davidson, Sephcr Shaashuim, New York, 1914, p. ex. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 83 too wrote to most of the great cities,"* in order to fulfill my duty. Persist ye also in this matter and close up this breach, and do not rebel against the command of God. None of the people dare to profane the festivals of God wilfully, to eat leavened bread on Passover, and eat, drink, and work on the Day of Atonement. May it be the will [of the Lord] that there be no stumbling-block and no pitfall in your place or in any other place in Israel. Pray, answer this letter and tell me all your affairs and your well-being. May your peace grow and increase forever ! " Here we have Saadia's own testimony as to the part he took in the struggle, and the rank to which he had attained among the Babylonian authorities at this period. Not only did they invite his co-operation in signing their official letters in order to confer special weight upon their ordinances, but Saadia issued such letters on his own account to the largest congregations in and outside of Babylon — a proof of the great fame and popularity he must have enjoyed in Jewry in general. Meanwhile Ben Meir, far from heeding the interdicts of Babylonia, repeated his attack by sending his son"' to Jerusalem, to proclaim there, for the second time, the pro- posed changes of the calendar. To the charges of the Geonim and of Saadia he replied in a disrespectful and aggressive tone, denying their authority in matters of the calendar, which, he claimed, should be left, as in former times, in the hands of Palestinian scholars. In a lengthy letter to his adherents in Babylonia, in which he sets forth "* Schechter, Saadyana, p. 25 ; Bornstein, p. 69 : DV TlinD "'DJX D:i "' Nothing definite is known about Ben Meir's sons to whom Ben Meir refers as his "darlings" Cnion), while Saadia calls them D'l^jy! See below, note 188; Bornstein, p. 67, n. 2. According to Poznanski, REJ., LXVI, 67, a son of Ben Meir by the name of Abra- ham was the founder of the Palestinian Gaonate in the year 945. He occupied the position several years, and was succeeded by his son Aaron, who was named after his grandfather; see above, note 149. 84 SAADIA GAON with much detail the reasons for his reforms, he pours out his whole wTath on Saadia in particular, denouncing him and '' his arrogant followers " in scathing terms. This is also significant of the role Saadia evidently played in the affair. In the meantime the feast of Passover was approaching. The congregations were bewildered by commands and coun- termands."^ Some prepared to celebrate the festival on the date set by Ben Meir, others stood up for the accepted cal- endar. A serious rupture was imminent in the ranks of Jewry, not dissimilar to that brought about previously by the Karaites. Saadia again addressed a letter to his pupils in Egypt,^" and probably also to various communities else- where, imploring them to remain steadfast and to abide by the regulations of the Geonim. To his credit it must be remarked that in this letter there is not a single harsh word against Ben Meir, the originator of all the trouble. The repeated notes of warning did not bring about the desired result. Most of the Palestinian and some of the Babylonian communities actually celebrated that Passover, and consequently the other festivals, two days earlier than the official date."* The schism must have assumed alarming proportions. Even a non-Jewish historian of the following century considered it important enough to include it in his account of historical events."^ Twice more, so far as our '■' So Ben Meir apiid Bornstein, p. 92 : Diyi^Oti^n 11^ ""D DmnTH^ iv ^Do D3^^« nit^n nnrxn") '?i<^^^ irnx ^^n. ^" The letter was published first by Neubauer, JQR., IX (1897), 37; Harkavy Ha-Go-ren, II (1900), 98; Epstein (with French translation and notes), RE J., XLII (1901), 2Co; Bornstein, p. 69; comp. below, p. 413, no. 5. "" Comp. Bornstein, pp. 12, 90, n. i ; Epstein, REJ., XLII, 179, n. i, on the testimony of the Karaite Sahl b. Mazliah apud Pinsker, Likkiite, II, 36. "'Elijah of Nisibis (nth century) in Baethgen's Fragmente syrischer und arahischer Historiker, Leipzig, 1884, pp. 84, 141. Cyrus Adler in an article "Jewish History in Arabian Historians," JQR., II (1890), 106, first called attention to the passage in the work of Elijah relating to the differences between the Babylonian and Pales- tinian Jews in the appointment of the festivals in the year 922. At SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 85 records give us information, the Babylonian representatives of Judaism expostulated with Ben Meir.""" This happened in the ensuing summer. Again letters of warning and exhor- tation were sent to the " divided house of Israel," but to no effect. " The two parties indulged in mutual recrimina- tions and excommunications, and even went so far as to charge one another with fraud and deception." ^" How long the quarrel lasted, and by what means it was brought to an end, cannot be learned from the scanty material that was discovered in the Genizah. From the report of the Syrian historian and from Karaitic sources we know only that at the beginning of the year 4683 the quarrel was still in progress. Rosh ha-Shanah of that year was observed by the two opposing parties on different days in accordance with their divergent views. We know, however, that Ben Meir and his supporters ultimately met with crushing defeat, and as may be plainly seen from Ben Meir's epistles, he attributed his downfall particularly to the activity of Saadia.