Hebrew- same culture across time

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course
Date
The Hebrew Philosophy in Different Times
The Hebrew philosophy represents a body of philosophical autopsy informed by literature, traditions, and involvements of the Jewish society. Although the question of what precisely the Hebrew or Jewish philosophy entails is not a recurrent one, the way it is often discussed makes it appear to be so. Perhaps the most important answer to the above question is that the Jewish philosophy is an academic disciplineCITATION Fra97 p 2 l 2057 (Frank 2). According to Frank, the philosophy came into existence as a punitive rejoinder to Jewish scholars to a specific historical event, one that made vulnerable the very uniqueness of the Hebrew or Jewish culture (4). As such, one can argue that the initial existence of the Jewish culture was to demarcate, along with typical academic boundaries, a definite literature body. Necessarily, this philosophy resulted in the exclusion of several aspects deemed unfit for the regnant academic blueprint. Mysticism, as discussed by Frank, was among the elements excluded from this philosophy because of its conjectured “arationality [sic]” (4). Furthermore, to attain decorum, the Jewish philosophy has paralleled and at times mimicked ideas from other cultures, a practice carried to the present. In this paper, there will be a brief discussion on the timeline of the Hebrew philosophy (synonymous with the Jewish philosophy). The discussion will categorize this history into three broad periods (ancient, medieval and modern) and analyze them by reviewing the key philosophical figures.

