Persian Jewish dogmatics in Judah Ben Elʻazar’s philosophy

The article concerns Persian Jewish dogmatics and presents interpretation of the principles of faith according to the seventeenth-century Rabbi Judah Ben Elʻazar. It examines the theological and philosophical structures in light of the historical context of its time and place. Rabbi Judah Ben Elʻazar’s interpretation is based on the rabbinic authority of the Mishnah (Sanhedrin X,1) and on the dogmatism of Maimonides’ principles of faith. It is also based on Aristotle’s Four Causes Doctrine and, therefore, suggests four principles: God’s existence as efficient cause; prophecy as formal cause; Torah from heaven as material cause; and the resurrection of the dead as final cause. I argue that it is a unique synthesis within the evolution of Jewish dogmatics since it gives a central role to Aristotle’s doctrine while emphasizing prophecy in the face of Sabbateanism and the forced conversion to Shiism which the Persian Jewish community sought to challenge.