^^'' Ben Meir's judg- ment was doubtless right on this point. Neither the Geonim who presided over the two academies, nor any of the scholars among their followers had either the intellectual capacity that time, however (189c), nothing was known about the controversy of Saadia and Ben Meir and the real importance of the passage could not even be guessed at. Several years later, when the various Genizah fragments were brought to light by Schechter and others, Poznanski, referring to Adler's article, pointed out the full meaning of Elijah's report in its bearing on the subject under consideration; see his article in JQR., X (1898), 152-161, and comp. Bornstein, pp. 7 f. ^'"That the Geonim wrote three times to Ben Meir is repeatedly stated by Saadia in the fragment of the Sefer ha-Moadim, Bornstein, p. 61, line 17; 63, line 3; comp. Epstein, Ha-Goren, V, 138. ^^^ Poznanski, JQR., X, 154, based on the testimony of the Karaite Sahl b. Mazliah; see the references given above, note 178, and Bornstein, pp. 7, 61, n. 5. ^'^ Comp. Bornstein, p. 13, n. 3, particularly Ben Meir's letters apud Bornstein, pp. 56, 90. 86 SAADIA GAON or the complete command over the people to parry the de- termined onslaught of Ben Meir, whose influence reached far beyond the boundaries of his own country and whose contention was not without merit. In fact, it was partly because of the weakened standing of the Gaonate that Ben Meir could venture to assert his authority above that of Babylonia. But Saadia's fiery genius, his profound learning, and above all his superior literary skill proved more than a match for his opponent and finally brought about Ben Meir s overthrow. It is characteristic of the situation, that, as Saadia himself tells us, the Babylonian authorities, having failed in all their efforts against the disturber, had thought of calling the government to their assistance.''^ For some reason not stated they gave up the plan and decided upon issuing a memorial-volume (Sefer ha-Zikkaron) ^^ in which all the misdeeds of Ben Aleir from the beginning of the contro- versy to its end, his errors in calculation, the proceedings of the Gaonate against him, and particularly the reasons for their continued upholding of the accepted calendar, were to be minutely recorded. The volume was to be spread broad- cast among all the Jews of the Diaspora, with the "^ This results from a passage in Saadia's Sefer ha-Moadim, Bornstein, p. 65: IT'DH^ "I^rOH n^?Q DlliN* nnp^ IDETynn ^'?^, which means that they did not make up their mind to invoke the government, at the same time suggesting that the appeal was con- sidered. This does not contradict the passage in Bornstein, p. 92, bottom (better given in the JQR., N. S., vol. V (1914-1915), p. 555, top), where Ben Meir reports that he was twice imprisoned and tortured (comp. Schechter, Saadyana, p. 22, n. i), for there Ben Meir has reference to some previous entanglement with the Karaites, who denounced him to the government for some unknown reason and procured his punishment. Comp. Bornstein, p. 93, n. 2. ^** This Sefer Zikkaron is not identical with the Sefer ha-Moadim, as has been hitherto assumed, but is a separate work, which was written by Saadia at the request of the Exilarch and the Geonim for recitation in public. As I have shown elsewhere (see Appendix, No. 9) the lengthy fragment in Schechter's Saadyana, pp. 128-130 (Bornstein, pp. 99-102) is a remnant of this work. SAADIA'S CONTROVERSY WITH BEN MEIR 87 special injunction, that it be read annually in public on the twentieth of 'Bird, before the approach of the high Holy Days, and thus serve as a warning against possible upheavals of a similar nature in all future generations. It was again Saadia who was charged with the composition of this impor- tant document. He wrote the book in the summer of 4682 (922), while the struggle was at its height. It was read publicly, as provided, in the month of 'Eliil of the same year. Its effect on the communities was very great, ap- parently putting an end to the agitation, which had lasted for nearly two years. At all events, nothing more is heard of Ben Meir during the following years, though his main intention was to change the date of Rosh ha-Shanah of the year 4684 (923)."' How important a part Saadia had in the regulation of the present calendar can be seen also from the fact that emi- nent authorities of later centuries '^ describe him as the father and founder of the science of the calendar. Most, if not all, of his work in this field was done in connection with the controversy w^ith Ben Meir or his polemics with the Karaites. Its contemporary importance may be judged from the fact that it paved the way to Saadia's election to the Gaonate ; ^^^ but the lasting moment of Saadia for the Jew- ish world and his influence on the development of medi- aeval Jewish literature have a better basis than his discom- fiture of Ben Meir. Considering the acrimony — almost fe- rocity — with which the quarrel over the calendar was carried '^^^ It must be borne in mind, however, that in all probability there were more documents relating to the quarrel, which have not yet come to light. Numerous fragments from the Genizah which are preserved in various public or private libraries, are still awaiting examination and publication. We may therefore expect that the continued search among the treasured documents will bring to light additional details bearing upon the various phases of the controversy and its final outcome. ^*' So the Tosafist Jacob Tam (12th century); see for further details Bornstein, p. 25 ; below, note 625. ^" See above, pp. 63-65. 88 SAADIA GAON on by both controversialists/*^ especially in the last stages of the argument, one cannot but designate it as a deplorable episode. ^^ Ben Aleir's letters abound in personal denunciations and abuses of Saadia, which reveal the extreme bitterness of the writer ; comp, e.