Rav Saadiah Gaon's oeuvre was multifaceted: halakhic monographs, responsa, biblical translations, commentaries, philology, a glossary, philosophical works?all flowed from his pen in a never-ending stream. Among his major purposes was to demonstrate to skeptics and doubters that Judaism could meet the intellectual and religious challenges of his time?'modern' philosophy, science, and the 'new' plain-sense approach to the Bible pioneered by the Karaites. It was largely the result of his efforts that after his time the Karaite heresy receded. Among his major works is his commentary on the Pentateuch, which he wrote in Judaeo-Arabic. Unfortunately, because of its size, it has not come down to us in complete form. Professor Moshe Zucker spent many thousands of hours searching for fragments of this lost work among the hundreds of thousands of torn pages of the Cairo Geniza, and published a large part of the Gaon's commentary on Genesis, both in Judaeo-Arabic and in Hebrew translation. It has fallen to MichaelLinetsky, a young scholar, to undertake the task of presenting this commentary in English. Linetsky, who came to the United States as a young child, began on his scholarly career while yet an undergraduate at Yeshiva University, devoting his first effort
Dr. Norman Lamm, president, Yeshiva University Rav Saadiah Gaon's oeuvre was multifaceted: halakhic monographs, responsa, biblical translations, commentaries, philology, a glossary, philosophical works—all flowed from his pen in a never-ending stream. Among his major purposes was to demonstrate to skeptics and doubters that Judaism could meet the intellectual and religious challenges of his time—'modern' philosophy, science, and the 'new' plain-sense approach to the Bible pioneered by the Karaites. It was largely the result of his efforts that after his time the Karaite heresy receded. Among his major works is his commentary on the Pentateuch, which he wrote in Judaeo-Arabic. Unfortunately, because of its size, it has not come down to us in complete form. Professor Moshe Zucker spent many thousands of hours searching for fragments of this lost work among the hundreds of thousands of torn pages of the Cairo Geniza, and published a large part of the Gaon's commentary on Genesis, both in Judaeo-Arabic and in Hebrew translation. It has fallen to Michael Linetsky, a young scholar, to undertake the task of presenting this commentary in English. Linetsky, who came to the United States as a young child, began on his scholarly career while yet an undergraduate at Yeshiva University, devoting his first efforts to Ibn Ezra. He has now produced a similarly meritorious and engaging volume on the tenth century Gaon of Sura. It will prove most valuable to the English reader who now has available an entree into one of the most complex personalities and prolific authors in Jewish history.
Dr. Norman Lamm, president, Yeshiva University