Yearning from paradise: Zion’s Philosophical roots in Sepharad

‫?איך אטעמה את אשר אכל‬

What was life like for Jews in the Muslim Diaspora? Why was Spain considered a Golden
Age for the Jews? Why did some Jews still yearn for a State?

The Lasting Contribution of the Religious poetry like

Jews of the Muslim Empire: My heart is in the east, and I in love poetry included
For over 500 years, the Jews of the the element of pining
Muslim Empire enjoyed stability, the uttermost west-- for a lost object,
prosperity and religious autonomy. How can I find savour in food? sometimes Zion,
As opposed to the oppressive
atmosphere in Northern Europe, the How shall it be sweet to me? particularly the
Temple and its cult,
Jews lived, for the most part, in a How shall I render my vows connected with both
tolerant civilization, one that valued
excellence in the arts, the sciences and my bonds, while yet memories of the past
and trade. In these fields the Jews Zion lieth beneath the fetter of and messianic hopes
for the future. Judah
were welcome participants. Thus
Judaism developed as part of Edom, and I in Arab chains? Halevi's odes to Zion
society, not as a secluded ghetto- A light thing would it seem to represent some of the
me to leave all the good things most important
culture as was the case in Christian
Europe. The cultural cross- examples of this
pollination benefited both sides. of Spain -- genre. These hopes
Because of the dialogue with Islam,
the Jews became more aware of Seeing how precious in mine for a return to Zion,
where ever they
their philosophic and linguistic eyes to behold the dust of the appear are often
heritage. The new methods that
developed in the vast Muslim desolate sanctuary. accompanied by
Empire for the communication of --Yehuda HaLevi (c.1141) polemical utterances,
knowledge and the codification of in coded language,
law were employed by the Rabbis against Muslims and
in order to keep in contact with the Christians
ever-expanding Jewish Diaspora. <http://www.jafi.org.il/education/juice/hi
story1/week10.html>
Thus, they could preserve and
sustain Talmudic Law, while
creating new vistas of Jewish I'd Suck Bitter Poison from the Viper's Mouth
literature and thought which were I'd suck bitter poison from the viper's mouth
instrumental in forming the and live by the basilisk's hole forever,
structure of Judaism as it is today. rather than suffer through evenings with boors,
http://hsje.com/Great%20Rabbis.html>
fighting for crumbs from their table.
-- Shmuel HaNagid (993-1056 c.e.) was…the Prime Minister of the Muslim state of
Granada, battlefield commander of the non-Jewish Granadan army, and one of the
leading religious figures in a medieval Jewish world that stretched from Andalusia to
Baghdad. < http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/5707.html>

Muslim Andalusia: In 10th-12th century Muslim Andalusia (in southern Spain), the cross-cultural interaction between the
rabbinic world and the Muslim surroundings reached its summit. The society was rich in knowledge and the sciences. Their
religious leadership followed in the path of R. Saadiah and delved into all possible fields of knowledge, including the arts, in
addition to the Talmud….Yehudah Halevi Abu-al-Hassan (c. 1075-1141)…’s contribution to Jewish life was not in the area of
halacha, but in poetry. He is probably the best known Jewish poet, biblical and classical liturgists from the Land of Israel
included. Some 750 of his poems are extant; many have found their way into the standard Jewish prayerbook, particularly his
festival hymns. Among these hymns are poems portraying the innermost yearnings of Jews to return to the Land of Israel.
Some 35 of these poems are known to us; many are recorded in the Tisha B’av service. They reflect a rekindling of the
Zionist spirit at a time when Jews watched the struggle between the Crusaders and the Muslims over the Jewish homeland.
According to legend, Halevi achieved his highest aspiration by immigrating to Israel towards the end of his life. Zionism was
also a central motif in Halevi’s philosophical treatise Kitab alHujja waDlil fi Nsar aDin Aldh’lil (Book in Defense of the
Downtrodden Religion). Here, the basic tenets of Jewish belief and worship are set in a polemic drama, recounting how the
King of the Asian Kuzari tribe chose Judaism over Christianity and Islam. [See 3 for more]

