Loe raamatut: «History of the Jews, Vol. 3 (of 6)», lehekülg 15

CHAPTER VIII.
THE RISE OF JEWISH-SPANISH CULTURE, AND THE DECAY OF THE GAONATE

The Gaon Sherira and his son Haï – Sherira's Historical Letter – The Jewish Congregations in Spain – Jewish Culture in Andalusia – The Disciples of Menachem and Dunash – Jehuda Chayuj – Contest between Chanoch and Ibn Abitur – Jacob Ibn Jau – The Jews of France – Nathan the Babylonian and Leontin – The Jews of Germany – Gershom and his Ordinances – The Emperor Henry II. – The Caliph Hakem – The Jewish Communities of Northern Africa – Chananel, the Son of Chushiel, and Nissim bar Jacob Ibn-Shahin – The Jerusalem Talmud – Haï Gaon – His Character and Importance – Samuel bar Chofni – Chiskiya, the last Gaon – Samuel Ibn-Nagrela – Jonah Ibn-Janach.

970–105 °C. E

When an institution of historic origin is doomed to sink into oblivion, the most strenuous exertions of men cannot save it; and though they succeed by generous sacrifices in deferring the time of its extinction, its continuance is at best like that of a man in a trance.

So it happened to the Babylonian Gaonate, once so full of life. After the most cultured communities of Spain and Africa had withdrawn their support, and had made themselves independent of it, its fate was sealed. It was in vain that the two men who successively adorned the school of Pumbeditha by their virtue and knowledge, made a strenuous effort to give it new life. They only succeeded in staying the death of the Gaonate for somewhat more than half a century, but they were unable to restore its vitality. These two men – father and son, the last distinguished presidents of the school of Pumbeditha – were Sherira and Haï (Haaja), to whom later generations gave the name of "the fathers and teachers of Israel."

Sherira, son of the Gaon Chanina (born 920, died 1000), was of distinguished parentage both on his father's and his mother's side, several members of both families having filled the office of Gaon. He boasted that he could trace his descent to the line of the Exilarchs before Bostanaï. The seal of the Sherira family bore the impress of a lion, which is said to have been the coat-of-arms of the Jewish kings.

Sherira was a Gaon of the old school, who valued the Talmud above everything, and steered clear of philosophical ideas. He was sufficiently acquainted with the Arabic language to use it in answering questions which were directed to him by the Jewish communities in Moslem countries. He preferred, however, to make use of the Hebrew and Chaldee languages, and had no taste for Arabic literature. His literary activity was entirely devoted to the Talmud and cognate subjects. He did not trouble himself much about Biblical exegesis, but his moral earnestness makes us overlook his lack of higher culture. As a judge, he always endeavored to elicit the truth and to decide accordingly. As head of the school, he spared no pains to spread instruction far and near, hence his decisions are voluminous. But Sherira kept most conscientiously to Talmudic precedents in framing his decisions; and on one occasion severely criticised a master who taught his young slave the Bible, and when he had grown up, allowed him to contract an illegal marriage with another slave, because this was contrary to the decision of several Talmudical teachers. Sherira was versed in theosophy, which had but few followers at his time.

Sherira is especially distinguished on account of his "Letter," which is the main authority for the history of the Talmudical, post-Talmudical, and Gaonic periods of Jewish history. Jacob ben Nissim (Ibn-Shahin), a pupil of the Chushiel who had been taken captive to Africa, and who taught the Talmud in Kairuan, sent a letter of inquiry in the name of the community of Kairuan to Sherira. In it the following questions were propounded: "In what way was the Mishna written down? If the traditional law is of remote origin, how does it happen that only authorities of a comparatively recent period are known to us as bearers of the same? In what order were the various books of the Mishna compiled?" Jacob also asked about the order of the Saboraim and the Geonim, and about their respective terms of office. Sherira wrote an answer (987) half in Hebrew and half in Chaldee, in which he threw light upon several dark portions of Jewish history. The chronicle of the Saboraim and Geonim as given by him is our guide for this epoch. Sherira in this "Letter" answers the questions put to him with the simple straightforwardness of the chronicler. But his opinions about the Exilarchs of the line of Bostanaï, and about some of his contemporaries, e. g., about Aaron Ibn-Sarjadu, are not altogether unbiased. We have to thank the Gaon Sherira for the preservation of the facts of Jewish history from the period of the conclusion of the Talmud till his own time. It was not in his power to produce an historical work of a critical character, nor, indeed, was this possible for the genius of the Middle Ages.

