Judah Hadassi
Encyclopedia
Judah ben Elijah Hadassi (in Hebrew
, Yehuda ben Eliyahu) was a Karaite Jewish scholar, controversialist, and liturgist
who flourished at Constantinople
in the middle of the twelfth century. He was known by the nickname "ha-Abel," which signifies "mourner of Zion." Neubauer
thinks that "Hadassi" means "native of Edessa
"
Nothing of Hadassi's life is known except that he was the pupil of his elder brother Nathan Hadassi.
He dealt with Hebrew grammar
, Masorah
, theology
, and philosophy
, and knew Arabic and Greek
well.
It is a treatise on the Ten Commandments
, in which the author endeavored to explain them philosophically, and in which he applied all his analytical talent and scholarship. He starts from the premise that all laws contained in the Pentateuch, and those added by the Rabbi
s, as well as the minor ethical laws by which the Jews regulate their daily life, are implied in the Ten Commandments. Hadassi enumerates, under the head of each of the Ten Commandments, a complete series of coordinate laws; and the whole work is mapped out according to this plan.
The work embodies not only much of the science of his time, but even legends and folk-lore, so that it has appropriately been termed "a sea of learning."
It is written in rhymed prose
, the general rhyme throughout the work being ך; and the initial letters of the successive verses form alternately the acrostics of אבגד and תשרק, repeated 379 times. The alphabetic chapters 105-124 are, however, in the regular form of poems.
The first commandment (alphabets 1-95) affirms the existence of God
and covers the duties of the created toward the Creator, dealing, for instance, with prayer, repentance, future punishment and reward, and resurrection. Beginning with alphabet 35, Hadassi considers the nature of God, of creation, of angels, of the celestial bodies, etc. In fact, this part of the work is a compendium of religious philosophy, astronomy, physics, natural history, geography, and folk-lore.
The second commandment (alphabets 96-129) affirms the unity of God. Here Hadassi refutes the views of other sects; for example, the Christian
s, Rabbinites
, Samaritan
s, and Sadducees
, who maintain the eternity of the world. He is indignant at those who identify the Karaites with the Sadducees, and shows great animosity toward the Rabbinites. Alphabets 99-100 contain a violent attack upon Christianity.
The third commandment (alphabets 130-143) and the fourth commandment (alphabets 144-248) covers laws concerning the Sabbath, and the holidays and to the laws connected with them, as those relating to sacrifices, which include all laws concerning the kohanim, slaughtering
, tzitzit
, etc.
This part is the more important as it contains Hadassi's views on exegesis
and grammar
. To be able to discuss with the Rabbinites the kinds of work permitted or forbidden on the Sabbath
, he was obliged to state his own exegetical rules, and to show that Karaites are not inferior to the Rabbinites as exegetes. After giving the thirteen rules ("middot") of R. Ishmael ben Elisha
and the thirty-two of R. Eliezer ben Jose
ha-Gelili, he gives his own, dividing them into two groups, one of sixty and one of eighty, and finding an allusion to them in the Song of Solomon
vi. 8. The sixty "queens" denote the sixty grammatical rules, headed by five "kings" (the five vowels); the eighty "concubines" denote the eighty exegetical rules; and the "virgins without number" represent the numberless grammatical forms in the Hebrew language.
Considering phonetics as necessary for the interpretation of the Law, Hadassi devotes to this study a long treatise, in the form of questions and answers.
The fifth commandment (alphabets 249-264) covers laws regulating the relations between parents and children, of inheritance, mourning, etc.
The sixth commandment (alphabets 265-274) and the seventh commandment (alphabets 275-336) covers laws concerning adultery
, incest
, cleanliness and uncleanliness, women in childbirth
, and the fruit of the first three years.
The eighth commandment (alphabets 337-353) covers laws on the different kinds of theft and fraud.
The ninth commandment (alphabets 354-362) discusses all kinds of false witnesses, including false prophets.
Finally, the tenth commandment (alphabets 363-379) deals with the laws implied in the prohibition against covetousness.
Hadassi illustrates his explanations by examples interspersed with tales and legends.
