The Book of Commandments

Samuel ben Ḥofni Ga’on

Kitāb fī ’l-sharā’i‘ (The Book of Commandments), Chapters 18, 19, 20 (selections)

Late 10th or Early 11th Century

Chapter 18

[ . . . ] The revealed commandments [also] require intention for their performance to be [considered] good. This intention should be to achieve closeness to God through them and obedient service to Him by doing what He desires of us by performing these commandments in the manner which He has willed. Nevertheless, some of the rational…

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Written in Judeo-Arabic, The Book of Commandments (Kitāb fī ’l-sharā’i‘) examines the nature and universality of the religious commandments—both “rational” (those that can be derived through the use of human reason) and “revealed” (those that are known only through divine revelation)—and categorizes them in terms drawn from then-current Muslim (in particular Mu‘tazilite) theological discussions. In these excerpts, Samuel ben Ḥofni Ga’on argues strongly that intention is required for the performance of a commandment to be valid; that commandments must be done for the correct reasons; and that before the revelation on Mount Sinai, when the revealed commandments were given, the Jewish people already knew and observed the rational commandments.

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Creator Bio

Samuel ben Ḥofni Ga’on

d. 1013

Among the most prolific of the geonim, Samuel ben Ḥofni Ga’on wrote dozens of treatises covering legal, talmudic, and exegetical topics. Samuel’s family had held leadership positions in the Pumbedita academy, located in Baghdad, throughout the tenth and eleventh centuries, but in 998, he came to serve as the head of the Sura academy, also in Baghdad. Samuel had a deep knowledge of Arabic literature, theology, and jurisprudence, among other fields, and in this sense, he was the intellectual heir to Se‘adya Ga’on (882–942). Samuel maintained close relationships with several diaspora communities, at least partly for fundraising purposes. His competition with Sherira Ga’on (ca. 906–1006) seems to have been put to rest when his daughter married Sherira’s son Hayya (939–1038), who headed the Pumbedita academy alongside and after his father. Samuel’s son Israel (d. 1033) later led the Sura academy.

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