Joseph Ibn Kaspi

Study of a fascinating medieval Jewish philosopher, focusing on his twin conceptions of history.

The philosopher and biblical commentator Joseph Ibn Kaspi (1280–1345) was a provocative Jewish thinker of the medieval era whose works have generally been overlooked by modern scholars. Power and Progress by Alexander Green is one of the first books in English to analyze his thought by focusing on a central aspect of his work: Ibn Kaspi’s philosophy of history. Green argues that Ibn Kaspi understood history as that which is guided by two distinct but interdependent forces: power and progress, both of which he saw manifest in the biblical narrative. Ibn Kaspi discerned that the use of power to shape history is predominantly seen in the political competition between kingdoms. Yet he also believed that there is historical progress in the continuous development and dissemination of knowledge over time. This he derived from the biblical vision of the divine chariot and its varied descriptions across different biblical texts, each revealing more details of a complex, multi-faceted picture. Although these two concepts of what drives history are separate, they are also reliant upon one another. National survival is dependent on the progress of knowledge of the order of nature, and the progress of knowledge is reliant on national success. In this way, Green reveals Ibn Kaspi to be more than a mere commentator on texts, but a highly innovative thinker whose insights into the subtleties of the Bible produced a view of history that is both groundbreaking and original.

“Controversial in his day, and often denounced, Ibn Kaspi has fallen off the radar of contemporary scholarship. I know of one book in Hebrew, one old study from a generation ago in English (and a new book about which I learned from this book, but have not yet seen), and occasional passing comments in standard histories. There is thus plenty of room for this book and it will, I judge, stimulate further studies on Ibn Kaspi by others.” — Menachem Kellner, Shalem College

Posing a Halakhic query to a rabbi is often taken for granted, as the backdrop to a legal process that begins with the rabbi composing his responsum. At times, however, the question itself is the product of a calculated decision on the part of a layperson to become involved in the Halakhic process. Focusing on responsa from medieval Provence, this article claims that the tensions that existed within the Jewish community between rabbis and philosophers were sometimes played out by asking Halakhic questions. Sensitivity to rhetorical dimensions in both the question and the answer, and to the cultural and social contexts in which the responsum was created, reveals a hidden polemic about Jewish law and power.

Joseph b. Isaac Sambari (1640–1703 CE), in his description of various synagogues in Cairo and Fusṭāṭ, based himself in part on account authored by Taqī al-Dīn Aḥmad b. ʿAlī al-Maqrīzī (1364–1442 CE) more than two centuries earlier. How strong, however, was his fealty to this source? Comparison of the two texts in regard to the same set of synagogues reveals near-identity in some cases, omissions in others, and expansions in yet others. By implication, while Sambari is indebted to al-Maqrīzī, his account is very much his own and he is less indebted to al-Maqrīzī than previous scholars suggest.

A study of the views of Joseph Ibn Kaspi on a number of philosophical topics, and an evaluation of their place in the history of Jewish Philosophy. Students will acquire a familiarity with the use of the exegetical genre as a medium for the expression of philosophical ideas in the Middle Ages.

In this course we will address the thinking of one of the most radical commentators in the Middle Ages: Joseph Ibn Kaspi (b. Provence 1280; d. Majorca 1345). The majority of Ibn Kaspi's works are written in the form of biblical commentaries and commentaries on other works (such as The Guide of the Perplexed). Nonetheless his writing contains playful hints, reflecting his original ideas. We will discuss his views on the following topics: miracles, prophecy, creation and eternity, divine providence, and free will. Through a reading of his original tract, Tam ha-Kesef, as well as other texts, we will be exposed to his attitudes regarding topics such as vegetarianism and the possibility of establishing a Jewish commonwealth. Through a careful reading of his two commentaries on the Book of Job we will see how Ibn Kaspi uses the exegetical genre to express his own ideas. Special attention will be given to Ibn Kaspi's relationship with Maimonides and the possibility that he influenced Spinoza in different ways.

Born around 1280, the Provencal Jewish philosopher Joseph ibn Kaspi was a prolific writer whose works touched upon a wide range of subjects. I present here an English translation of the eighth chapter of his final work, The Silver is Spent (Tam ha-kesef ). In this chapter, Ibn Kaspi discusses the coming of the Messiah and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Coloured by his Aristotelian philosophical outlook, the chapter has a number of interesting features, including its naturalistic approach to history, and the arguments presented for the rationality of belief in a future messianic era.

Can one know future or past history in the same way that one knows metaphysics? 
In this course ("The Philosophy and Commentary of Joseph Ibn Kaspi") we enter into the unique mind of one of the most radical commentators of the Middle Ages. With respect to both his biblical exegesis as well as his concept of history, one can discern the beginnings of Spinoza's revolutions some three hundred years later.
Ibn Kaspi traveled from his native Provence to Egypt in search of the descendants of Maimonides, in the hope that he would discover secrets bequeathed to them by the Instructive Master. Likewise in the lands of the Western Mediterranean he searched for teachers and students. He heard a rumor that Muslims in the city of Fez in Morocco were studying the Guide of the Perplexed and dreamed of joining them. In the end however, he studied alone and wrote books which he dedicated to his own sons.

We are studying the following texts:

- Sefer ha-Musar (Ibn Kaspi's autobiographical confession and suggested educational program for his 12-year-old son).

- Tam ha-Kesef (an original philosophical work, addressing the manner in which God and human beings may know the future; this work may have influenced Baruch Spinoza).

- Two commentaries on the Book of Job (these commentaries address Maimonides's statements about divine providence and the historicity of the Book of Job; Ibn Kaspi lists twelve points on which he diverges from the Master in his commentary).

This paper proposes an survey of the evolution of the meanings of the Hebrew term "mofet" from the Biblical sense of miracle/miraculous proof to the medieval meaning of demonstrative proof. This evolutions parallels that of the Arabic term "burhān".