The sources upon which he drew included the Ma'aseh Bereshit of R. Ishmael ben Elisha
; the Baraita
of R. Samuel of Nehardea
, for astronomy; the Josippon
for history; David ben Merwan al-Mukkamas
' work on the sects; Eldad ha-Dani
, for legends; while for grammar he utilized especially the Karaite grammarians, though he also made use of the Rabbinites, quoting Judah Hayyuj
and ibn Janah. One should also note that Hadassi included in his "Eshkol" the first grammatical work of Abraham ibn Ezra
, without acknowledgment.
In attacking the Rabbinites, he followed the example of his predecessors, as Solomon ben Jeroham
, Japheth ben Ali, Sahl ben Matzliah
, and others.
This work was printed at Eupatoria
(1836), with an introduction by Caleb Afendopolo
entitled Nahal Eshkol. Alphabets 99-100 and part of 98 were excluded from this edition by the censor, but have been published by Bacher in J. Q. R. Hadassi mentions a previously written work of his entitled Sefer Teren bi-Teren, a collection of homonyms which, he says, was an addition to the eighty pairs of Ben Asher (alphabets 163 ב, 168 ס, 173 נ). There exists also a fragment which Abraham Firkovich
entitled Sefer ha-Yalqut and attributed to Hadassi, while Pinsker regarded it as an extract from Tobiah's Sefer ha-Mitzvot. P. F. Frankl, however, agreed with Firkovich in regarding it as a part of the "Eshkol ha-Kofer," which Hadassi had previously written in prose.
In the Karaite Siddur
there are four piyyut
im by Hadassi.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Yehuda ben Eliyahu) was a Karaite Jewish scholar, controversialist, and liturgist
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
who flourished at Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in the middle of the twelfth century. He was known by the nickname "ha-Abel," which signifies "mourner of Zion." Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer was sublibrarian at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University....
thinks that "Hadassi" means "native of Edessa
Edessa
Edessa may refer to:*Edessa, Greece*Edessa, Mesopotamia, now Şanlıurfa, Turkey*County of Edessa, a crusader state*Osroene, an ancient kingdom and province of the Roman Empire...
"
Nothing of Hadassi's life is known except that he was the pupil of his elder brother Nathan Hadassi.
He dealt with Hebrew grammar
Hebrew grammar
-History of studies in Hebrew grammar:The Masoretes in the 7th to 11th centuries laid the foundation for grammatical analysis of Hebrew. As early as the 9th century Judah ibn Kuraish discussed the relationship between Arabic and Hebrew...
, Masorah
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...
, theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and knew Arabic and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
well.
Eshkol ha-Kofer
Hadassi acquired his reputation by his treatise Eshkol ha-Kofer or Sefer ha-Peles, on which he began work on 9 October 1148.It is a treatise on the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, in which the author endeavored to explain them philosophically, and in which he applied all his analytical talent and scholarship. He starts from the premise that all laws contained in the Pentateuch, and those added by the Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s, as well as the minor ethical laws by which the Jews regulate their daily life, are implied in the Ten Commandments. Hadassi enumerates, under the head of each of the Ten Commandments, a complete series of coordinate laws; and the whole work is mapped out according to this plan.
The work embodies not only much of the science of his time, but even legends and folk-lore, so that it has appropriately been termed "a sea of learning."
It is written in rhymed prose
Rhymed prose
Rhymed prose is a literary form and literary genre, written in unmetrical rhymes. This form has been known in many different cultures. In some cases the rhymed prose is a distinctive, well-defined style of writing...
, the general rhyme throughout the work being ך; and the initial letters of the successive verses form alternately the acrostics of אבגד and תשרק, repeated 379 times. The alphabetic chapters 105-124 are, however, in the regular form of poems.
The first commandment (alphabets 1-95) affirms the existence of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and covers the duties of the created toward the Creator, dealing, for instance, with prayer, repentance, future punishment and reward, and resurrection. Beginning with alphabet 35, Hadassi considers the nature of God, of creation, of angels, of the celestial bodies, etc. In fact, this part of the work is a compendium of religious philosophy, astronomy, physics, natural history, geography, and folk-lore.
The second commandment (alphabets 96-129) affirms the unity of God. Here Hadassi refutes the views of other sects; for example, the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, Rabbinites
Rabbinic Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism or Rabbinism has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Talmud...