^.thepassageBornstein, p. 56: DOn^H Vinni ^OVD^N jl l^VD D^:^D yniN*n nr^i nn«^ 5;:nD ,D^i^Dni onvon. Not satisfied with the attacks on the character of his opponent, Ben Meir tried to defame also Saadia's family, asserting, as he says, " on good authority " that the latter's father was a Muezzin in the service of the Muhammedans, defiled himself by eating abominations, until he was driven out of Egypt and died in Jaffa (lianj It^^N "'VN^in ^OV D p n«3 t^^tDDi HDD rn^s* n\iti^ .... Dnti^^i Dnnn onyn i:^jd^ iD-^n DDT Dnvo n«» ^^nnJi n^'^v^^^ pio ^:dxi niTmny^Dn^'D; Bornstein, p. 90) ; comp. above, pp. 27, 63. Saadia retaliates by adorning Ben Meir with the epithets "I^Ji^non, "the obscurantist," and l^t^^DH, "the accursed one," both in satiric allusion to the name T'XQ; comp. Bornstein, pp. 58, n. i; 62, n. i. Ben Meir's sons he terms "calves" (D''^:iy) ; see above, note 175. Chapter V SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO TPIE GAONATE (4688=928) In the course of the inquiry into Saadia's career, the Ben Meir controversy appears to the investigator like an islet emerging suddenly from a vast void, only to be swal- lowed up again almost as soon as he sets foot upon it. Even the information about Saadia's early departure from Egypt has come to us from one of the documents bearing on that controversy ; "" while for the period of the years between his emigration to the Holy Land and his appearance on the scene with Ben Meir (921), one searches in vain for data regarding the life and activity of the future Gaon. During the two years the quarrel appears to have lasted he is seen in the foreground of all affairs, but as soon as the controversy abates, he is lost to sight for another period of six years (922-28), at the expiration of which he is called to the Gaonate. The only trace of his existence during that period is a passage from one of his works, quoted by a later author,"" in which Saadia refers to the year 926 as the time of his writing. We must therefore abandon for the present all speculation as to events and happenings in the life of Saadia during the few years preceding his installation in the office of Gaon. Some of the unexplored and unidentified rem- nants of manuscripts from the Genizah which are treas- ured in various public and private libraries, possibly contain data to fill the gaps ; but until such material turns up, we '""See note 88 [and Postscript]. ""Abraham b. Hiyya, astronomer and mathematician of the 12th century, in his Sefer ha-Ihbur, London, 1851, p. 96; comp. Rapoport's Biography of Saadia in the Hebrew periodical DTlJ/n ^"1133, 1828, p. 26, end of note i ; Poznanski, JQR., X, 245 ; Graetz, Geschichte, V, Note 20, no. 6; above, note 126. 89 90 SAADIA GAON are entitled to the assumption that nothing of importance happened during these blank years to change the general aspect of his personality. Saadia the scholar spent most of his time in seclusion, studying and writing. Particularly in the period before us, when he had been made a regular mem- ber of the official stafif of the Sura academy, he doubtless devoted his life entirely to the elaboration and completion of his numerous works. Years of study and research behind closed doors are not commonly fraught with personal events of such general interest as to induce contemporary chroniclers to record them for the benefit of future genera- tions. As for the petty idiosyncrasies of a Jewish scholar or the trivial incidents of his daily life, there was no Boswell at hand to delight in watching and noting them. We may pass over the interval between the Ben Meir episode and Saadia's election to the Gaonate with the assurance that it hides no phase of biographical importance. The period now to be taken up is the only one in Saadia's life, the details of which were known to the student of Jewish literature before the discovery of the Genizah. Such details may be derived partly from the works of Saadia himself, partly from those of contemporaneous authors or from well-authenticated later sources. Hence this period has been more or less minutely treated in works on Jewish his- tory in general or on Saadia in particular. It was practically all that constituted the biography of the Gaon. But even this part of Saadia's life has been inadequately described. In the few existing monographs"^ on the Gaon, one regularly *^ Separate biographies or occasional descriptions of Saadia's life were written by the following authors (in chronological order) : Rapoport, incD finipi pt^:! nnyo i:)3n nn^in.in D^nyn nna. IX (1828), 20-37 (comp. ih., X, ^y f., XI B>2, f.), the classic source of all subsequent writers on Saadia. The biographical sketch, without the notes, was translated into German by Joseph Zedner and published in Ludwig Stern's Jiidische Geschichte in Lehens- hildern, Stuttgart, 1862, pp. 136-138. S. Munk, Notice sur R. Saadia Gaon, Paris, 1838. E. Carmoly, in his Revue Orientale (Brussels 1841-1846), II, 33-46. L. Dukes, Beitriige, TI (1844), 5 ff. