Science in the Bet Midrash

Studies in Maimonides

AvMenachem Kellner

Inbunden, Engelska, 2009

Del i serien Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah

1 440 kr

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Beskrivning

What is the secret that Maimonides hides? He himself tells us: the rabbis of the Talmud used the expression ma'aseh bereshit ("Account of Creation") for what the Greeks called physics and used the expression ma'aseh merkavah ("Account of the Chariot") for what the Greeks called metaphysics. So why is this important? The consequences of these equations are momentous. Maimonides imports what we today would call science into the heart of Torah. This is allied to his universalism and to his conception of the com-mandments of the Torah as tools (which could in principle have been different), whose importance lies in the end they serve, and not in themselves. That being the case, true reward and punish-ment are not connected to behaviour, no matter how saintly or how vile, but to proper conceptions of God, crystallised in the 'Thirteen Principles'. Maimonides hid these secrets from his fellow Jews, not out of fear of reprisal (protected as he was by his good friend, al-Qadi at-Facil, he had no reason to fear them), but out of noblesse oblige.Exposing simple Jews (and their philosophically no less simple rabbis) to these truths could only lead to perplexity (in the best of circumstances) or to falling away from observance (in the worst of circumstances), neither of which Maimonides had any interest in promoting. One God wrote two books, as it were: Torah and Cosmos. The truly devout Jew realises that he or she must study both books, or only have access to half of God's oeuvre.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2009-04-16
Mått:155 x 234 x 27 mm
Vikt:715 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah
Antal sidor:392
Förlag:Academic Studies Press
ISBN:9781934843215

Utforska kategorier

Judendom inom Filosofi och religion

Mer om författaren

Born and educated in the United States, Menachem Kellner (Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, 1973) has lived in Israel for the last 30 years. Author, editor, or translator of 16 books and over 100 scholarly articles, Kellner’s most recent books include Science in the Bet Midrash and Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism (2006).

Recensioner i media

"Menachem Kellner’s Science in the Bet Midrash: Studies in Maimonides (Academic Studies Press) is a collection of previously published English essays, organized around 4 major themes: Approaches to the Study of Maimonides; Religious Faith and Dogma; Science and Torah; and Universalism. Fans of Kellner’s writings, including myself, will surely recognize that these themes (particularly dogma and universalism) were also the subject of some of his acclaimed (and sometimes controversial) books. Those who have read those books may find some of the articles superfluous (sometimes they reflect earlier drafts, other times slight amendments or clarifications), but they remain probing and stimulating. The articles are intended for the scholarly or sophisticated lay reader. "

Innehållsförteckning

By Way of Personal Introduction. Acknowledgements. PART ONE: APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF MAIMONIDES. Introduction to Part One, Approaches to the Study of Maimonides. 1. Reading Rambam – Approaches to the Interpretation of Maimonides. 2. Strauss’ Maimonides vs. Maimonides’ Maimonides: Could Maimonides have been both Enlightened and Orthodox? 3. The Literary Character of the Mishneh Torah: On the Art of Writing in Maimonides’ Halakhic Works. 4. Is Maimonides’ Ideal Person Austerely Rationalist? PART TWO: RELIGIOUS FAITH AND DOGMA. Introduction to Part Two, Religious Faith and Dogma. 5. Heresy and the Nature of Faith in Medieval Jewish Philosophy. 6. What is Heresy? 7. Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles and the Structure of the Guide of the Perplexed. 8. Maimonides, Crescas, and Abravanel on Ex. 20:2: A Medieval Jewish Exegetical Dispute. 9. Could Maimonides Get into Rambam’s Heaven? 10. Returning the Crown to its Ancient Glory: Marc Shapiro’s The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles Reappraised. 11. The Virtue of Faith. PART THREE: SCIENCE AND TORAH. Introduction to Part Three, Science and Torah. 12. On the Status of the Astronomy and Physics in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed: A Chapter in the History of Science. 13. Maimonides on the Science of the Mishneh Torah: Provisional or Permanent? 14. Maimonides’ Allegiances to Science and Judaism. 15. Faith, Science, and Orthodoxy. PART FOUR: UNIVERSALISM. Introduction to Part Four, Universalism. 16. Chosenness, Not Chauvinism: Maimonides on the Chosen People. 17. Was Maimonides Truly Universalist? 18. Maimonides’ True Religion – for Jews, or All Humanity? 19. Spirituality and a Life of Holiness –How One Lives a Holy Life and Who Can Do It. 20. Epilogue. Works Cited. Index.

Sara Klein-Braslavy

Inbunden

1 440 kr