Saadia gaon was a pioneer in the fields in which he toiled. Sefer hamoadim, or book of festivals, the hebrew polemic against ben meir which has been mentioned above. Saadia gaon 882942 gives the book a thoroughly philosophical analysis, noting parallels between greek thought and hebrew thought. Rabbi aryeh kaplan has translated sefer yetzirah, the oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic. Who makes winds his messengers, the flaming fire his ministers. It was written prior to rabbi shimons zohar, or the book of splendor.
This is a complete english translation based on the arabic and the hebrew, and contains some useful indices. A short and enigmatic judaeognostic text no more than 2000 words in even the longest version, known from the tenth century, and quite probably dating back much earlier, the sefer yetzirah is concerned with the symbolism of numbers and the letters of the hebrew alphabet. Stopyourmouthfromspeaking,stopyourheart fromthinking,andifyourheartrunstothinkreturntoaplaceofwhichitissaid. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Rabbi aryeh kaplan has translated sefer yetzirah, the oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts, and now brings its theoretical, meditative, and magical implications to light. Magic, the occult, astrology all have been painted in the modern world as fringe and we have been discouraged from even learning about such knowledge but what do you do with the fact that the. Expression was given to this claim by saadia in calling his son dosa this son later served as gaon of sura from 101017. Much of what we know about his work comes from letters and materials found in the cairo geniza. Saadia, in sefer hagalui, stresses his jewish lineage, claiming to belong to the noble family of shelah, son of judah see chronicles 1, and counting among his ancestors hanina ben dosa, the famous ascetic of the first century. He was the head of the great jewish academy at sura, babylonia, which under his leadership became the highest seat of jewish learning, and a vigorous opponent of the karaites a jewish fundamentalist. Sefer yetzirah is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it.
It is traditionally ascribed to our father abraham, though modern scholarship tends to date it around the 9th century ce. Sefer yetzirah wikimili, the best wikipedia reader. A commentary on the book of iyov by one of the last geonim in babylonia, rabbi saadiah gaon 882942. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Saadia gaon lived in babylonia from 882942 ce under muslim rule. The sefer yetzirah is the book of creation, one of the earliest extant texts about the creation of the world of the jewish tradition, a book that some scholars are supposing of an early medieval. The book of creation in theory and practice aryeh kaplan. Saadia gaon was a pioneer in the fields in which he. Pdf the creation of the world in the sefer yetzirah.
So short a text, that one of the earliest fragments appears to have the entire book written on a single page. Saadia gaon hebrew translations of a number of saadia gaons works jewish philosophy. He was the head of the great jewish academy at sura, babylonia, which under his leadership became the highest seat of jewish learning, and a vigorous opponent of the. In 931 ce, saadia gaon penned the earliest extant commentary on the sefer yetzirah sy. Pdf sefer yetzira the book of creation download full pdf. The sefer yetzirah is, according to the different approaches, the earliest jewish scientific treatise, or a treatise on mathematics and sacred grammar, or the earliest and most enigmatic book on jewish esotericism. Sefer yetzirah hashalem with rabbi saadia gaons commentary. Includes the arabic translation by the rasag in hebrew le. Sefer yetzirah hebrew, sepher yetzirah book of formation, or book of creation, is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah.
Sefer yetzirah hebrew, sepher yirah book of formation, or book of creation, is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah. Three letters from the simple ones he sealed air14 through three, and set them into his great name vhy27, and sealed through them the six extremities. Saadia, in sefer hagalui, stresses his jewish lineage, claiming to belong to the noble family of shelah, son of judah, and counting among his ancestors hanina ben dosa, the famous ascetic of the first century. The book of creation sefer yesira is a unique, isolated work that belongs to no school of thought daphne hadas freedman2 sefer yetzirah book of formation, hereafter sy is the oldest known speculative treatise in hebrew. The saadia commentary on the sefer yetzirah by saadia ben joseph alfayumi 882942 ad jewish scholar, b. Pdf sefer yetzira the book of creation download full. Saadia begins his commentary on sefer yetzirah by praising philosophy as a mode of inquiry sanctioned by god. The committee for publishing the books of rabbi saadia gaon. Nonetheless, he clearly considered the work worthy of deep study and echoes of sefer yetzirahs cosmogony do appear in kitab alamanat waliti. It rests on a statement by the twelfthcentury historian abraham ibn daud that saadia was about fifty years old when he died. Saadia advanced the view end of the preface to his commentary on the sefer ye. Finally, in the 16th century, the great kabbalist rabbi isaac luria, the ari, redacted the text to bring it in agreement with the zohar, and in the 18th.
