Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

and scholar of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

, best known as a commentator on the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Bahya ibn Paquda.

Biography

''Rabbeinu Behaye'' was a pupil of Rabbi

Shlomo ibn Aderet Shlomo ben Avraham ibn Aderet ( he, שלמה בן אברהם אבן אדרת or Solomon son of Abraham son of Aderet) (1235 – 1310) was a medieval rabbi, halakhist, and Talmudist. He is widely known as the Rashba (Hebrew: ), the Hebrew acronym ...

(the ''Rashba''). Unlike the latter, Bahya did not publish a Talmud commentary; he is, however, considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the biblical

exegetes Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He "discharged with zeal" the duties of a ''darshan'' (Hebrew for "expounder") in his native city of

Zaragoza Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa,''Encyclopædia Britannica'"Zaragoza (conventional Saragossa)" is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributari ...

, sharing this position with several others.

Works

Bahya's principal work is his commentary on the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

(the five books of Moses), but he is also known for others, especially ''Kad ha-Kemah''.

Torah commentary

The commentary on the

- "מדרש רבינו בחיי על התורה " - enjoyed much favor, as attested to by the numerous supercommentaries published on it (not less than ten are enumerated by Bernstein (''Monatsschrift'' xviii. 194-196)). Owing to the large space devoted to the Kabbalah, the work was also particularly valuable to Kabbalists. It considered to derive a particular charm from its form: Each parashah, or weekly lesson, is prefaced by an introduction preparing the reader for the fundamental ideas to be discussed; and this introduction bears a motto in the form of some verse selected from the Book of Mishlei (Proverbs). Furthermore, by the questions that are frequently raised the reader is compelled to take part in the author's mental processes; the danger of monotony being also thereby removed. In preparing his commentary "he thoroughly investigated" the works of former biblical

, using all the methods employed by them in his interpretations; although Rabbi Bahya also availed himself of non-Jewish sources. In his biblical exegesis, Bahya took as his model Rabbi Moses ben Nahman ( Nachmanides) or ''Ramban'', the teacher of Rabbi Shlomo ibn Aderet, who was the first major commentator to make extensive use of the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

as a means of interpreting the Torah. He enumerates the following four methods, all of which in his opinion are indispensable to the exegete: # The ''

peshat ''Peshat'' (also ''P'shat'', ) is one of the two classic methods of Jewish biblical exegesis, the other being Derash. While ''Peshat'' is commonly defined as referring to the surface or literal (direct) meaning of a text,Goldin, S. (2007). Unloc ...

'', the "plain" meaning of the text in its own right. # The

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

or the

aggadic Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...

exegesis. #

Logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

al analysis and

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

exegesis. His aim is to demonstrate that philosophical truths are already embodied in the Bible, which as a work of

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

transcends all the wisdom of man. He therefore recognizes the results of philosophical thought only insofar as they do not conflict with Jewish tradition. # The method of the

, termed by him "the path of light," which the truth-seeking soul must travel. It is by means of this method, Bahya believes, that the deep mysteries hidden in the Bible may be revealed. Generally speaking, Rabbi Bahya does not reveal any of his Kabbalistic sources, other than generally referring to '' Sefer HaBahir'' and the works of Nachmanides. He only mentions the Zohar twice. The commentary was first printed at Naples in 1492; Later editions of the commentary appeared at Pesaro, 1507, 1514, and 1517; Constantinople, 1517; Rimini, 1524; Venice, 1544, 1546, 1559, 1566, and later.

Other works

Bahya's next most famous work is his ''Kad ha-Kemah'' ( כד הקמח, "The Flour-Jar";

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, 1515.) It consists of sixty chapters, alphabetically arranged, containing discourses and dissertations on the requirements of religion and morality, as well as Jewish ritual practices. ''Kad ha-Kemah'' is both a work of musar (ethics) and philosophy: It is regarded as a work of ethics, in that its purpose is to promote a moral life; it is a work of philosophy in that Rabbeinu Bahya endeavors to give his ethical teachings a philosophical aspect. In this work Bahya discusses the following subjects: belief and faith in God; the divine attributes and the nature of providence; the duty of loving God, and of walking before God in simplicity and humility of heart; the fear of God; Jewish prayer; benevolence, and the love of mankind; peace; the administration of

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, and the sacredness of the oath; the duty of respecting the property and honor of one's fellow man; the

Jewish holidays Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

, and halakha ("Jewish law".) Another work of Bahya's is the ''Shulkhan Shel Arba'' ("Table of Four"). It consists of four chapters, the first three of which contain religious rules of conduct regarding the various meals, while the fourth chapter treats of the banquet of the righteous in

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. It has also been published frequently, and the first

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edition of 1514 was erroneously ascribed to Nachmanides. A work might have been written by Rabbi Bahye under the title of ''Hoshen ha-Mishpat'' (''Breastplate of Judgment''). Reference to this work is made only once by him, and it is unknown if this work was actually written or not.

Works incorrectly attributed to him

A number of works whose author is simply "Bahya", or whose authors are unknown, have been attributed to Rabbi Bahye ben Asher. Many modern day authorities on Rabbi Bahya's writings have shown that many of these attributions are spurious. *''Ha-Emunah ve-ha-Bittahon'' (Korets, 1785) *''Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut'' (Mantua, 1558) *''Ma'amar ha-Sekhel'' (Cremona, 1557) One book ostensibly written by Bahya, edited by M. Homburg under the title of ''Soba Semakhot'' ("Fulness of Joy"), as being a commentary on the Book of Job, is actually a compilation made by a later editor from two of Bahye's actual works, ''Kad ha-Kemah'' (Constantinople, 1515) and ''Shulhan shel Arba'' (Mantua, 1514).

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Asher, Bahya 13th-century births 1340 deaths 13th-century Aragonese rabbis 14th-century Aragonese rabbis Kabbalists