Editing Jewish philosophy (section)

=== "Hiwi the Heretic" ===
According to Sa'adya Gaon, the Jewish community of [[Balkh]] (Afghanistan) was divided into two groups: "Jews" and "people that are called Jews"; [[Hiwi al-Balkhi]] was a member of the latter.  Hiwi is generally considered to be the very first "Jewish" philosopher to subject the Pentateuch to critical analysis.<ref>Fleischer, Ezra. "A Fragment from Hivi Al-Balkhi's Criticism of the Bible." ''[[Tarbiẕ]]'' 51, no. 1 (1981): 49-57.</ref>  Hiwi is viewed by some scholars as an intellectually conflicted man torn between Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Gnostic Christianity, and Manichaean thought.<ref>"The Messiah in Isaiah 53: The Commentaries of Sa'adya Gaon, Salmon Ben Yeruham, and Yefet Ben Eli 52:13-53:12", Trade paperback (1998)   by Sa'adia, Joseph Alobaidi</ref><ref>Rosenthal, J. "Hiwi Al-Balkhi: A Comparative Study." ''[[Jewish Quarterly Review]]'' 38; 39 (1947-48; 1948-49): 317-42, 419-30; 79-94.</ref>

Hiwi espoused the belief that miraculous acts, described in the Pentateuch, are simply examples of people using their skills of reasoning to undertake, and perform, seemingly miraculous acts.<ref>Gil, Moshe. Hivi Ha-Balkhi Ha-Kofer Me-Horasan, Ketavim. Merhaviah: Sifriyyat Po'alim, 1965</ref>  As examples of this position, he argued that the parting of the Red Sea was a natural phenomenon, and that Moses' claim to greatness lay merely in his ability to calculate the right moment for the crossing.  He also emphasized that the Egyptian magicians were able to reproduce several of Moses' "miracles," proving that they could not have been so unique.  According to scholars, Hiwi's gravest mistake was having the Pentateuch redacted to reflect his own views - then had those redacted texts, which became popular,  distributed to children.<ref>Davidson, Israel, ed. Sa'adya's Polemic against Hiwi Al-Balkhi: A Fragment Edited from a Genizah Ms, Texts and Studies of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. New York: The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1915.</ref>  Since his views contradicted the views of both Rabbanite and Karaite scholars, Hiwi was declared a heretic.  In this context, however, we can also regard Hiwi, while flawed, as the very first critical biblical commentator; zealous rationalistic views of Hiwi parallel those of [[Ibn al-Rawandi]].

Saʿadya Gaon dedicated an entire treatise, written in rhyming Hebrew, to a refutation of Ḥīwī's arguments, two fragments of which, preserved in the [[Cairo Geniza]], have been published (Davidson, 1915; Schirmann, 1965).<ref>{{cite web|author=Marzena Zawanowska|title=" Ḥīwī al-Balkhī." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman|publisher=Brillonline.com|year=2012<!--|reference=Jim Harlow-->|access-date=3 July 2012|url=http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopedia-of-jews-in-the-islamic-world/hiwi-al-balkhi-SIM_0009940}}</ref> Ḥīwī's criticisms are also noted in Abraham ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch.  Sa'adya Gaon denounced Hiwi as an extreme rationalist, a "Mulhidun", or atheist/deviator.  Abraham Ibn Daud described HIwi as a sectarian who "denied the Torah, yet used it to formulate a new Torah of his liking".<ref>Malter, Henry. Sa'adya Gaon: His Life and Works, Morris Loeb Series. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1921.</ref>