Anti-Christian Polemics and Theology in Yosef Albo’s Sefer ha‑'iqqarim (15th century)

Abstract

Written in 1425 by one of the participants in the Disputation of Tortosa (1413-1414), the Sefer ha-Iqqarim is one of the most important philosophical-theological writings of the 14th and 15th centuries. It was composed during the period comprised between the persecutions of 1391 and the expulsion of 1492 and characterised by the multitude of conversions. Like Sa‘adya Gaon, Maimonides and Hasdai Crescas – the latter being his teacher – Joseph Albo examines the “Principles” of Judaism, their relation with reason and their religious specificity. This reflection is constructed by means of references to the Jewish tradition, but also, in one particular context, by opposing everything that calls this tradition into question. Thus, references to Christianity, in various forms, are omnipresent in the Sefer ha-Iqqarim. A veritable “Defence and Illustration” of Judaism, the Sefer ha-Iqqarim cannot be reduced to its polemical dimension, yet this dimension should be taken into account for an exact appreciation of its purpose, reception and scope.