“But Saadia wasn’t just quarrelsome; he was a good strategist. His persistent attacks achieved the outcome he had wanted, a complete break… — Harry Freedman Israel 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… — Harry Freedman Family 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 Fixing 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… — Harry Freedman Philosophy 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… — Harry Freedman Judaism 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… — Harry Freedman Bible 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… — Harry Freedman Judaism 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… — Harry Freedman Christianity 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… — Harry Freedman Israel 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,… — Harry Freedman Talmud 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… — Harry Freedman Marriage Copy Share Image
“The Jewish system of law is called halacha, the Islamic system is called shar’ia.” — Harry Freedman Islam Copy Share Image
“King Ferdinand, who was himself partly descended from Jewish stock8 consulted the bishops. The bishops’ solution took even the Old Christians by… — Harry Freedman Christianity Copy Share Image
“Gershom was the first European scholar to try to reconcile the Talmud’s world view to the reality of living in a Christian… — Harry Freedman Christianity Copy Share Image
“He was a key figure in what would become known as the logic-chopping, dialectical Talmudic school of the tosafists. It would seem,… — Harry Freedman Judaism Copy Share Image
“In Europe it reached Spain, Provence, France and Italy, extending northwards through Germany, to the Rhineland cities of Mainz, Speyer and Worms.… — Harry Freedman Talmud Copy Share Image
