Jewish Piety in Islamic Jerusalem: The Lamentations Commentary of Salmon ben Yeruhim

by Jessica Andruss

Overview

The emergence of the Jewish Bible commentary in the tenth century marks a turning point in Jewish intellectual history, namely, the transition from ancient rabbinic culture to the Arabized Judaism of the medieval period. This book explores a formative moment in this cultural reorientation by analyzing one of the earliest Jewish Bible commentaries. Written in Arabic in tenth-century Jerusalem, Salmon ben Yeruhim's commentary on Lamentations reveals a nuanced negotiation between the rabbinic tradition and the intellectual resources of the Islamic world. Salmon was a prominent figure among the Karaites, a Jewish movement defined by its commitments to biblical scholarship and penitential practices. For him, Lamentations is "instruction for Israel"--spiritual guidance for the Jewish community in exile--and his task is to communicate that instruction. Jewish Piety in Islamic Jerusalem explores the medieval Arabic dimensions of Salmon's project, tracing his engagement with the nascent fields of Arabic literary theory, historiography, and homiletics. The central argument of the book is that Salmon articulates a Jewish pietistic message through emergent Arabic-Islamic genres, transforming them to reflect his own religious and exegetical commitments. In this way, Salmon applies Arabic learning to the Bible at the same time that his understanding of the biblical text expands the Arabic intellectual tradition. The book advances these claims through six analytical chapters and an annotated English translation of the homilies and excursuses of Salmon's commentary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197639573
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/31/2023
Series:	AAR Religion in Translation
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jessica Andruss is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. Her research and teaching concern medieval Jewish and Muslim cultural and intellectual history, and the connections between Jewish and Muslim communities in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Abbreviations Part One: Studies Preface Notes on the Translation Chapter One: Lamentations and the Mourners for Zion Chapter Two: The Lamentations Commentary of Salmon ben Yeruhim Chapter Three: Salmon's Engagement with Rabbinic Sources Chapter Four: Salmon's Approach to Figurative Language Chapter Five: The Art of the Homily Chapter Six: The Hermeneutics of Historical Reflection Conclusion Part Two: Selected Translations from the Commentary Invocation Introduction Lamentations 1 Lamentations 2 Lamentations 3 Lamentations 4 Lamentations 5 Glossary of Salmon's Arabic Terms Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

"In Jewish Piety in Islamic Jerusalem, Jessica Andruss has unearthed a lesser-known historical treasure: a commentary on the biblical book of Lamentations written by Salmon ben Yerūḥīm, an erudite Karaite Jew whose scholarship represents an intersection of Judaism and Islam, Hebrew and Arabic, and the rabbinic and medieval periods. A representation par excellence of the experimental beginnings of a new genre of Jewish commentary form, through her detailed, formidable, and impressive research, Andruss has opened the doors for lay people and scholars alike to a critical nexus in time." — Aaron J. Hahn Tapper, Mae and Benjamin Swig Professor of Jewish Studies, University of San Francisco

"Jessica Andruss' Jewish Piety in Islamic Jerusalem is a triple achievement and gift. It is the first extensive study and partial (but also extensive) translation of Salmon ben Yerūḥīm's tenth-century Arabic translation and commentary on the Book of Lamentations. It is a learned and subtle inquiry into the relationship between the emergence of Jewish biblical commentary and Islamic techniques of exegesis. And it is a call for attention to the fascinating and important role that Karaite 'Mourners for Zion' assigned to historical hermeneutics and historical reflection as they sought to make sense of God's plan for the world and its peoples." — David Nirenberg, Author of Neighboring Faiths: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, Medieval and Modern

"With much care and insight, Andruss elucidates a text of vital importance for understanding the Karaite 'Mourners for Zion' movement in tenth-century Jerusalem. The plaintive tone of Lamentations lent itself naturally to the Mourners' focus on Jerusalem's destruction and through the practice of commentary Salmon Ben Yeruhim explored ascetic ritual and historical reflection in a decidedly Islamic key and thus transformed the biblical poem into a presentist book of guidance and exhortation aimed at ending the condition of Exile." — Jonathan Decter, Edmond J. Safra Professor of Sephardic Studies, Brandeis University

From the Publisher