In spite of his incessant activity as head of the school, he was unable to prevent the decay of the school of Pumbeditha. The zeal for the study of the Talmud and scientific activity had cooled in the Babylonian countries. The academy had so few scholars at this time that Sherira was compelled to promote his young son Haï, when only sixteen years old, to the high office of chief judge. The respect for the Gaon had vanished. Malicious persons had Sherira arraigned before the Caliph Alkadir on some unknown charge, probably growing out of the rigor of his administration (997). In consequence of this, father and son were deprived of their liberty, all their property was confiscated, and there was not enough left to them for a bare livelihood. They were, however, liberated at the intercession of an influential man, and restored to their dignity. Sherira soon after, on account of old age, abdicated in favor of his son (998), and died a few years later.

His son Haï, although he was only 30 years old, was so popular that to the reading of the Law on Sabbath, as a mark of honor to him, the portion of the Pentateuch was added in which Moses prays for a worthy successor, and instead of the usual prophetic lesson, the story of David anointing his successor was read, and in conclusion the words, "And Haï sat on the throne of Sherira his father, and his kingdom was firmly established."

We turn gladly from the decay of the internal organization of the Jews in the East to the vitality of the communities on the Guadalquiver and the Guadiana. Vigorous forces and spiritual currents of most varied character asserted themselves everywhere, and produced the brilliant efflorescence of Jewish culture. There arose in the Jewish communities of Andalusia intense zeal for the various branches of knowledge, and an eager desire for creative activity.

The seed which had been sown by Chasdaï, the Jewish Mæcenas, by the study of the Talmud under Moses the Babylonian, and by the poetical and philological works of Menachem and Dunash, produced the fairest fruit. Many-sided knowledge was considered among the Spanish Jews, as well as among the Andalusian Moslems, a man's most beautiful ornament, and brought its possessor honor and riches. Following the example of Abdul-Rahman the Great, the Moslems admitted Jews to state offices, owing to their superior insight and business capacity; thus we find both Jewish consuls and Jewish ministers at Mahometan and Christian courts. These emulated the conduct of Chasdaï in encouraging learning and poetry. The knowledge of the period was neither one-sided nor barren; on the contrary, it was full of healthy life, useful and productive. The cultured Jews of Andalusia spoke and wrote the language of the country as fluently as their Arab fellow-citizens, who were as proud of the Jewish poets as the Jews themselves.

The Andalusian Jews were equally active in Bible exegesis and grammar, in the study of the Talmud, in philosophy and in poetry. But the students in any one of these departments were not narrow specialists. Those who studied the Talmud were indifferent neither to Biblical lore nor to poetry, and if not poets themselves, they found pleasure in the rhythmic compositions of the new Hebrew poesy. The philosophers strove to become thoroughly versed in the Talmud, and in many instances rabbis were at the same time teachers of philosophy.

