214 • chapter 5
its use of Islamic legal terminology, this is an account that would— and
may well have been intended to— appeal to Muslim readers, a presen-
tation of Judaism not only in their own language, but also in terms that
they could be expected to hold in high regard.
Consider two other telling instances in which Moyal uses distinctly
Islamic terminology in his writings on Judaism. Well- known are the
so- called pillars of islam (arkān ad- dīn), including profession of faith,
pilgrimage, prayer worship, fasting, and alms- giving.^105 In his gloss on
rabbi Shimon’s exhortation in Pirkei avot to “be careful with the read-
ing of shemaʿ,” Moyal explains that “shemaʿ is the most important pillar
[ahamm arkān^106 ] of the morning and evening prayers [ṣalātay aṣ- ṣabāḥ
wa- l- ghurūb].”^107 especially in the context of prayer (ṣalā), this use of
the term arkān, it is fair to presume, was not accidental; it was part of
the broader project of the text to emphasize the shared features of Ju-
daism and the other religions of an- nāṭiqīn bi- ḍ- ḍād (arabic- speakers).
the same might be said of Moyal’s curious use of the term jihād. Of
rabbi Ishmael, Moyal writes that he would try to provide sustenance
for women whose “fathers and husbands were engaged in holy war
[jihād].”^108 Jewish legal literature, to be sure, has a developed dis-
course on the “commanded war,” (milḥemet miẓvah),^109 but in classical
Judeo- arabic texts, the term jihād is not typically used to refer to these
wars.^110 of course, it is possible that by using jihād, Moyal may have
intended nothing more than simply to translate the concept of milḥemet
miẓvah into arabic. regardless of Moyal’s intent, however, the impact
on the reader would once again likely have been the same, leaving him
or her with the impression— a reasonable one, to be sure— that Juda-
ism and Islam are remarkably similar and, by extension, that Judaism
need not provoke apprehension or fear.
there are more explicit ways in which Moyal sought to link Judaism
with Islam. Consider, for example, his commentary on hillel’s maxim,
in the second chapter of Pirkei avot, that “one who increases women,
increases witchcraft.” Moyal explains that “increasing women” refers
to polygyny (taʿaddud az- zawjāt). elaborating, he provides the context:
(^105) See S. Nomanul haq, “rukn,” eI (^2).
(^106) the term rukn (pl. arkān) can also be translated as “basic element.”
(^107) Mūyāl, at- Talmūd, 112.
(^108) ibid., 135.
(^109) See, e.g., Maimonides’s Hilkhot melakhim (Laws of Kings) 5:1. on the evolution of
the concept of “holy war” in Judaism, see Firestone, Holy War in Judaism.
(^110) tellingly, there is no entry for jihād in Joshua Blau, MtaY. i thank Benjamin hary
for confirming, in private correspondence, that he too had not encountered this usage in
the Judeo- arabic literature he has edited.