
1150 AD to 1170 AD, Psalm 105: Ibn Ezra.
This generation is that of the 1150s and 1160s.
- The Jewish [1] community of Al-Andalus came to an abrupt end when, from 1146, an extremist Muslim sect, the Almohads, arrived from Morocco and gradually took control of Islamic Spain, banning Judaism and Christianity in his territories. The resulting flight of Jewish intellectuals transported Judeo-Arabic culture to Christian Spain (which now extended to the south and, in the mid-thirteenth century, occupied virtually the entire peninsula) and to Provence. Others, like the Cordovan Jew Maimon, fled to other parts of the Islamic world: Maimon went to Morocco, and from there, finally, to Egypt where his son, Moses Maimonides (1138-1204), had a remarkable career and establishes a lineage of community authorities that lasted until the fourteenth century.
- Abraham [2] Ibn Ezra introduced the positional numbering now based on the first nine letters of the Hebrew alphabet. He also made use of the zero he called « galgal » (the circle or the wheel). He was also interested in combinatorial analysis, the calculation of permutations and combinations.
(extract of the psalm 105 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 7 )
- Give thanks to the Lord, call out in His name; make His deeds known among the peoples.
- Sing to Him, play music to Him, speak of all His wonders.
- Boast of His holy name; may the heart of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
- Search for the Lord and His might; seek His presence constantly.
- Remember His wonders, which He performed, His miracles and the judgments of His mouth.
- The seed of Abraham His servant, the children of Jacob, His chosen ones.
- He is the Lord our God; throughout all the earth are His judgments.
- In the middle [3] of the twelfth century, Archbishop Don Raimondo made the city a center for the translation of the scientific and philosophical works of the Eastern Muslims, a work in which the Jews, who knew the languages, worked intensely.
- Rather [4] than under Archbishop Raymond, the sources invite us more to situate the true beginning of the Toledan translations at the time of Archbishop John (1152-1166). The latter appears indeed as the most likely sponsor of the translation of the treatise « Of the soul » that is dedicated to him by a certain « Avendeuth » (= Ibn Daud? Ibn David?). That is to say the part devoted to psychology in the philosophical encyclopedia of Avicenna known as Sita. […] One of the readings of the dedication can be privileged: « to Jean very revered archbishop of the siege of Toledo and primate of Spain, Avendeuth, philosopher Israelite, in testimony of his deferential obedience ».
(extract of the psalm 105 associated to this generation, verses 8 to 24 )
- He remembered His covenant forever, the word He had commanded to the thousandth generation,
- Which He had made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac,
- And He set it up to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
- Saying, « To you I shall give the land of Canaan, the portion of your heritage. »
- When they were few in number, hardly dwelling in it.
- And they walked from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people.
- He let no man oppress them, and He reproved kings on their account.
- « Do not touch My anointed ones, and do not harm My prophets. »
- He called a famine upon the land; He broke every staff of bread.
- He sent a man before them; Joseph was sold as a slave.
- They afflicted his foot with fetters; his soul was placed in irons.
- Until His word came, the saying of the Lord purified him.
- A king sent and released him, a ruler of peoples [sent] and loosed his bonds.
- He made him the master of his household and the ruler over all his possessions.
- To bind up his princes with his soul, and he made his elders wise.
- Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
- And He made His people very fruitful, and He made it stronger than its adversaries.
This is expressed for example in his poem « Call the dove (Selihah) », Abraham Ibn Ezra, intellectual of this generation, who notes the sad fate of the Jews in exile and hopes that God will remember again of his people:
- Call [5] the dove, ancient God of heaven,
- That you have exiled. It’s a cruel eagle
- Who, my first time, sent him to Babel,
- And that’s the next, a deadly boar
- Who terrorized him. Also she does find
- Where to rest the leg, where to fold its wing …
- […]
- Creak his enemies with their sharpened fangs:
- « We will come out with ferocity! «
- Night and day, without stopping, ah! what cruelty,
- Her little ones she sees, endless, decapitated … […]
- My rock, to the compassion that you are not ready!
- Since she is looking for Your shelter? And the decree
- Who puts her in prison, forever, in secret,
- What! You, his Redeemer, You maintain this judgment!
- She’s a slave? Buy it ! But it’s true
- That the girl she is, revive her You should!
- The prophet Isaiah said, You remember:
- « His infant, a woman will she forget it? »
- Be a wall of fire, bring her home!
(extract of the psalm 105 associated to this generation, verses 25 to 45 )
- He turned their heart to hate His people, to plot against His servants.
- He sent Moses His servant, [and] Aaron whom He chose.
- They placed upon them the words of His signs and His miracles in the land of Ham.
- He sent darkness and it darkened, and they did not disobey His word.
- He turned their water into blood, and it killed their fish.
- Their land swarmed with frogs in the rooms of their monarchs.
- He commanded and a mixture of noxious beasts came, lice throughout all their boundary.
- He made their rains into hail, flaming fire in their land.
- And it struck their vines and their fig trees, and it broke the trees of their boundary.
- He spoke and locusts came, and nibbling locusts without number.
- And they consumed all grass in their land, and they consumed the produce of their soil.
- And He smote every firstborn in their land, the first of all their strength.
- And He took them out with silver and gold, and there was no pauper among their tribes.
- Egypt rejoiced with their departure for their fear had fallen upon them.
- He spread out a cloud for shelter, and fire to illuminate the night.
- They asked, and He brought quails, and the bread of heaven sated them.
- He opened a rock and water flowed; in the deserts ran rivers.
- For He remembered His holy word with Abraham His servant.
- And He took out His people with joy, His chosen ones with joyful singing.
- And He gave them lands of nations, and they inherited the toil of kingdoms.
- In order that they keep His statutes and observe His laws. Hallelujah.
[1] (directed by) David Biale: « Cultures of the Jews ». Raymond P. Scheindlin’s chapter: « Merchants and intellectuals, rabbis and poets; Judeo-Arab culture in the golden age of Islam « . (French: « Les Cultures des Juifs ». Chapitre de Raymond P. Scheindlin : « Marchand et intellectuels, rabbins et poètes ; la culture judéo-arabe à l’âge d’or de l’islam ». (p. 310) ).
[2] David Bensoussan: « Spain of the three religions » (French: « L’Espagne des trois religions » (p. 81) ).
[3] (directed by Louis Cardaillac) « Toledo, twelfth – thirteenth, Muslims, Christians and Jews: Knowledge and Tolerance ». Chapter of Leon Tello: « The Judiae, an air of success ». (French: « Tolède, XIIe – XIIIe, Musulmans, Chrétiens et Juifs : Le savoir et la tolérance ». Chapitre de León Tello : « La Judéria, un air de réussite ». (p. 125) ).
[4] (directed by Louis Cardaillac) « Toledo, twelfth – thirteenth, Muslims, Christians and Jews: Knowledge and Tolerance ». Chapter of Danielle Jacquart: « The School of Translators ». (French: « Tolède, XIIe – XIIIe, Musulmans, Chrétiens et Juifs : Le savoir et la tolérance ». Chapitre de Danielle Jacquart : «L’école des traducteurs ». (p. 181) ).
[5] (under the direction of) Emmanuel Haymann: « Jewish Pages ». Chapter VI: « Middle Ages ». (French: « Pages juives ». Chapitre VI : « Moyen Âge » ).