Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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datory. They began to preach against the sect from the pulpit. Then they ex- communicated the Karaites and declared them to be outside the pale of the Jewish religion. s The leaders of the Jewish comunity, the Geonim, did not, however, carry on an organized offensive to avert the Ka- raite danger. 9 We do know of two of them who combatted Karaism before Saadia: Nitronoi ben Hillel and Hai ben David. 10 However, we see from the history of the time that the early Rabbanite offen- sives failed. For during the early part of the ninth and tenth centuries, the Kara- ites put forth an intensive missionary effort and gained many new adherents. The sect spread its tentacles from Baby- lonia and Judea to Egypt, Syria, and the Crimea. Despite the Rabbanite coun- ter-offensive, it penetrated the Rabbinic strongholds and even found a way into the halls of learning, the Academies. 12 The Rabbis had failed to check Karaite expansion because their method of attack was ineffective. They did not put to use whatever knowledge of rhe Hebrew lan- guage they had. 13 Also, as proof for their arguments, they cited mainly the very Talmud whose authority the Karaites denied. 1 ' In contrast to this ineffective opposi- tion are the polemics of Saadia, the first Rabbi able to match the Karaites with their own weapons. The Karaites had always prided themselves on their super ior knowledge of Hebrew and had claimed that if the Talmudists knew Hebrew as well as they [the Karaites] did, they would never have placed such constructions on the Bible. 1 ' ' Now. for the first time there was a Rabbanite lead- er who could answer their taunts, for Saadia complerely eclipsed them in Heb- rew philology and in the interpretation of the Bible. ' He wrote a commentary on the Torah and also translated the Bible into Arabic, the language then un- derstood from the extreme west to In dia. 17 Agron is a Hebrew dictionary that Saadia compiled, and is again evidence of his familiarity with, and knowledge of Hebrew. 18 His command of the lan- guage is also evinced by his religious poetry and polemical writings. 19 Saadia put forward an authoritative representation of Rabbanism because he was well-versed in Talmudic lore. Indeed rhe contemporary Jewish leaders relied on his decisions in questions of Halachah. 20 In addition to his knowledge of Heb- rew studies. Saadia had a thorough ac- quaintance with secular wisdom — the sciences and philosophy. This was for- tunate because it was not sufficient to fight against them [the Karaites] with weapons of the Torah alone. 21 What prompted a Saadia — a man of such high qualifications, a foremost scholar in Hebrew and secular subjects — to center his attention on opposition to Karaism To Saadia, opposing the Karaites was far more significant than merely arguing with dissenters. He did not view the Karaite-Rabbanite polemics as a stimulating intellectual exercise, a college debate; he went to the core of the problem. He believed that the Karaites were not just harmless deviators to be mildly chided for their error, but com- plete apostates, and consequently peace- ful intercourse between orthodox Rabban- ites and Karaite Schismatics appeared to him to be an intolerable and dangerous thing 22 Mere text, Saadia held, was not enough for the correct understanding of the To- rah, and one had to go behind the verbal text to get at the spirit and the meaning of the law . . . This could not be done without calling on the unbroken rradition handed down from generation to gen- eration and recorded in the Talmud. 2, Without the oral tradition to guide them, the Karaites had arrived at absurdi- ties in the construing of certain laws. Saadia cites as an example the Karaite Sabbath observances. 2 ' They had inter- preted the Biblical injunction against light- ing a fire on the Sabbath to mean that it was forbidden to use even a fire kindled on the eve of the Sabbath, and they spent the Sabbath in complete dark- ness. 26 Above all, Saadia wanted the Jews to be united under traditional religious lead- ership, and he feared that the rapid ex- pansion of Karaism would und :rmi r Jewish unity. 27 The Karaite menace was most obvious especially at this rime. Karaism had within a century and a half become deeply rooted, while Rab- Academies of Babylonia, had begun to lose their importance, was in peril of be- ing overwhelmed by the propaganda of the Karaites . . . s Indeed the sect was active in mission- ary work and had attracted many Jews to its beliefs. 29 Saadia therefore bemoaned the lack of a clear presentation of the orthodox standpoint. In the preface to his philosophical work, the Book of Be- liefs and Opinions, he wrote: My heart sickens to see that the be- lief of my co-religionists is impure and their theological views are confused. Accordingly, early and late in life.

