Bahya ben Asher

Bahya ben Asher or Bahya ben Asher ben Halawa also called Rabbeinu Behaye, born in the middle of the century XIII in Zaragoza and died in 1340, he was a Jewish rabbi, scholar and cabalist.

Biography

He made commentaries on the Hebrew Bible and is known for introducing Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) into the study of the Torah. Jewish scholars consider him one of the most important biblical exegetes in Spain. He was a student of Rabbi Shlomo ben Adret (the Rashba).

Bahaya took as a model Mosé ben Nahman known as Nachmanides, the RAMBAN, the teacher of Shlomo ben Adret, who was the first to use Kabbalah to interpret the Torah. He zealously discharged his duties as darshan ('preacher') in Zaragoza, sharing his position with several others. He himself comments that the salary for this function was very small and was barely enough to support his family. However, neither his difficulties in obtaining daily bread nor the various setbacks he suffered (which he refers to in the introduction to his Torah commentary) diminished his interest in Torah study in general. nor of biblical exegesis in particular.

The Torah Commentary

His main work was the commentary of the Torah (the five books of Moses), in which preparation he thoroughly investigated the works of previous demands, using all the methods employed by them in their interpretations.

He lists the following four methods, which, in his opinion, are indispensable for exegetes:

1. The peshat, the meaning "simple" of the text as.
2. The midrash or exegesis within the genus Hagadá.
3. Logical analysis and philosophic exegesis. Its purpose is to show that philosophical truths are already included in the Jewish Bible, which is a work of God that transcends all the wisdom of man. Thus it recognizes the results of philosophical thought only to the point where they conflict with the Jewish tradition.
4. The method of the Cabal, which calls "the way of light", that the soul that seeks the truth must go. Bahya believes that with this method is with which the deep mysteries hidden in the Bible (Tanaj) can be revealed.

In general, Bahya does not reveal any of his Kabbalistic sources, apart from generically referring to the Sefer ha-Bahir and the works of Nahmanides. He only mentions the Zohar twice.

Bahya's comment is especially interesting for its form. Each parsha, or weekly lesson, is prefaced by an introduction that prepares the reader for the fundamental ideas being discussed. This introduction has a motto made up of selected verses from the Book of Proverbs. Furthermore, through the questions that often appear, they lead the reader to take part in the author's mental processes. The danger of monotony disappears.

Editions

The commentary was first published in Naples in 1492. The success it enjoyed is attested to by the numerous commentaries with which it was published. Due to the large space dedicated to Kabbalah, the work was especially valuable to Kabbalists, although Bahya also made use of non-Jewish sources. Later editions appeared in Pesaro, 1507, 1514 and 1517; Constantinople, 1517; Rimini, 1524; Venice, 1544, 1546, 1559 and 1566.

Other works

His second most famous work is the Kad ha-Kemah ("Flour Receptacle") (Constantinople, 1515). It consists of sixty chapters, arranged alphabetically, containing speeches and dissertations on the requirements of religion and morality, as well as Jewish ritual practices. The purpose is to promote a moral life. In it Bahya analyzes the following topics:

• the duty to love God and to go before God simply and humbly in the heart,
• the fear of God
• Jewish prayer
• benevolence and love for men
• peace
• administration of justice and the sanctity of the oath
• the duty to respect the property and honour of other men
• the Jewish parties and the Halacha (which can be translated as the "Jewish Law").

Another work by Bahya, which has also been published frequently, and which was mistakenly attributed to Moshe ben Nachman in its first edition of 1514, is titled Shulkhan Arba ("Table [ of] four"). It consists of four chapters, of which the first three contain religious rules of conduct for different meals, while the fourth chapter deals with the banquet of the honest in the World to come. Bahya may have written a work titled Hoshen ha-Mishpat ("Sheath of Judgment"). He only references the work once and it is not known whether he wrote it or not.

Works incorrectly attributed

A series of works whose author is simply "Bahya" or whose author is unknown have been attributed to Bahya ben Asher. Many modern experts on Bahya's work have shown these attributions to be spurious.

• Ha-Emunah ve-ha-Bittahon (Korets, 1785)
• Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut (Mantua, 1558)
• Ma'amar ha-Sekhel (Cremona, 1557)

A book apparently written by Bahya and edited by M. Homburg under the title Soba Semakhot ("Fullness of Joy"), as a commentary on the Book of Job, is from made a compilation by a later editor of two works of Bahya Kad ha-Kemah (Constantinople, 1515) and Shulhan shel Arba (Mantua, 1514).

Analysis

Bahya's works have a special value for the student of Jewish literature, since the author quotes copiously and extensively from exegetical and midrashim works that have been lost. It is also interesting for the student of modern languages, due to its frequent use of vernacular words (from Arabic, French and Spanish) to explain biblical terms. They also contain valuable material for the study of social life, in addition to the history of Kabbalah, demonology and eschatology of Spanish Jews.