Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta
Encyclopedia
Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta (c. 1160 – 1226) was a Jewish physician and poet, and disciple of Moses Maimonides.
It is as an address to Joseph that Maimonides introduces his Guide for the Perplexed
.
then part of the Almohad Empire.
Joseph ben Judah left the Maghreb
, when he was about twenty-five years old, and was already engaged in the practise of medicine (Salomon Munk
, "Notice sur Joseph b. Jehudah," in "Jour. Asiatique," 1842, p. 14). When not occupied with professional work he wrote Hebrew poems, which were known to Al-Ḥarizi, and in his "Taḥkemoni" (xviii.) the latter speaks highly of them. Maimonides, to whom Joseph sent his poems together with other compositions from Alexandria, was not so lavish with his praise. He appreciated only the great longing for higher studies which found expression in Joseph ben Judah's poems.
Joseph ben Judah went from Alexandria to Fusṭaṭ (Cairo
) and studied logic, mathematics, and astronomy under Maimonides. Maimonides likewise expounded the writings of the Prophets, because Joseph seemed perplexed as to the possibility of reconciling the teachings of the Prophets with the results of metaphysical research. Maimonides advised patience and systematic study; but the disciple left before Maimonides had completed his course of lectures on the Prophets (Maimonides, "Moreh Nebukim," Introduction). His stay with Maimonides was short (Munk, l.c. p. 34): less than two years.
Ben Judah went further east and settled in Aleppo
. Here he established himself as a medical practitioner, married, and made a successful commercial journey which enabled him to live henceforth independently and free from care. It was probably in the course of this journey that he witnessed at Baghdad
the burning of the works of the philosopher 'Abd al-Salam (1192).
After the departure of Joseph from Fusṭaṭ the intercourse between master and disciple was continued in writing. Maimonides's Moreh Nebukim (Guide for the Perplexed) was written for Joseph and for those like him who found it difficult to harmonize the results of philosophical research with the teachings of the Prophets.
Joseph, however, was not convinced; for he writes allegorically to his master as follows:
Maimonides replies in the same style, declaring the innocence of his daughter and the guilt of the husband; and he advises his disciple to have faith in God, and to be more modest and more careful in his utterances lest he bring evil upon himself.
Joseph remained, however, a true disciple of his master. He abandoned his other pursuits and wished to open a school. Maimonides dissuaded him from the undertaking, unless he should do it without seeking material profit from his teaching. When, thirty years later, Al-Ḥarizi visited Aleppo (1217) he found Joseph in the zenith of his glory. He praised him as the "Western light," and applied to him the words of Scripture, "and Joseph was ruler over the whole land; he supplied food for all" ("Taḥkemoni," xlvi., l.). He must indeed have had great authority when he defended his master and silenced the opposition expressed by some rabbis in Bagdad against the works of Maimonides. Maimonides exhorted Joseph to moderation, begging him, being young in years, not to oppose an old rabbi whose authority was recognized in the congregation (see "Birkat Abraham," Lyck, 1859; "Zikronot," ii.: a letter written by Maimonides in 1192).
Joseph was twice married: by the first wife he had two daughters; by the second, several sons.
His only other surviving work is a dissertation in Arabic on the problem of Creation. This appears (but is not certain) to have been written before his contact with Maimonides - the opinions attributed to philosophy are those of Avicenna
.
It is entitled Ma'amar bimehuyav ha-metsiut ve'eykhut sidur ha-devarim mimenu vehidush ha'olam (A Treatise as to (1) Necessary Existence (2) The Procedure of Things from the Necessary Existence and (3) The Creation of the World).
In it, as summarised by Sirat, "the necessity of God's existence is first demonstrated by Avicenna's proof of contingency, but this demonstration is, as the author says, that of the philosophers, and seems to him less convincing than that proposed by the theologians - the mutakallimūn
, who affirm not only the existence of a necessary being, but the temporal creation of the world, which cannot be deduced by philosophical demonstration. In effect, only divine choice and will can explain the multiplicity evident in the world, for out of an absolutely One and Only God only unity can necessarily proceed; the multiplicity that exists in fact is therefore an act of will and not the consequence of a necessary cause".
It is as an address to Joseph that Maimonides introduces his Guide for the Perplexed
Guide for the Perplexed
The Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
.
Life
For the first 25 years of his life ben Judah lived with his father, who was an artisan at CeutaCeuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
then part of the Almohad Empire.
Joseph ben Judah left the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, when he was about twenty-five years old, and was already engaged in the practise of medicine (Salomon Munk
Salomon Munk
Salomon Munk was a German-born Jewish-French Orientalist.Munk was born in Gross Glogau in the Kingdom of Prussia. He received his first instruction in Hebrew from his father, an official of the Jewish community; and on the latter's death he joined the Talmud class of R. Jacob Joseph Oettinger...
