Aaron ben Joseph of Constantinople (c. 1260 – c. 1320) (not to be confused with his near-contemporary,
Aaron ben Eliyahu of Nicomedia
Aaron ben Elijah (Aharon son of Eliyahu), ''the Latter, of Nicomedia'' (אהרון בן אליהו האחרון 1328/1329 – 1369) is often considered to be the most prominent Karaite (Jewish sect), Karaite theologian. He is referred to as " ...
), was an eminent teacher, philosopher, physician, and liturgical poet in
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 (" ...
, the capital of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
.
Background
Aaron ben Joseph was born in
Solkhat
Staryi Krym (russian: Старый Крым; uk, Старий Крим; crh, Eski Qırım, italic=yes; in all three languages) is a small historical town and former bishopric in Kirovske Raion of Crimea, Ukraine. It has been illegally occupie ...
,
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
. He took a prominent part in the regeneration of
Karaism
Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme au ...
by the help of philosophical elements borrowed from
Rabbanite
Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
literature. When only nineteen years of age he had mastered the theological knowledge of his time to such a degree that he was elected the spiritual head of the Karaite community of his native town, and in that capacity he engaged the Rabbanite teachers in a public dispute to determine the correct time for the new moon. He then journeyed through many lands and diligently studied the works of
Abraham ibn Ezra,
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
,
Nahmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
and
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
. Being, as he said, eager to arrive at "the truth without bias and prejudice, and free from partisan spirit," he determined to accept the results of his investigation, even if they conflicted with Karaite teachings and traditions. In this spirit of fairness he wrote, in 1294, while following the profession of a physician in Constantinople, the work which established his fame and influence despite his Rabbanite proclivities. This work was the "Mibhar" (The Choice), a commentary on the
Pentateuch
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 sa ...
, written in the terse, concise, and often obscure style and after the critical method of Ibn Ezra, and this became to the later generation of Karaite teachers a source of instruction in religious philosophy, in exegesis, and in practical theology, that is, the observance of 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 s ...
.
Theology
Like ibn Ezra, he presents his theology not in systematic and coherent form, but in observations made throughout the book, in connection with the various portions of the Torah. Unlike ibn Ezra, however, he avoids references to hidden mysteries of the
Biblical text, insisting always on its plain meaning or its possible figurative significance. For the latter he especially uses the commentary of Nahmanides, whose pupil he is erroneously said to have been. Like
Judah Hadassi
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 signifi ...
and Maimonides, he accentuates the spirituality of
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
; but, unlike these, he assumes certain attributes of God to be inseparable from His essence, but to be taken rather as human forms of speech. In connection with this he dwells especially on the will of God, by which the world was created, and by which the celestial bodies are moved and governed.
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s are to him intelligences emanating from the divine intellect, not created beings; and the existence of
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
s he rejects as an absurdity. God's saying, "Let us make man!" he explains as signifying the cooperation of the spiritual with the sensuous in the creation and evolution of man; and when God is described as giving names to things, the meaning is that He prompts man to do so. Still, he opposes that rationalism which dissolves miracles into natural occurrences. Prophecy he explains as a psychological, not a physical, process, manifested in different forms; either the inner eye or ear perceiving the object in a vision or dream, or, the truth being on a higher plane, communicated intuitively. Only
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
received the divine
revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
directly and clearly without any mind-obscuring vision.
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
's call to sacrifice his son he takes to be a mere vision. Aaron is very outspoken on the subject of man's
free will
Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to actio ...
, opposing emphatically the notion held by ibn Ezra and others, that human destiny or disposition is influenced by the planets. The expression, that God hardened the heart of
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
, he so interprets as not to contravene the principle of free will.
The most important of the
Commandments
Commandment may refer to:
* The Ten Commandments
* One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism
* The Great Commandment
* The New Commandment
The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, ac ...
Aaron declares, against older Karaite teachers and in accordance with the Rabbanites, to be the first of the
Decalogue
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
, which makes of the knowledge of God a positive command, as this alone gives to the observance of all the other laws its inner value and its life-consecrating character. Often, in the interpretation of the Law or in regard to its spirit, as in regard to the law of retaliation, "
eye for an eye
"An eye for an eye" ( hbo, עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן, ) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The principle exists also in Babylonian law.
In Roman c ...
and tooth for tooth," he sides with the Rabbanites. Everywhere he shows himself to be of sound, independent judgment. He virtually accepts the principle of tradition, rejecting it only when it conflicts with the letter of Scripture. His conception of the human soul is peculiar and probably influenced by his medical studies: it seems to him in its various functions dependent upon the brain, the blood, and the spinal cord or marrow; whereas otherwise he claims full independence for the immortal spirit. Here his physiology and theology do not harmonize.
