HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda, Bakuda,
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: , ar, بهية بن فاقودا), c. 1050–1120, was a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
philosopher and
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 ...
who lived at
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 ...
,
Al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...
(now
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 was one of two people now known as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being Bible commentator
Bahya ben Asher Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda. Biogra ...
.


Life and works

He was the author of the first Jewish system of
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...
, written in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
around 1080Diana Lobel, ''A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya ibn Paquda's "Duties of the Heart"'', Introduction, text: "The Hidāya was written in Judeo-Arabic around 1080." under the title ''Al Hidayah ila Faraid al-Qulub'', ''Guide to the Duties of the Heart'', and translated into Hebrew by
Judah ibn Tibbon Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120 – after 1190) was a translator and physician. Born in Granada, he left Spain in 1150, probably on account of persecution by the Almohades, and went to Lunel in southern France. Benjamin of Tudela mentions him ...
in the years 1161-80 under the title ''
Chovot HaLevavot ''Chovot HaLevavot'', or ''Ḥobot HaLebabot'' (; he, חובות הלבבות; English: ''Duties of the Hearts''), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name ''Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda''. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed ...
'', ''The Duties of the Heart''. Little is known of his life except that he bore the title of ''dayan'', judge at the
rabbinical court A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
. Bahya was thoroughly familiar with the Jewish
rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...
, as well as the philosophical and scientific Arabic, Greek and Roman literature, quoting frequently from the works of non-Jewish moral philosophers in his work. Bahya says in the introduction to ''Duties of the Heart'' that he wished to fill a great need in Jewish literature; he felt that neither the rabbis of the
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
nor subsequent rabbis adequately brought all the ethical teachings of Judaism into a coherent system. Bahya felt that many Jews paid attention only to the outward observance of
Jewish law ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws which is derived from the Torah, written and Oral Tora ...
, "the duties to be performed by the parts of the body" ("Hovot HaEvarim"), without regard to the inner ideas and sentiments that should be embodied in the Jewish way of life, "the duties of the heart" ("Hovot HaLev"). He also felt that many people disregarded all duties incumbent upon them, whether outward observances or inner moral obligations. In his view, most people acted in accord with selfish, worldly motives. Bahya therefore felt impelled to make an attempt to present the Jewish faith as being essentially a great spiritual truth founded on reason, revelation (especially as regarding the Torah), and Jewish tradition. He laid stress on the willingness and the joyful readiness of the God-loving heart to perform life's duties. He wrote: Many Jewish writers familiar with his work consider him an original thinker of high rank. According to the ''
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 ...
'': The ''Chovot HaLevavot'' became a popular book among the Jews throughout the world, and parts of it were once recited for devotional purposes during the days before
Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
, the Jewish New Year. His works served as inspiration and foundation for many later Jewish writers, including
Berachyah Berechiah ben Natronai Krespia ha-Nakdan ( he, ברכיה בן נטרונאי הנקדן; ) was a Jewish exegete, ethical writer, grammarian, translator, poet, and philosopher. His best-known works are '' Mishlè Shu'alim'' ("Fox Fables") and '' ...
in his encyclopedic philosophical work ''Sefer Hahibbur'' (The Book of Compilation).


Neoplatonism

He often followed the method of the anonymously-authored " Encyclopedia of the '
Brethren of Purity The Brethren of Purity ( ar, إخوان‌ الصفا, Ikhwān Al-Ṣafā; also The Brethren of Sincerity) were a secret society of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 9th or 10th century CE. The structure of the organization and the ide ...
'" ( ar, رسائل إخوان الصفاء وخلان الوفاء ''Rasā'il Ikhwān ṣ-Ṣafā). Inclined to contemplative mysticism and asceticism, Bahya eliminated from his system every element that he felt might obscure monotheism, or might interfere with Jewish law. He wanted to present a religious system at once lofty and pure and in full accord with reason.


References


External links


Shaar HaBitachon - Gate of Trust
(English translation of the original Shaar HaBitachon from Chovot HaLevavot,
Kehot Kehot Publication Society is the publishing division of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. History Kehot was established in 1941 by the sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. In 1942, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak appointed his son ...
2021)
The Duties of the Heart
(partial translation) at sacred-texts.com
Duties of the Heart / Chovot HaLevavot - free complete English translation

Bahya Ben Joseph ibn Pakuda
jewishencyclopedia.com article written by
Kaufmann Kohler Kaufmann Kohler (May 10, 1843 – January 28, 1926) was a German-born Jewish American biblical scholar and critic, theologian, Reform rabbi, and contributing editor to numerous articles of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906). Life and work Kaufm ...
&
Isaac Broydé Isaac David Broydé (23 February 1867, Grodno Governorate, Russian Empire – 15 April 1922, New York City) was an Orientalist and librarian. Life He was born in Porozowo, in the Grodno Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Belarus ...
.
Rabbi Bachaya Ibn Pakuda
at OU.org * The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart, from the Original Arabic Version of Bahya Ben Joseph Ibn Pakuda's al-Hidaya ila Fara'id al-Qulub by Menahem Mansoor (the only English translation from the original Arabic) * ''A Sufi-Jewish Dialogue: Philosophy and Mysticism in Bahya ibn Paquda's Duties of the Heart'', Diana Lobel * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahya Ibn Paquda Ibn Paquda, Bahya 12th-century rabbis of Al-Andalus 11th-century rabbis of Al-Andalus Writers of Musar literature Jewish ethicists