Polemical Art

By: Jonathan Seidel

Saadia’s esotericism as anti-karaism   

Saadia Gaon is noted as the farther of Jewish rationalism. Really the chief of Jewish philosophical thought. The advent of science in the islamic world penetrated the Jewish world as well. His contemporaries even his predecessors may note of rationalism and science, it is more subtle and not invested in treatise of any kind until Saadia.

Saadia’s main opponent was karaism which he needlessly attacked. Karaism was deemed a threat to traditional Judaism with their rejection of the oral law, a similar position to the earlier sadducees of the second temple era. In order to demonstrate rabbinic hegemony, rationalism and logic were the tools to deconstruct the karaite ideology. Saadia as the father of Jewish rationalism did not align with any specific school of thought and instead found the idea of reason to be heralded. 

Saadia’s treatise opens with reason’s role of quelling doubts of God. Tradition is the primary source of authentication but reason is a second route of rationality validating Judaism. Classically, reason and revelation are complimentary in understanding the good. Saadia notoriously reasoned commandments, similar to Maimonides. In a dialectical move he argues that not all commandments are rationally deduced and at the same time nothing is contrary to reason. In a sense it is a reasonable command even if irrational. Humanity is limited in understanding divine wisdom. 

Saadia the predecessor of the Andalusian heritage was the early proponent of figurative allegories, demythologising Judaism. Maimonides may have had the loudest voice and the most influence, but it was Saadia who campaigned a couple centuries earlier. Maimonides’ maaseh merkavah and maaseh bereishit as physics and metaphysics originated in Saadia’s commentary. Though Saadia’s nuanced reading establishes an incorporeal deity yet divine creative irrationality. This dialectical process may be reminiscent of his own esotericism.     

Blidstein and Brody takes a Straussian approach in noting that the geonic karaite preoccupation robs their true intent. It is possible that their views were reverted to karaite polemics when in fact they felt otherwise. Maimonides rejection of geonic mahloket as forgetfulness was rejected also by R Hannanel, himself a student of the last geonim. Hannanel may be speaking for himself or he may be positing an exoteric divulgence of true pure non-polemical geonic opinion. Even the geonim are uncertain about this claim. According to Hai Gaon, his position concerning the calendar was solely polemic. Maimonides asserted this as much. Maimonides hints himself to a glowing esotericism amongst the geonim who were playing the defensive against karaism. 

Yet these claims need backing. What is it about Saadia’s writings mark his dichotomy of his thought. For the former two its Maimonides’ protest but his writing itself may divulge a clue to this point. His mitigated attack on Islam as opposed to christianity is itself a parallelism. He camouflaged his distaste for islam in his christian polemic. His criticism applies to both even if not explicit. A theological example is Saadia’s unresolved human freedom which though he believes in creation ex nihilo, he can’t square divine predestination and freedom with it. His treatise is a Jewish kalam most notably dialectical theology. He was an out-rationalist yet still made note of constellations and amulet liturgy. He even interprets Sefer Yetzirah as a science. His seemingly mystical venturing clouds his true ardent rationalism.  

   

Though Saadia’s esotericism is not as apparent as his successors and is more the testimony of these successors, it is difficult to definitively prove it. Yet, his concealment of islamic polemic and preoccupation with karaite issues even those not directly related, marked a significant shift in his thought. Nonetheless, Saadia’s influence on later scholars is evident in Maimonides’ commandment rationales, Bahya’s divine unity and Ibn Gabirol’s divine communication was profound in asserting their own esotericism. Saadia’s role was to spread the power of reason at the heart of Judaism.