Maimonides

Maimonides: A Comprehensive Foundation

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© 2026 Jordan Weiner/Internet Consulting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Critical Preface: What We Can Know and The Integration Problem

THE PARADOX: Medieval Judaism’s Greatest Rationalist Was Almost Excommunicated

Moses ben Maimon (1138-1204 CE), known as Maimonides or by the Hebrew acronym RaMBaM, created the most comprehensive synthesis of Jewish law and Aristotelian philosophy in history. He was immediately recognized as the greatest Jewish scholar since the Talmud—and immediately condemned by conservative rabbis as a dangerous heretic. This tension has never been resolved. Even today, some ultra-Orthodox Jews refuse to study his philosophy while revering his legal work.

The Source Challenge (Less Severe Than Most Medieval Figures):

ADVANTAGES:

1. KNOWN CORPUS: Maimonides’ major works are well-documented, written by him personally, and their authenticity is rarely disputed
2. MULTIPLE LANGUAGES: He wrote in Hebrew (halakhic works) and Judeo-Arabic (philosophical works), both well-preserved
3. EXCELLENT TRANSLATIONS: Unlike Rumi, we have scholarly translations of all major works into English, many done in the past 50 years with full critical apparatus
4. HISTORICAL DOCUMENTATION: We have letters, responsa, and biographical information from his lifetime

REMAINING CHALLENGES:

1. ESOTERIC WRITING: Maimonides deliberately wrote esoterically, hiding his most radical views. He states this explicitly in the Guide‘s introduction. Determining his “true” positions is therefore interpretively complex.
2. CONTRADICTIONS: There are real tensions between his legal and philosophical works, and even within the Guide itself. Are these pedagogical, genuine evolution, or protective concealment?
3. THE “MAIMONIDEAN CONTROVERSY”: The 13th-century battles over whether to study his philosophy created centuries of sectarian interpretation where readers projected their agendas onto his texts
4. SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED: Understanding Maimonides fully requires expertise in: Talmudic law, Arabic Aristotelian philosophy (Ibn Sina, al-Farabi), Hebrew Bible, Quranic exegesis (yes!), and Greco-Arabic science

What Can We Know with Absolute Certainty?

BIOGRAPHICAL FACTS:

• Born 1138 CE in Córdoba, al-Andalus (Muslim Spain)
• Family fled Almohad persecution (~1148) – forced conversion or death
• Wandered through Spain and North Africa for ~10 years
• Settled in Fez, Morocco (~1160) – controversy over whether he publicly converted to Islam
• Moved to Egypt (~1165), settled in Fustat (Old Cairo)
• Became court physician to Saladin’s vizier (al-Fadil), then possibly to Saladin himself
• Leader (Nagid) of Egyptian Jewish community
• Died 1204 in Egypt; buried in Tiberias, Land of Israel

MAJOR WORKS (Chronologically):

1. Commentary on the Mishnah (Kitab al-Siraj, 1168) – Written in Judeo-Arabic

• Line-by-line commentary on the Mishnah (foundational rabbinic text)
• Includes: Thirteen Principles of Faith, Eight Chapters (ethical treatise), commentary on Pirkei Avot
• First systematic attempt to organize Jewish theology

2. Mishneh Torah (1180) – Written in Hebrew

• Complete codification of all Jewish law
• 14 books, systematic organization
• Revolutionary: No citation of sources, clear language, comprehensive coverage
• Still used today as authoritative legal source
• Controversial for its rationalism and seeming “arrogance”

3. The Guide for the Perplexed (Dalalat al-Ha’irin, ~1190) – Written in Judeo-Arabic

• His philosophical magnum opus
• Addressed to his student Joseph ben Judah
• Reconciles Torah with Aristotelian philosophy
• Three parts: divine attributes, divine providence and creation, prophetic symbolism
• Deliberately esoteric writing style

4. Medical Works (various dates)

• Regimen of Health
• On Poisons and Their Antidotes
• On Asthma
• On Sexual Intercourse
• Medical Aphorisms (25 treatises)
• He was a renowned physician, not just a philosopher

5. Responsa and Letters

• Epistle to Yemen – consolation during persecution
• Letter on Apostasy – controversial defense of forced converts
• Hundreds of legal responsa
• Letters reveal practical application of his philosophy

Part I: Life, Context, and Historical Circumstances

The World Maimonides Was Born Into

JEWISH SITUATION IN 12TH CENTURY:

The Golden Age Ending:

• Muslims had ruled much of Spain since 711 CE
• 10th-11th centuries: “Golden Age” of Iberian Judaism under relative tolerance
• Jewish scholars, physicians, poets flourished
• BUT: Always second-class (dhimmi) status under Islamic law
• Status depended on ruler’s whim

The Almohad Catastrophe (1147-1148):

• Fundamentalist Berber dynasty from North Africa
• Invaded al-Andalus demanding conversion
• “Islam, death, or exile” – no dhimmi tolerance
• End of Jewish-Muslim convivencia in Spain
• Forced Maimonides family into exile when he was 10-13 years old

INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT:

Islamic Philosophy in Crisis:

• al-Ghazali’s attack on philosophy (Incoherence of the Philosophers, 1095)
• Growing religious conservatism
• But philosophy still alive in Iberia (Ibn Bajja, Ibn Tufayl)
• Averroes (Ibn Rushd, 1126-1198) – Maimonides’ contemporary, worked in same region
• Arabic translations of Greek philosophy widely available

Jewish Intellectual Traditions:

• Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds (completed 5th-6th centuries)
• Geonic period (6th-11th centuries) – Babylonian rabbinic leadership
• Early medieval Jewish philosophy: Saadia Gaon (882-942), Halevi (1075-1141)
• BUT: No comprehensive legal code existed
• AND: No systematic Jewish Aristotelianism existed

