Part 20

By this time the collection of halakhic material had become very large and various, and after several attempts had been made to reduce it to uniformity, a code of oral tradition was finally drawn up in the 2nd century by Judah ha-Nasi, called Rabbi _par excellence_. This was the Mishnah. Its name is derived from the Hebrew _shanah_, corresponding to the Aramaic _tena_, and therefore a suitable name for a tannaitic work, meaning the _repetition_ or _teaching_ of the oral law. It is written in the Hebrew of the schools (_leshon hakhamim_) which differs in many respects from that of the Old Testament (see HEBREW LANGUAGE). It is divided into six "orders," according to subject, and each order is subdivided into chapters. In making his selection of halakhoth, Rabbi used the earlier compilations, which are quoted as "words of Rabbi 'Aqiba" or of R. Me'ir, but rejected much which was afterwards collected under the title of Tosefta (_addition_) and Baraita (_outside_ the Mishnah).

Midrash.

Traditional teaching was, however, not confined to halakhah. As observed above, it was the duty of the teachers to show the connexion of practical rules with the written Law, the more so since the Sadducees rejected the authority of the oral law as such. Hence arises Midrash, _exposition_, from _darash_ to "investigate" a scriptural passage. Of this halakhic Midrash we possess that on Exodus, called Mekhilta, that on Leviticus, called Sifra, and that on Numbers and Deuteronomy, called Sifre. All of these were drawn up in the period of the Amoraim, the order of teachers who succeeded the Tannaim, from the close of the Mishnah to about A.D. 500. The term Midrash, however, more commonly implies _agada_, i.e. the homiletical exposition of the text, with illustrations designed to make it more attractive to the readers or hearers. Picturesque teaching of this kind was always popular, and specimens of it are familiar in the Gospel discourses. It began, as a method, with the Sopherim (though there are traces in the Old Testament itself), and was most developed among the Tannaim and Amoraim, rivalling even the study of halakhah. As the existing halakhoth were collected and edited in the Mishnah, so the much larger agadic material was gathered together and arranged in the Midrashim. Apart from the agadic parts of the earlier Mekhilta, Sifra and Sifre, the most important of these collections (which are anonymous) form a sort of continuous commentary on various books of the Bible. They were called _Rabboth_ (_great_ Midrashim) to distinguish them from preceding smaller collections. _Bereshith Rabba_, on Genesis, and _Ekhah Rabbati_, on Lamentations, were probably edited in the 7th century. Of the same character and of about the same date are the _Pesiqta_, on the lessons for Sabbaths and feast-days, and _Wayyiqra R._ on Leviticus. A century perhaps later is the _Tanhuma_, on the sections of the Pentateuch, and later still the _Pesiqta Rabbati_, _Shemoth R._ (on Exodus), _Bemidhbar R._ (on Numbers), _Debharim R._ (on Deuteronomy). There are also Midrashim on the Canticle, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Esther and the Psalms, belonging to this later period, the _Pirqe R. Eliezer_, of the 8th or 9th century, a sort of history of creation and of the patriarchs, and the _Tanna debe Eliyahu_ (an ethical work of the 10th century but containing much that is old), besides a large number of minor compositions.[2] In general, these performed very much the same function as the lives of saints in the early and medieval church. Very important for the study of Midrashic literature are the _Yalqut (gleaning) Shim'oni_, on the whole Bible, the _Yalqut Mekhiri_, on the Prophets, Psalms, Proverbs and Job, and the _Midrash ha-gadhol_,[3] all of which are of uncertain but late date and preserve earlier material. The last, which is preserved in MSS. from Yemen, is especially valuable as representing an independent tradition.

Talmud.

