“Gershom was the first European scholar to try to reconcile the Talmud’s world view to the reality of living in a Christian society. He’d lived through good times and bad; intellectual and cultural dialogue when conditions were favourable and harsh… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“In fact their presence in the Arabian Peninsula was so influential that for a short period in the sixth century the royal household of… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“In fact the two religions are so close in terms of their structure that the tenth-century rabbinic leader Saadia Gaon would unselfconsciously refer to… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“It has been argued that the hostility of the Arabian Jewish tribes to Mohammed was due to his alliances with dissenting Jewish sects.8 Our… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“It all had to do with the fixing of the calendar, and a squabble over a couple of missing days.” — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“Saadia had been born in Fiyum, in Egypt. He was known locally as al-Faiyumi. Like the Karaites, Saadia had been influenced by the rationalist,… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“Sola scriptura contends that Scripture is complete; it holds absolute authority over the believer.19 This position is of course far removed from the rabbinic… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“41 Mishnah Avot 3.23. 4 The compilation of the Talmud Rabbi Tarfon said, The day is short and there is much work, the workman… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“Unlike Christianity, the laws and beliefs in Islam and Judaism are derived through a process of reasoning and scholarship; there are no councils or… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“But Saadia wasn’t just quarrelsome; he was a good strategist. His persistent attacks achieved the outcome he had wanted, a complete break between the… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“Bustanai now had two wives, one Jewish and one Persian. However, the Persian wife, as a prisoner of war, was technically a slave and… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
“Far from it; the Talmudic centres were so distant from Arabia, and the prevailing lifestyles so different that we can imagine a local, exotic… — Harry Freedman Copy Share Image
