Baḥye Ibn Paquda

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BAḤYE IBN PAQUDA

BAḤYE IBN PAQUDA (second half of the eleventh century), also known as Baḥya; Jewish moral philosopher. Virtually nothing is known of Baḥye's life, except that he probably lived in Saragossa and served as a dayyan, a judge of a Jewish court. His Hebrew poems, only a few examples of which are extant, were highly regarded by at least one medieval critic. All are on religious themes, and most were composed to serve in the liturgy. His two best-known poems, intended for private devotion, are both appended to his magnum opus, a treatise on the inner life of religion written in Arabic and titled Al-hidāyah ila farāʾid al-qulūb (Right guidance to the precepts of the hearts). Composed sometime between 1050 and 1090, this work, in the Hebrew translation by Yehudah ibn Tibbon titled Ḥovot ha-levavot (The duties of the hearts, 1161), became one of the most influential religious treatises in Judaism.

Baḥye was heir to a Judeo-Arabic religious tradition in which the rabbinic Judaism of the Talmud and the Geonim had been synthesized with Islamic rationalistic theology (kalām ). This synthesis had received its definitive formulation in the writings of Saʿadyah Gaon (882–942), which had become authoritative for the educated elite class of Jews in Arabic-speaking countries such as Spain. To this synthesis, Baḥye contributed a new element: the traditions of Islamic asceticism and mysticism. His work is replete with sayings, exempla, and technical terminology derived from the writings of earlier Muslim mystics, ascetics, and moralizers; the very structure of his book has Islamic antecedents. Some of his materials have been traced to specific Islamic authors such as al-Muḥāsibī, and parallels to passages in his work are found in the writings of Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī (d. 1111). Although Baḥye cites many passages from the Bible, rabbinic literature, and the writings of the Geonim in support of the thesis that the true function of religious practice is to enable humanity to develop its inner life toward spiritual perfection and love of God, he was the first Jewish writer to develop these principles into a complete spiritual program.

Baḥye's treatise begins with an introduction in which he defines and explains the distinction between "duties of the limbs" and "duties of the heart," between outward (ẓāhir ) and inward (bāṭin ) piety, derived ultimately from the disciples of the early Muslim mystic Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (d. 728). The body of the book consists of ten chapters, each on a different inward virtue. Reason, the Torah, and the rabbinic tradition all teach that the true worship of God is through the intention that accompanies the observances dictated by religious law. Yet most people feel secure that they fulfill God's will through formal obedience to religious law, while neglecting the spiritual development that is the purpose of the system.

Thus, most Jews believe that they fulfill the obligation to acknowledge God's existence and unity by passive assent and by ritual recitation of the Shemaʿ in their daily prayers. This sort of formal compliance with a religious duty (taqlīd) is, in Baḥye's opinion, adequate only for children, the uneducated, and the feebleminded. An adult of normal intellectual capacity is obliged, first, to grasp the meaning of God's unity in its logical and philosophical essence, as far as the human mind is able to grasp it. Accordingly, Baḥye devotes his first chapter to a restatement of the definitions and proofs of God's existence and unity that had been advanced by Saʿadyah and other kalām writers.

Second, one must grasp the meaning God's existence and unity has for one's relations both to God and to one's fellow humans. Since God is not accessible to direct observation, humanity can learn about God's relationship to the world only by studying nature, in which God's actions are evident, and by studying humans, the microcosm. The study of nature makes humans aware of God's work in the world and brings them closer to knowledge of God. It further has the effect of instilling in individuals a profound gratitude, the attitude that makes for the perfect fulfillment of the duties of the heart.

The constituent elements of humans are the body and the soul; as taught by the Neoplatonists, the soul is foreign to the body, being celestial in origin. It was placed in the body by God's will, both as a trial for it and to help the body. For all its yearning to return to its source, the soul is in constant danger of being diverted from its mission because of love of pleasure and love of power. With the help of reason and revelation, however, the soul can purify itself and, after the death of a body, complete its journey.

In order to achieve the soul's desired end, it is necessary to practice certain virtues, to each of which Baḥye devotes a chapter: worship, trust, sincerity, humility, repentance, self-examination, asceticism, and love of God. These virtues flow spontaneously from the gratitude to the creator felt by the thoughtful believer. While the organization of these virtues as a series of degrees of perfection is derived from the writings of such Muslim mystics as Abū Ṭālib al-Makkī (d. 996), Baḥye does not accept their concept of progressive mystic ascension toward illumination. In fact, Baḥye's demands and expectations are quite moderate. Thus, "trust" does not mean that people should neglect their work and expect God to provide them a living, but that they should pursue their livelihood modestly and conscientiously, knowing that it is not their work that provides their living but God's will. Likewise, "asceticism" does not mean extreme self-abnegation and mortification, and it has no intrinsic value. The closest to "the moderation of the law" are those who are not outwardly distinguishable from others.

Finally, there is no conception in Baḥye's thought of mystical union with God. The love of God results from the soul's natural yearning to rejoin its source, but while the soul can perfect and purify itself, it cannot fulfill its desire while attached to the body. The "lover" keeps a respectful distance from the "beloved." Baḥye's mysticism is thus fully compatible with rabbinic Judaism.

Bibliography

Baḥya ben Yosef ibn Pakuda. The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart. Edited and translated by Menahem Mansoor with Sara Arenson and Shoshana Dannhauser. London, 1973.

Goldrich, Amos. "Hameqorot haʾarviim haʾefshariim shel hahavhana bein ḥovot haeivarim vehovot halevavot." Teuda 6 (1987–1988): 179–208.

Safran, Bezalel. "Baḥya ibn Paquda's Attitude toward the Courtier Class." In Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature, edited by Isadore Twersky, pp. 154–197. Cambridge, Mass., 1979.