Maimonides' Confrontation with Mysticism

Häftad, Engelska, 2011

Del i serien Littman Library of Jewish Civilization

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Beskrivning

Many books on Maimonides have been written and still more will appear. Few present Maimonides, as Menachem Kellner does against the actual religious background that informed his many innovative and influential choices. He not only analyses the thought of the great religious thinker but contextualizes it in terms of the ‘proto-kabbalistic’ Judaism that preceded him. Kellner shows how the Judaism that Maimonides knew had come to conceptualize the world as an enchanted universe, governed by occult affinities. He shows why Maimonides rejected this and how he went about doing it. Kellner argues that Maimonides’ attempted reformation failed, the clearest proof of that being the success of the kabbalistic counter-reformation which his writings provoked.Kellner shows how Maimonides rethought Judaism in different ways. It is in highlighting this and identifying Maimonides as a religious reformer that this book makes its key contribution. Maimonides created a new Judaism, ‘disenchanted’, depersonalized, and challenging; a religion that is at the same time elitist and universalist.Kellner’s analysis also shows the deep configuration of Judaism in a new light. If, as Moshe Idel says in his Foreword, Maimonides was able to ‘reform so many aspects of rabbinic Judaism single-handedly, to enrich it by importing such dramatically different concepts, it shows that the profound structures of this religion are flexible enough to allow the emergence and success of astonishing reforms. The fact that, great as Maimonides was, he did not overcome the traditional forms of proto-kabbalism shows that the dynamic of religion is much more complex than subscribing to authorities, however widely accepted.’

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2011-02-03
Mått:155 x 235 x 28 mm
Vikt:590 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
Antal sidor:364
Förlag:Liverpool University Press
ISBN:9781906764159

Utforska kategorier

Religion: allmänt inom Filosofi och religion
Judendom inom Filosofi och religion

Mer om författaren

Professor Kellner is chair of the Department of Philosophy and Jewish Thought, Shalem College, Jerusalem and Wolfson Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought, University of Haifa.

Recensioner i media

'This is one of the most important books on Maimonides to be published in the last thirty years and quite possibly one of the most important in the field of Jewish philosophy. The writing is clear and crisp, and the scholarship is impeccable.'Israel Book Review

Innehållsförteckning

Foreword by Moshe IdelPrefaceAcknowledgementsNote on Transliteration and Conventions Used in the Text1 Maimonides' Critique of the Jewish Culture of His DayIntroduction * The Judaism Maimonides Opposed * The Philospphical Basis of Maimonides' Opposition * Esotericism and Elitism * Maimonides' Failure * Elements of Proto-Kabbalah * Maimonides' Opposition to the World of Proto-Kabbalah * Excursus: Terminology2 The Institutional Character of HalakhahIntroduction * Two Opposing Views * Maimonides' View * Maimonides' Motivation * Mistakes and Errors in Halakhah / Science / Dogma * Error in 'Science' * Halakhah as Instrumental * Halakhah and Theology * God and Abraham: Who Chose Whom?3 HolinessIntroduction * A Glance at the Biblical Evidence * Maimonides on the Nature of Holiness in General * Holy Persons * The People of Israel * The Sanctity of the Land of Israel and of Jerusalem * Holy Things: Torah, Tefilin, Mezuzot * Holy Times4 Ritual Purity and ImpurityIntroduction: Two Ancient Views on Ritual Purity and Impurity * Judah Halevi on Ritual Purity and Impurity * Maimonides on Ritual Purity and Impurity * Maimonides on the Sacrifical Cult and the Laws of Ritual Purity and Impurity * Maimonides on the Moral Significance of the Laws of Ritual Purity and Impurity * Critiques of Maimonides' Account of the Sacrifices5 The Hebrew LanguageIntroduction * Judah Halevi on the Hebrew Language * Maimonides on the Hebrew Language * Why Did Maimonides Adopt His Position? * Nahmanides' Critique6 Kavod, Shekhinah, and Created LightIntroduction * Shekhinah, Kavod, and Created Light in Rabbinic Texts * Sa'adiah Gaon * Judah Halevi * Maimonides on Kavod in the Guide of the Perplexed * Maimonides on Shekhinah in the Guide of the Perplexed * Maimonides on Created Light in the Guide of the Perplexed * Shekhinah and Kavod in Mishneh torah and Commentary on the Mishnah7 Jews and Non-JewsIntroduction * Theory of the Acquired Intellect * Jews and Non-Jews * Digression: Which of the Thirteen Principles Must Actually Be Accepted to Achieve a Share in the World to Come? * Who is an 'Israelite'? * Wise Non-Jews and the World to Come * Was Maimonides Truly Universalist?8 AngelsIntroduction * Angels in Rabbinic Thought * Angels in Piyutim * Angels in Heikhalot Literature * Sa'adiah Gaon and Judah Halevi on Angels * Maimonides on AngelsAfterword: Contemporary Resistance to the Maimonidean ReformGlossaryIndex of Citations from Moses Maimonides and Judah HaleviBibliographyGeneral Index