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE G AON ATE 91 finds the few important events of his later Hfe — his election to the Gaonate, his subsequent quarrel with the Exilarch, his deposition, and his final rehabilitation — put together in a few lines ; while the rest of the work is devoted to the pres- A. Geiger, Wissenschaftliche Zeiischrift, V (1844), 281-316. Steinschneider, CB., coll. 2156 ff., and later in Arab. Liter. (Frank- furt a/M., 1902), pp. 49-69; comp. Kaufmann's Gcdenkbuch, pp. 144-168. Graetz, Geschichte der Juden, V, fourth edition by S. Eppenstein, Leipzig, 1909, pp. 282-315; 523-533; Hebrew translation by S. P. Rabinowitz, III (Warsaw, 1893), pp. 279-308; 465-473; English trans- lation, III (Philadelphia, 1894), pp. 187-202. M. Joel, in Wertheim's Jahrhuch fur Israeliten, 1865, pp. 1-17. S. J. Fiinn ^'^^ Dn^in^ in ^QIIDH, 1871, pp. 61-68. G. Tal, R. Saadjah Gaon, in " Lesingen gehouden in de Vereeniging voor Joodsche Lctterkunde en Geschiedenis" Hague, 1887. I. H. Weiss, rt^'ini in in, IV (1887), 4th edition, Wilna, 1904. pp. 123-143. A. Harkavy, R. Saadia Gaon, istorico-literaturnoe chtenie, Vos- khod, 1887, pp. 82-104 (the same appeared also in Hebrew under the title D^3m ni by H. Mirsky, in the periodical '?i^1i^^ HDJ^, III, Warsaw, 1888, pp. 55-71 ) ; comp. also Harkavy, in Zapisky .... Riiskavo Arkheologicheskavo Obshchestwa, V (1891), 179-210; VI, 340. S. A. Taubeles, Saadia Gaon, Halle a/S., 1888 (a compilation without value). D. Kohn (Kahana), n«; D'^l nn^lfl^ 12D, Cracow, 1892 (reprint from nnSDn n':;i&<, IV, 292-328). S. Bernfeld, jit?.! Hnyo IJni, Cracow, 1892 (reprint from IVIfc^, nnSDH, IV, 329-346; 698 — , as a biography worthless). M. Friedlander, Life and Works of Saadia, in JQR., V (1893), T77-199. G[regory] H[enkel], R. Saadia Gaon, Opit Characteristiki evo Proisvedenii, Voskhod, 1893, IV, 12-25; V, 104-119; VIII, 121-138; IX, 42-61; 1894, I, 118-143; II, 130-146; III, 136-146; VI, 119-132; VIII, 112-126; XI, 7-32; XII, 131-138. W. Engelkemper, De Saadiae Gaonis znta etc., Miinster, 1897, s- learned dissertation. S. Eppenstein, Beitrdge zur Geschichte und Literatur im geondis- chen Zeitalter (reprint from MGWJ., 1908-1913), pp. 65-148; 215-218. A brief account of Saadia's life and works is given by Bacher in the JE., X, 579-586; and lately by H. Malter in Hastings' Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, s. v. Se'adiah (vol. XI) ; see also the present 92 SAADIA GAON entation of his teachings. No attempt is made to interpret these events in the Hght of contemporary history. We shall therefore not be bound by any of the existing presentations, but will dispose of the material from the old sources ^''' in the way that seems best adapted to the plan and purpose of the present work. In accordance therewith it appears advisable to prepare the reader for a fuller understanding of the essential points in the development of the last and the most significant epoch of Saadia's life, by a brief account of the two important institutions of mediaeval Babylonian Jewry — the Exilarchate and the Gaonate — and of their re- lations to one another. The origin of the Exilarchate, which, according to the his- torical sources maintained its place in Babylon for over eight centuries, is not fully known. An old tradition claims writer's article Philosophy, ibidem, vol. IX, pp. 873-877) ; comp. also A. Kaminka in Winter and Wunsche's Die jiidische Litteratur, II, 28- 31 ; nytD^x^yt:)^D r« lytoyj^a n^^ ^vp^V] v^'i^'i^ DnnTr:i .5^ n" i New York, 1918, pp. 21-33. Finally, biographical accounts of Saadia are to be found with more or less detail in the introduc- tions to the numerous editions of Saadia's writings, mostly repeat- ing the older authorities, as Rapoport, Munk, Geiger, Graetz, and Steinschneider. See the detailed Bibliography in the present work, especially sections I, V. — An article on "The Time of Saadya" by S. Koch (Hebrew Union College Journal, vol. VI, Cincinnati, 1902, pp. 168-174) may here be recorded for bibliographers. ^^^ These are in the main the Report of Nathan ha-Babli, a con- temporary of Saadia, ed. Neubauer, Mediceval Jewish Chronicles, II, 77-88 ; the Epistle of Sherira Gaon, ed. Neubauer, ib., I, 39 f . Abraham b. David's account in his n^SPH TlD (Neubauer, ib., I, 65 f.), which conflicts in many essential points with the reports of Nathan and Sherira, is disregarded as less reliable. Later authors, as Menahem Meiri (Neubauer, II, 224), Isaac Lattes {ib., p. 233) and Saadia Ibn Danan, ntlJJ mDH, ed. Edelmann, Konigsberg, 1856, p. 28, merely repeat the unfounded statements of Abraham b. David, though for some points they may have had also other sources. For Nathan and the historicity of his Report see Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 22- 36; comp. Marx. ZfhB., XIII, 169, and Poznanski, JQR., N. S., vol. Ill (1912-1913), pp. 400 f. In the following the Report will be referred to only by the word " Nathan," and the pages are those of Neubauer's edition. The same edition is used also for the Letter of Sherira. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE G AON ATE 93 no less a personage than King Jehoiachin as the first Babylonian Exilarch (597 b. c. e.). This tradition is based on II Kings, 24-25, where it is told that Jehoiachin was brought captive to Babylon and imprisoned, but later freed by King Evil-merodach and given a place of honor. " The craftsmen and the smiths," who were taken into captivity together with the King (II Kings, 24. 16) are interpreted homiletically to be the King's retinue of scholars and prophets."^ A chronicler of the eighth century,^'* the first to mention the captive Judaean King as the founder of the Exilarchate, in an effort to establish a continuous chain of Exilarchs of Davidic descent,""" makes up a list of such dig- ^^ Sifre, section I^Mt^Pl, § 321, and Seder 'Olam, ch. 25, which are the source of the Talmudim and Midrashim ; see the references given by Ratner in his edition of the Seder 'Olam, ad locum. These sources do not designate King Jehoiachin as the first Exilarch. He receives this title only in the works of a later period in which, however, the authors gave expression to ideas only that were current among the people long before ; see the next note. ^'^I refer to the anonymous author of the «tOn D^li? IID. This dry chronicle, covering only a few pages (in Neubauer's MJC, II, 68-73), exists in various recensions and editions, also in Latin trans- lations, and with commentaries. For the literature see Steinschneider, Geschichtsliteratur der Juden, § 9, and additions on p. 173. The most important and minute study on the subject is the one by Felix Lazarus, Die H'duptcr der Vertriehenen, in Briill's Jahrbilcher, etc., X (the entire volume), also separately, Frankfurt a/M., 1890. In the follow- ing I shall refer to this study by quoting only the name of the author ; comp. also Abr. Krochmal, ''^nn TlQ^n^ nn^?