Unifying Culture Through Language: An Analysis of the Emergence of Classical Judeo-Arabic Writing

Authors

Aaron Levi Forman New York University, United States

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21111/jcsr.v3i02.8766

Abstract

Saadia Gaon’s (882-942) Tafsir is considered to be a turning point in the history of not only Judeo-Arabic written production, but also medieval Judeo-Arabic culture. Through his translation of the bible into Arabic written in Hebrew characters, Saadia made this text and other works of philosophy, biblical interpretation, synagogue liturgy, and linguistics accessible to a wider audience and standardized a mode of communication among Jews throughout the medieval Islamic world. This paper compares twelfth-century Cairo Geniza fragments of Saadia’s Tafsir and Siddur, analyzing the visual interplay of Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic in these sources. Changes in color, hand, damage, marginal notes, and presence or absence of writing on the verso side of the fragment shed light on the application of Saadia’s work by Jews in the medieval Mediterranean. I ultimately conclude that while production of anti-Karaite polemic may have partially motivated Saadia to write in Judeo-Arabic, the desire to standardize a uniformly understood language rooted in Classical Arabic orthography more comprehensively explains the revolutionary effect of Saadia’s work and its immediate tenth-century adaptations outside the Rabbanite Jewish community.

Author Biography

Aaron Levi Forman, New York University, United States

Aaron Forman is a doctoral student in the Hebrew and Judaic Studies and History department at New York University. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, his research focuses on Mediterranean interconnectivity in the medieval Jewish world. Using medieval texts, Aaron seeks to extrapolate how Jews from different regions defined themselves and their communities in relation to non-Jews and Jews from other parts of the world with whom they came into contact. Aaron graduated magna cum laude from Carleton College with distinction in the History major, where his thesis explored how the twelfth-century travel narratives of Benjamin of Tudela and Petachia of Regensburg contributed to a sense of global unity among medieval Jews in the Mediterranean basin and beyond. Outside of his studies, Aaron can be found playing soccer, basketball, and volleyball, or seeking out the best spicy Chinese food in New York City.

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Published

2024-05-19

How to Cite

Forman, A. L. (2024). Unifying Culture Through Language: An Analysis of the Emergence of Classical Judeo-Arabic Writing. Journal of Comparative Study of Religions, 3(2), 51–75. https://doi.org/10.21111/jcsr.v3i02.8766

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Vol. 3 No. 2 (2023): Journal of Comparative Study of Religions (JCSR)

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