Nor were science and art looked upon by the Spanish Jews as mere ornaments, but they exalted and ennobled their lives. Many of them were filled with that enthusiasm and ideality which does not allow the approach of any kind of meanness. The prominent men, who, either through their political position or their merits stood at the head of Jewish affairs in Spain, were for the most part noble characters imbued with the highest sentiments. They were as chivalrous as the Andalusian Arabs, and excelled them in magnanimity, a characteristic which they retained long after the Arabs had become degenerate. Like their neighbors, they had a keen appreciation of their own value, which showed itself in a long string of names, but this self-consciousness rested on a firm moral basis. They took great pride in their ancestry, and certain families, as those of Ibn-Ezra, Alfachar, Alnakvah, Ibn-Falyaj, Ibn-Giat, Benveniste, Ibn-Migash, Abulafia, and others formed the nobility. They did not use their birth as a means to obtain privileges, but saw therein an obligation to excel in knowledge and nobility, so as to be worthy of their ancestors. The height of culture which the nations of modern times are striving to attain, was reached by the Jews of Spain in their most flourishing period. Their religious life was elevated and idealized through this higher culture. They loved their religion with all the fervor of conviction and enthusiasm. Every ordinance of Judaism, as prescribed in the Bible and as explained in the Talmud, was considered holy and inviolable by them; but they were equally opposed to stolid bigotry and to senseless mysticism. Although they often carried their investigation to the borders of unbelief, yet there is scarcely one of the Jewish-Spanish thinkers who crossed these bounds, nor did extravagant mysticism find favor with them during the flourishing period. No wonder, then, that the Jews of Spain were looked upon as superior beings by their uncultured brethren in other lands – in France, Germany, and Italy – and that they gladly yielded them the precedence which had formerly been enjoyed by the Babylonian academies. Cordova, Lucena, and Granada soon took the place of Sora and Pumbeditha. The official chief of the Jews in Andalusia was Chanoch, of whom we have already spoken (940–1014). He succeeded his father in the rabbinate. His rival, Joseph ben Isaac Ibn-Abitur (Ibn-Satanas or Santas), a member of a respected Andalusian family, was as learned in the Talmud, and excelled him in the extent of his secular knowledge. Ibn-Abitur wrote in verse. Among other things he composed synagogue poetry for the Day of Atonement, but his verse is harsh, awkward, and altogether devoid of poetic charm. He had not profited by the poetry of Dunash. Joseph Ibn-Abitur understood the Arabic language so well that he was able to translate the Mishna into that language. The Caliph Alhakem had expressed a wish to possess a translation of the work containing the sources of Jewish tradition, and Ibn-Abitur gratified that wish to his satisfaction. The refined Caliph probably only desired to increase his library (which was of such proportions that the catalogue took up twenty-four volumes) by the addition of the Mishna, which was so highly valued by the Jews. The men most distinguished in philology and Hebrew poetry during the period after Chasdaï were the pupils of Menachem and Dunash. They carried on a controversy in epigrams, in prose and verse. Of these, Isaac Ibn-G'ikatilia was a poet, and Jehuda Ibn-Daud a Hebrew grammarian. The latter, whose Arabic name was Ibn-Zachariah Yachya Chayuj, descended from a family which came from Fez, was the first to place Hebrew philology on a firm basis, and may be regarded as the first scientific grammarian. Chayuj, too, was the first to recognize that Biblical Hebrew roots consist of three letters, and that several consonants (the liquids, semi-vowels, and the sounds produced by the same organ) become assimilated and change into vowels. He thereby made it possible to know the different forms and their changes, and to apply this knowledge to poetry. Chayuj thus brought about a complete reform in the Hebrew language, and illumined the darkness wherein his predecessors, amongst them Saadiah, Menachem, and Dunash, and to a greater extent the Karaites, had been lost. Chayuj wrote his grammatical works in Arabic; on this account they remained unknown to the Jews out of Spain, who retained the imperfect systems of Menachem and Dunash in their philological studies.

Although the rabbinate of Cordova was merely an honorary office, and Chanoch derived no income from it, nevertheless it gave rise to contention after Chasdaï's death. The followers of Joseph Ibn-Abitur, amongst whom were the numerous Ibn-Abitur family, and the brothers Ibn-Jau, silk manufacturers, who were employed at court, endeavored to put their favorite at the head of affairs. The greater portion of the Jews of Cordova clung to Chanoch. The quarrel became too serious to be peaceably settled, and each party appealed to the Caliph on behalf of its favorite. Seven hundred influential men, partisans of Chanoch, betook themselves, in festive apparel, several days in succession to Az-Zahra, Alhakem's residence, not far from Cordova, in order to obtain the Caliph's favor for their rabbi.

The opposition party made up in zeal what it lacked in number. Alhakem decided in favor of the majority, and confirmed Chanoch in his rabbinate. But as Ibn-Abitur would not relinquish his claim, he was excommunicated by the victorious party. In spite of this he did not abandon hope. He appealed in person to the Caliph. He hoped to gain him over through his knowledge of Arabic literature, and through his service in translating the Mishna, and so effect a reversal of the decree. But his hopes were vain. The Caliph addressed him in the words: "If my subjects scorned me, as the community of Cordova scorns you, I would abdicate my kingdom. My only advice to you is to emigrate." The wish of the Caliph appeared to Ibn-Abitur a command, and he left Cordova (975). When he saw that he could not gain any followers in Spain, he set sail for Africa, traversed Maghreb, the Fatimide dominion, and probably also Egypt, without finding favor anywhere. Meanwhile, however, affairs suddenly took a favorable turn for Ibn-Abitur. One of his chief supporters was raised to a high position, and used his influence on his behalf. This was the silk manufacturer, Jacob Ibn-Jau, whose checkered career bears witness to the arbitrariness dominant in the Spanish Caliphate after the death of the last just and cultured Caliph, Alhakem (976).