Meanwhile, if agadic exegesis was popular in the centuries following the redaction of the Mishna, the study of halakhah was by no means neglected. As the discussion of the Law led up to the compilation of the Mishnah, so the Mishnah itself became in turn the subject of further discussion. The material thus accumulated, both halakhic and agadic, forming a commentary on and amplification of the Mishnah, was eventually written down under the name of _Gemara_ (from _gemar_, to learn completely), the two together forming the _Talmud_ (properly "_instruction_"). The tradition, as in the case of the Targums, was again twofold; that which had grown up in the Palestinian Schools and that of Babylonia. The foundation, however, the Mishnah, was the same in both. Both works were due to the Amoraim and were completed by about A.D. 500, though the date at which they were actually committed to writing is very uncertain. It is probable that notes or selections were from time to time written down to help in teaching and learning the immense mass of material, in spite of the fact that even in Sherira's time (11th century) such aids to memory were not officially recognized. Both Talmuds are arranged according to the six orders of the Mishnah, but the discussion of the Mishnic text often wanders off into widely different topics. Neither is altogether complete. In the Palestinian Talmud (_Yerushalmi_) the gemara of the 5th order (_Qodashim_) and of nearly all the 6th (_Tohoroth_) is missing, besides smaller parts. In the Babylonian Talmud (_Babhli_) there is no gemara to the smaller tractates of Order 1, and to parts of ii., iv., v., vi. The language of both gemaras is in the main the Aramaic vernacular (western Aramaic in Yerushalmi, eastern in Babhli), but early halakhic traditions (e.g. of Tannaitic origin) are given in their original form, and the discussion of them is usually also in Hebrew. Babhli is not only greater in bulk than Yerushalmi, but has also received far greater attention, so that the name Talmud alone is often used for it. As being a constant object of study numerous commentaries have been written on the Talmud from the earliest times till the present. The most important of them for the understanding of the gemara (Babhli) is that of Rashi[4] (Solomon ben Isaac, d. 1104) with the Tosafoth (_additions_, not to be confused with the Tosefta) chiefly by the French school of rabbis following Rashi. These are always printed in the editions on the same page as the Mishnah and Gemara, the whole, with various other matter, filling generally about 12 folio volumes. Since the introduction of printing, the Talmud is always cited by the number of the leaf in the first edition (Venice, 1520, &c.), to which all subsequent editions conform. In order to facilitate the practical study of the Talmud, it was natural that abridgements of it should be made. Two of these may be mentioned which are usually found in the larger editions: that by Isaac Alfasi (i.e. of Fez) in the 11th century, often cited in the Jewish manner as _Rif_; and that by Asher ben Yehiel (d. 1328) of Toledo, usually cited as _Rabbenu Asher_. The object of both was to collect all halakhoth having a practical importance, omitting all those which owing to circumstances no longer possess more than an academic interest, and excluding the discussions on them and all agada. Both add notes and explanations of their own, and both have in turn formed the text of commentaries.

Masorah.

With the Talmud, the anonymous period of Hebrew literature may be considered to end. Henceforward important works are produced not by schools but by particular teachers, who, however, no doubt often represent the opinions of a school. There are two branches of work which partake of both characters, the Masorah and the Liturgy. The name Masorah (Massorah) is usually derived from _masar_, to hand on, and explained as "tradition." According to others[5] it is the word found in Ezek. xx. 37, meaning a "fetter." Its object was to fix the biblical text unalterably. It is generally divided into the Great and the Small Masorah, forming together an _apparatus criticus_ which grew up gradually in the course of centuries and now accompanies the text in most MSS. and printed editions to a greater or less extent. There are also separate masoretic treatises. Some system of the kind was necessary to guard against corruptions of copyists, while the care bestowed upon it no doubt reacted so as to enhance the sanctity ascribed to the text. Many apparent puerilities, such as the counting of letters and the marking of the middle point of books, had a practical use in enabling copyists of MSS. to determine the amount of work done. The registration of anomalies, such as the suspended letters, inverted _nuns_ and larger letters, enabled any one to test the accuracy of a copy. But the work of the Masoretes was much greater than this. Their long lists of the occurrences of words and forms fixed with accuracy the present (Masoretic) text, which they had produced, and were invaluable to subsequent lexicographers, while their system of vowel-points and accents not only gives us the pronunciation and manner of reading traditional about the 7th century A.D., but frequently serves also the purpose of an explanatory commentary. (See further under BIBLE.) Most of the Masorah is anonymous, including the _Massekheth Soferim_ (of various dates from perhaps the 6th to the 9th century) and the _Okhlah we-Okhlah_, but when the period of anonymous literature ceases, there appear (in the 10th century) Ben Asher of Tiberias, the greatest authority on the subject, and his opponent Ben Naphthali. Later on, Jacob ben Hayyim arranged the Masorah for the great Bomberg Bible of 1524. Elias Levita's _Massoreth ha-Massoreth_ (1538) and Buxtorf's _Tiberias_ (1620) are also important.

