Sahl ben Matzliah ( he, סהל בן מצליח הכהן, ''Sahl Ben Matzliah HaCohen'') (910–990), also known as Abu al-Sari was a Karaite philosopher and writer. Born in Jerusalem, he belonged to the

Rechabites The Rechabites () are a biblical clan, the descendants of Rechab through Jehonadab. Biblical sources The Rechabites belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the Israelites into the Holy Land and dwelt among them. The main body of the Kenites dwel ...

, 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. He was distinguished for his profound knowledge of Biblical and post-Biblical literature, and was a master of Arabic. Although he was one of Saadia Gaon's bitterest enemies, most of his attacks were directed against

Samuel ben Jacob Samuel ben Jacob ibn Jam or Samuel ben Jacob Jam'a (Hebrew: שמואל בן יעקב אבן ג'אמע) was rabbi of the North-African community of קאבס ( Gabès?) who flourished in the 12th century. He was on intimate terms with Abraham ibn Ezr ...

, a pupil of the gaon. The subject of his polemics, as with his predecessors, was the abolition of

purification law Purification is the process of rendering something pure, i.e. clean of foreign elements and/or pollution, and may refer to: Religion * Ritual purification, the religious activity to remove uncleanliness * Purification after death * Purification ...

s and of the lighting of lights and drawing of water on the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

. He often reproaches the Rabbinites for preaching and teaching for the sake of gain, asserting that their aims are not as free from selfishness as those of the Karaites. Sahl's polemics throw much light upon the degree of laxness in religious ceremonial prevalent in his time. Thus he complains against the Rabbinites that in many matters they openly made common cause with non-Jews and were thereby led astray from the strict observance of the dietary laws. Sahl was especially interested in calendric questions, and in one of his writings reviews the whole controversy between

Rabbi Meïr of Jerusalem 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 Saadia in order to draw attention to the conciliatory disposition of the Palestinian Jews. He rendered valuable services to Karaism by establishing four fundamental exegetical principles. These four principles were: #the laying of special emphasis on the literal interpretation of the Scriptures #speculation #inference by analogy (''hekkesh'') #the agreement of the totality. By these principles he made possible the acceptance by Karaism of many decisions not found in the Bible, and also brought about the introduction of many modifications in the ceremonial. Sahl was the author of the following works: *"Mishneh Torah," commentary on the Pentateuch (mentioned in "Orḥot Ẓaddiḳim," p. 24b; see Salomon Munk, "Notice sur Abul Walid Merwan ibn Djanah," iv. 6 * commentary on the books of Isaiah and Daniel (often mentioned in the "Ba'al ha-Mibḥar" of Aaron ben Joseph) *"Sefer Dinim" (a copy of this work, possessed by Dr. Munk, is entitled "Sefer ha-Miẓwot" and is ascribed to

Samuel Rofe Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

) *"Sefer ha-Miẓwot" *a grammatical-lexical work entitled "Leshon Limmudin" (Fürst, "Gesch. des Kaiäert." ii.91) *"Sefer Diḳduḳe," a Hebrew grammar *a long letter against

Jacob ben Samuel Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...

, protesting against public insult, and abuse (found by

Elijah Yerushalmi Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) was, according to the Books of ...

in Jerusalem) * ten unpublished ''responsa against'' Elijah Yerushalmi *an anti-Rabbinite poem, his name being given in acrostic *"Iggeret Toḥakat," or "Sefer Toḥakat."

References

*S. Pinsker, ''Liḳḳuṭe Ḳadmoniyyot,'' pp. 25, 26 et seq., 130, 168 *Fürst, ''Gesch. des Karäert.'' ii.90-96 *Gottlober, ''Biḳḳoret le-Toledot ha-Ḳara'im,'' 1865 *Winter and Wünsche, ''Die Jüdische Litteratur,'' ii.78-79, 81-86 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matzliah, Sahl ben 910 births 990 deaths Karaite rabbis Karaite Jews