''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' () was written by
Abraham ibn Daud around 1160–1161.
The book is a response to
Karaite attacks against the historical legitimacy of
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...
and contains, among other items, the controversial tale of the kidnapping by pirates of four great rabbinic scholars from Babylonian academies, whose subsequent ransoming by Jewish communities around the Mediterranean accounts for the transmission of scholarly legitimacy to the rabbis of Jewish centers in
North Africa
North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
and
Christian Spain.
Like the ''
Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon'' before it, the ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' forms an important component of
Jewish historiography. In terms of chronology, ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' continues where the ''Iggeret'' leaves off, adding invaluable historical anecdotes not found elsewhere. The ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' puts the compilation of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
by
Judah HaNasi in year 500 of the
Seleucid Era, corresponding to 189
CE.
At the time, the term ''qabbalah'' simply meant "tradition". It had not yet assumed the mythical and esoteric connotations for which it is now known.
Story of the Four Captives
The story describes a Muslim sea raider from
Córdoba, Spain
Córdoba ( ; ), or sometimes Cordova ( ), is a city in Andalusia, Spain, and the capital of the Province of Córdoba (Spain), province of Córdoba. It is the third most populated Municipalities in Spain, municipality in Andalusia.
The city prim ...
, most likely
Ibn Rumahis in 974, who captured a vessel that had departed from
Bari
Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...
in
southern Italy.
Onboard were four rabbis believed to be on a mission on behalf of the
Talmudic academies in Babylonia to raise funds for the
dowries of impoverished brides. These rabbis were eventually ransomed by Jewish communities:
* Rabbi
Shemariah ben Elhanan was redeemed in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt;
* Rabbi
Chushiel was in "Africa", likely
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
, and became the leader of the
Kairouan rabbis;
* Rabbi
Moses ben Hanoch and his son
Hanoch ben Moses were ransomed in Córdoba.
* A fourth captive and the location of his redemption was unspecified.
The story is not considered to be true, although the named individuals are well-known; for example, "Elḥanan b. Shemarya is thoroughly familiar to all
Geniza scholars as a Jewish communal leader in
Fustat who appears repeatedly in the early eleventh-century Geniza record."
Influence
Although ''Sefer ha-Qabbalah'' had enormous influence as an authority on the history of Spanish Jewry, modern scholarship no longer considers it to be objective history. Nonetheless, it is valuable as a source of information on the life and thought of 12th century Spain.
Further reading
*
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
1887 publication of ''Sefer Hakabbalah'' in ''Mediaeval Jewish chronicles and chronological notes''hebrewbooks.org: Full Text
12th-century books
Hebrew-language chronicles
Hebrew-language religious books
Jewish philosophical and ethical texts
Jewish Spanish history
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