Liturgy.

We must now turn back to a most difficult subject--the growth of the Liturgy. We are not concerned here with indications of the ritual used in the Temple. Of the prayer-book as it is at present, the earliest parts are the Shema' (Deut. vi. 4, &c.) and the anonymous blessings commonly called Shemoneh 'Esreh (the Eighteen), together with certain Psalms. (Readings from the Law and the Prophets [Haphtarah] also formed part of the service.) To this framework were fitted, from time to time, various prayers, and, for festivals especially, numerous hymns. The earliest existing codification of the prayer-book is the _Siddur_ (_order_) drawn up by Amram Gaon of Sura about 850. Half a century later the famous Gaon Seadiah, also of Sura, issued his _Siddur_, in which the rubrical matter is in Arabic. Besides the _Siddur_, or order for Sabbaths and general use, there is the _Mahzor_ (_cycle_) for festivals and fasts. In both there are ritual differences according to the Sephardic (Spanish), Ashkenazic (German-Polish), Roman (Greek and South Italian) and some minor uses, in the later additions to the Liturgy. The Mahzor of each rite is also distinguished by hymns (_piyyutim_) composed by authors (_payyetanim_) of the district. The most important writers are Yoseh ben Yoseh, probably in the 6th century, chiefly known for his compositions for the day of Atonement, Eleazar Qalir, the founder of the payyetanic style, perhaps in the 7th century, Seadiah, and the Spanish school consisting of Joseph ibn Abitur (died in 970), Ibn Gabirol, Isaac Gayyath, Moses ben Ezra, Abraham ben Ezra and Judah ha-levi, who will be mentioned below; later, Moses ben Nahman and Isaac Luria the Kabbalist.[6]

The Geonim.

The order of the Amoraim, which ended with the close of the Talmud (A.D. 500), was succeeded by that of the Saboraim, who merely continued and explained the work of their predecessors, and these again were followed by the Geonim, the heads of the schools of Sura and Pumbeditha in Babylonia. The office of Gaon lasted for something over 400 years, beginning about A.D. 600, and varied in importance according to the ability of the holders of it. Individual Geonim produced valuable works (of which later), but what is perhaps most important from the point of view of the development of Judaism is the literature of their Responsa or answers to questions, chiefly on halakhic matters, addressed to them from various countries. Some of these were actual decisions of

## particular Geonim; others were an official summary of the discussion of

the subject by the members of the School. They begin with Mar Rab Sheshna (7th century) and continue to Hai Gaon, who died in 1038, and are full of historical and literary interest.[7] The She'iltoth (_questions_) of Rab Ahai (8th century) also belong probably to the school of Pumbeditha, though their author was not Gaon. Besides the Responsa, but closely related to them, we have the lesser Halakhoth of Yehudai Gaon of Sura (8th century) and the great Halakhoth of Simeon Qayyara of Sura (not Gaon) in the 9th century. In a different department there is the first Talmud lexicon (_'Arukh_) now lost, by Zemah ben Paltoi, Gaon of Pumbeditha in the 9th century. The _Siddur_ of Amram ben Sheshna has been already mentioned. All these writers, however, are entirely eclipsed by the commanding personality of the most famous of the Geonim, SEADIAH ben Joseph (q.v.) of Sura, often called al-Fayyumi (of the Fayum in Egypt), one of the greatest representatives of Jewish learning of all times, who died in 942. The last three holders of the office were also distinguished. Sherira of Pumbeditha (d. 998) was the author of the famous "Letter" (in the form of a Responsum to a question addressed to him by residents in Kairawan), an historical document of the highest value and the foundation of our knowledge of the history of tradition. His son Hai, last Gaon of Pumbeditha (d. 1038), a man of wide learning, wrote (partly in Arabic) not only numerous Responsa, but also treatises on law, commentaries on the Mishnah and the Bible, a lexicon called in Arabic _al-Hawi_, and poems such as the _Musar Haskel_, but most of them are now lost or known only from translations or quotations. Though his teaching was largely directed against superstition, he seems to have been inclined to mysticism, and perhaps for this reason various kabbalistic works were ascribed to him in later times. His father-in-law Samuel ben Hophni, last Gaon of Sura (d. 1034), was a voluminous writer on law, translated the Pentateuch into Arabic, commented on much of the Bible, and composed an Arabic introduction to the Talmud, of which the existing Hebrew introduction (by Samuel the Nagid) is perhaps a translation. Most of his works are now lost.

