Sa’adyah Gaon was an
outstanding tenth-century Jewish thinker—a prominent rabbi, philosopher, and
exegete. He was a pioneer in the fields in which he toiled, and was an
inspiration and basis for later Jewish writing in all these areas. The last
major English-language study of his work was published in 1921, long before
Genizah research changed the understanding of the time in which he lived.
Robert Brody’s masterly work, covering Sa’adyah’s biography and his main areas
of creativity in an accessible way, is therefore a much-needed reassessment of
an outstanding figure.



The opening chapter,
on the geonic period that formed the background to Sa’adyah’s life (a period on
which there are few works in English), is followed by an overview that brings
out the revolutionary aspects of his work and the characteristic features of
his writings. Subsequent chapters consider his philosophical works; his Bible
commentaries; his pioneering linguistic work; his poetry; his halakhic activity
(including an examination of his use of the Palestinian Talmud compared to that
of the Babylonian Talmud); and his activity as a polemicist, notably against
the Karaites. An Epilogue sums up his importance in medieval Jewish culture.



Particularly valuable features of the book are the
copious quotations from Sa’adyah’s works, which facilitate familiarity with his
style as well as his ideas; the clarity in presenting complex and difficult
concepts; the constant assessment of his relationship to his predecessors in
his various fields of study and his own unique contributions to each field; and
the contextualization of his contribution within the political, cultural, and
religious climate of his times so that both revolutionary and conservative
elements in his thought can be identified and evaluated.