Bahya ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda) Full name: Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, known to Talmud scholars (in Hebrew) as the Rabbeinu Bechaya ("Our Rabbi Behaya"), was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Saragossa, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century. Bahya ibn Paquda - Life and works. He was the author of the first Jewish system of ethics, written in Arabic in 1040 under the title Al Hidayah ila Faraid al-Qulub, Guide to the Duties of the Heart, ...

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• Bahya ibn Paquda - Life and works
• Bahya ibn Paquda - Neoplatonism

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He was the author of the first Jewish system of ethics, written in Arabic in 1040 under the title Al Hidayah ila Faraid al-Qulub, Guide to the Duties of the Heart, and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon in the years 1161-80 under the title Hovot ha-Levavot, Instruction in the Duties of the Heart. Little is known of his life except that he bore the title of dayan, judge at the rabbinical court. Bahya was thoroughly familiar with the Jewish rabbinic literature, as well as the philosophical and scientific Arabic, Greek and Roman literature, quoting frequently from the ...

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Bahya ibn Paquda, Bahya ibn Paquda - Life and works, Bahya ibn Paquda - Neoplatonism

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The work was mainly written as a defence of Rabbinic Judaism against the views of the Karaites, who rejected the oral law (Mishna and Talmud). In his detailed introduction, Saadia speaks of the reasons which led him to compose it. His heart was grieved when he saw the confusion concerning matters of religion which prevailed among his contemporaries, finding an unintelligent belief and unenlightened views current among those who professed Judaism, while those who denied the faith triumphantly vaunted their errors. Men were sunken in th ...

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Emunoth ve-Deoth, Emunoth ve-Deoth - Premise and introduction, Emunoth ve-Deoth - Translation, Emunoth ve-Deoth - Ibn Tibbon, Emunoth ve-Deoth - Others

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He composed in 1213, on shipboard, when returning from Alexandria, Biur meha-Millot ha-Zarot, an explanation of the philosophical terms of Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides. When finishing his Hebrew translation of the Guide (which was originally in Arabic), he wrote an alphabetical glossary of the foreign words that he had used in his translation. In the introduction to the glossary he divides these words into five classes: Words taken mainly from the Arabic; Rare words occurring in the Mishnah ...

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Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Biography, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Original writings, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Translations, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Characteristics of his works

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The Kuzari has given its name to a "principle" of reasoning which is derived from the book. This principle claims to logically prove the historicity of major events recorded in the Bible from the nature of the belief in them. More specifically, it is argued that one can prove that some three million Israelites personally were led out of Egypt in an Exodus, and witnessed God's revelation to them at Mount Sinai, thus establishing the proof of the events d ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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Adopting this Neoplatonic idea of God as the one who can only be felt by the longing soul, but not grasped by the reason, Bahya finds it superfluous to prove the incorporeality of God. The question with him is rather, How can we know a being who is so far beyond our mental comprehension that we can not even define Him? In answering this, Bahya distinguishes between two different kinds of attributes; namely, essential attri ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

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Halevi writes that as the Jews are the only depositaries of a written history of the development of the human race from the beginning of the world, the superiority of their traditions can not be denied. Halevi asserts that no comparison is possible between Jewish culture, which in his view is based upon religious truth, and Greek culture, which is based upon science only. He holds that the wisdom of Greek philosophers lacked that divine support with which the Israelite prophets were endowed. Had a trustworthy tradition that the world was cre ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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The distinction of Samuel's translation is its accuracy and faithfulness to the original. Whether one approves or disapproves his introduction of a number of Arabic words into Hebrew, and the fact that, by analogy with the Arabic, he gives to certain Hebrew words meanings different from the accepted ones, the magnitude of his work can not be questioned. Especially admirable is the skill with which he reproduces in Hebrew the abstract ideas of Maimon ...

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Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Biography, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Original writings, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Translations, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Characteristics of his works

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In the second essay Judah enters into a detailed discussion of some of the theological questions hinted at in the preceding one. To these belongs in the first place that of the divine attributes. Judah rejects entirely the doctrine of essential attributes which had been propounded by Saadia Gaon and Bahya ibn Paquda. For him there is no difference between essential and other attributes. Either the attribute affirms a quality in God, in which case essential attributes can not be applied to Him more than can any other, because it is impossible ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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The fourth essay opens with an analysis of the various names of God found in the Bible. According to Judah, all these names, with the exception of the Tetragrammaton, are attributes expressing the various states of God's activity in the world. The multiplicity of names no more implies a multiplicity in His essence than do the multifarious influences of the rays of the sun on various bodies imply a multiplicity of suns. To the intuitive vision of the prophet the actions proceeding from God appear under the images of the corresponding human actions. Angels are God's messengers; and either they exist for a length of time, or they ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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After a short account of the incidents preceding the conversion of the king, and of the conversations of the latter with a philosopher, a Christian, and a Muslim concerning their respective beliefs, a Jew appears on the stage, and by his first statement startles the king; for, instead of giving him proofs of the existence of God, he asserts and explains the miracles performed by Him in favor of the Israelites. The king expresses his astonishment at this exordium, which seems to him incoherent; but the Jew replies that the existence of ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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Although the Kuzari failed to stem the philosophical flood which, at the time of the appearance of the work, was inundating Judaism, it exercised a great influence upon the theologians. It was much studied; and traces of it are to be found in all the theological and Kabbalistic writings of the Middle Ages, not excluding even the Zohar, which borrowed from it several passages, amongthem the saying, "Israel is among the nations ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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The fifth and last essay is devoted to a criticism of the various philosophical systems known at the time of the author. Judah attacks by turns the Aristotelian cosmology, psychology, and metaphysics. To the doctrine of emanation, based, according to him, upon the Aristotelian cosmological principle that no simple being can produce a compound being, he objects in the form of the following query: "Why did the emanation stop at the lunar sphere? Why should each intelligence think only of itself and of that from which it issued and thus give birth to one emanation, thinking not at all of the preceding intellgences, and ther ...