The title of Caliph appears to have descended to his son Hisham, a sickly youth, but the chief power lay in the hands of Mahomet Almansur, the terror of the Christians in the mountains of northern Spain and of the Africans in their fortresses. Under this Mahometan "Major Domus," Jacob Ibn-Jau, the supporter of Ibn-Abitur, obtained great respect and considerable power over the Jewish-Spanish community. The circumstances of his good fortune are rather extraordinary. Jacob Ibn-Jau and his brother Joseph supplied the court with costly embroidered silk. Their goods were admired and sought after. Their business brought them into contact with Almansur, and on one occasion they found a considerable sum of money in the court of his palace, which had been lost by some provincials who had been ill-treated. The brothers Ibn-Jau spent the money in presents for the young Caliph and Almansur, so as to obtain their favor, and procure the recall of the banished Ibn-Abitur. Their attempt succeeded. In 985, Almansur appointed the elder brother Jacob as prince and chief judge of the various Jewish communities in the kingdom of the Andalusian Caliphate on both sides of the strait, from Segelmessa in Africa as far as the Douro. He had the sole right to appoint judges and rabbis in the communities, and to determine the taxes for state purposes and for communal wants. Jacob Ibn-Jau held court, as it were, had eighteen pages in his retinue, and drove about in a state carriage. The community of Cordova, proud of the distinction shown to one of its own members, recognized him as its chief, paid homage to him, made his office hereditary, and the poets sang his praises.

As soon as Ibn-Jau was appointed chief of the Jews of the Andalusian Caliphate, he tried to realize the purposes for which he had sought the favor of the court. He gave Chanoch notice to discontinue his rabbinical functions, threatening that, in case he disobeyed, he would be set adrift at sea in a ship without a rudder, thus returning to the place whence he had come. Ibn-Jau next made preparations to recall his favorite, Ibn-Abitur, and to invest him with the dignity of the rabbinate. But before he could do that, the ban of excommunication had to be removed, and for this act the consent and approval of the whole community were required. Out of regard for Ibn-Jau, who was respected at court, all the members of the community, amongst whom were his former opponents, sent a flattering letter to Ibn-Abitur, inviting him to accept the rabbinate of Cordova. Chanoch was deposed. When the community of Cordova, and especially his friends, had made preparations to meet Ibn-Abitur in a worthy manner, they received a letter from him which speedily undeceived them. He inveighed, in harsh terms, against their reckless treatment of his opponent. He praised Chanoch in unmeasured terms, saying that in all his wanderings he had never met with a man like him in virtue and piety, and at the same time he advised the community of Cordova to re-instate him in his office.

Meanwhile Ibn-Jau could not maintain his authority. His patron, Almansur, deposed him, and cast him into prison, the reason of his condemnation being his probity and disinterestedness. The regent (Hajib) had believed that the Jewish prince would use his power over the communities of the western Caliphate for the purpose of extorting money, and would make him the recipient of rich presents; but Ibn-Jau did not burden the community, and, consequently, could not satisfy Almansur's avarice. For this he was deprived of his liberty. After he had been imprisoned for a year he was set free by the Caliph Hisham, and restored to his former dignity (987). Since, however, Almansur was unfavorable to him, he was practically powerless. When Ibn-Jau died, one of Chanoch's relatives hastened to convey the news to him, thinking that he would receive it with joy. But this noble rabbi wept at the death of his enemy, and said, "Who will now care for the wants of the poor like him who has just departed? I cannot take his place, for I myself am poor."

Chanoch lived to see the beginning of the decadence of Cordova, and the first general persecution of his co-religionists in Germany, Africa, and in the East. He was killed by the fall of the reading-desk in the synagogue on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (September, 1014).

The condition of the Jews in France and Germany at this time shows how dependent their spiritual life was upon external circumstances.

