Aaron ben Elijah

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Aaron ben Elia (* around 1300 in Cairo , † 1369 in Constantinople ) was the most important religious philosopher of the Karaites .

Life

Aaron ben Elia lived for a long time in Nicomedia ( Asia Minor ) and at the end of his life settled in Constantinople, where there was an important Karaean community.

Aaron ben Elia considered the doctrine of Kalam (Islamic theology) to be of Jewish origin because of its correspondence with the Bible and was more friendly towards it than the Aristotelian system, which originated on pagan soil and is therefore incompatible with Judaism . He criticized and polemicized especially against Maimonides .

Works

Aaron ben Elias studies on the Karaites are summarized in three writings. In his first book, Ez chajim (1346; "Tree of Life"), Aaron tries to create a Karaean counterpart to Maimonides More Nevuchim ( Leader of the Undecided ), in particular he rejects the harmful influences of the Aristotelian philosophy, which is regarded as pagan. In Gan eden (1354; "Paradise") he tries to establish the Karaite ritual code. The third book, Keter Torah (1362; "Crown of the Torah"), is a commentary on the Pentateuch , based on a verbatim interpretation of the written traditions.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. Kaufmann Kohler: Aaron ben Elijah . In: Jewish Encyclopedia , 1906.