Isaac ben Moses Arama
Encyclopedia
Isaac ben Moses Arama was a Spanish
rabbi
and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora
(probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona
, and later from that of Fraga in Aragon
. He officiated finally in Calatayud as rabbi and head of the Talmudical academy. Upon the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, Arama settled in Naples
, where he died in 1494.
Arama is the author of Aḳedat YiẓḦaḳ (Offering of Isaac), a lengthy philosophical commentary on the Pentateuch, homiletic in style. From this work he is frequently spoken of as the "Ba'al 'Aḳedah" (author of the Aḳedah). He also wrote a commentary upon the Five Scrolls, and a work called Ḥazut Ḳashah (A Burdensome Vision), upon the relation of philosophy to theology; also Yad Abshalom (The Hand of Absalom), a commentary on Proverbs
, written in memory of his son-in-law, Absalom, who died shortly after his marriage.
; but independent philosophical thought is hardly to be found in his work. His remarks concerning the nature of the soul (Aḳedah, chap. vi.) are noteworthy. After a detailed account of the various theories about the soul which had prevailed, he comes to the conclusion that the first germ of the soul, common to the whole human race, has its origin with and in the body. His theory is that of Alexander of Aphrodisias
— that the soul is the "form" of the organic body — but Arama is able to adduce support for it from Talmud
and Kabalah. The third element in Arama's mental composition was Kabalah as expounded in the Zohar
, which he believed to have been written by Simeon bar Yohai
. He did not, however, occupy himself so much with the mystical side of Kabalah as with its philosophy.
His earliest work, the Ḥazut Ḳashah, presenting in a certain sense an enunciation of Arama's religious philosophy, includes also much that is interesting pertaining to the history of the Jews in Spain prior to their expulsion. The aim of the work was to furnish a rejoinder to the missionary sermons of the Church, to which, under the laws then prevalent, the Jews were compelled to listen. Hence his polemic against the Christian dogma of Grace is the résumé of an oral disputation between Arama and a Christian scholar. In support of his attack upon this Christian dogma, Arama adduces the doctrine of the freedom of the will as formulated by Aristotle
, and the consideration of God's transcendent justice, which would make Grace to consist of nothing but the exercise of the will of a despot. Besides this instance of his polemics, his treatment of the Deluge contains several attacks upon Christianity
. The greater portion of the work, however, is devoted to the confutation of that philosophy which refuses to recognize Jewish revelation, or recognizes it only as identical with philosophy.
. The form of the sermons contained therein was closely imitated by the Darshanim. The old sermon was either didactic — among Germans, upon ritual matters; among Spanish and Provençal Jews, upon philosophy — or else it was of an edifying, moralizing nature, such as the Haggadot. Arama's sermons in this work were the first attempt to unite both these tendencies. Though not artistic, he should not be reproached therefor, but should rather be commended for having established a model for generations of darshanim and modern Jewish preachers. Beginning with a Biblical text, Arama constructs his sermon along the lines of some saying of the Haggadah, the connection of which with the text is expounded by means of a philosophic disquisition, popularly told, and interspersed with specifically rabbinical interpretations; each sermon thus satisfied the lovers of philosophy as well as of the Talmud. His commentary on the Five Scrolls partakes of the same philosophical and homiletic nature as the Aḳedat YiẓḦaḳ; it has not, however, received much attention at the hands of moderns.
Arama also attempted to write poetry, and is the author of a Baḳḳashah (supplication), which, although of no poetic excellence, has a certain charm.
Arama's writings enjoyed universal esteem immediately upon their appearance, to such an extent indeed that Isaac Abravanel, a younger contemporary of his, did not scruple to embody long passages in his own works. Arama himself, however, very often copied from Rabbi Abraham Bibago without mentioning him, as J. S. Del Medigo pointed out in his Maẓref la-Ḥokmah (Crucible for Wisdom). Arama's works were likewise esteemed by the Christian world; for in 1729 an academical dissertation by M. A. J. van der Hardt, of the University of Helmstedt
, was published under the title Dissertatio Rabbinica de Usu Linguæ in Akedat Ischak, treating of section 62 of Arama's work, giving it in Hebrew with Latin
translation.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
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...
and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora
Zamora, Spain
Zamora is a city in Castile and León, Spain, the capital of the province of Zamora. It lies on a rocky hill in the northwest, near the frontier with Portugal and crossed by the Duero river, which is some 50 km downstream as it reaches the Portuguese frontier...
(probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, and later from that of Fraga in Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
. He officiated finally in Calatayud as rabbi and head of the Talmudical academy. Upon the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, Arama settled in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, where he died in 1494.
