The Book of Tradition

The Book of Tradition (Sefer ha-kabbalah) was composed in Toledo, Spain, after its author, Abraham ibn Dā’ūd, fled the Almohad invasion in southern al- Andalus (Muslim Spain). It is the best-known component of his set of historical works, Generations of the Ages (Dorot ‘olam). While ibn Dā’ūd explicitly states that he tells the history of Israel in order to rebuff Karaite attacks on rabbinic Judaism—and to provide comfort to the Jewish people—this work also reflects the author’s celebration of the Andalusi rabbinic elite and his own family’s leadership. While modern scholars no longer accept the veracity of ibn Dā’ūd’s historical claims, particularly about matters of which he had no firsthand knowledge, Sefer ha-kabbalah nevertheless constitutes a classic of medieval historiography. It was influential already in the medieval period and was printed in Mantua in 1514.