Very little information has survived about the life of Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra, and therefore it is impossible to write his biography. In contrast, his writings that have reached us have a great deal of information about his spiritual life, which makes it possible to put together an intellectual portrait. This information also provides us with answers to additional questions, such as: What is a polymath? Why did he not immigrate to Eretz Israel? Why did he leave Spain? What are the three features of his commentaries on the Torah? In addition, the book explores the tension between the principle of equality of generations and the advantage of the sages&rsquo, wisdom, between loyalty and criticism in Ibn Ezra's thought, as well as a discussion on the denial of sensuality and the rejection of women by Ibn Ezra.
Danacode: 110-20317 ISBN: 978-965-226-595-1 Language: Hebrew Pages: 298 Weight: 700 gr Dimensions: 17X24 ס"מ cm Publication Date: 11/2021 Publisher: Bar-Ilan University Press
Contents
Foreword 7
Biography
Chapter 1 A Realization of the Educational Ideal of the Golden Age in Spain: Ibn Ezra the Polymath 11
Chapter 2 Why did Ibn Ezra not join Yehuda Halevi on his journey to the Land of Israel? 27
Chapter 3 Why did Ibn Ezra leave Spain “with an Alarmed Soul”? 44
A. Examining the Political Explanation: the Almohad Persecution 44
B. Arriving in Rome: Three Statements by Ibn Ezra on Creativity in Crisis 50
C. Possible Analogies from the Lives of other Poets who left their Homes 53
Chapter 4 Sowing and Rejecting: Ibn Ezra brings the Wisdom of Spain to Christian Lands 59
A. In Christian Lands: The Wandering Poet Becomes the Wandering Author 60
B. The Poor Fruits of Great Labor 74
Writing
Chapter 5 Ibn Ezra’s Adherence to the Literal Meaning 87
A. A Summary of Sarah Yefet’s Argument 87
B. A Hermeneutic Examination of the “Literal Meaning” and a methodological examination of Ibn Ezra’s commentarial approach 90
Chapter 6 Three formats of Ibn Ezra’s Commentaries: Short Commentary, Long Commentary and his Oral Commentary 110
Criticism
Chapter 7 The Principle of Equality between Generations and the Advantage of the Wisdom of Sages 135
A. Are indeed the Generations not Diminishing but Equal? 135
B. Is the Wisdom of the Sages broader than our wisdom? 155
Chapter 8 Ibn Ezra - Between Faithfulness and Criticism 188
World View
Chapter 9 Patriarchal Asceticism: Renunciation of Sensuality and the Rejection of Women that Personify it 201