Arama is the author of Aḳedat YiẓḦaḳ (Offering of Isaac), a lengthy philosophical commentary on the Pentateuch, homiletic in style. From this work he is frequently spoken of as the "Ba'al 'Aḳedah" (author of the Aḳedah). He also wrote a commentary upon the Five Scrolls, and a work called Ḥazut Ḳashah (A Burdensome Vision), upon the relation of philosophy to theology; also Yad Abshalom (The Hand of Absalom), a commentary on Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
, written in memory of his son-in-law, Absalom, who died shortly after his marriage.
As Talmudist and Philosopher
Arama was the very prototype of the Spanish-Jewish scholar of the second half of the fifteenth century. First of all he was a Talmudist. The study of the Talmud was of the utmost importance to him; so that he lamented deeply when his rabbinical pupils could not follow him from Zamora to Tarragona, because the latter community was unable to support them. In the next place, he was a philosopher. The study of philosophy was so universal in Spain at that period that no one could assume a public position who had not devoted himself to it. Arama had paid particular attention to MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
; but independent philosophical thought is hardly to be found in his work. His remarks concerning the nature of the soul (Aḳedah, chap. vi.) are noteworthy. After a detailed account of the various theories about the soul which had prevailed, he comes to the conclusion that the first germ of the soul, common to the whole human race, has its origin with and in the body. His theory is that of Alexander of Aphrodisias
Alexander of Aphrodisias
Alexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria, and lived and taught in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century, where he held a position as head of the...
— that the soul is the "form" of the organic body — but Arama is able to adduce support for it from Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Kabalah. The third element in Arama's mental composition was Kabalah as expounded in the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
, which he believed to have been written by Simeon bar Yohai
Simeon bar Yohai
Simeon bar Yochai, , also known by his acronym Rashbi, was a famous 1st-century tannaic sage in ancient Israel, active after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE...
. He did not, however, occupy himself so much with the mystical side of Kabalah as with its philosophy.
His earliest work, the Ḥazut Ḳashah, presenting in a certain sense an enunciation of Arama's religious philosophy, includes also much that is interesting pertaining to the history of the Jews in Spain prior to their expulsion. The aim of the work was to furnish a rejoinder to the missionary sermons of the Church, to which, under the laws then prevalent, the Jews were compelled to listen. Hence his polemic against the Christian dogma of Grace is the résumé of an oral disputation between Arama and a Christian scholar. In support of his attack upon this Christian dogma, Arama adduces the doctrine of the freedom of the will as formulated by Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, and the consideration of God's transcendent justice, which would make Grace to consist of nothing but the exercise of the will of a despot. Besides this instance of his polemics, his treatment of the Deluge contains several attacks upon Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. The greater portion of the work, however, is devoted to the confutation of that philosophy which refuses to recognize Jewish revelation, or recognizes it only as identical with philosophy.
Sermons Models for Future Preachers
Arama's chief work, which exercised great influence upon Jewish thought, and is still much read, is the Aḳedat YiẓḦaḳ. This is considered by many as the classical work upon Jewish homileticsHomiletics
Homiletics , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist....
. The form of the sermons contained therein was closely imitated by the Darshanim. The old sermon was either didactic — among Germans, upon ritual matters; among Spanish and Provençal Jews, upon philosophy — or else it was of an edifying, moralizing nature, such as the Haggadot. Arama's sermons in this work were the first attempt to unite both these tendencies. Though not artistic, he should not be reproached therefor, but should rather be commended for having established a model for generations of darshanim and modern Jewish preachers. Beginning with a Biblical text, Arama constructs his sermon along the lines of some saying of the Haggadah, the connection of which with the text is expounded by means of a philosophic disquisition, popularly told, and interspersed with specifically rabbinical interpretations; each sermon thus satisfied the lovers of philosophy as well as of the Talmud. His commentary on the Five Scrolls partakes of the same philosophical and homiletic nature as the Aḳedat YiẓḦaḳ; it has not, however, received much attention at the hands of moderns.
Arama also attempted to write poetry, and is the author of a Baḳḳashah (supplication), which, although of no poetic excellence, has a certain charm.
Arama's writings enjoyed universal esteem immediately upon their appearance, to such an extent indeed that Isaac Abravanel, a younger contemporary of his, did not scruple to embody long passages in his own works. Arama himself, however, very often copied from Rabbi Abraham Bibago without mentioning him, as J. S. Del Medigo pointed out in his Maẓref la-Ḥokmah (Crucible for Wisdom). Arama's works were likewise esteemed by the Christian world; for in 1729 an academical dissertation by M. A. J. van der Hardt, of the University of Helmstedt
Helmstedt
Helmstedt is a city located at the eastern edge of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is the capital of the District of Helmstedt. Helmstedt has 26,000 inhabitants . In former times the city was also called Helmstädt....
, was published under the title Dissertatio Rabbinica de Usu Linguæ in Akedat Ischak, treating of section 62 of Arama's work, giving it in Hebrew with Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
translation.