^1 D"'t^nD, Lemberg, 1881, pp. 1-73 (Steinschneider, H.B., XXI, p. 122). The chronicler does not state explicitly that Jehoiachin was Exilarch, though this is obviously his view, but in a fragmentary version of the same Chronicle, i n Neubau er's MJC, I, 195, it is said of the king: 13''^ini ^Xnti'^ '?V n^^DHI ni^n; comp. Lazarus, ib., pp. 19, n. 4; 55, n. i; 158, n. I. Among other ancient authors who follow this tradition may be mentioned the Gaon Zemah b. Hayyim of Sura (882) in his Letter concerning Eldad. (See Jellinek, Bet ha-Midrasch, II, 113) ; Sherira, p. 26; comp. Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 5. Ebjatar in Schechter's Saadyana, p. 87, line 27 ; p. 89, line 27, has reference to the same idea, but in a derogatory sense, pointing to the wicked ancestors of the Exilarchs, among them Jehoiachin. ^"^ Zunz, Gottesdienstliche Vortrdge (1892), p. 142; Steinschneider, Geschichtsliteratur der Juden, § 9; comp. Lazarus, pp. 19, 29 f. 94 SAADIA GAON nitaries reaching down to the year 520 c. e. The names of the earHer Exilarchs are all identical with those of the King's descendants enumerated in I Chron. 3. 17-24, all of whom according to the author lived and died in Babylon. The names of the Exilarchs of later generations are taken partly from the Talmud and partly from unknown sources. The historicity of this list, so far as the Biblical part is concerned, is beyond control. The latter part, however, beginning about the middle of the second century c. e., is authenticated by Talmudic and other evidence. Other lists of Exilarchs of still later periods, from 520 to 940, or even 1040, are pre- served in various sources, more or less trustworthy.'^ Leav- ing aside those whose names are recorded in the Bible, and whose Exilarchal dignity may be legendary,"^ there are still at least thirty-three Exilarchs "^ accounted for histor- ically by recent investigation. The history of the Exilarchate is thus divided into two distinct periods ; the first when Babylonia was under Persian rulers (the Arsacids and the Sassanids) and the second when it came under the Caliphate of the Arabs (651). The exact circumstances under which the office came mto existence are unknown. From the moment when the light of history falls upon the institution, it is evident that the Exilarch was the governor of Jewish Babylonia, appointed by the ruler of Persia and vested with full authority over his Jewish subjects.^" As such he was responsible only to the king. His duties were to maintain order among the people under his jurisdiction and see to it that the taxes imposed upon the Jewish communities were collected and delivered into the imperial treasury. At certain festivities he had to "' See the various lists in Lazarus's work, pp. 171-173, 180. "^ Comp. Lazarus, pp. 62 f . "'Beginning with a certain Nahum (about 140, c. e.), who is supposed to be identical with one Ahiah, or Nehunyon, mentioned in the Talmud, and ending with David b. Zakkai (died 940), the opponent of Saadia. Comp. Lazarus, pp. 65 ff; Bacher, Jewish Encyclopedia, V, 288. ^^ Lazarus, p. 87, and in more detail, pp. 131 ff. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE G AON ATE 95 appear among the other dignitaries of the empire and par- ticipate in the court functions. In his deaHngs with the Jewish population he was entirely independent, often also overbearing and oppressive. In accordance with oriental custom, and being wealthy in his own right, he maintained his Exilarchal court with considerable pomp and circum- stance, surrounding himself with a large retinue of servants and courtiers, who had to observe etiquette and official cere- monies similar to those practised at the Persian court. It was the prerogative of the Exilarch to appoint judges for the Jews from among the prominent scholars of the time, one of whom was the supreme judge. The latter had to reside at the Exilarch's court.''"" Some of the Exilarchs, who vv^ere themselves learned in the religious law, are reported by the Talmud '"^ to have acted as presidents of the judicial tribunal. On the whole, however, the Exilarch was not a representative of religious, that is to say, spiritual Judaism. His ambitions and aspira- tions were of a worldly and political nature. Such was the natural consequence of the fact that the office was hereditary in one family, which traced its pedigree to the house of David. Not only the Exilarchs themselves, but also the Jews in general looked upon their rule as a continuation of the old Judean kingdom.^*'^ Conscious of their dignity and power, the Exilarchs often placed themselves above the spiritual leaders of the people. Talmudic literature affords numerous ^°'' Lazarus, pp. 143, n. 2; 148, n. i; comp. Ginzberg, Geonica, I, p. II, n. 4. ^^ Shabbat, 55a, Mo'ed Katan, i6b, Kiddushin, 44^; comp. Lazarus, p. 96, n. 5. ^^The verse, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet" (Gen. 49, 10), was accordingly interpreted as referring to the Exilarchs and Patriarchs of Babylonia and Palestine; see Synhedrin, 5a; comp. Ginzberg, /. c, p. i. Bacher, however, properly remarks (/£., V, 289), that the Baraita intends to cast a reflection on the Exilarchs. Sherira, p. 27, puts upon the Baraita the interpretation of the Talmud, that Babylon is more important than Palestine ; comp. Tosafot ad locum; Lazarus, p. 142. 