השפעת הרמב"ם על מחשבתו הפילוסופית של הקראי אליהו בשייצי

Elijah Bashyazi (1420?—1490), the last major Karaite legal codifier, did not write a separate philosophical work. Yet his code Adderet Eliyahu, "The Mantle of Elijah," is full of philosophical material. Just as Bashyazi gave lenient rulings influenced by the Rabbanites in halakhic matters, so, too, in his philosophy he followed Maimonides rather than his Kalamic Karaite predecessors. He was careful, however, not to express his opinions openly, since he, like Maimonides, was aware of the dangers of too candid an approach to questions of faith. Some of the areas in which Bashyazi was influenced by Maimonides are (1) creation of the world, (2) the esoteric nature of the Torah, (3) the nature of man, and (4) the world to come, resurrection of the dead, and the messiah. 1. Bashyazi stated that the belief in creation ex nihilo is religiously important, but that it cannot be proven by either reason or recourse to Scripture. The existence of God should not be proven by the standard Kalam method of first demonstrating that the world is created. God's relation to the world is seen as that of the emanator of the forms upon matter. 2. Bashyazi claimed that the Torah can be understood only by someone who first has completed his studies in all the sciences. Philosophy is not foreign to Judaism; in fact, it was originally a Jewish pursuit. As for the commandments, Bashyazi stated that some are intended to give true opinions, others to preserve societal well-being, and yet others to remove injustice. In the last analysis, the commandments lead to man's ultimate felicity. 3. According to Bashyazi man benefits only from general providence, not from individual providence. By his actions and achievements, man can partake of this general providence. Reward and punishment are meted out only in the world to come. Prophecy is an expression of God's providence for mankind. 4. Bashyazi apparently denied physical resurrection and maintained instead that the true reward is purely spiritual. The messiah will be an historical figure with the political function of restoring Jewish sovereignty. This examination of Bashyazi's philosophical views and his reliance upon Maimonides calls into question the accepted view that all Karaites were invariably followers of the Kalam.