Rabbi kaplans translation of this oldest and most mysterious of all kabbalistic texts provides a unique perspective on the meditative and magical aspects of kabbalah. Observations on saadia gaons commentary on the sefer yetzirah in 931 ce, saadia gaon penned the earliest extant commentary on the sefer yetzirah sy. In its short version, it is only about 0 hebrew words long. The siddur of rav saadia gaon is the first known attempt to transcribe the weekly ritual of jewish prayers for weekdays, shabbats, and festivals. Sefer yetzirah book of formation, hereafter sy is the oldest known speculative treatise in hebrew. Saadia was apparently one of the only geonim successful in proving that world jewry viewed babylonias religious leader as more authoritative than israels. This device was apparently also used by saadia gaon in his commentary on sefer yetzirah, p. In order to get more insight into the interpretive shift, i examine two of the medieval commentaries on sefer yetzirah cited by dan.
Rabbi kaplans translation is based on the gra version, which has been thought to be the most authentic. Ebook excerpt now in its 7th printing since republication in 1997, the sefer yetzirah has established itself as a primary source for all serious students of kabbalah. He was the head of the great jewish academy at sura, babylonia, which under his leadership became the highest seat of jewish learning, and a vigorous opponent of the karaites a jewish fundamentalist schismatic sect, reputedly founded 8th cent. The sefer yetzirah is a small and concise book, only 0 words long in the short version and 2500 words long in the long version. The sefer yetzirah or yesira, or other transliterations has been dated to wildly different periods of time, and is, depending on the commentary you read, the earliest hebrewlanguage book of science, or a key work of kabbalah a form of jewish mysticism apparently beginning in the late.
Chapters three to five discuss the divisions of the letters in relation to astrology. Saadiah ben yosef gaon 882 or 892942, the traditional birth year of 892 was exclusively cited before 1921 and is still occasionally cited. Download pdf sefer yetzira the book of creation free online. Both the ari tree isaac luria and the gra tree have slightly different arrangements of exactly where the paths go although the division remains 3, 7 and 12 and slightly different planetary associations which are perhaps associated with planetary hour as opposed. Download pdf sefer yetzira the book of creation free. Sefer hagalui, also in hebrew and in the same biblical style as the sefer hamoadim, being an apologetic work directed against david b. From his position as head of the great talmudic academy in sura, babylonia, saadia became the earliest grammarian and lexicographer of biblical hebrew as well as the arabic translator and commentator of the hebrew bible. Sep 27, 20 the tree shown below is an array structured to show the principles outlined above. Also included are the short version, the long version, and the saadia version, making this volume the most complete work on sefer yetzirah in english. Sepher yirah, book of formation, or book of creation is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish mysticism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah. Yetzirah is more literally translated as formation. The book of formation sefer yetzirah the matheson trust.
To most people, the very word kabbalah implies the mystical experience par excellence, but most modern books about this subject shed very little light on its ancient mystical and magical aspects. The sefer yetzirah, or the book of creation, was written approximately 3,000 bce, and was the first kabbalistic book to be written. The largest online provider of hebrew sifrei kodesh. The modern birth year of 882 rests on an 11 ce genizah fragment containing a list of saadias writings compiled by. Both the ari tree isaac luria and the gra tree have slightly different arrangements of exactly where the paths go although the division remains 3, 7 and 12 and slightly different planetary associations which are perhaps associated with. The second chapter is a discussion of the letters of the hebrew alphabet, and the 231 gates. Sefer, book of formation, or book of creation is the title of the earliest extant book on jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to kabbalah. He then presents summaries of the various cosmologies theories of creation found in greek thought from thales 640 b. Sefer yetzirah hashalem with rabbi saadia gaon s commentary, yosef qafih editor, jerusalem 1972, p. The tree shown below is an array structured to show the principles outlined above. Sefer yetzirah hashalem with rabbi saadia gaons commentary, yosef qafih editor, jerusalem 1972, p. Saadia gaon, the great ninth century jewish philosopher, was the father of both scientific biblical exegesis and jewish philosophic theology. The text also the largest online provider of hebrew sifrei kodesh. Also, a commentary on the sefer yetzirah was produced by saadia gaon in the 10th century, and in the process of reordering the text, he created a version that is now known as the saadia version.
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