90 SAADIA GAON instances of the ill-treatment of eminent scholars by Ex- ilarchs, and especially by their unscrupulous officials."^" This attitude gradually created a certain antagonism to the ruling house among the people, notably among the learned men, which has found expression in various passages of the Talmud.""** There is, however, no proof that the E^ilarchs ever made themselves so objectionable as to arouse a general desire to see the office abolished. On the contrary, whatever dissatisfaction may have been felt at times, it was cheerfully suppressed in favor of this real or supposed Da- vidic dynasty, the only remnant of ancient glory. Thus, at a later period, under the dominion of the Arabs, when the privileges of the Exilarchs had been considerably curtailed, and their former independence in dealing with the Jewish population so reduced that the government would not recog- nize them unless they had been chosen by popular vote, the people remained loyal to the traditional house of David and regularly elected a member of the royal family.^" Moreover, a few of the Exilarchs of Talmudic times endeared them- selves by great learning, noble conduct, and just administra- tion. Many legendary stories were later woven about their names, glorifying their memory. Very little is known of the history of the individual Ex- ilarchs under the Muhammedan rule, from 660, when a prince by the name of Bostanai was elected to the office, down to the time of Saadia. Several incidents that can be adduced from the scanty sources indicate, however, that the strained relations between the Exilarchs and the scholars of the academies,^"^ which marked the Talmudic epoch, con- tinued also during the second period of the Exilarchate. ^•" Gittin, 14b, 67b; 'Abodah Zarah, 38^; Shabbat, 58a, 121b; Yerushalmi Baba Batra, end of ch. 5; comp. also 'Erubin, 26a; Bacher, JE., V, 291, bottom; Lazarus, p. 149. ^ See Synhedrin, 38a ; Shabbat, S4b, bottom ; Lazarus, pp. 73, n. 6 ; 150, n. I. ^* Lazarus, pp. 131 ff.; 145. ^' See the instances given below, p. 103. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE GAONATE 97 When we reach the century of Saadia, the antagonism between the two forces assumes a definite form, tending toward mutual annihilation, until circumstances do prac- tically put an end to the official existence of both. If the Exilarchate may be looked upon as a shadowy representative of the Jewish body-politic after the destruc- tion of the Jewish state, the Gaonate, as a spiritual organiza- tion, must be regarded as the informing and inspiring life- principle of that body. In the history of the Jewish people, perhaps more than in the history of other peoples, one may observe, without special efifort, the existence side by side of two important factors, the political and the spiritual; but with the spiritual always in the foreground. Even during the time of Israel's political independence, the only period when the two tendencies might have manifested themselves equally, this aspect, one may unhesitatingly assert, was pre- dominant. The men in whose lives and activities the intellectual and spiritual aspirations of the nation find clear expression, have received from time to time different collective designations, in accordance with the accepted usages and customs of the respective ages. But whether they appear in history as Elders, Prophets, Men of the Great Synod, Tannaim, Amoraim, Saboraim, Geonim, or under the designations of intellectual leadership in later ages — and while their activities naturally differ in scope and compass with the varying conditions of the times — their inspiration and their message are intrinsi- cally the same throughout all the generations. Their endeav- ors serve the one great purpose of perpetuating the Torah and making Israel the worthy people of God. In the unbroken chain of great men who have worked successively and successfully for the realization of this high purpose, the Geonim are the links between the generations of the Talmud and the Middle Ages. Through them, the heritage of the Orient comes down to its successor, the Occident. As is often the case with the great movements and insti- tutions of a remote past, the beginnings of the Gaonate are but imperfectly known. Nor is even the original meaning of 7 98 SAADIA GAON the title Gaon established beyond doubt. We are here not concerned, however, with details ; a few general points will suffice. The Geonim merely continued the educational work, mutatis mutandis, of their predecessors, the Saboraim, who in turn succeeded the Amoraim, the creators of the Tal- mud."^' The two Babylonian academies, over which they presided, were founded by two distinguished Amoraim, Rab and Samuel, as early as the first part of the third cen- tury. Their work differed from that of their forerunners, inasmuch as they did not feel themselves called upon to add to the content of the Talmud or to change its form. They confined themselves to its study, elucidation, and interpre- tation. Eventually they also issued legal and religious deci- sions in doubtful cases. Their function, thus, would hardly in itself have justified the assumption of the new designation ( Gaon = Highness, Excellency). This title, then, whatever the reason for its selection may have been, was not intended, like the earlier class-names mentioned, to be descriptive of the scholarly activity and significance of its bearers. It must have attached itself to their names in their official capacity as the religious representatives of Babylonian Jewry, recog- nized as such by the government. Its adoption as a symbol of office must, therefore, coincide with the governmental recognition and endorsement