Philosophy and Rabbinic Culture:Jewish interpretation and Controversy in Medieval Languedoc (Routledge, 2009), by Gregg Stern
Reviewed by Rabbi Reuven Chaim
Klein (Rachack Review)
This scholarly work of history
documents the rise and fall of a relatively-unknown Jewish community in the Medieval
period — the Jews of Languedoc (in modern-day Southern France). That community,
often associated and conflated with Provence (which was located to its immediate
east), was already home to Jews for some time when the Muslim Almohads
intensely persecuted Andalusian Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, and drove many
of those Spanish Jews northwards to Languedoc around 1150s.
One of the important Spanish Jewish
families who immigrated northward was the Ibn Tibbon family, led by Yehuda Ibn
Tibbon (1120–1190). The Ibn Tibbon family introduced the long-standing Languedocian
Jewish tradition of translation, as it was Yehuda and his son Shmuel Ibn Tibbon
who rendered many Jewish works originally written in Judeo-Arabic into Hebrew, thus
opening them up to a wider audience. These works include Rabbi Saadia Gaon's Emunot
Ve'Deot, Bachya ibn Pakuda's Chovot HaLevavot, Yehuda HaLevi's Kuzari,
Ibn Janach's works on Hebrew grammar and lexicon, and of course the works of
Maimonides (especially his Guide for the Perplexed and commentary to the
Mishnah). That tradition of translating the great sources into Hebrew also
extended to works of science and philosophy of the Greco-Arabic stream, and led
to a wide degree of acculturation in those fields on the part of the Jews in
Languedoc.
Besides for the Ibn Tibbon
family, other towering Torah scholars of Languedoc, Occitan, and Provence
include such important figures as Zerachya HaLevi, Manoach of Narbonne, Avraham
of Posquières, Eshtori HaParchi, Yaakov Anatoli, Avraham min HaHar (of Montpellier),
Asher of Lunel, Moshe of Narbonne, Meir Meili, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Yedayah
HaPenini, Levi ben Chaim, Ibn Kaspi, the Kimchi family, Gersonides, Dovid
HaKochavi (Estelle), Nissim of Marseilles, and more.
Although Languedoc (and especially
Montpellier) was an important flashpoint in the first Maimonidean controversy,
by the second half of the 13th century Languedoc had become a
stronghold of Maimonideanism, with that philosophically-infused brand of
Judaism dominating the community. One of the important characters discussed in
this book is Rabbi Menachem ben Shlomo Meiri, who followed precisely that trend.
Meiri lived in the Languedocian city of Perpignan, and penned one of the most
comprehensive and in-depth commentaries of the Talmud to date. His steadfast
devotion to Maimondeanism and proud follower of the Languedocian Halachic traditions make him an especially
noteworthy figure in the history of the community. Besides his voluminous Talmudic
commentary, Meiri also wrote Kiryat Sefer which defended various local Languedocian
customs from claims by Spanish Jews that those traditions were Halachically
illegitimate. In this book, the author attempts to piece together Meiri’s world
view, especially how he viewed Christianity and other world religions from his
so-called “moderate” Maimonidean perspective.
Several chapters of this book are
devoted to telling the story of the controversy sparked by a rabbinic scholar
named Abba Mari who attempted to curtail the study of philosophy in Jewish Languedoc. He worried that
following the philosophical approach to Judaism could steer Jews away from
tradition and led them to heresy. He was especially concerned with how Jewish
philosophers were re-interpreting Biblical narratives as allegorical allusions
to philosophical ideas, an approach which he felt could potentially upend the
entirety of Jewish belief and practice.
Although Abba Mari himself personally subscribed to the
Maimoinidean approach, he wanted to tone down the importance of philosophy and
reserve its study to elite Jewish scholars who were already mature in their
studies. He felt that the more overly-philosophical approach should not be openly
preached in the synagogues and at family events, but should be an esoteric
wisdom studied by only a few. In doing so, he appealed to rabbinic authorities
outside of Languedoc to intervene. In particular, he turned to Rashba (Rabbi
Shlomo Ibn Adret), a Catalonian scholar based in Barcelona who was widely
recognized as the leader Jewish scholar of the time, to ban the study of
philosophy for those younger than 25–30 years old.
This book details Abba Mari’s largely unsuccessful efforts
and the blowback to his enlisting Rashba — who was actually Kabbalist, and thus
suspect in the eyes of Maimonidean rationalists — for his cause. Other
important characters in this tale include the Rosh (Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel),
who was the exiled leading Ashkenazi authority that had spent some time in
Languedoc before settling in the Castilian city of Toledo. Abba Mari compiled
many letters and documents related to his crusade against the normalization of philosophy
among Languedocian Jewry, many of which were published in the word Minchat Ken’aot.
The tragic end of the Languedocian
community occurred in July 1306,
when the French king Philip the Fair (1268–1314) expelled the Jews from his territories,
thus sending the Jews of Narbonne, Beziers, Montpellier, Lunel and other Occitanian
towns elsewhere. Jews were later readmitted and expelled again multiple times,
but the Languedocian community was never the same and their unique brand
of Judaism eventually fizzled out.
In conclusion, this book serves
as a comprehensive exploration of the Languedocian Jewish community, unveiling
its rich history through the lens of its key figures. The author's meticulous
attention to detail is evident in the extensive endnotes provided after each
chapter, ensuring transparency and scholarly rigor. Furthermore, the inclusion
of maps enhances the reader's understanding of the geographical and cultural
landscape in which this community thrived. Overall, this work not only sheds
light on a lesser-known aspect of Jewish history but also invites readers to
delve deeper into the complexities and legacy of the Languedocian Jewish
community.
