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Concept
Bahya ben Asher
Summary
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible.
He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Bahya was a pupil of Rabbi Shlomo ibn Aderet (the Rashba). Unlike the latter, Bahya did not publish a Talmud commentary; he is, however, considered by Jewish scholars to be one of the most distinguished of the biblical exegetes of Spain.
He "discharged with zeal" the duties of a darshan (Hebrew for "expounder") in his native city of Zaragoza, sharing this position with several others. He is buried in Kadarim, Israel, a few minutes walking distance from the prophet Chavakuk.
Bahya's principal work is his commentary on the Torah (the five books of Moses), but he is also known for others, especially Kad ha-Kemah.
The commentary on the Torah - "מדרש רבינו בחיי על התורה " - enjoyed much favor, as attested to by the numerous supercommentaries published on it (not less than ten are enumerated by Bernstein (Monatsschrift xviii. 194-196)).
Owing to the large space devoted to the Kabbalah, the work was also particularly valuable to Kabbalists.
It considered to "derive a particular charm" from its form: Each parashah, or weekly lesson, is prefaced by an introduction preparing the reader for the fundamental ideas to be discussed; and this introduction bears a motto in the form of some verse selected from the Book of Mishlei (Proverbs). Furthermore, by the questions that are frequently raised the reader is compelled to take part in the author's mental processes; the danger of monotony being also thereby removed.
In preparing his commentary "he thoroughly investigated" the works of former biblical exegetes, using all the methods employed by them in his interpretations; although Rabbi Bahya also availed himself of non-Jewish sources. In his biblical exegesis, Bahya took as his model Rabbi Moses ben Nahman (Nachmanides) or Ramban, the teacher of Rabbi Shlomo ibn Aderet, who was the first major commentator to make extensive use of the Kabbalah as a means of interpreting the Torah.
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