of that office. There are no definite data enabling us to determine when this recognition by the government took place. On general grounds, supported by an incidental reference by the Gaon ^^The differences between the Geonim and Amoraim pointed out by Ginzberg, Geonica, 1, 6, may readily be admitted, yet these differ- ences are the natural result of changed times and conditions. The general aspect of the development of Jewish tradition and its repre- sentatives is not altered thereby. In its basic idea this view coincides with the doctrine of the uninterrupted continuity of Jewish tradition, which is emphasized by all Jewish writers. That the scholars of every generation are the successors of the prophets is often expressed also by Saadia ; see 'Emiinot, ed. Slucki, p. 49, bottom; Harkavy, Zikron, V, 158, n. 5; Steinschneider, Alforabi, 115, n. 49; comp. Dieterici, Weltseele, pp. 139, 175. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE G AON ATE 99 Sherira, the historian par excellence of the Geonim, it may be assumed with a high degree of certainty that it happened under the fourth caliph, 'Ah, the son-in-law of Muhammed. In the year 658 he granted religious autonomy to the acad- emy of Sura,"^^ freeing it from the jurisdiction of the Exil- archs, who prior to that time had meddled in its affairs. It is true that the same Sherira designates as Geonim all the scholars that presided over the two academies long before the rise of the Caliphate, beginning with the year 589. This does not prove, however, that these scholars were actually invested with the title in their own time. Nor is there any evidence to prove that the title Gaon had come into use in the earlier period. It is known that the continuity of presi- dents of the two Babylonian academies. Sura and Pum- bedita, had been interrupted for several decades previous to the year 589. Owing to persecutions by some of the Per- sian rulers, both institutions had to close their doors.""'"' The period of the Saboraim had thus been brought to an abrupt end. But with the accession of the humane Chosru II (589) settled conditions returned, and the academy of Pumbedita resumed its work at once ; the academy of Sura following, so far as is known, twenty years later (609).^" Sherira obviously considers the period during which the academies were closed as marking the end of the old line of presidents, known under the title Saboraim, and the inaugu- ration of a new line. The later line, beginning with the year 589 and extending to 658, had no distinguishing title, except the one that has always been used as a general designation, Reshe Metibata, Heads of the Academies. Sherira, therefore, not caring to make a distinction between the presidents of the academies under Persian rule and those '"^Graetz, V, Note 13; English edition. Til, 90 f. ; comp. Ginzberg, ^- <"v P- 53- That the Caliph gave special privileges to the academy of Sura may be disputed, but the fact remains that the spiritual leaders of the people chose Sura as the institution representing Babylonian Jewry as an autonomous religious body. ■'"'Graetz (English), III, 4 f . ; comp. Briill, Jahrbuchcr, IT, 50-53. ^^ Graetz, /. c, pp. 9 f . loo SAADIA GAON under the Caliphate, applied the title Gaon, very general in his days, to all the past presidents alike. For the same reason he also designates as Geonim all the presidents of the Pumbedita academy, although, as has been proved lately, they probably received that title only under the Caliphate of Al-Ma'mun (830).'" He even applies the title, though not so consistently, to Amoraim who happened to be presi- dents of the academies — for example to R. Hisda (died 309) andR. 'Ashi (died 427)/" It is therefore unnecessary either to continue the period of the Saboraim into the seventh century, or to reach back for the origin of the title Gaon into the time of Persian rule. The truth is that the Saboraic period ended in the middle of the sixth century. Then followed a gap of about forty years of total inactivity. When the work of the two schools was finally resumed, their rectors had no specific titles differen- tiating them as a class, until the second half of the seventh century, when the Muhammedan rulers granted to the spirit- ual leaders of Judaism full religious authority with definite rights and compensation. But even then only the heads of the more renowned academy of Sura assumed the title '* Ex- cellency " (Gaon). Those of the sister academy in Pum- bedita remained what they had been theretofore, rectors of their institution, without special titles'" or privileges. In all official matters they had to submit to the jurisdiction of the Exilarchs, whilst in religious questions they depended upon the decisions of Sura. This state of affairs continued until the year 830, when, under the new regulations of Al- Ma'mun, they were put on an equal footing with the Geonim in Sura, which meant, likewise, their liberation from the in- "''Graetz, V, Note 12, no. 6; English edition, III, 155, 177; Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 54. ^ Comp. Briill, Jahrbiicher, II, 50, n. "72. ""^ Poznanski {JQR., N. S., vol. Ill (1912-1913), p. 402), however, thinks that the Pumbeditan rectors too may have assumed the title Gaon, though they were not recognized as Geonim by the authorities of Sura. