Judaism, Sufism, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt: A Study of Abraham Maimonides and His Times PDF
Preview Judaism, Sufism, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt: A Study of Abraham Maimonides and His Times
OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi OXFORD STUDIES IN THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS GeneralEditors Adam J. Silverstein Guy G. Stroumsa OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi OXFORD STUDIES IN THE ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS Thisseriesconsistsofscholarlymonographsandothervolumesatthecuttingedgeof thestudyofAbrahamicreligions.Theincreaseinintellectualinterestinthecompara- tive approach to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam reflects the striking surge in the importanceofreligioustraditionsandpatternsofthoughtandbehaviorinthetwenty- firstcentury,atthegloballevel.Whilethisimportanceiseasytodetect,itremainstobe identifiedclearlyandanalyzed,fromacomparativeperspective.Ourexistingscholarly apparatusisnotalwaysadequateinattemptingtounderstandpreciselythenatureof similarities and differences between the monotheistic religions, and the transform- ationsoftheir“familyresemblances”indifferentculturalandhistoricalcontexts. Theworksintheseriesaredevotedtothestudyofhow“Abrahamic”traditionsmix, blend,disintegrate,rebuild,clash,andimpactupononeanother,usuallyinpolemical contexts, but also, often, in odd, yet persistent ways of interaction, reflecting the symbiosisbetweenthem. OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi fi Judaism, Su sm, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt A Study of Abraham Maimonides and His Times ELISHA RUSS-FISHBANE 1 OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi 3 GreatClarendonStreet,Oxford,OX26DP, UnitedKingdom OxfordUniversityPressisadepartmentoftheUniversityofOxford. ItfurtherstheUniversity’sobjectiveofexcellenceinresearch,scholarship, andeducationbypublishingworldwide.Oxfordisaregisteredtrademarkof OxfordUniversityPressintheUKandincertainothercountries #ElishaRuss-Fishbane2015 Themoralrightsoftheauthorhavebeenasserted FirstEditionpublishedin2015 Impression:1 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedin aretrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,withoutthe priorpermissioninwritingofOxfordUniversityPress,orasexpresslypermitted bylaw,bylicenceorundertermsagreedwiththeappropriatereprographics rightsorganization.Enquiriesconcerningreproductionoutsidethescopeofthe aboveshouldbesenttotheRightsDepartment,OxfordUniversityPress,atthe addressabove Youmustnotcirculatethisworkinanyotherform andyoumustimposethissameconditiononanyacquirer PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyOxfordUniversityPress 198MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NY10016,UnitedStatesofAmerica BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData Dataavailable LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2014959427 ISBN 978–0–19–872876–4 Printedandboundby CPIGroup(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CR04YY OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,14/8/2015,SPi For Tzippy אוה הלש םכלשו ילש OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi Acknowledgements AsIbringthisscholarlylabortothelightofday,Iamfilledwithgratitudefor the many generous people who freely offered their support and advice over several years of work. The kindness of family, friends, and colleagues was essential to this undertaking in innumerable ways, even as responsibility for thefinalproductisentirelymyown. I owe a special debt of gratitude to those who assisted me throughout the process, whether by reading the work and making critical suggestions or by offering insights and advice along the way. I benefitted from the advice of seniorscholarsduringmyyearsasaTikvahPostdoctoralFellowatPrinceton University, especially Leora Batnitzky, Mark Cohen, and Peter Schäfer. I am thankfultotheTikvahFundfortheopportunitytospendthreeyearswriting and teaching at Princeton in the company of such scholars. I am likewise indebtedtotheJohnTempletonFoundation,andparticularlyMichaelWelker, fortheuniqueopportunitytodevelopaninternationalnetworkofcolleagues intheMiddleEastandEuropeandforthefundingthatenabledmetotravelto consult manuscripts critical to my research. For the past three years I have beenprivilegedtobepartofasuperbcommunityofcolleaguesintheReligion DepartmentandCenterforJewishStudiesatWesleyanUniversity,andIwish to thank, in