Liturgical and other works
Aaron ben Joseph achieved more permanent results for the Karaites by his liturgical work than by his commentary. It was his "Seder Tefillot" (Book of Prayers and Hymns) that was adopted by most of the Karaite congregations as the standard prayer-book, and that probably earned for him the epithet "ha-Kadosh" (the Saint). He not only enlarged the older Karaite ritual by his own compositions, many of which are rather mystical in character and not of great literary merit, but he also embodied in this ritual the hymns of
Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
,
Judah ha-Levi
Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...
, ibn Ezra, and other great liturgical poets of the Rabbanites, thus showing his broadness of mind as well as his fine judgment and taste. He also composed a didactic poem, presenting in brief rimes for popular instruction and education the contents and spiritual lessons of each weekly portion of the Pentateuch. He wrote, besides, brief commentaries on the earlier
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
s; on the later Prophets, of which only that on Isaiah has been preserved; and on the
Hagiographa
The Ketuvim (; hbo, , Modern: ''Kəṯūvīm'', Tiberian: ''Kăṯūḇīm'' "writings") is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (instruction) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bi ...
, of which the one on Job is mentioned in his Pentateuch commentary, and the one on the Psalms has been preserved only in part. He wrote, also, a grammar under the title of "Kelil Yofi" (Diadem of Beauty), a compilation from older works, with his own additions, among which was a chapter on Bible exegesis; but he left it unfinished. It was completed by Isaac Tishbi and published at Constantinople, in 1581, and at Koslov, in 1847.
Aaron ben Joseph's "Mibḥar" (existing in
Leyden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration with ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and elsewhere in manuscript) was published with a commentary by
Joseph Solomon ben Moses Yerushalmi
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, at
Yevpatoria
Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative ...
, in 1835. For other commentaries see Tishbi, Elijah Rabbani ben Judah, Kalai, Samuel ben Joseph, and Luzki, Mordecai ben Nissan. His commentary on the earlier prophets and Isaiah, chaps. i.-lix., was edited under the title "Mibḥar Yesharim," by
Abraham Firkovich
Abraham (Avraham) ben Samuel Firkovich (Hebrew אברהם בן שמואל - ''Avraham ben Shmuel''; Karayce: Аврагъам Фиркович - ''Avragham Firkovich'') (Sept. 27, 1786–June 7, 1874) was a famous Karaite writer and archaeologi ...
, who completed the commentary on Isaiah, at Eupatoria, 1835; better manuscripts are in Leyden. Aaron ben Joseph's commentary on the Psalms exists in Leyden in manuscript only and is incomplete. His liturgy, "Seder Tefillot," appeared first in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
(D. Bomberg), 1525–29; then in
Çufut Qale
__NOTOC__
Chufut-Kale ( crh, Çufut Qale, italic=yes ; Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Чуфут-Кале - ''Chufut-Kale''; Karaim language, Karaim: Кала - קלעה - ''Kala'') is a medieval city-fortress in the C ...
, 1734 and 1805; and in
Yevpatoria
Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative ...
, 1836.
See also
*
Constantinopolitan Karaites
The Constantinopolitan Karaites or Greco-Karaites are a Karaite community with a specific historical development and a distinct cultural, linguistic and literary heritage stemming from their residency in the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. ...
*
Abraham Kirimi, student of Aaron ben Joseph
References
"Aaron ben Joseph, the Karaite".''
Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
.'' Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906; which contains the following bibliography:
**Grätz, ''Gesch. d. Juden,'' vii.323 et seq.;
**Fürst, ''Gesch. d. Karäert.,'' ii.238-250;
**Jost, ''Gesch. d. Judenthums,'' ii.356-361;
**Neubauer, ''Aus d. Petersburger Bibliothek,'' p. 56;
**Hamburger, in Winter and Wünsche's ''Jüdische Literatur,'' ii.93-99, where a few specimens of his style are given in German translation;
**Schreiner, ''Der Kalam in d. Jüdischen Literatur,'' 1895, p. 57.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantinople, Aaron ben Joseph
1260s births
1320s deaths
Karaite rabbis
Medieval Karaite Jewish physicians
Crimean Karaites
Jewish physicians of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine poets
Byzantine philosophers
Hebrew-language poets
Medieval Jewish poets
13th-century Byzantine physicians
14th-century Byzantine physicians
13th-century Byzantine rabbis
14th-century Byzantine rabbis
13th-century Byzantine writers
14th-century Byzantine writers