Yefet Ben Ali - Other Works

Other Works

He was also known for his expertise of Hebrew grammar, and for his polemics against Rabbinic Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. One of his comments about the Rabbanites, writing on his Arabic commentary on Isaiah, Yefet ben Ali digresses as follows: "This section refers to the people of the Diaspora and to the best among them as well. They are at present divided into four classes :

1. The Exilarchs who pretend to be the possessors of knowledge;
2. The common people who neither desire wisdom nor think about it; they know no more about religion than to go to the Synagogue from Sabbath to Sabbath and to say "Amen" and "shema Yisrael";
3. The studious among the common people, whom the Exilarchs teach them the nonsense of the Talmud, and sorcery, instead of what might profit them;
4. The "Maskilim" (Karaite teachers) who, endowed with the knowledge of the Torah, are generous with the dissemination of their wisdom, in return for which they accept no recompense).

Before devoting himself to Biblical exegesis Yefet wrote several other works of lesser importance. Among these were:

• an epistle in rimed prose refuting the criticism on Karaism by Jacob ben Samuel, surnamed by the Karaites "ha-'Iḳḳesh" (= "the intriguer"), published by Pinsker in his "Liḳḳuṭe Ḳadmoniyyot", p. 19. Yefet endeavors in this epistle to demonstrate that there is no trace of oral tradition in Scripture, and consequently the Mishnah, Talmud, and other rabbinical writings fall under the prohibition "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you" (Deut. iv. 2).
• "Sefer ha-Miẓwot", treating of the precepts, and containing many controversies with the Rabbinites; mentioned by Yefet in the commentaries to I Sam. xx. 27; Dan. x. 3. Some fragments of this work were found in the Library of St. Petersburg and published by A. Harkavy.
• "'Iyyun Tefillah", in ten chapters, treating of all that pertains to prayer; extant in manuscript (Paris MS. No. 670).
• "Kalam", perhaps a liturgical work, extant in manuscript. Levi, Yefet's son, mentions in his "Muḳaddimah" to Deuteronomy another work by his father, entitled "Safah Berurah", the contents of which are unknown (the supposition of Fürst that it was a grammatical treatise is considered to be erroneous).

Jeremiah, Joshua A. Sabih (2009).