From Judah Hadassi to Elijah Bashyatchi

by Lasker, Daniel J.

• ISBN13: 9789004167933
• ISBN10: 9004167935
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-09-30
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub

Summary

The present study is a pioneering account of the development of late medieval Karaite Jewish thought, challenging the oft-repeated assertion that Karaite thinkers remained loyal to Kal?m, the dominant theological philosophy during the earlier Golden Age of Karaism. A careful reading of Karaite sources demonstrates that the watershed figure whose influence led to changes in Karaite thought was the Rabbanite Maimonides, whose attacks on the Kal?m had revealed its scientific shortcomings. This book discusses major Karaite thinkers from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, as well as the central themes in their writings. It also outlines the impact of Karaism on the dominant Rabbanite Jews and their major thinkers, especially Maimonides. It should be of interest to all those who study medieval philosophy, intellectual history, Judaism and sectarianism.

Author Biography

Daniel J. Lasker is the Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva.

Table of Contents

Background
Karaism and Karaite Philosophy	p. 3
Karaite Attitudes towards Religion and Science	p. 15
Karaite Philosophy in the Classical Period	p. 29
Major Thinkers
Judah Hadassi	p. 41
Aaron ben Joseph	p. 60
Aaron ben Elijah	p. 69
Elijah Bashyatchi	p. 96
Contacts with Rabbanite Thinkers
Karaites in Spain	p. 125
Judah Halevi and Karaism	p. 141
Maimonides and Karaism - Mutual Influences	p. 155
Karaism and the Jewish-Christian Debate	p. 190
Topics
The Theory of Compensation ('Iwad) in Rabbanite and Karaite Thought: Animal Sacrifices, Ritual Slaughter, and Circumcision	p. 203
The Prophecy of Abraham in Karaite Thought	p. 217
Jerusalem in Later Karaite Thought	p. 229
Afterlife and Eschatology	p. 248
Into the Modern Period
Into the Modern Period	p. 263
Bibliography	p. 273
Index	p. 291
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