Micah Goodman is a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and the director of Israel's Ein Prat Midrasha. A prominent public intellectual, he is a leading voice on Judaism, Zionism, the Bible, and the challenges and opportunities facing Israel and contemporary world Jewry. He is the author of three best-sellers in Hebrew on canonical Jewish texts.

"As Americans show increased interest in Jewish religion and culture in Israel, this English edition is likely to have great appeal."-Publishers Weekly "Goodman’s book, a guide to The Guide, is an astonishing achievement. There can be no Maimonides for Dummies, and thus Goodman’s presentation will challenge his readers mightily. It is a challenge very much worth taking."-Philip K. Jason, Jewish Book Council "Goodman's analysis is useful in understanding the purpose and technique of the Guide. It is a must for those with an interest in Jewish philosophy in general and Maimonides in particular."-Randall C. Belinfante, Association of Jewish Libraries Review “With his characteristic skill and insight, Micah Goodman guides us through the beauty of Jewish philosophy, uplifting us from perplexity to enlightenment.”-Shimon Peres, former president of the State of Israel “After more than eight centuries Maimonides’s Guide for the Perplexed remains the Everest of Jewish thought, majestic and challenging at the same time. Micah Goodman, one of the brightest of contemporary Jewish thinkers, has provided a superlative introduction to this work. It is engaging, lucid, and a delight to read, enabling Maimonides’s masterpiece to speak compellingly to our perplexities. An outstanding achievement.”-Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, emeritus chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth "Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism presents an exciting and relevant possibility: freeing the mind from the habits of religious discourse and returning the concept of God to the intellectual's thoughts."—Ruth Calderon, author of A Bride for One Night, member of the Israeli Knesset, and founder of Alma: Home for Hebrew Culture

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart 1. God1. The God of Maimonides2. Prophecy3. Providence4. Redemption5. From Negative Theology to Empowering HumanityConclusion: The New Religious HeroPart 2. Torah6. Is the Torah Divine?7. Reasons for the Commandments8. Man and the Torah9. The Universality of the TorahConclusion: Rising to the Level of UnderstandingPart 3. Perplexity10. Contradictions11. The Creation of the World12. Perplexity and God13. The Role of Doubt14. Halakhah and Dogmatism15. The Crisis of Reason16. The Crisis of Tradition17. From Perplexity to Mysticism and Politics18. Therapeutic PerplexityConclusion: The Purpose of LifeNotesIndex

Micah Goodman is a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and the director of Israel's Ein Prat Midrasha. A prominent public intellectual, he is a leading voice on Judaism, Zionism, the Bible, and the challenges and opportunities facing Israel and contemporary world Jewry. He is the author of three best-sellers in Hebrew on canonical Jewish texts.

"As Americans show increased interest in Jewish religion and culture in Israel, this English edition is likely to have great appeal."-Publishers Weekly "Goodman’s book, a guide to The Guide, is an astonishing achievement. There can be no Maimonides for Dummies, and thus Goodman’s presentation will challenge his readers mightily. It is a challenge very much worth taking."-Philip K. Jason, Jewish Book Council "Goodman's analysis is useful in understanding the purpose and technique of the Guide. It is a must for those with an interest in Jewish philosophy in general and Maimonides in particular."-Randall C. Belinfante, Association of Jewish Libraries Review “With his characteristic skill and insight, Micah Goodman guides us through the beauty of Jewish philosophy, uplifting us from perplexity to enlightenment.”-Shimon Peres, former president of the State of Israel “After more than eight centuries Maimonides’s Guide for the Perplexed remains the Everest of Jewish thought, majestic and challenging at the same time. Micah Goodman, one of the brightest of contemporary Jewish thinkers, has provided a superlative introduction to this work. It is engaging, lucid, and a delight to read, enabling Maimonides’s masterpiece to speak compellingly to our perplexities. An outstanding achievement.”-Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, emeritus chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth "Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism presents an exciting and relevant possibility: freeing the mind from the habits of religious discourse and returning the concept of God to the intellectual's thoughts."—Ruth Calderon, author of A Bride for One Night, member of the Israeli Knesset, and founder of Alma: Home for Hebrew Culture

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart 1. God1. The God of Maimonides2. Prophecy3. Providence4. Redemption5. From Negative Theology to Empowering HumanityConclusion: The New Religious HeroPart 2. Torah6. Is the Torah Divine?7. Reasons for the Commandments8. Man and the Torah9. The Universality of the TorahConclusion: Rising to the Level of UnderstandingPart 3. Perplexity10. Contradictions11. The Creation of the World12. Perplexity and God13. The Role of Doubt14. Halakhah and Dogmatism15. The Crisis of Reason16. The Crisis of Tradition17. From Perplexity to Mysticism and Politics18. Therapeutic PerplexityConclusion: The Purpose of LifeNotesIndex

Micah Goodman is a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, and the director of Israel's Ein Prat Midrasha. A prominent public intellectual, he is a leading voice on Judaism, Zionism, the Bible, and the challenges and opportunities facing Israel and contemporary world Jewry. He is the author of three best-sellers in Hebrew on canonical Jewish texts.

"As Americans show increased interest in Jewish religion and culture in Israel, this English edition is likely to have great appeal."-Publishers Weekly "Goodman’s book, a guide to The Guide, is an astonishing achievement. There can be no Maimonides for Dummies, and thus Goodman’s presentation will challenge his readers mightily. It is a challenge very much worth taking."-Philip K. Jason, Jewish Book Council "Goodman's analysis is useful in understanding the purpose and technique of the Guide. It is a must for those with an interest in Jewish philosophy in general and Maimonides in particular."-Randall C. Belinfante, Association of Jewish Libraries Review “With his characteristic skill and insight, Micah Goodman guides us through the beauty of Jewish philosophy, uplifting us from perplexity to enlightenment.”-Shimon Peres, former president of the State of Israel “After more than eight centuries Maimonides’s Guide for the Perplexed remains the Everest of Jewish thought, majestic and challenging at the same time. Micah Goodman, one of the brightest of contemporary Jewish thinkers, has provided a superlative introduction to this work. It is engaging, lucid, and a delight to read, enabling Maimonides’s masterpiece to speak compellingly to our perplexities. An outstanding achievement.”-Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, emeritus chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth "Maimonides and the Book That Changed Judaism presents an exciting and relevant possibility: freeing the mind from the habits of religious discourse and returning the concept of God to the intellectual's thoughts."—Ruth Calderon, author of A Bride for One Night, member of the Israeli Knesset, and founder of Alma: Home for Hebrew Culture

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionPart 1. God1. The God of Maimonides2. Prophecy3. Providence4. Redemption5. From Negative Theology to Empowering HumanityConclusion: The New Religious HeroPart 2. Torah6. Is the Torah Divine?7. Reasons for the Commandments8. Man and the Torah9. The Universality of the TorahConclusion: Rising to the Level of UnderstandingPart 3. Perplexity10. Contradictions11. The Creation of the World12. Perplexity and God13. The Role of Doubt14. Halakhah and Dogmatism15. The Crisis of Reason16. The Crisis of Tradition17. From Perplexity to Mysticism and Politics18. Therapeutic PerplexityConclusion: The Purpose of LifeNotesIndex