Bahya ben Asher facts for kids
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (בחיי בן אשר אבן חלואה, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible. He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Biography
Bahya was a pupil of Rabbi Shlomo ibn Aderet (the Rashba). Unlike the latter, Bahya did not publish a Talmud commentary; he is, however, considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the biblical exegetes of Spain. He "discharged with zeal" the duties of a darshan (Hebrew for "expounder") in his native city of Zaragoza, sharing this position with several others. He is buried in Kadarim, Israel, a few minutes walking distance from the prophet Chavakuk.
Works
Bahya's principal work is his commentary on the Torah (the five books of Moses), but he is also known for others, especially Kad ha-Kemah.
Other works
Bahya's next most famous work is his Kad ha-Kemah ( כד הקמח, "The Flour-Jar"; 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. Kad ha-Kemah is both a work of musar (ethics) and philosophy: It is regarded as a work of ethics, in that its purpose is to promote a moral life; it is a work of philosophy in that Rabbeinu Bahya endeavors to give his ethical teachings a philosophical aspect. In this work 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 ("Jewish law".)
Another work of Bahya's is the Shulkhan Shel 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. It has also been published frequently, and the first Mantua edition of 1514 was erroneously ascribed to Nachmanides.
A work might have been written by Rabbi Bahye 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 Rabbi Bahye ben Asher. Many modern day authorities on Rabbi 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 Bahye's actual works, Kad ha-Kemah (Constantinople, 1515) and Shulhan shel Arba (Mantua, 1514).
Sources
See also
In Spanish: Bahya ben Asher para niños
