Bahya ben Asher (Hebrew: בחיי בן אשר) or Bahya ben Asher ben Halawa also known as the Rabbeinu Behaye, born about the middle of the thirteenth century at Saragossa, died 1340, was a 13th century rabbi and scholar of Judaism. He was a commentator on the Hebrew Bible and is noted for introducing Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) into study of the Torah. Zugot (Hebrew: ) ((tÉ™qÅ«phāth) hazZÅ«ghôth) refers to the hundred year period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 CE), in which the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot (pairs) of religious teachers. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar to say or tell over), were renowned Jewish scholars who said or told over the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Israel. ... A savora (Aramaic: סבורא, plural savoraim, saboraim, סבוראים) is a term used in Jewish law and history to signify the leading rabbis living from the end of period of the Amoraim (around 500 CE) to the beginning of the Geonim (around 700 CE). ... Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning pride in Biblical Hebrew and genius in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular... Rishonim (ראשונים Hebrew - sing. ... Acharonim (Hebrew - sing. ... Bahya ibn Paquda (also: Pakuda) Full name: Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, known to Talmud scholars (in Hebrew) as the Rabbeinu Bechaya (Our Rabbi Behaya), was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Saragossa, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century. ... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... For alternative meanings, see Zaragoza (disambiguation). ... Events Europe has about 74 million inhabitants. ... Rabbi, in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root word רַב, rav, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in knowledge). Sephardic and Yemenite Jews pronounce this word רִבִּי ribbÄ«; the modern Israeli pronunciation רַבִּי rabbÄ« is derived from a recent (18th... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Tanakh (Hebrew: ‎) (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Kabbalah (Hebrew: ‎, Tiberian: , Qabbālāh, Israeli: Kabala) literally means receiving, in the sense of a received tradition, and is sometimes transliterated as Cabala, Kabbala, Qabalah, or other permutations. ... Tora redirects here. ...

He is considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the Biblical exegetes of Spain. He was a pupil of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (the Rashba). Shlomo ben Aderet (or Solomon son of Aderet) (1235-1310), universally known to scholars of Judaism as the Rashba (the acronym for his Hebrew name), was a Medieval rabbi, Halakhist, and famous Talmudist. ...

Bahya took for his model Moses ben Nahman who is known as Nahmanides, the teacher of Solomon ben Adret, who was the first to make use of the Kabbalah as a means of interpreting the Torah. He discharged with zeal the duties of a darshan ("preacher") in Saragossa, sharing this position with several others, and on this account received a small salary, which was scarcely enough to support him and his family; but neither his struggle for daily bread nor the reverses that he suffered (to which he referred in the introduction to his commentary on the Torah) diminished his interest in Torah study in general, and in Biblical exegesis in particular. Nahmanides (1194 - c. ... Torah study is the study by Jews of the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaisms religious texts, for the purpose of the mitzvah (commandment) of Torah study itself, meaning study for religious (as opposed to academic) purposes. ... This article, image, template or category should belong in one or more categories. ...

Tsiyun of Rabbeinu Behayé and his talmidim, `Hokok in the Galil, Israel

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x1728, 2780 KB) Photograph of the tsiyoun of Rabenou Be`hayé (and his talmidim) as taken in Adar 5766 by Yirmiyahou. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x1728, 2780 KB) Photograph of the tsiyoun of Rabenou Be`hayé (and his talmidim) as taken in Adar 5766 by Yirmiyahou. ... Yeshiva or yeshivah (IPA: ) (Hebrew: ישיבה pl. ... Galilee (Arabic al-jaleel الجليل, Hebrew hagalil הגליל), meaning circuit, is a large area overlapping with much of the North District of Israel. ...

His Torah commentary

Bahya's principal work was his commentary on the Torah (the five books of Moses), in the preparation of which he thoroughly investigated the works of former Biblical exegetes, using all the methods employed by them in his interpretations. Tora redirects here. ...

He enumerates the following four methods, all of which in his opinion are indispensable to the exegete:

1. The peshat, the "plain" meaning of the text in its own right.
2. The midrash or the aggadic exegesis.
3. Logical analysis and philosophical exegesis. His aim is to demonstrate that philosophical truths are already embodied in the Bible, which as a work of God transcends all the wisdom of man. He therefore recognizes the results of philosophical thought only in so far as they do not conflict with Jewish tradition.
4. The method of the Kabbalah, termed by him "the path of light," which the truth-seeking soul must travel. It is by means of this method, Bahya believes, that the deep mysteries hidden in the Bible may be revealed.