During the feeble rule of the last Carlovingians, and even under the first Capets in France, when the temporal and spiritual vassals became more powerful than the kings, and also under the Saxon emperors, the Jews were oppressed, and their literary activity almost entirely checked. The canonical laws had long before this debarred them from filling offices. They did not seek honor, but only desired to be allowed to live quietly, and to observe their religion. But the chiefs of the Church disturbed their peaceful condition without any profit to themselves. In the French territory, the chief power lay in the hands of the barons and the clergy. The power of the kings was as yet limited on all sides, and could not protect the Jews from tyrannical caprice. Only the fanatical clergy had entertained prejudices of a theological nature against the Jews, but their zeal aroused the hatred of the people against the Jews. The people, uncouth, brutish, and slaves to superstition, looked upon the sons of Israel as a cursed race, unworthy of compassion. They accused the Jews of employing evil spells against Christians. When the king, Hugh Capet, died of a dangerous illness (996), after having been treated by a Jewish physician, the people gave credence to the report that the Jews had murdered him. The chroniclers, too, looked upon this as a fact, and entered it upon their annals.

The Jews, it is true, had fields and vineyards, but they lacked personal safety, which could be granted only by a strong government. In the south of France, in Provence and Languedoc, where the king's power was insignificant, the fate of the Jews was still more dependent upon the caprice of the counts and viscounts. In one place they possessed landed property and salt mines, and were even allowed to become bailiffs (Bailli); in another they had to submit to be treated as bondmen. The chief community was that of Narbonne. There had been a Talmudical school there since the time of Charles the Great, but it does not seem to have been well supported. There suddenly appeared on the scene a Talmudist from the school of Sora, who instilled true zeal for the study of the Talmud into the Jews of southern France. This may have been Nathan bar Isaac, the Babylonian, but more probably it was his pupil Leon or Leontin (Jehuda ben Meïr), who, although he left no works behind him, was yet the first founder of the scientific study of the Talmud, which henceforth flourished in France and Germany. His famous pupil, Gershom, confessed that he owed all his knowledge to Leon.

The Jews in Germany at this time of the Saxon emperors did not suffer oppression, though they were not specially favored. The feudal system which existed in Germany forbade them to possess landed property, and thus compelled them to be tradesmen. Jew and merchant were synonymous in Germany. The rich were bankers, those of moderate means borrowed money in order to visit the fair at Cologne, for which loan they had to pay a low, reasonable interest. The German emperors continued the custom, which had been introduced by the first Carlovingians, of exacting a fixed tribute from the Jews. When Otto the Great wished to grant a subsidy to the newly-built church at Magdeburg, he made it a present of the revenue he derived from "the Jews and other merchants" (965). Otto II likewise presented "the Jews of Merseburg" to the bishop of that town in 981. In the retinue of this emperor was an Italian Jew, Kalonymos, who was greatly attached to him, and on one occasion assisted him at the risk of his own life (982). But the much praised rule of the Ottos gave the Jews subject to them no chance of raising themselves from their lowly position. The Christian peoples had learnt much from the Arabs, but they had not learnt to encourage science amongst members of religions different from their own. The German Jews in consequence, although they led more moral and industrious lives than their Christian brethren, were not more cultured. They had not even any Talmudical teachers of note of their own, but got them from abroad. Their first Talmudical authority was Gershom. He, together with his brother Machir, spread the seeds of Talmudic knowledge from the south of France to the Rhine, and gave it an importance that it had not obtained even in the Gaonic schools.

Gershom ben Jehuda (born 960, died 1028) was born in France, and emigrated for some unknown reason to Mayence. As was mentioned, he was a pupil of Leon. In Mayence, Gershom founded a school which soon attracted numerous pupils from Germany and Italy. The respect for Gershom was so great that he was named "The Light of the Exile." He expounded the Talmud to his pupils with a lucidity unattained by any of his predecessors, and his commentaries to the Talmud are also distinguished for clearness and directness.