, "Notice sur Joseph b. Jehudah," in "Jour. Asiatique," 1842, p. 14). When not occupied with professional work he wrote Hebrew poems, which were known to Al-Ḥarizi, and in his "Taḥkemoni" (xviii.) the latter speaks highly of them. Maimonides, to whom Joseph sent his poems together with other compositions from Alexandria, was not so lavish with his praise. He appreciated only the great longing for higher studies which found expression in Joseph ben Judah's poems.
Joseph ben Judah went from Alexandria to Fusṭaṭ (Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
) and studied logic, mathematics, and astronomy under Maimonides. Maimonides likewise expounded the writings of the Prophets, because Joseph seemed perplexed as to the possibility of reconciling the teachings of the Prophets with the results of metaphysical research. Maimonides advised patience and systematic study; but the disciple left before Maimonides had completed his course of lectures on the Prophets (Maimonides, "Moreh Nebukim," Introduction). His stay with Maimonides was short (Munk, l.c. p. 34): less than two years.
Ben Judah went further east and settled in Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. Here he established himself as a medical practitioner, married, and made a successful commercial journey which enabled him to live henceforth independently and free from care. It was probably in the course of this journey that he witnessed at Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
the burning of the works of the philosopher 'Abd al-Salam (1192).
After the departure of Joseph from Fusṭaṭ the intercourse between master and disciple was continued in writing. Maimonides's Moreh Nebukim (Guide for the Perplexed) was written for Joseph and for those like him who found it difficult to harmonize the results of philosophical research with the teachings of the Prophets.
Joseph, however, was not convinced; for he writes allegorically to his master as follows:
- "Thy daughter Kimah [i.e., Maimonides' method of reconciling theology and philosophy: the most difficult point in his theory seems to have been the explanation of prophecy], whom I loved and married according to law and custom, in the presence of two witnesses, 'Abd Allah and Ibn Rushd, turned her face from me to follow other men. There must be something wrong in her education. Restore the wife to her husband, 'for he is a prophet.'"
Maimonides replies in the same style, declaring the innocence of his daughter and the guilt of the husband; and he advises his disciple to have faith in God, and to be more modest and more careful in his utterances lest he bring evil upon himself.
Joseph remained, however, a true disciple of his master. He abandoned his other pursuits and wished to open a school. Maimonides dissuaded him from the undertaking, unless he should do it without seeking material profit from his teaching. When, thirty years later, Al-Ḥarizi visited Aleppo (1217) he found Joseph in the zenith of his glory. He praised him as the "Western light," and applied to him the words of Scripture, "and Joseph was ruler over the whole land; he supplied food for all" ("Taḥkemoni," xlvi., l.). He must indeed have had great authority when he defended his master and silenced the opposition expressed by some rabbis in Bagdad against the works of Maimonides. Maimonides exhorted Joseph to moderation, begging him, being young in years, not to oppose an old rabbi whose authority was recognized in the congregation (see "Birkat Abraham," Lyck, 1859; "Zikronot," ii.: a letter written by Maimonides in 1192).
Joseph was twice married: by the first wife he had two daughters; by the second, several sons.
Works
Joseph's poems are all lost except one in praise of Maimonides, and the beginning of another preserved by AlḤarizi.His only other surviving work is a dissertation in Arabic on the problem of Creation. This appears (but is not certain) to have been written before his contact with Maimonides - the opinions attributed to philosophy are those of Avicenna
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
.
It is entitled Ma'amar bimehuyav ha-metsiut ve'eykhut sidur ha-devarim mimenu vehidush ha'olam (A Treatise as to (1) Necessary Existence (2) The Procedure of Things from the Necessary Existence and (3) The Creation of the World).
In it, as summarised by Sirat, "the necessity of God's existence is first demonstrated by Avicenna's proof of contingency, but this demonstration is, as the author says, that of the philosophers, and seems to him less convincing than that proposed by the theologians - the mutakallimūn
Kalam
ʿIlm al-Kalām is the Islamic philosophical discipline of seeking theological principles through dialectic. Kalām in Islamic practice relates to the discipline of seeking theological knowledge through debate and argument. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim...
, who affirm not only the existence of a necessary being, but the temporal creation of the world, which cannot be deduced by philosophical demonstration. In effect, only divine choice and will can explain the multiplicity evident in the world, for out of an absolutely One and Only God only unity can necessarily proceed; the multiplicity that exists in fact is therefore an act of will and not the consequence of a necessary cause".
Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography
- Moritz SteinschneiderMoritz SteinschneiderMoritz Steinschneider was a Bohemian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider , who was not only an expert Talmudist, but was also well versed in secular science...
, in Ersch and Gruber, Encyc. section ii., part 31, pp. 45 et seq.; - Adolf NeubauerAdolf NeubauerAdolf Neubauer was sublibrarian at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University....
, in Monatsschrift, 1870, pp. 348 et seq.; - Michael FriedländerMichael FriedländerMichael Friedländer was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed, which was the most popular such translation until the more recent work of Shlomo Pines, and still remains in print.Friedländer was...
, Guide of the Perplexed of Maimonides, part i., note 1.