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Kuzari, Kuzari - Introduction, Kuzari - Creatio ex Nihilo, Kuzari - Superiority of his faith, Kuzari - Question of attributes, Kuzari - Names of God, Kuzari - Arguments against philosophy, Kuzari - Influence of the Kuzari, Kuzari - The Kuzari Principle, Kuzari - Bibliography

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Samuel's reputation is based not on his original writings, however, but on his translations, especially on that of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed in 1190 (the Hebrew translation is Moreh Nevukhim). His opponents satirically changed the title into "Nevukhat ha-Morim", or "Perplexity of the Guides". Before finishing this difficult work, Samuel consulted Maimonides several times by letter regarding some difficult passages. Maimonides' answers, some of which were written in Arabic and were later on translated int ...

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Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Biography, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Original writings, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Translations, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon - Characteristics of his works

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There are different modes of seclusion from the world. Some, in order to lead a life devoted to the higher world, flee this world altogether, and live as hermits, contrary to the design of the Creator. Others retire from the world's turmoil and live a secluded life in their own homes. A third class, which comes nearest to the precepts of Jewish law, participates in the world's struggles and pursuits, but leads a life of abstinence and moderation, reg ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

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Worship of God, however, in obedience to the commandments of the Law is in itself certainly of unmistakable value, inasmuch as it asserts the higher claims of human life against the lower desires awakened and fostered by the animal man. Yet it is not the highest mode of worship, as it may be prompted by fear of divine punishment or by a desire for reward; or it may be altogether formal, external, and void of t ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

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In this view, such understanding necessarily leads man to the worship of God, to which the third section, "Sha'ar Avodat Elohim" (Gate of Divine Worship), is devoted. Every benefit received by man, says Bahya, will evoke his thankfulness in the same measure as it is prompted by intentions of doing good, though a portion of self-love be mingled with it, as is the case with what the parent does for his child, which is but part of himself, and upon which his hope for the future is built; still more so with what ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

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Bahya points out a sevenfold manifestation for the creative wisdom in: (1) the combination of the elements of which the earth forms the center, with water and air surrounding it and fire placed above (2) the perfection of man as the microcosm (3) the physiology and intellectual faculties of man (4) the order of the animal kingdom (5) that of the plant kingdom (6) the sciences, arts, and industries of man; and (7) the divine revelation as well ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

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Bahya then proceeds, following chiefly Saadia Gaon and the Motekallamin (teachers of the Kalam), to prove the unity of God by showing: (1) All classes, causes, and principles of things lead back to one principal cause. (2) The harmony of all things in nature, the interdependence of all creatures, the wondrous plan and wisdom displayed in the structure of the greatest and smallest of animal beings, from the elephant to the ant, all point to one great designer—the physico-theological argument of Aristotle. (3) ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

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Trust in God forms the title and the subject of the fourth gate, "Sha'ar ha-Bitachon." Greater than the magical power of the alchemist who creates treasures of gold by his art is the power of trust in God, says Bahya; for he alone who confides in God is independent and satisfied with what he has, and enjoys rest and peace without envying any one. Yet only God, whose wisdom and goodness comprise all times and all circumstances, can be implicitly confided in; for God provides for all His creatures out of true love, ...

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Hovot ha-Levavot, Hovot ha-Levavot - Unity of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Attributes of God All Negative, Hovot ha-Levavot - His Natural Philosophy, Hovot ha-Levavot - Worship of God, Hovot ha-Levavot - Pedagogical Value of Jewish law, Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence, Hovot ha-Levavot - Immortality of the Soul, Hovot ha-Levavot - Hypocrisy and Skepticism, Hovot ha-Levavot - Humility, Hovot ha-Levavot - Repentance, Hovot ha-Levavot - Seeing God, Hovot ha-Levavot - An Ascetic Life, Hovot ha-Levavot - Love of God

Read more here: » Hovot ha-Levavot: Encyclopedia II - Hovot ha-Levavot - Divine Providence