Marco19
Researcher
Shalom dear friends,
While reading about Masoretes on Wikipedia, I have noticed the following:
I have two questions:
1- What is the difference between this two (ben Asher & Naphtali) systems, is it only as Wikipedia says "attempt to fix the pronunciation"?
2- Whether ben Asher was Karaite or not, just wonder what will change? why the scholars are obsessed with it?
Thanks in advance
While reading about Masoretes on Wikipedia, I have noticed the following:
The halakhic authority Maimonides endorsed the ben Asher as superior, although the Egyptian Jewish scholar, Saadya Gaon al-Fayyumi, had preferred the ben Naphtali system.
The ben Asher family and the majority of the Masoretes appear to have been Karaites.
There is a debate among scholars as to whether Aaron ben Asher was a Karaite. Documents found in the Cairo Geniza may suggest that ben Asher was a Karaite. One of the strongest arguments against this view is that it would be astonishing if Maimonides, famously opposed to the Karaites, had followed the authority of a Karaite, even in the matter of open and closed sections.
I have two questions:
1- What is the difference between this two (ben Asher & Naphtali) systems, is it only as Wikipedia says "attempt to fix the pronunciation"?
2- Whether ben Asher was Karaite or not, just wonder what will change? why the scholars are obsessed with it?
Thanks in advance