particular, Dalit Katz, Peter Gottschalk, Mary-Jane Rubenstein, VeraSchwarz,andMagdaTeterfortheirunstintingsupportandrichconver- sationduringmytimeatWesleyan.AspecialthankyoutoLuisGiron-Negron ofHarvardUniversityforhiswisdomandfriendship.Tomyseniorcolleagues in Judaeo-Arabic and Genizah studies, I owe a unique debt of gratitude. I would especially like to acknowledge Kalman Bland, Mark Cohen, Morde- chaiFriedman,MosheHalbertal,HowardKreisel,andDanielLaskerfortheir assistanceandvaluableinsightsthroughouttheprocess.Ithankthededicated staff of the Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts at the Jewish Na- tional and University Library in Jerusalem for sharing their paleographic, codicological, and technical expertise during my research. A special thank you to the editors of Oxford University Press for their patient attention to every detail. I am especially indebted to Guy Stroumsa andAdam Silverstein forinvitingmetopublishmyworkintheirnewseries,OxfordStudiesinthe Abrahamic Religions.Itisanhonor andIhope thefinal product meetstheir expectations. Abraham Maimonides reminded his readers that a seeker on the path wouldbeafooltoundertakesuchanarduousjourneywithoutanexperienced guide. It is a special privilege to express my gratitude to the two individuals whoguidedmewithgenerosityandgracefromtheinceptionofthispathtoits OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi viii Acknowledgements culmination. My foremost mentor in the study of Egyptian Jewish pietism, Paul Fenton, has selflessly shared of his knowledge (and the occasional manuscript)inconversationsfromCairo,toParis,toNewYork,toJerusalem. Hewasandcontinuestobethepioneerinthisfield,withoutwhomthepresent work would not have been possible. Finally, it is an honor to recognize my teacher, Bernard Septimus, who has been my primary mentor for over ten years and who was the original inspiration for my decision to work on AbrahamMaimonidesandtheshapingoftheMaimonideanlegacy.Maimoni- des describes the disciples who surround their teacher as a human crown on theheadoftheirmaster.Somaythelaborofthisstudentaddinitsownsmall waytothecrownofhisteacher. To my family, my debt of gratitude extends well beyond the limits of this project. My mother and father, Mona and Michael Fishbane, first set me on this wondrous path and have given selflessly of themselves for longer than I can remember. You were my first teachers in the life of torah and gemilut hạ sadim,adevotiontoalifeoflearningandteachingandconstantattentive- nesstotheneedsofothers.ItwasinyourhomethatIfirstlearnedthemagical bond between parents and children and it is now with great pleasure that I watch you create the same bond with the next generation. I am deeply grateful for the love and generosity of my in-laws, Philip and Sharron Russ, who are true models of selflessness and a boundless commitment to Jewish learning.Theirdevotiontothecontinuityofthemesorahfromonegeneration to the next is beautifully expressed in all they do. A special appreciation is due to my brother and fellow traveler in the world of Jewish Studies, Eitan Fishbane, for his unique friendship over the years. To the friends and communities who embraced my family during these years in Cambridge, Jerusalem,HighlandPark,andWestHartford,aheartfeltthankyou. Thedeepestdebtofgratitudeistheoneclosesttotheheart.Thisjourneyhas taken many twists and turns and only one person has walked it by my side, everystepoftheway.Let’sfaceit,Tzippy—youaretheonlyreasonthisbook everhada fightingchanceof gettingoff thegroundin the firstplaceandthe reasonIamnotstillobsessingoverthefootnoteswithnoendinsight.Youare my partner, my moral compass, and my best friend. My gratitude to you, in thisandinallelseweshare,isboundless.Ourchildrenareblessedmorethan theyknowtohaveyouastheirguideinlife.Abie,Ora,andJacob:youarethe lightofoureyesandpurejoytoallwhoknowyou.Thankyoufortheunique blessingsyoueachbringtotheworld.Asthemasterofparablesteachesus:Do notabandonthetorahofyourmother.Mineandyoursarehers.Itistoyou, myTzipporale,thatIowethisbook,anditisforyouthatIdedicateitwithall mylove. WestHartford,Connecticut Thanksgiving,2014 OUPCORRECTEDPROOF–FINAL,30/6/2015,SPi Contents Abbreviations xi Introduction 1 Part1: SocialFoundations 1. TheMakingofaMovement 43 2. IdealsandInstitutions 89 Part2: PrayerandtheSynagogue 3. TheDevotionalLife 135 4. PrayerReforms 158 Part3: ProphecyandMessianism 5. TheReturnofProphecy 187 6. FromProphecytoRedemption 219 Bibliography 245 Index 271
The list of books you might like
