Benjamin Nahawandi or Benjamin ben Moses or Benyamin ben Moshe al-Nahawendi was one of the greatest of the Karaite scholars of the early Middle Ages. His influence was so far-reaching that some regard him as the proper originator of Karaism as it has come down through the ages. The Karaite historian Solomon ben Jeroham regarded him as greater even than Anan ben David. His name indicates that he is originally from Nahawand, a town in Iran. Karaite Judaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the Tanakh as the sole scripture, and rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmuds) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Karaite Judaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by reliance on the Tanakh as the sole scripture, and rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmuds) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Anan Ben David is often considered to be the founder of the Karaite movement (a form of Judaism that split off from rabbinic Judaism due to its rejection of the oral law), or at least the founder of one of the main groups forming the Karaite movement. ... Nahavand (also spelled Nahawand in some texts) is a town in Hamadan Province in Iran. ...

Works

Benjamin's work is, for the most part, known only in quotations made by subsequent Karaite writers. Japhet ben Ali, in the introduction to his commentary on the minor prophets, wrote that Benjamin was the author of several works, mostly in Judeo-Arabic: Yefet ben Ali lived during the 10th century, a native of Basra in the area of present-day Iraq. ... A prophet is a person who is believed to speak through divine inspiration. ... Categories: Language stubs | Judaism-related stubs | Mizrahi Jews | Arab | Arabic languages | Jewish languages ...

• a commentary on the Torah, in which he frequently refers to Oriental customs;
• a commentary on Isaiah;
• a commentary on Daniel, in which the word "yamim" (days)—in the verse "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days" (xii. 12)—is explained by "years," pointing thus to the year 1010 as the epoch of the arrival of the Messiah;
• a commentary on Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, or, according to some scholars, on all the five Megillot;
• Sefer Mitzvot ("Book of Commandments");
• Sefer Dinim or "Mas'at Binyamin" ("Book of Laws", or "Gift of Benjamin"), written in Hebrew, and published at Koslov (Eupatoria) in 1834—containing civil and criminal laws according to Holy Writ.

Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ... Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל; transliterated as Daniyyel in Standard Hebrew and Dāniyyêl in Tiberian Hebrew) is the name of at least three people from the Hebrew Bible: A Jewish exile in Babylon, the subject of the Book of Daniel and the most well-known of the three Daniels. ... Ecclesiastes, Kohelet in Hebrew, is a book of the Hebrew Bible. ... Song of Solomon is also the title of a novel by Toni Morrison. ... Important note: This article should not be confused with the five books of the Torah (or Pentateuch) which also consists of five books -- sometimes called scrolls -- (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. ...

Rabbinical ordinances

One of Benjamin's innovations was the adoption of many rabbinic ordinances, previously rejected by the Karaites. Unlike the rabbis, however, he left to the free choice of individual Karaites to reject or adopt these regulations. His opinion on these matters is summed up in his writing, Sefer Dinim (Book of Rules), in which he wrote "As for other rules, which are observed and recorded by the Rabbanites and for which I could find no pertinent biblical verse, I have written them down also, so that you might observe them likewise if you so desire." Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages...

For example, Benjamin promoted the rabbinic idea of cherem, with the caveat that the wrongdoer would have to be cursed for seven days following his refusal to obey a judge's summons, to give him a chance to repent and obey (Mas'at Binyamin 2a). Cherem (or Herem), is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. ...

Ironically, some dispute his authorship of the commentary on Isaiah and instead regard it as the work of Saadia Gaon, one of the greatest opponents of Karaism. Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon (892-942), the Hebrew name of Said al-Fayyumi, was a rabbi who was also a prominent Jewish exilarch, philosopher, and exegete. ...

Biblical Exegesis

Benjamin at times approached the Rabbinites in Biblical exegesis also, and combated Anan's interpretations. Thus he maintained with the Rabbinites, against Anan, that the obligation to marry the widow of a childless brother extended only to the brother of the deceased and not to his further relations. He adopted the Talmudical interpretation of the Biblical words concerning the Sabbath—"Abide ye every man in his place" (Ex. xvi. 29)—maintaining that the prohibition herein expressed has reference, not to the residence, but to a distance beyond 2,000 yards of the town (cf. Elijah Bashyazi, "Adderet," p. 63). This article discusses textual hermeneutics. ... The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories, which Jewish tradition considers authoritative. ...

Freedom in thought

However, in spite of many concessions to Rabbinism, Benjamin adhered firmly to the principle, expressed by Anan, of penetrating research of the Scripture. In Benjamin's opinion one ought not to tie oneself down to the authorities, but to follow one's own convictions: the son may differ from the father, the disciple from the master, provided they have reasons for their different views. Inquiry to Benjamin was a duty, and he held that errors arrived at through sincere inquiry do not constitute a sin (compare Yefet ben Ali's commentary, cited in Dukes's "Beiträge," ii. 26). Yefet ben Ali lived during the 10th century, a native of Basra in the area of present-day Iraq. ...

Philosophy of the Bible

Benjamin seems to have written a work in which he expounded the philosophical ideas contained in the Bible. Judging from the quotations made by later Karaite writers, such as Jacob al-Qirqisani, Yefet ben Ali, and Hadassi, Benjamin betrayed the influence of Philonic ideas, while he adopted the Motazilite theories on the divine attributes, free-will, and other questions of a like character expounded before by Anan. God, he holds, is too sublime to mingle with the material world; and the idea that matter proceeded directly from God is inadmissible. God created first the Glory ("Kabod"), then the Throne ("Kisse"), and afterward an Angel. This Angel created the world, in which he is the representative of God. God Himself never came in contact with men, nor did He speak to Israel on Mt. Sinai. The Law and the communications to the Prophets proceeded from the Angel, to whom are referable all the anthropological expressions concerning God found in the Bible (Hadassi, "Eshkol," 25b). The soul forms a part of the body, and is therefore perishable. The Biblical references to reward and punishment can be applied only to the body (Saadia, "Emunot we ha-De'ot," vi. 4). Yefet ben Ali lived during the 10th century, a native of Basra in the area of present-day Iraq. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, one of the manifestations of the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is an ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God. ... The afterlife (or life after death) is a generic term referring to a continuation of existence, typically spiritual and experiential, beyond this world, or after death. ...

This theory of an intermediary power, and the system of allegorizing all the Biblical passages concerning God, upon which Benjamin insists again and again in his commentaries on the Bible, were borrowed from the writings of the sect Magâriyah (Men of the Caves). This sect, the establishment of which, in consequence of a confusion in the text of Shahrastani, has been wrongfully attributed to Benjamin, is identified with the Essenes by Abraham Harkavy, who shows that they were called "The Men of the Caves," because they lived in the desert. Benjamin wrote his halakhic works in Hebrew. Also called Avraam Yakovivich Harkavy (in Russian) and Avraham Eliyahu ben Yaakov Harkavy (in Hebrew), Russian-Jewish historian and orientalist. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) 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. ... The Modern Hebrew language is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. ...

See also

• List of Iranian scholars and philosophers

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1901-1906 Jewish Encyclopedia. Photo taken from medieval manuscript by Qotbeddin Shirazi. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...