The Karaites.

In the Geonic period there came into prominence the sect of the Karaites (_Bene miqra_), "followers of the Scripture", the protestants of Judaism, who rejected rabbinical authority, basing their doctrine and practice exclusively on the Bible. The sect was founded by 'Anan in the 8th century, and, after many vicissitudes, still exists. Their literature, with which alone we are here concerned, is largely polemical and to a great extent deals with grammar and exegesis. Of their first important authors, Benjamin al-Nehawendi and Daniel al-Qumisi (both in the 9th century), little is preserved. In the 10th century Jacob al-Qirqisani wrote his _Kitab al-anwar_, on law, Solomon ben Yeruham (against Seadiah) and Yefet ben 'Ali wrote exegetical works; in the 11th century Abu'l-faraj Furqan, exegesis, and Yusuf al-Basir against Samuel ben Hophni. Most of these wrote in Arabic. In the 12th century and in S. Europe, Judah Hadassi composed his _Eshkol ha-Kopher_, a great theological compendium in the form of a commentary on the Decalogue. Other writers are Aaron (the elder) ben Joseph, 13th century, who wrote the commentary _Sepher ha-mibhhar_; Aaron (the younger) of Nicomedia (14th century), author of _'Ez Hayyim_, on philosophy, _Gan 'Eden_, on law, and the commentary _Kether Torah_; in the 15th century Elijah Bashyazi, on law (_Addereth Eliyahu_), and Caleb Efendipoulo, poet and theologian; in the 16th century Moses Bashyazi, theologian. From the 12th century onward the sect gradually declined, being ultimately restricted mainly to the Crimea and Lithuania, learning disappeared and their literature became merely popular and of little interest. Much of it in later times was written in a curious Tatar dialect. Mention need only be made further of Isaac of Troki, whose anti-Christian polemic _Hizzuq Emunah_ (1593) was translated into English by Moses Mocatta under the title of _Faith Strengthened_ (1851); Solomon of Troki, whose _Appiryon_, an account of Karaism, was written at the request of Pufendorf (about 1700); and Abraham Firkovich, who, in spite of his impostures, did much for the literature of his people about the middle of the 19th century. (See also QARAITES.)

Medieval scholarship.

To return to the period of the Geonim. While the schools of Babylonia were flourishing as the religious head of Judaism, the West, and especially Spain under Moorish rule, was becoming the home of Jewish scholarship. On the breaking up of the schools many of the fugitives fled to the West and helped to promote rabbinical learning there. The communities of Fez, Kairawan and N. Africa were in close relation with those of Spain, and as early as the beginning of the 9th century Judah ben Quraish of Tahort had composed his _Risalah_ (_letter_) to the Jews of Fez on grammatical subjects from a comparative point of view, and a dictionary now lost. His work was used in the 10th century by Menahem ben Saruq, of Cordova, in his _Mahbereth_ (dictionary). Menahem's system of bi-literal and uni-literal roots was violently attacked by Dunash ibn Labrat, and as violently defended by the author's pupils. Among these was Judah Hayyuj of Cordova, the father of modern Hebrew grammar, who first established the principle of tri-literal roots. His treatises on the verbs, written in Arabic, were translated into Hebrew by Moses Giqatilla (11th century), himself a considerable grammarian and commentator, and by Ibn Ezra. His system was adopted by Abu'l-walid ibn Jannah, of Saragossa (died early in the 11th century), in his lexicon (_Kitab al-usul_, in Arabic) and other works. In Italy appeared the invaluable Talmud-lexicon (_'Arukh_) by Nathan b. Yehiel, of Rome (d. 1106), who was indirectly indebted to Babylonian teaching. He does not strictly follow the system of Hayyuj. Other works of a different kind also originated in Italy about this time: the very popular history of the Jews, called _Josippon_ (probably of the 10th or even 9th century), ascribed to Joseph ben Gorion (Gorionides)[8]; the medical treatises of Shabbethai Donnolo (10th century) and his commentary on the _Sepher Yezirah_, the anonymous and earliest Hebrew kabbalistic work ascribed to the patriarch Abraham. In North Africa, probably in the 9th century, appeared the book known under the name of _Eldad ha-Dani_, giving an account of the ten tribes, from which much medieval legend was derived;[9] and in Kairawan the medical and philosophical treatises of Isaac Israeli, who died in 932.