Gershom was the first commentator of the vast Talmud, and he who knows the difficulty of such a work will appreciate how much energy, devotion, and patience were required for it. He was at once recognized as an authority by the German, French, and Italian communities. Questions were submitted to him, and unwittingly he became the rival of the last Gaon Haï, although he looked upon him with the reverence of a disciple. Through a peculiar combination of circumstances those who respected the Gaonate most, contributed to its decay. Gershom's commentaries on the Talmud, written in Hebrew, had the result that the Gaonic school could be dispensed with, and thus severed the German communities and those of northern France from it. Any one who chose to do so could obtain a deep knowledge of the Talmud without first seeking aid from Babylonia. Gershom also busied himself with the Massora, and made a place for its study, which until then had been pursued only in Mahometan countries, in Germany and in France.

Gershom became even more famous through his decrees than through his commentaries. They produced a very wholesome effect upon German and French Judaism. Amongst other things he forbade polygamy, practiced even among European Jews, allowing it in extreme cases only. He decreed further that the consent of the wife was necessary for a divorce, whilst, according to the Talmud, the husband could give her a bill of divorce against her wish. He also made an important rule about the carrying of letters, viz., that the bearer must not read a letter, even though it be not sealed. In those times intercourse with one's friends was carried on by means of travelers who happened to be going in the direction required. Hence this regulation was of the utmost importance. Those who transgressed this decree were to be laid under the ban of excommunication. Although these and other institutions were without synodal formality, and the author of them was in no way invested with official authority, yet, so great was the respect felt for Gershom, that they were received by the German and French communities like the decrees of a synhedrion, and scrupulously obeyed.

Contemporary with this authority of the German-French communities, there lived in Mayence a man whose merits were, until recently, unappreciated. This man was Simon ben Isaac ben Abun, of French descent, from Le Mans. He was learned in the Talmud, and wrote an original work (Yessod) on it. He was, besides, a versatile and prolific Hebrew poet (Poetan), and wrote a number of liturgical compositions in the style of Kaliri, as heavy and ungraceful as his, in which he introduced the Agadic literature, often in an enigmatical way. Simon ben Isaac was wealthy, and was thus able to avert the storm which had gathered, and was threatening to break over the Jews of Germany.

In the eleventh century occurred the first persecutions of the Jews in Germany. It is possible that the conversion of a churchman to Judaism, which the chroniclers mentioned in their annals as an unlucky event, roused the anger of the clergy against the Jews. The convert, whose name was Wecelinus, was chaplain to Duke Conrad, a relative of the emperor. After his conversion to Judaism (1005), Wecelinus wrote a lampoon on his former religion, bearing witness to his own great hatred of Christianity, and to the coarseness of the taste of the time. The emperor Henry, however, was so angry at the conversion of the chaplain, that he commissioned one of his clergy to write a reply. This he did, and it was couched in equally coarse and undignified language. Some years later (1012), the emperor decreed that the Jews should be expelled from Mayence, as a punishment for their refusal to be baptized. The decree was probably not confined to Mayence, but applied to other communities. The poet, Simon ben Isaac, composed dirges, lamenting the expulsion, as though it were a terrible persecution, intended to uproot Judaism from the hearts of its followers.

Gershom, too, though by no means a poet, gave utterance to his grief at the severe persecution of Henry II in penitential hymns. "Thou hast made those who despise Thy Law," he says, "to have dominion over Thy people; they bow down to senseless images, and would compel us, too, to worship them. They urge Thine inheritance to change Thee for a God of their own making. They are determined no longer to call Thee God, and to overthrow Thy word. If I say, 'Far be it from me to forsake the God of my fathers,' they gnash their teeth, put forth their hand for plunder, and open their mouth in scoffing. Thy people are driven from their homes, they raise their eyes in longing to Thee." During this persecution many Jews became Christians, either to save their lives or their possessions. Among them was Gershom's son. When the latter died a Christian, his hapless father observed the mourning ceremonials for him as for one who had died a Jew.

Simon ben Isaac, by his zeal, and probably by bribing the officials with large sums of money, succeeded in staying the persecution, and even in obtaining permission for the Jews to settle again in Mayence. Those Jews who had been compelled to submit to baptism now gladly returned to their religion, and Gershom protected them from the scorn of their brethren on account of their temporary apostasy, by threatening to excommunicate any one who reproached them.

The grateful community was anxious to perpetuate the memory of Simon. It was done by mentioning his name in the synagogue every Sabbath, and adding, "that he had exerted himself on behalf of his brethren, and that through him persecutions had ceased." The name of Gershom was likewise perpetuated, because "he had enlightened those in exile through his decrees."