Moses ibn Ezra: A Luminary of Andalusi Thought and Poetics

🎓 Education and Early Career

Moses ibn Ezra received a comprehensive education in both Hebrew and Arabic literature in his native Granada, Spain. He further honed his poetic skills in Lucena, known as the "city of poetry," where he studied under the esteemed Isaac ibn Ghiyyat. His administrative capabilities were recognized, as he held a crucial office in his home province, evidenced by his Arabic title of sahib al-shurta. During this period, he also forged a strong friendship with the renowned poet Judah Halevi, significantly influencing Halevi's early poetic endeavors.^[2]

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family and Community Ties

Ibn Ezra hailed from one of Granada's most prominent families. His three brothers—Isaac, Joseph, and Zerahiah—were all distinguished scholars. His elder brother, Isaac Abū Ibrāhīm, was married to a daughter of the Nagid, a prominent Jewish communal leader. It is important to note that Moses ibn Ezra appears to have been unrelated to the contemporary scholar Abraham ibn Ezra.^[2]

💔 Exile and Dislocation

The capture of Granada by the Almoravids led to the devastating destruction of Ibn Ezra's Jewish community and the dispersal of his family. The family's fortune was confiscated, and his three brothers were forced to flee. Moses, who was married with several children, also had to escape due to a threat to his life, leaving his family behind. He spent the remainder of his life in the Christian north, specifically in Castile, where he considered himself an exile, unable to return to his beloved home city. Hints in his poetry suggest disagreements with his family, including his brother Yosef and his own children, which contributed to his permanent separation from Granada. While some speculated a failed courtship with his niece as a reason for his departure, it is more probable that he sought to protect her from the Almoravid threat.^[3][4][5][6]

🌟 Master of Hebrew Poetry

Moses ibn Ezra is widely regarded as a masterful Hebrew poet and a leading authority on poetic theory. His secular poetic output is primarily found in two significant collections: the Tarshish and the initial section of his diwan. The Tarshish is structured into ten chapters, each meticulously organized according to the twenty-two letters of the alphabet. It employs the Arabic poetic style known as "tajnis," characterized by the repetition of words within each stanza, with each repetition carrying a distinct meaning.^[9]

🌉 Bridging Poetic Traditions

Another pivotal work is his "Maqāla bi 'l-Ḥadīqa fī ma'nā al-madjaz wa 'l-ḥaqīqa," intended to guide Hebrew poets in composing verse structured similarly to Arabic poems. This work also delves into the metaphorical interpretation of God, asserting that God's powerful and divine nature transcends human comprehension and can only be approached through metaphor. This concept was a cornerstone of medieval Jewish ideology.^[9]

The 11th and 12th centuries marked a significant era for Judaeo-Arabic poetry and literature. Poets like Samaw'al ibn 'Adiya and Moses Ibn Ezra crafted works that closely mirrored those of their contemporary Arab counterparts, often incorporating passages and allusions from both the Bible and the Qur'an. The adoption of Arabic language and culture by Jews was a gradual process, gaining real prominence from the 4th to 10th centuries of the Hijra. Despite this, many Jewish intellectuals felt a sense of guilt for using Arabic instead of Hebrew. Consequently, Jewish poets who wrote in Judaeo-Arabic remained a minority during the Middle Ages, though Arabic was widely used in prose by both Jewish and Muslim scholars.^[10]

🌌 Neoplatonic Philosophy

While Moses ibn Ezra's philosophical contributions are often considered secondary to his literary and poetic achievements, they offer profound insights into his worldview. His philosophical perspectives are notably articulated in his Arabic work, "Al-Maqāla bi al-Ḥadīqa fī Ma'nā al-Majāz wa al-Ḥaqīqa." This treatise reiterates his poetic convictions regarding the relationship between humanity and God, emphasizing the inherent unknowability of the Divine. Ibn Ezra's philosophy is distinctly Neoplatonic in its orientation, positing God as a self-subsistent, unitary being who predates creation, thereby ensuring the perfection of human creation. He asserted that God's infinite perfection cannot be fully grasped by the finite and imperfect human mind.^[11]

💡 The Nature of Intellect

Central to Ibn Ezra's philosophy is his exploration of the intellect. He posited that the active intellect was God's primordial creation, a pure substance from which all existence inherently derives. Complementing this, he described a passive intellect, which he considered superior to the active intellect and even to the rational soul itself.^[11]

📚 Arugat ha-Bosem: A Philosophical Compendium

His work "Arugat ha-Bosem" is structured into seven chapters, each addressing fundamental philosophical inquiries:

📜 References