From the Rambam’s Peirush Hamishnayos to Chovos Halevavos, many of our classics were actually written in a foreign language — Arabic

Photos: Ezra Trabelsi

It’s surely one of the most curious phenomena in the field of Jewish book titles. Just imagine learning a chassidic sefer, such as Noam Elimelech in Polish, a scholarly compilation such as the Ketzos Hachoshen in Lithuanian-Russian, or a sefer by an Ashkenaz Rishon in German.

And yet, for some reason, many of the Torah commentaries and works on Jewish thought and halachah from the sages of Spain in the Middle Ages were written in a foreign language — Arabic. We’re not talking about some obscure works, but well-known seforim such as Rambam’s Sefer Hamitzvos, Peirush Hamishnayos and Moreh Nevuchim; Emunos Vedei’os by Rav Saadya Gaon; Chovos Halevavos by Rabbeinu Bechaye; Rav Yehudah HaLevi’s Kuzari — and so many more. And we learn them all today only in the merit of the diligent translators who over the centuries have made them accessible to us.

Most surprising is that all of these gedolim were fluent in Lashon Kodesh and even wrote in it. Why then, did they specifically put out these works in Arabic?

One person in our generation who can shed light on this is Rav Pinchas Korach, a marbitz Torah and one of the most distinguished Yemenite rabbanim in Israel. He is the rav of Beis Medrash Shaarei Halachah Bnei Brak, and, although he’s past 80, he still spends his days traveling far afield to deliver shiurim in venues around the country. Rav Korach is also a prolific author, having penned some 20 well-known works on halachah and mussar. One recent work is a new translation of a work called Katab Alkafiya Alabadin – or in its more recognizable Hebrew name, Hamaspik L’Ovdei Hashem, written by Rabi Avraham, the son of the Rambam.