, Samaritan
Samaritan
The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant. Religiously, they are the adherents to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic religion closely related to Judaism...
s, and Sadducees
Sadducees
The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
, who maintain the eternity of the world. He is indignant at those who identify the Karaites with the Sadducees, and shows great animosity toward the Rabbinites. Alphabets 99-100 contain a violent attack upon Christianity.
The third commandment (alphabets 130-143) and the fourth commandment (alphabets 144-248) covers laws concerning the Sabbath, and the holidays and to the laws connected with them, as those relating to sacrifices, which include all laws concerning the kohanim, slaughtering
Shechita
Shechita is the ritual slaughter of mammals and birds according to Jewish dietary laws...
, tzitzit
Tzitzit
The Hebrew noun tzitzit is the name for specially knotted ritual fringes worn by observant Jews. Tzitzit are attached to the four corners of the tallit and tallit katan.-Etymology:The word may derive from the semitic root N-TZ-H...
, etc.
This part is the more important as it contains Hadassi's views on exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
and grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
. To be able to discuss with the Rabbinites the kinds of work permitted or forbidden on the Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, he was obliged to state his own exegetical rules, and to show that Karaites are not inferior to the Rabbinites as exegetes. After giving the thirteen rules ("middot") of R. Ishmael ben Elisha
Ishmael ben Elisha
Rabbi Ishmael or Ishmael ben Elisha was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries . A Tanna is a rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah.-Disposition:...
and the thirty-two of R. Eliezer ben Jose
Eliezer ben Jose
Eliezer ben Jose was a Jewish rabbi who lived in Judea in the 2nd century. He was the son of Jose the Galilean, and is regarded as a Tanna of the fourth generation. He was a pupil of Rabbi Akiba . While he cultivated both the Halakha Eliezer ben Jose (Heb. Eliezer ben Yose ha-Gelili) was a Jewish...
ha-Gelili, he gives his own, dividing them into two groups, one of sixty and one of eighty, and finding an allusion to them in the Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
vi. 8. The sixty "queens" denote the sixty grammatical rules, headed by five "kings" (the five vowels); the eighty "concubines" denote the eighty exegetical rules; and the "virgins without number" represent the numberless grammatical forms in the Hebrew language.
Considering phonetics as necessary for the interpretation of the Law, Hadassi devotes to this study a long treatise, in the form of questions and answers.
The fifth commandment (alphabets 249-264) covers laws regulating the relations between parents and children, of inheritance, mourning, etc.
The sixth commandment (alphabets 265-274) and the seventh commandment (alphabets 275-336) covers laws concerning adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
, incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
, cleanliness and uncleanliness, women in childbirth
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
, and the fruit of the first three years.
The eighth commandment (alphabets 337-353) covers laws on the different kinds of theft and fraud.
The ninth commandment (alphabets 354-362) discusses all kinds of false witnesses, including false prophets.
Finally, the tenth commandment (alphabets 363-379) deals with the laws implied in the prohibition against covetousness.
Hadassi illustrates his explanations by examples interspersed with tales and legends.
Model and sources
Obviously his model was Nissim ben Noah's Bitan ha-Maskilim, or Peles Bi'ur ha-Mitzvot, written 370 years earlier.The sources upon which he drew included the Ma'aseh Bereshit of R. Ishmael ben Elisha
Ishmael ben Elisha
Rabbi Ishmael or Ishmael ben Elisha was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries . A Tanna is a rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah.-Disposition:...
; the Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
of R. Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
, for astronomy; the Josippon
Josippon
Josippon is the name usually given to a popular chronicle of Jewish history from Adam to the age of Titus, attributed to an author Josippon or Joseph ben Gorion....
for history; David ben Merwan al-Mukkamas
David ben Merwan al-Mukkamas
David ibn Merwan al-Mukkamas al-Rakki was a philosopher and controversialist, the author of the earliest known Jewish philosophical work of the Middle Ages. He was a native of Rakka, Mesopotamia, whence his surname...
' work on the sects; Eldad ha-Dani
Eldad ha-Dani
Eldad ha-Dani or Eldad HaDani or Eldad ben Mahli ha-Dani was a Jewish, Hebrew-writing merchant and traveler of the ninth century. He professed to have been a citizen of an "independent Jewish state" in eastern Africa, probably in the Gihon region, inhabited by people claiming descent from the...