Prepared for: History of Israel, by Ariel Beery 1

The Nature of the Golden Age:
Though Moorish Spain was clearly a
key center of Jewish life during the
early Middle Ages, producing
important scholars and one of the
most stable and wealthy Jewish
communities, there is no clear
scholarly consensus over whether the
relationship between Jews and
Muslims in Spain was truly a paragon
of interfaith relations, or whether it
was simply similar to the treatment
Jews received elsewhere at the same
time.
Mark Cohen, in his landmark 1995
book on the subject, Under Cross and
Crescent, discusses how the idea of
the Golden Age was bolstered in the
twentieth century by two sources. On
one side, Jewish scholars like
Heinrich Graetz used the story of the
Golden Age to draw contrasts to the
increasing oppression of Jews in
mainly Christian Eastern Europe,
eventually leading to the Holocaust.
On the other side, Arab scholars who
wanted to show that modern State of
Israel shattered a previously existing
harmony between Jews and Arabs in
Palestine under the Ottoman rule
pointed to the supposed utopia of the
Golden Age as an example of
previous relationships. Cohen argues
that the utopian Golden Age image is
overstated, but that the "countermyth"
of Jewish persecution is also an
oversimplification.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age_of_J
ewish_culture_in_Spain>
A Lament for the Jews of Palestine During
the Bedouin Rampages of 1024
Weep, my brothers, and mourn
Over Zion, all of us together,
Like the mourning of Hadadrimmon
And Josiah the son of Amon
Weep for those tender, genteel ones
Who barefoot tread on thorns.
They draw water for Black slaves,
And they hew wood for them.
Weep for the man who was forced into slavery,
But was not prepared for it.
They told him, “Suffer and bear it!”
But he could not shoulder the burden.
Weep for men who must see
Their praiseworthy sons
Who are like fine gold
Desecrated at the hands of Black slaves.
Weep for the blind who wander
Through Zion, soiled
With the blood of pregnant women
disemboweled
And with the blood of old men and infants.
Weep for those pure ones who were made
Impure—forced to eat their abomination,
So that they should be made to forget the
Covenant of their Rock,
And their Homeland, the place of their desire.
[Norman Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands, (205)]

From the Arab conquest, hundreds of thousands of Jews in the Arab world managed to survive between
traditional ravages. Most had religious affiliations. The-Arabs' general prohibition against political activities
by their Jewish dhimmis might have been a factor that inhibited and submerged the growth of Zionism as a
political phenomenon among the Sephardic Jews. But what may be called "spiritual Zionism" took root in
biblical times in the Sephardic Jewish community; those Jews, who are uniquely indigenous to the terrain
that now is the Arab world, have retained in their liturgy the steady longing for "return" to the Land of Israel,
a longing that has been mistakenly assumed to be exclusively "European."

Jews from Arab countries often become incensed when confronted with the argument that Zionism
originated in Europe. Every Sephardic Jew interviewed had the same immediate reaction: the Sephardim
are just as truly believers in Zion, and their ancient uninterrupted Jewish history led directly from the
destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem. <http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~peters/oriental.html>

Prepared for: History of Israel, by Ariel Beery 2

Muslim Andalusia

In 10th-12th century Muslim Andalusia (in southern Spain), the cross-cultural interaction
between the rabbinic world and the Muslim surroundings reached its summit. The society
was rich in knowledge and the sciences. Their religious leadership followed in the path of
R. Saadiah and delved into all possible fields of knowledge, including the arts, in addition
to the Talmud.

Their interest and activity in linguistics may have been an answer to the linguistically-
pure Koran. Shmuel ibn Nagrela (Abu Ishak Ismail) (993-1056) was one scholar who
studied these subjects. He is known to have debated with the Muslim theologian Ibn
Hazzam about the relative merits of the Bible and the Koran. He was appointed Rais
alYehud (Head of the Jews), for which he is better known by the Hebrew title Shmuel
Hanagid. He served the Berber King Habus for 19 years as Foreign and Interior Minister,
and commanded the army of Granada, which became the dominant power in Andalusia.
He corresponded with R. Hai Gaon and with the masters of the Kairouan school. In
addition to books of poetry and Hebrew grammar, Shmuel Hanagid published a code of
Talmudic law oft-cited by subsequent Spanish Talmudic authorities.

But it was not until the arrival of R. Yitzhak Alfasi (1013-1103) that Andalusia developed
a yeshiva of the magnitude reminiscent of the ancient yeshivot of Babylon. A disciple of
R. Hananel, he arrived at Lucena, an exclusively Jewish town near Cordoba, around
1078. The academy founded there was to become the world center of Talmudic activity
until it was destroyed in the Almohad uprising in 1148. Alfasi’s Hilkhot Rabbati (Great
Lawbook) became the final work of this genre, giving him the historical stature of ‘batrai’
– the bottom line of Talmudic law. Knowledge of the Alfasi code was a standard
requirement for rabbinical ordination throughout the Jewish world for the next five
centuries. In fact, it was copied and studied more often than the Talmud itself. This
masterpiece combines an abridged Talmud updated with latter-day decisions of the
Geonim and the commentaries of R. Hananel. Alfasi’s outstanding longevity bridged the
last generation of the Geonim with the generation of the great European commentators.