Generally speaking Bahya does not reveal any of his Kabbalistic sources, other than generally referring to Sefer ha-Bahir and the works of Nahmanides. He only mentions the Zohar twice. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Aggadah (Aramaic אגדה: tales, lore; pl. ... Logic, from Classical Greek λόγος logos (the word), is the study of patterns found in reasoning. ... For other uses, see Philosophy (disambiguation). ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Bahir (Hebrew for Illumination) is a pseudepigraphic mystical work attributed to Nehunya ben ha-Kanah, a first century rabbinic sage, and a contemporary of Johanan ben Zakkai (first century), because it begins with the words, R. Nehunya ben ha-Kanah said. It was first published in the 12th century... Nahmanides (1194 - c. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bahya's commentary derives a particular charm from its form. Each parashah, or weekly lesson, is prefaced by an introduction preparing the reader for the fundamental ideas to be discussed; and this introduction bears a motto in the form of some verse selected from the Book of Proverbs. Furthermore, by the questions that are frequently raised the reader is compelled to take part in the author's mental processes; the danger of monotony being also thereby removed. In Jewish services, a Parsha or Parshah or Parashah, פרשה, meaning Portion in Hebrew, is the weekly Torah reading text selection. ... The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...

Printings

The commentary was first printed at Naples in 1492; and the favor which it enjoyed is attested by the numerous supercommentaries published on it. Owing to the large space devoted to the Kabbalah, the work was particularly valuable to Kabbalists, although Bahya also availed himself of non-Jewish sources. Later editions of the commentary appeared at Pesaro, 1507, 1514, and 1517; Constantinople, 1517; Rimini, 1524; Venice, 1544, 1546, 1559, 1566, and later. Not less than ten supercommentaries are enumerated by Bernstein (Monatsschrift xviii. 194-196), which give further evidence of the popularity of the work. The Bay of Naples Naples (Italian: , Neapolitan: Nàpule, from Greek Νεάπολη < Νέα Πόλις Néa Pólis New City) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of the Campania region and the Province of Naples. ... Not to be confused with 1492: Conquest of Paradise. ...

Other works

His next most famous work was his Kad ha-Kemah ("Receptacle of the Flour") (Constantinople, 1515.) It consists of sixty chapters, alphabetically arranged, containing discourses and dissertations on the requirements of religion and morality, as well as Jewish ritual practices. Its purpose is to promote a moral life. In it Bahya discusses the following subjects: belief and faith in God; the divine attributes and the nature of providence; the duty of loving God, and of walking before God in simplicity and humility of heart; the fear of God; Jewish prayer; benevolence, and the love of mankind; peace; the administration of justice, and the sacredness of the oath; the duty of respecting the property and honor of one's fellow man; the Jewish holidays, and halakha (loosely translated as "Jewish law".) Look up flour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jewish services are the prayers recited as part of observance of Judaism. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ... Jewish holiday, (or Yom Tom or chag or taanit in Hebrew) is a day that is holy to the Jewish people according to Judaism and is usually derived from the Hebrew Bible, specifically the Torah, and in some cases established by the rabbis in later eras. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah with pronunciation emphasis on the third syllable, kha), is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ...

Another work of Bahya, also published frequently, and in the first Mantua edition of 1514 erroneously ascribed to Moses ben Nahman, bears the title of Shulkhan Arba ("Table [of] Four"). It consists of four chapters, the first three of which contain religious rules of conduct regarding the various meals, while the fourth chapter treats of the banquet of the righteous in the world to come.

A work might have been written by Bahya under the title of Hoshen ha-Mishpat ("Breastplate of Judgment".) Reference to this work is made only once by him, and it is unknown if this work was actually written or not.

Works incorrectly attributed to him

A number of works whose author is simply "Bahya", or whose authors are unknown, have been attributed to Bahya ben Asher. Many modern day authorities on Bahya's writings have shown that many of these attributions are spurious.

• Ha-Emunah ve-ha-Bittahon (Korets, 1785)
• Ma'arekhet ha-Elohut (Mantua, 1558)
• Ma'amar ha-Sekhel (Cremona, 1557)

One book ostensibly written by Bahya, edited by M. Homburg under the title of Soba Semakhot ("Fulness of Joy"), as being a commentary on the Book of Job, is actually a compilation made by a later editor from two of Bahya's actual works, Kad ha-Kemah (Constantinople, 1515) and Shulhan shel Arba (Mantua, 1514). The Book of Job (איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. ...

Analysis

Bahya's works possess especial value both for the student of Jewish literature, owing to the author's copious and extensive quotations from Midrashic and exegetical works which have since been lost, and for the student of modern languages on account of the frequent use of words from the vernacular (Arabic, Spanish, and French) in explanation of Biblical terms. They also contain interesting material for the study of the social life as well as for the history of the Kanbalah, the demonology and eschatology of the Jews in Spain. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...