HISTORICAL MILIEU
Over the course of history, the Jewish philosophy has been a base for several studies grounded on the philosophically pertinent Hebrew Bible, Rabbinic law, theology and homiletics CITATION Goo98 l 2057 (Goodman). Carmy and Shatz also contend that the Bible is the basis of the Hebrew philosophy as it supplies a wealth of information for thoughtful examination and exegesis. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that although conception the Jewish philosophy is grounded in the Hebrew Bible, these two ideas are not identical. A critical comparison of the two is that the Jewish philosophy incorporates Kabbalah, Talmud and Midrash and history from all periodsCITATION Car97 p 24 l 2057 (Carmy and Shatz 24). Over history, the Jewish philosophy has had some movements, from the anti-Rabbinical group Karaism to the modern Zionism that gave rise to present-day State of Israel (Goodman).
Ancient Period. As discussed above, the ancient Hebrew philosophy has its basis in the theory of the Bible. Additionally, the classical rabbinic literature considers Abraham as a philosopher. According to Horton, Abraham’s philosophy was based on that of Melchizedek (54). Nevertheless, Philo of Alexandria (20 BC – 40 AD) is considered the first proponent of the Hebrew philosophy CITATION Goo98 l 2057 (Goodman). Born in Alexandria in Egypt, Philo of Alexandria was a Hellenized JewishCITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). This ancient philosopher was determined to synchronize ideas of Ancient Greek theorists with those of the Jewish religion and in so doing justify the beliefs of his religionCITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). According to Goodman, efforts by Philo of Alexandria to ideas from ancient Greek philosophers and those of the Jewish faith gave rise to monotheistic ideas, Middle Platonism and Stoicism. Nonetheless, Mastin points out that Philo of Alexandria chose doctrines from Greeks that aided in his justification of Jewish beliefs ad ignored the rest.
Medieval Era. Mastin contends that Islamic Persian Mu’tazilites profoundly influenced the majority of Jewish philosophers in this period (ranging from the eighth century to the end of the ninth century). These scholars repudiated all attributes limiting God’s ability and Mastin describes them as champions of God’s harmony and impartiality. Nevertheless, there continued a general belief among Hebrew philosophers who regarded Aristotle as the most excellent thinker.
Among the Jewish scholars in the middle ages, Saadia Gaon (882-942) is considered as one of the greatestCITATION MWa97 p 75 l 2057 (Wasserstrom 75). Mastin labels Saadia Gaon as the first systematic Jewish philosopher from his work Book of the Articles of Faith and Doctrines of Dogma that was published in 993. Gaon’s views in his literature a regarded as the foundation of Judaism. According to Goodman, Gaon was also an extensive translator of the Bible and the diversity, rationalism and logical honesty evident in his work made him a model for Jewish scholars that succeeded him.
Another influential Jewish philosopher in medieval times was Solomon ibn Gabirol (1020-1057)CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). Gabirol was of Spanish and Jewish origin and was famous through history as the Hebrew Poet and for his Neoplatonic metaphysical work (Goodman). Another revered Jewish philosopher was Bahya ibn Paquda, author of the earliest Jewish ethics system that was written in Arabic around 1040 CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). This work was later translated into Hebrew circa 1180 under the heading Duties of the Heart CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). A strong believer of Neoplatonic mysticism, Bahya inclined to thoughtful mysticism and austerity and eliminated any aspect that obscured monotheism. Yehuda Halevi (1075-1141) was a philosopher and poet of Jewish and Spanish origin. Goodman contends that Yehuda is the greatest Hebrew poet, after the Psalms. In his polemical work, Kuzari, Yehuda makes persuasive philosophical discourses aimed at defending Judaism against Karaites CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin).
According to Goodman, the historian and philosopher Abraham ibn Daud (1110-1180) utilized his knowledge on history to maintain preordained continuousness of both the Jewish scholarly and sacred tradition. Goodman contends that Ibn Daud’s philosophical work laid the basis for success for Moses Maimonides (1135-1204). Maimonides lived in Spain and was a Jewish teacher, doctor, and philosopher. Although he did numerous works on Jewish law and ethics, most of it was met with criticism CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). Nevertheless, his work later became a foundation for Jewish thought and his influence extended to the non-Jewish world. Mastin contends that Maimonides presaged the Scholastics and indubitably had an influence over them although some of his doctrines were unaccepted by Scholastics.
Another prominent Jewish philosopher during the middle ages was Gersonides (1288-1344) (Goodman). Gersonides was a French rabbi, mathematician, astronomer and a philosopher famous for his work Wars of the Lord where he condemns certain aspects of Maimonides CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). Gersonides main aim was to defend his familial faith and thus courageously followed the argument, often inclining into deep-seated and inventive withdrawals from customary views CITATION Goo98 l 2057 (Goodman).
Mystical Hebrew Philosophy. The medieval era also saw the rise of the Jewish mystical philosophy known as Kabbalah. Mastin defines this philosophy as some teachings and numinous practices that were an alternative to the customary Jewish elucidations of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), particularly the Torah (in the Hebrew Bible, Torah is the name given to the first five books). The basis for this philosophy is founded in the Zohar CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). Subsequently, Kabbalah became the most famous Jewish philosophy in the middle ages and sidelined the traditional philosophy rooted in ancient Greek ideas. Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) is supposedly the most famous philosopher who articulated the Kabbalistic belief in a new model termed the Hasidic philosophy CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin).
Modern Period. Among the significant developments in Modern Hebrew philosophy was the endeavor by Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) to progress a Judaism theory by existentialism CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). According to Goodman, this Hegelian philosopher’s attempts would lay the foundation for numerous of the Jewish thinkers in the 20th century. Perchance, the most contentious Jewish philosopher of the modern era, was Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983). A Jewish rabbi, Kaplan developed a religion based on naturalism, an alternative of the American philosopher John Dewey’s ideas CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin). In his doctrines, Kaplan sought to concoct a social undertaking on the collective individuality of Jews devoid of traditional beliefs and practices, as had been the case in the past CITATION Goo98 l 2057 (Goodman). Martin Buber (1878-1965) is another influential Jewish thinker of the 20th century. An advocate for Zionism, Buber’s work addressed theistic principles of spiritual awareness, interactive relations, and community, with a primary interest in the ontology CITATION Luk05 l 2057 (Mastin).
CONCLUSION
While the above discussions only briefly discuss the history of the Hebrew philosophy, it does provide some insight on the same over different periods in history. The ancient Jewish philosophy borrowed heavily from Greek ideologies although philosophers such as Philo of Alexandria only acknowledged ideas benefiting their viewpoints. Hebrew philosophy from the medieval era shows heavy influence from the Islamic Persians. These assimilations from the ancient and medieval periods show an attempt by Jewish philosophers to bestow decorum to their ideologies. Moreover, medieval Jewish-Arabic philosophers were indispensable in maintaining a steadiness in Jewish philosophies from the ancient periods to the present. Most of the Jewish scholars in the modern age aimed at creating a new identity for the Jewish people devoid of the traditional beliefs and practices.

Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 2057 Carmy, Shalom and David Shatz. “The Bible as a source for philosophical reflection.” History of Jewish Philosophy. Ed. Daniel H. Frank and Oliver Leaman. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Routledge, 1997. 10-29. Print.
Frank, Daniel H. “What is Jewish philosophy?” History of Jewish Philosophy. Ed. Daniel H Frank and Oliver Leaman. Vol. 2. New york, NY: Routledge, 1997. 1-8. Print.
Goodman, L. E. Jewish philosophy. 1998. Online. October 10 2016. <https://www.rep.routledge.com/articles/jewish-philosophy/v-1>.
Horton, Fred L. Jr. The Melchizedek Tradition: A Critical Examination of the Sources to the Fifth Century A.D. and in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print.
Mastin, Luke. Jewish Philosophy. 2008. Online. 10 October 2016. <http://www.philosophybasics.com/general_eastern_jewish.html>.
Wasserstrom, Steven M. “The Islamic social and cultural context.” History of jewish Philosophy. Ed. Daniel H Frank and Oliver Leaman. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Routledge, 1997. 73-90. Print.