, for legends; while for grammar he utilized especially the Karaite grammarians, though he also made use of the Rabbinites, quoting Judah Hayyuj
Judah ben David Hayyuj
Judah ben David Hayyuj was a Jewish linguist. He is regarded as the father of scientific grammar of Hebrew language. He was born in Fez, Morocco, about 945...
and ibn Janah. One should also note that Hadassi included in his "Eshkol" the first grammatical work of Abraham ibn Ezra
Abraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
, without acknowledgment.
In attacking the Rabbinites, he followed the example of his predecessors, as Solomon ben Jeroham
Solomon ben Jeroham
Solomon ben Jeroham, in Arabic Sulaym ibn Ruhaym, was a Karaite exegete and controversialist who flourished at Jerusalem between 940 and 960. He was considered one of the greatest authorities among the Karaites, by whom he is called "the Wise" , and who mention him after Benjamin Nahawendi in their...
, Japheth ben Ali, Sahl ben Matzliah
Sahl ben Matzliah
Sahl ben Matzliah , also known as Abu al-Sari was a Karaite philosopher and writer.Born in Jerusalem, he belonged to the Rechabites, and was one of the apostles of the Karaites who traveled extensively to win new adherents for Karaism and thereby strengthen the failing faith of their coreligionists...
, and others.
This work was printed at Eupatoria
Eupatoria
Yevpatoria or Eupatoria is a city in Crimea, Ukraine.-History:The first recorded settlement in the area, called Kerkinitis , was built by Greek colonists around 500 BC...
(1836), with an introduction by Caleb Afendopolo
Caleb Afendopolo
Caleb Afendopolo was a Jewish polyhistor. He was the brother of Samuel ha-Ramati, ḥakam of the Karaite congregations in Constantinople and of Judah Bali, brother-in-law and disciple of Elijah Bashyatzi.According to a notice found in a Paris manuscript, he supported himself by giving...
entitled Nahal Eshkol. Alphabets 99-100 and part of 98 were excluded from this edition by the censor, but have been published by Bacher in J. Q. R. Hadassi mentions a previously written work of his entitled Sefer Teren bi-Teren, a collection of homonyms which, he says, was an addition to the eighty pairs of Ben Asher (alphabets 163 ב, 168 ס, 173 נ). There exists also a fragment which Abraham Firkovich
Abraham Firkovich
Abraham ben Samuel Firkovich was a famous leader of the Qarays . He was born in Lutsk, Volhynia, then lived in Lithuania, and finally settled in Çufut Qale, Crimea. Firkovich was a communal leader and hakham...
entitled Sefer ha-Yalqut and attributed to Hadassi, while Pinsker regarded it as an extract from Tobiah's Sefer ha-Mitzvot. P. F. Frankl, however, agreed with Firkovich in regarding it as a part of the "Eshkol ha-Kofer," which Hadassi had previously written in prose.
In the Karaite Siddur
Siddur
A siddur is a Jewish prayer book, containing a set order of daily prayers. This article discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur, as it is known today has developed...
there are four piyyut
Piyyut
A piyyut or piyut is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Piyyutim have been written since Temple times...
im by Hadassi.
Resources
- Kohler, Kaufman and M. Seligsohn. "Hadassi, Judah b. Elijah Ha-Abel". Jewish EncyclopediaJewish EncyclopediaThe Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906, which cites the following bibliography: - Pinsker, Liḳḳuṭe Ḳadmoniyyot, p. 223; Supplement, p. 93;
- Jost, Gesch. des Judenthums, ii. 352 et seq.;
- Fürst, Gesch. des Karäert. ii. 211 et seq.:
- P. F. Frankl, in Monatsschrift, xxxi. 1-13, 72-85;
- Bacher, ib. xl. 14, 68, 109;
- J. Q. R. viii. 431 et seq.;
- Gottlober, Biḳḳoret le-Toledot ha-Ḳaraïm, p. 172;
- introduction to Eshkol ha-Kofer by Caleb AfendopoloCaleb AfendopoloCaleb Afendopolo was a Jewish polyhistor. He was the brother of Samuel ha-Ramati, ḥakam of the Karaite congregations in Constantinople and of Judah Bali, brother-in-law and disciple of Elijah Bashyatzi.According to a notice found in a Paris manuscript, he supported himself by giving...
, entitled Nahal Eshkol