One of Alfasi’s most famous disciples at Lucena was Yehudah Halevi Abu-al-Hassan (c.
1075-1141). Halevi’s contribution to Jewish life was not in the area of halacha, but in
poetry. He is probably the best known Jewish poet, biblical and classical liturgists from
the Land of Israel included. Some 750 of his poems are extant; many have found their
way into the standard Jewish prayerbook, particularly his festival hymns. Among these
hymns are poems portraying the innermost yearnings of Jews to return to the Land of
Israel. Some 35 of these poems are known to us; many are recorded in the Tisha B’av
service. They reflect a rekindling of the Zionist spirit at a time when Jews watched the
struggle between the Crusaders and the Muslims over the Jewish homeland. According to
legend, Halevi achieved his highest aspiration by immigrating to Israel towards the end of
his life. Zionism was also a central motif in Halevi’s philosophical treatise Kitab alHujja
waDlil fi Nsar aDin Aldh’lil (Book in Defense of the Downtrodden Religion). Here, the
basic tenets of Jewish belief and worship are set in a polemic drama, recounting how the
King of the Asian Kuzari tribe chose Judaism over Christianity and Islam.

<http://www.wujs.org.il/activist/features/articles/muslim.shtml>

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Prepared for: History of Israel, by Ariel Beery 4
 Jewish communities develop under Muslim rule. The Golden Age of Spain produces a rich culture of
Jewish poetry and philosophy. Jews settle in northern and western Europe. Religious persecution leads to
the expulsions of Jews from areas in Europe and also Spain.
733 Muslim Attacks on France Fail
750 Abbasid Dynasty Rises to Power in Baghdad
Karaism Founded
c. 760 The Jewish sect the Karaites develops in opposition to the talmudic-rabbinical tradition. Its religious
precepts are derived directly from the Bible and are based on the literal meaning of the text.
800 Charlemagne Crowned Holy Roman Emperor; First Charters for Jews in Northern Europe
Golden Age of Jews in Spain
With the beginning of the Golden Age, Jewish life shifts towards Spain. Through the 1100s, Jews flourish
c. 900
as traders, merchants, doctors, poets, and philosophers within Muslim society. Sephardim are descendants
of Jews who lived in Spain or Portugal.
Yiddish Language Develops
c. 1050 Yiddish is used among the Ashkenazim, Jews living in Northern Europe. Written in Hebrew letters, the
basic grammar and vocabulary of Yiddish is German, along with French, Italian, and Hebrew influences.
Toledo Conquered
1085 Toledo shifts from Muslim to Christian control. The situation remains largely the same for Jews, who
continue to be prominent members of the city.
1096 First Crusaders Massacre Jews in Rhineland
Rashi
1105 Death of Rashi, acronym of Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (1040-1105), France. Leading commentator on the
Bible and Talmud.
Judah Halevi
1141
Death of Judah Halevi (1075-1141), originally from Spain, emigrated to Israel. Poet and Philosopher.
1144 Blood Libel in Norwich, England
1200-1225 Franciscan and Dominican Orders Founded
Maimonides
Death of Maimonides, also known as Rambam, acronym of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204), Spain.
1204
Rabbinic authority, codifier of Jewish law, rationalist philosopher, and royal physician, Maimonides is the
most illustrious figure of medieval Judaism.
Magna Carta, England; Jews of Europe Forced to Wear Special
1215
Badge
Jews Expelled from England
1290 With an increase in violence, economic restrictions, and Church hostility, Jews are expelled from areas in
Western Europe. Some Jews move east towards Poland, Lithuania, and Russia.
1306 Jews Expelled from France
1321 Death of Dante (1265-1321)
1348 Black Death; Persecution of Jews
Forced Conversions of Jews in Spain
Civil unrest effects Jews in Spain, Jewish prosperity is resented. Jewish property is destroyed and Jews
1391
are given the choice of embracing Christianity or death. Many Jews become conversos, forced converts to
Catholicism.
1453 Jews Expelled from Cologne
c. 1460 Printing Invented in Europe
Spanish Inquisition Established
1481 The Inquisition is established to investigate and combat heresy, and to root out conversos who continue to
practice Judaism.

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Prepared for: History of Israel, by Ariel Beery 6