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE GAONATE loi terference of the Exilarchs in their internal affairs.'" Morally ,'"" however, they did not gain the standing and recog- nition enjoyed by the chiefs of Sura, except perhaps for occasional short periods, when one or another among them happened to excel his rival in Sura through extraordinary learning or other personal qualities. To this brief summary of the main points in the external history of the Geonim it remains but to add a few observa- tions concerning the relations between the spiritual heads of Jewry and their political counterparts, the Exilarchs. It was noted before that a more or less outspoken antagon- ism between the Exilarchs and the leading scholars had existed as far back as Talmudic times. So long as the spiritual representatives of Talmudic Judaism were not organized into a regular religious body, with a well-defined religious policy, the antagonism of some of the worldly, often religiously lax, Princes of the Exile could express itself only sporadically and individually. With the grow- ing importance of the academies, however, when their influence over all classes of the Jewish population, especially the humble pious masses, had become a factor to be reckoned with, the Princes, always jealously safeguarding their dig- nity and prestige, could not avoid misgivings that eventually led to open, inimical action. The bad feeling between the two forces could only have been aggravated, when, under the leadership of a strong president, as, for example, R. Ashi, the academies suc- ^" Nevertheless even after this time quarrels between the Exilarchs and the Pumbedita academy occurred quite often, due, as we shall see later, to the strained relations that existed between the two houses. The power of the Exilarchs, however, was gone, and at a later period we even find that the Geonim deposed unpleasant Exilarchs. "' Financially, too, there was a great distinction made between the two academies. Sura receiving two-thirds of certain revenues, while Pumbedita received one-third. This unequal distribution of the income was changed only by the Gaon Kohen Zedek in 926, when it was decided that both institutions should divide equally ; see below, pp. 106 f.; Graetz (English), III, 93 f. 102 SAADIA GAOy ceeded in lessening the authority of the Exilarchate and abohshing- some of its former rights and prerogatives."" Of the relation existing between the two sides during the short Saboraic period nothing is known. In the tur- bulent times of the sixth century, when persecution fol- lowed persecution, there was hardly any spirit left in Baby- lonian Jewry for the adjustment of internal differences. The academies had finally to suspend their work, and the Exilarchate existed only nominally, if at all.^^ When under the last Sassanid kings, at the beginning of the seventh century, more favorable conditions for the Jews set in, and the academies resumed their activity under the presidency of the so-called earlier Geonim, the bickerings between them and the Exilarchs must have assumed a grave character."^' There are no details relating to the inner history of the in- stitutions under these Geonim. However, one statement of Sherira, the only contemporary historian of theGeonic period, regarding the conditions then prevailing, speaks volumes. Having discussed the succession of the Pumbedita Geonim of that early period, he declares : " The succession of the Geonim at Sura in those earHer years (up to 689) is not quite clear to me, owing to the disorders and revolutions caused by the Exilarchs, who deposed Geonim and installed them again.'' "*" It should not be thought, however, that the Geonim of his own academy, at Pumbedita, fared any better, though he appears to be better informed on their early history. A glance at the report of Sherira proves, to the contrary, that the Pumbedita institution was subject to the same ill-treat- "'Comp. Lazarus, pp. 104, 111-113. '"Lazarus, p. 128. "* Of the conditions prevailing during that period Sherira, p. 33, has the following to say : " Under the Persian regime and at the beginning of Muhammedan rule the Exilarchs wielded tyrannical power and exercised great authority, for they bought the Exilarchate with large sums of money. There were some among them who harrassed the scholars and oppressed them greatly ; " comp. Lazarus, p. 140. "'Neubauer, MJC, I, 136; comp. Ginzberg, Geonica, I, 15. SAADIA'S APPOINTMENT TO THE GAONATE 103 ment by the Exilarchs, and for a much longer period than the one at Sura. As before noted, Sura had succeeded in obtaining perfect religious autonomy as early as the year 658,'^" so that henceforth nothing is heard of any Exilarchal interference with its management, while Pumbedita re- mained under the jurisdiction of the Exilarchs for nearly two centuries longer. During that long period depositions of Geonim, who for one reason or another had incurred the displeasure of the Princes, and installations of others, who proved subservient to their purposes, were of frequent occurrence. In 719, to quote only one instance, the Gaon Natronai I, a close relative of the Exilarch, wielded his power so tyranically that the scholars of his insti- tution fled to Sura, where they remained until after his death."^ To show the nature of Exilarchal interference with the academy it is also interesting to note that in 828, when two Princes laid claim to the Exilarchate, each of the pretenders appointed his Gaon, so that for a time Pumbedita was blessed with two Geonim."^^ Friction of one kind or another must have occurred even after the rescript of Al-Ma'mun (830), when Pumbedita too became inde- pendent, though for a long interval no case is actually recorded. About the year 920, shortly before the time of Saadia's appointment at Sura, we hear again of a violent feud of five years' standing between the Exilarch 'Ukba and the Gaon Kohen Zedek,""' or according to the account of Sherira, between the Exilarch David b. Zakkai and the "" This date does not necessarily conflict with the statement of Sherira, that there were troubles and disorders prior to 689, For the words ^t