This talk is the second instalment of David's Jewish Philosophy series.

In this episode, David examines the philosophical ideas and innovations of a towering figure of the early Middle Ages, Sa’adya ibn Yusuf al-Fayumi, commonly known as Sa'adya Gaon.

David discusses Sa'adya Gaon's exploration of:

- Reason and revelation, including
* sources of knowledge - the rational versus the revelatory
* the kavod
* mitzvot and the commandments

- Divine uniqueness, including
* defense against accusations of Divine corporealism
* allegorisation of anthropomorphism
* Divine interaction with the world

- Creation, including
* proofs, from yesh mei'ayin
* transcendence of G-d

- Freedom of will.

He also explores Sa'adya's discussions on the soul and his rejection of reincarnation.

David places Sa'adya's ideas in their historical and intellectual context, particularly in relation to Islamic philosophy, the Kalam, and contemporary discussions of religious ideas.

This is the second part of David's eight-part series, A Journey Through Jewish Philosophy, delivered on Zoom for Caulfield Shule in 2020. Other episodes can be found here:

Part One: https://youtu.be/byBHtiI7B0I
Part Two: https://youtu.be/PP7Bap8wm9o
Part Three: https://youtu.be/mTpmfoogge4
Part Four: https://youtu.be/V7RHs2u1V4g
Part Five: https://youtu.be/uZ0C8w28boc
Part Six: https://youtu.be/IC_bZTM55yA
Part Seven: https://youtu.be/4n5mShm2O5k
Part Eight: https://youtu.be/FQwN1_NKPOY

To learn more about Sa'adya Gaon as a historical figure you can listen to episode 33 of David's podcast, entitled The Geonic Period: Jewish History of the 6th to 10th Centuries (3). Find that episode on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyHl63MkU84

David is also renowned for his Jewish history lecture, The Whole of Jewish History in One Hour https://youtu.be/GUlM2a2tsOM​

Find more of David Solomon's podcast, with dozens of lectures on Jewish history, the Bible, Jewish philosophy, and Kabbalah at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPZc8ZC7r568Er1pwL8ZiLbU1tV6PFf4L

Learn more at davidsolomon.online

Images used in this video -

The image of David above and those used in the video opening are by Stephan Rohl and available for use under CC licensing http://www.stephan-roehl.de​​​

Large image by David Solomon - all rights reserved.