Exegesis.

The aim of the grammatical studies of the Spanish school was ultimately exegesis. This had already been cultivated in the East. In the 9th century Hivi of Balkh wrote a rationalistic treatise[10] on difficulties in the Bible, which was refuted by Seadiah. The commentaries of the Geonim have been mentioned above. The impulse to similar work in the West came also from Babylonia. In the 10th century Hushiel, one of four prisoners, perhaps from Babylonia, though that is doubtful, was ransomed and settled at Kairawan, where he acquired great reputation as a Talmudist. His son Hananeel (d. 1050) wrote a commentary on (probably all) the Talmud, and one now lost on the Pentateuch. Hananeel's contemporary Nissim ben Jacob, of Kairawan, who corresponded with Hai Gaon of Pumbeditha as well as with Samuel the Nagid in Spain, likewise wrote on the Talmud, and is probably the author of a collection of _Ma'asiyyoth_ or edifying stories, besides works now lost. The activity in North Africa reacted on Spain. There the most prominent figure was that of Samuel ibn Nagdela (or Nagrela), generally known as Samuel the Nagid or head of the Jewish settlement, who died in 1055. As vizier to the Moorish king at Granada, he was not only a patron of learning, but himself a man of wide knowledge and a considerable author. Some of his poems are extant, and an Introduction to the Talmud mentioned above. In grammar he followed Hayyuj, whose pupil he was. Among others he was the patron of Solomon ibn Gabirol (q.v.), the poet and philosopher. To this period belong Hafz al-Quti (the Goth?) who made a version of the Psalms in Arabic rhyme, and Bahya (more correctly Behai) ibn Paquda, dayyan at Saragossa, whose Arabic ethical treatise has always had great popularity among the Jews in its Hebrew translation, _Hobhoth ha-lebhabhoth_. He also composed liturgical poems. At the end of the 11th century Judah ibn Bal'am wrote grammatical works and commentaries (on the Pentateuch, Isaiah, &c.) in Arabic; the liturgist Isaac Gayyath (d. in 1089 at Cordova) wrote on ritual. Moses Giqatilla has been already mentioned.

Rashi.

The French school of the 11th century was hardly less important. Gershom ben Judah, the "Light of the Exile" (d. in 1040 at Mainz), a famous Talmudist and commentator, his pupil Jacob ben Yaqar, and Moses of Narbonne, called ha-Darshan, the "Exegete," were the forerunners of the greatest of all Jewish commentators, Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), who died at Troyes in 1105. Rashi was a pupil of Jacob ben Yaqar, and studied at Worms and Mainz. Unlike his contemporaries in Spain, he seems to have confined himself wholly to Jewish learning, and to have known nothing of Arabic or other languages except his native French. Yet no commentator is more valuable or indeed more voluminous, and for the study of the Talmud he is even now indispensable. He commented on all the Bible and on nearly all the Talmud, has been himself the text of several super-commentaries, and has exercised great influence on Christian exegesis. The biblical commentary was translated into Latin by Breithaupt (Gotha, 1710-1714), that on the Pentateuch rather freely into German by L. Dukes (Prag, 1838, in Hebrew-German characters, with the text), and parts by others. Closely connected with Rashi, or of his school, are Joseph Qara, of Troyes (d. about 1130), the commentator, and his teacher Menahem ben Helbo, Jacob ben Me'ir, called Rabbenu Tam (d. 1171), the most important of the Tosaphists (_v. sup._), and later in the 12th century the liberal and rationalizing Joseph Bekhor Shor, and Samuel ben Me'ir (d. about 1174) of Ramerupt, commentator and Talmudist.