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The highlights of his own personal life are omitted and the book seems to lack a dimension of depth. We become thoroughly acquainted with the life of the Jewish nation, but remain somewhat ignorant of the personal life of the author. We realize that this was a man of warmth, perception, and sympathy, as well as tenacity and a for- midable controversialist, but throughout the book we feel a lack of personal warmth and experience. Weizmann began the book with wonderful wit in describing his boyhood and family, but lost the touch amidst his own enchantment by the story of Zionism. Trial and Error is dry, detailed, and heavy reading, but it is excellent research material, and should be recommended highly for college and public libraries. It is not the type of book for popular consumption unless interest in the material can outweigh the heavy reading. In comparison with other biographies the book can be criticized severely for its lack of that vital personal touch. Meyer W. Weisgal, author of Chaim Weizmann. wrote a biography that in my estimation outshines Weizmann ' s own life story. The book shines with vitality, intimacy, and an inner illumination. The author presents Chaim Weizmann in all of his glorious aspects, statesman, scientist, and builder of the Jewish Commonwealth. Weisgal com- bines a number of essays on Weizmann by various writers that fuse into a biographical portrait of immense distinction and fascination. Rarely does a collection of this nature achieve so high a level of content and expression. Here we see Weizmann more clearly as a personality, while in Trial and Error we gain more knowledge of the personality of the Jewish nation. Chaim Weizmann is light yet educational reading. Trial and Error is deep and factual. The two books are both profitable reading each in its own way. Who is better equipped to tell the story of Zionism than Israel ' s first president? Who can give us a fuller account of Israel than the man who devoted himself wholly to its realization.- 1 7 rial and Error may not be appreciated by all. M any may find its pages too detailed for enjoyable reading. But it will nevertheless remain an outstanding book, written by an unforgettable man. Saadia Gaon ' s Opposition To Karaism By JUDITH OCHS A TERM PAPER About the middle of the eighth cen- tury C. E , there arose a schismatic group in Judaism — the Karaites — which was opposed by contemporary Jewish leaders. The most prominent among these leaders was Saadia ben Joseph (892?-942), Gaon of Sura, and vigorous champion of the Rabbanite cause. Besides his writ- ings on Jewish philosophy and law, Saadia wrote several anti-Karaite I re.i tises which did much to stem the tide of Karaism 1 Karaism based itself solely on the lit- eral interpretation of Scripture; it re- jected the oral tradition and the ralmudi- cal interpretation embodying it. 2 Aside from this rejection of the au- thority of the Talmud, there is no essen- tial difference between Rabbanite and K.ir.mitc theology. 3 However this variant belief led to radical differences in religi- 0US practice. ' For example. Karaites and Kahbanites celebrated the Holy Days On different dates. 3 It is therefore essential to bear in mind that it was always the differences in practice, not in dogma, that sustained divisions in Israel. Hence, the presence among Jews of a group with revolutionary religious prac- tices could in. i long remain unchallenged. In the very beginning, the Rabbis had been inclined to ignore the Karaites, and like the ostrich, they put their heads into the ground in the vain hope that the attacker would disappear, Their attitude was that there had been many such here- tic groups among the Jews in the past which had disappeared. Surely the same fate lay in store tor Karaism. But their early hopes were noi realized The Karaite movement gained momen- tum. Soon the rapid spread of Karaism made some action by the Rabbis man-

