Sefer ha-Qabbalah

Sefer ha-Qabbalah (Hebrew: ספר הקבלה, lit. 'The Book of Tradition') was written by Abraham ibn Daud around 1160–1161.[1] It is a survey of Jewish and general history which creates a comprehensive Jewish history narrative.[2]

The book is a response to Karaite attacks against the historical legitimacy of Rabbinic Judaism[3] and contains, among other items, the controversial tale of the kidnapping by pirates of four great rabbinic scholars from Babylonian academies, whose subsequent ransoming by Jewish communities around the Mediterranean accounts for the transmission of scholarly legitimacy to the rabbis of Jewish centers in North Africa and Christian Spain.[4]

Like the Iggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon before it, the Sefer ha-Qabbalah forms an important component of Jewish historiography.[5] In terms of chronology, Sefer ha-Qabbalah continues where the Iggeret leaves off, adding invaluable historical anecdotes not found elsewhere. The Sefer ha-Qabbalah puts the compilation of the Mishnah by Judah HaNasi in year 500 of the Seleucid Era, corresponding to 189 CE.

At the time, the term qabbalah simply meant "tradition". It had not yet assumed the mythical and esoteric connotations for which it is now known.

Story of the Four Captives

The story describes a Muslim pirate from Córdoba, Spain, identified as Ibn Rumahis, who captured a vessel that had departed from Bari in southern Italy.[4]

Onboard were four rabbis believed to be on a mission on behalf of the Talmudic academies in Babylonia to raise funds for the dowries of impoverished brides. The rabbis were taken captive.

These rabbis were eventually ransomed by Jewish communities:

The story is considered a literary allegory or a historical romance, rather than factual history, designed to bolster the legitimacy of the dispersed rabbinical institutions of the Jewish diaspora, and creating a foundational myth for the transfer of rabbinic authority from Babylonia to North Africa and Spain. The story uses tropes and motifs from earlier talmudic literature such as the story of R. Moses resembling the tale of Hillel. The story states it takes place in the time of Sherira Gaon, but Abd al-Rahman III died in 961 CE, and this creates chronological difficulties. However, the named individuals were historical. This came to the attention of Adolf Neubauer on noticing a reference to Shemarya and his son in the Cairo Geniza. Solomon Schechter published a letter from Hushiel to Shemariah which implied that Hushiel willingly traveled to Qairawan, casting doubt on Ibn Daud's account of capture. In another example of literary exaggeration, Joseph ibn Abitur, after his banishment from Spain, did not lead a life as miserable as Ibn Daud portrayed. Despite this, some scholars hold that the story of the four captives has a core of historical truth. [6][4][7]

Further reading

  • Ibn Daud, Abraham ben David; Cohen, Gerson D. (1969). A critical edition with a translation and notes of the Book of tradition (Sefer ha-qabbalah). Internet Archive. London, Routledge & K. Paul. ISBN 978-0-7100-6241-3.

References

  1. ^ Ibn-Daʾud, Avraham ben Daṿid ha-Leṿi; Cohen, Gerson D. (2010). The book of tradition: Sefer ha-Qabbalah (1. paperback ed.). Philadelphia, Pa: Jewish Publ. Soc. ISBN 978-0-8276-0916-7.
  2. ^ Fontaine, Resianne; Eran, Amira (2024), "Abraham Ibn Daud", in Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2024 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2025-09-01
  3. ^ Krakowski, Eve (2007-01-01). "On the Literary Character of Abraham Ibn Da'ud's Sefer Ha-Qabbalah". European Journal of Jewish Studies. 1 (2): 219–247. doi:10.1163/187247107783876266. ISSN 1872-471X.
  4. ^ a b c Cohen, Gerson D. (1960). "The Story of the Four Captives". Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research. 29: 55–131. doi:10.2307/3622487. ISSN 0065-6798. JSTOR 3622487.
  5. ^ Chazan, Robert (1994). "The Timebound and the Timeless: Medieval Jewish Narration of Events". History and Memory. 6 (1): 5–34. ISSN 0935-560X. JSTOR 25618660.
  6. ^ Krakowski, Eve (2020). ""Elhanan, Son of Shemariah": The Old Series and the Cairo Geniza". Jewish Quarterly Review. 110 (4): 593–598. doi:10.1353/jqr.2020.0045. ISSN 1553-0604.
  7. ^ Marcus, Ivan G. (1990). "History, Story and Collective Memory: Narrativity in Early Ashkenazic Culture". Prooftexts. 10 (3): 365–388. ISSN 0272-9601. JSTOR 20689283.

Bibliography

  • Bages, Jaime (1972). Séfer ha-Kabbaláh (Libro de la Tradición). Valencia: Anubar Ediciones.
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