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Saadia fought the Karaites with written polemics. The pen is mightier than the sword. 31 Unfortunately, most of Saadia ' s direct anti-Karaite writings have been lost and we know of thei r content only from ref- erences in the works of his opponents. 1 - ' As early as 915, in his twenty-third year, Saadia wrote a polemical essay against Anan, the alleged founder of the Karaite movement. 33 Eleven years later, he wrote his most comprehensive work against the Karaites, the Book of Distinction. From the few passages that were not lost, we see, according to Poznanski, that Saadia discussed in this book all points of di- vergence. It was written in a calm tone, one of defence rather than of attack. 3 ' Saadia wrote three more direct anti- Karaite works: a book against Ibn Saqa- veihi, the Book of Refutation of the At- tacking Writer, and a work against Ben Zuta. In these books, he refutes the con- tentions of the Karaite leaders and dis- cusses the calendar and anthropomorph- ism. 35 Saadia also opposed Karaism indirectly in many of his other works, for anti- Karaite and gen erally anti-sectarian ac- tivity was focal in Saadia ' s whole attitude to life, and it found expression even in remote corners of his scholarly activity. 36 From the works of Solomon Ben Yeru- ham, the Karaite, it appears that in his commentary on the Torah, Saadia listed arguments in proof of the need of the Mishna. 1 His Arabic translation of the Bible lias a marked anti-Karaite tenden- cy. P. R. Weis states that an inquiry into the paraphrases of the Gaon ' s ver- sion not only reveals that they stand in opposition to views known to have been held by the Karaites, but also shows that they correspond to the very arguments... advanced by the Gaon. 38 To this trans- lation, Saadia also added notes to coun- teract the Karaite influence ' ' Saadia compiled a Siddur in which he omitted the words and a new light shall shine on Zion from the blessing on light. Some scholars believe he did this in order to combat those Karaites who had emi- grated to Jerusalem. 1 Apparently this is an erroneous interpretation for Saadia himself gives a different reason — that mention of the new light of the future is anomalous in the blessing on everyday light. ' 1 Nevertheless, this Siddur was oi importance in the light against Karaism. h acquainted .ill Jews with the tradition- al prayers, which then had been replaced by rci nation of the Psalms ' Saadia used every opportunity to strike against the Karaites Even in his philo- sophical work, there is an allusion to Karaism: Whoever does not believe in . . . the truthfulness of the transmitters of tradition will not be rewarded in the world to come, even though he is right- eous in all other respects. 43 Saadia ' s writings have influenced many future polemics between the Rabbanites and the Karaites and — what is import- ant — have had a decisive effect on the development of Karaism. In their writ- ings, the Rabbis drew their weapons from the arsenal of the Gaon ' s polem- ics. ' To take just one example, Rabbi Jacob Ben Samuel carried on the fight against Karaism in Saadia ' s manner. 45 Also the Karaite writings centered around Saadia. Till the nineteenth century they attacked him in their books. From Ben Zuta and Ibn Saqaveihi 46 to Solo- mon Ben Luzki and Abraham Firko- wisch 47 they all levelled their shafts at the redoubtable master-controversialist, whose very name they held in execration. And his work was the shield against which their lances broke. 48 In order to answer Saadia effectively, the Karaites had to resolve the differ- ences among themselves 49 — differences that had resulted from their unlimited freedom in exegesis. 50 Their answers to Saadia had to be on a higher literary and scholastic plane than heretofore. Ka- raite leaders, such as Sahl ben Masliah and Solomon ben Yeruham replied to Saadia in Arabic and Hebrew. These answers produced the Golden Age of Karaite Literature. 1 But a literature cannot live on the chewing of old opin- ions and on controversy, and nothing more, especially when these are not even fertilized by new thoughts. Thus it is that Karaite literature vanished silently. 52 Similarly, the blow Saadia dealt the Karaite expansion was decisive and sealed the fate of the sect. It was cut off com- pletely from the main stream of Jewish thought and social progress. 5 3 This com- plete break closed the only missionary field open to Karaism. 5 ' Its numbers dwindled from that time until only an insignificant group remained. In time, it broke away entirely from the main bod] of Israel. 55 As regards Saadia ' s achievements, the facts speak for themselves. Karaism did not recover from Ins attack m A was never again a danger to Israel. Saadia had curbed hik- oi the strongest heretic move- ments that ever arose m fudais Saadia ' s contemporaries recognized his accomplishments miA he partly owed his appointment .is Gaon at Sura to his anti- Karaite a n ities Latet Rabbis such as