Biographical Narrative: The Wandering Scholar

CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION (1138-1148):

• Born to scholarly family in Córdoba
• Father Maimon ben Joseph: rabbinic judge and student of philosophy
• Studied Torah, Talmud, and philosophy from youth
• Córdoba: Major center of learning with libraries and scholars

THE FLIGHT (1148-1160):

• Almohad invasion forces family to flee
• ~10 years wandering through Spain
• Continued studying during travels
• Developed early ideas that would become the Commentary on the Mishnah

THE FEZ CONTROVERSY (1160-1165):

• Family settled in Fez, Morocco (also under Almohad rule!)
• THE PROBLEM: Did Maimonides publicly convert to Islam?
• Evidence: He wrote medical works in Arabic, moved freely in Muslim scholarly circles
• His Letter on Apostasy (1160s): Defended forced converts who practiced Judaism secretly 
  • Argued forced conversion isn’t real conversion
  • Jewish forced converts can still be counted as Jews
  • Controversial position – many rabbis said forced converts were apostates
• WHY IT MATTERS: If he converted (even outwardly), it affects how we read his philosophy 
  • Was he sympathetic to Islam’s rationalism because he had to study Quran?
  • Did this experience make him more tolerant/syncretic?
  • Or was he truly fleeing forced conversion?
• CONSENSUS: Probably practiced Judaism secretly while appearing Muslim publicly
• His later fierce defense of martyrdom suggests guilt/compensation?

EGYPT: PHYSICIAN AND LEADER (1165-1204):

1165-1177: Establishing Himself

• Moved to Acre (Crusader territory), then Egypt
• Egypt ruled by Saladin’s Ayyubid dynasty (Sunni Muslims)
• Initially lived with his brother David, a merchant
• Brother David drowned in Indian Ocean (1177) – catastrophic financial loss
• Maimonides forced to practice medicine full-time to support family
• Wrote: “I was in great distress for a full year… it was the worst I have ever experienced”

1177-1204: The Productive Years

• Became court physician to al-Fadil (Saladin’s vizier)
• Possibly also treated Saladin directly (sources unclear)
• Appointed Nagid (leader) of Egyptian Jewish community
• Exhausting schedule: Medical practice all day, answering legal questions at night
• Famous letter to translator Samuel Ibn Tibbon describes his daily routine: 
  • Morning: Royal court in Cairo (1 hour away from Fustat)
  • Noon-evening: Patients lined up at his house
  • After sundown: Study and writing
  • Shabbat: Jewish community legal consultations
  • “I can barely find time to study medicine, let alone sacred texts”

MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN EGYPT:

• Completed Mishneh Torah (1180)
• Wrote Guide for the Perplexed (~1190)
• Led Egyptian Jewish community
• Countless legal responsa
• Medical treatises
• Corresponded with Jewish communities worldwide

DEATH AND LEGACY (1204):

• Died December 12, 1204, in Fustat, Egypt
• Body taken to Tiberias, Land of Israel, for burial
• Jews and Muslims mourned in Egypt
• Three days of public mourning in Jerusalem
• Legend: “From Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses”
• Immediately controversial – both revered and condemned

Part II: The Mishneh Torah – Legal Magnum Opus

Revolutionary Legal Code

WHAT IT IS:

• Complete, systematic codification of all Jewish law
• 14 books (volumes), 83 sections, ~1,000 chapters
• Covers laws still applicable AND laws only applicable when Temple exists
• Written in clear Mishnaic Hebrew (not Aramaic like Talmud)
• NO CITATIONS of sources (highly controversial)
• Organized by topic, not by Talmudic order

WHY IT WAS REVOLUTIONARY:

BEFORE MAIMONIDES:

• To determine Jewish law, one had to: 
  1. Study Mishnah (Hebrew, 200 CE)
  2. Study Gemara (Aramaic, 500 CE)
  3. Study Geonic responsa (Arabic/Hebrew)
  4. Study various legal codes (incomplete)
  5. Synthesize conflicting opinions
• Required decades of training
• Only elite scholars could determine law

MAIMONIDES’ INNOVATION:

• One book with ALL laws clearly stated
• Organized systematically
• Any educated person could look up the law
• Goal: Replace Talmud study for practical purposes

THE CONTROVERSY:

• Critics: “Arrogant! Who makes himself the final authority?”
• “Why no citations? How can we verify?”
• “He’s trying to replace the Talmud!”
• “His rationalist philosophy corrupts the law!”
• Some communities burned or banned it

HIS DEFENSE:

• Law should be accessible, not hidden behind Aramaic complexity
• He cites sources in separate work (not included in Mishneh Torah itself)
• Goal is to make observance easier, not replace study

Structure: The 14 Books

BOOK 1: Knowledge (Sefer ha-Madda)

• Foundations of Judaism
• Theology, belief in God, free will
• Ethics, repentance, Torah study
• MOST PHILOSOPHICAL BOOK – includes Aristotelian metaphysics!
• Thirteen Principles of Faith embedded here

BOOK 2: Love (Sefer Ahavah)

• Prayer, Shema, tefillin, mezuzah
• Torah scrolls, circumcision
• Daily ritual observances

BOOK 3: Seasons (Sefer Zemanim)

• Sabbath, festivals, fasts
• Calendar calculations

BOOK 4: Women (Sefer Nashim)

• Marriage, divorce, levirate marriage

BOOK 5: Holiness (Sefer Kedushah)

• Forbidden sexual relations
• Dietary laws (kashrut)

BOOK 6: Utterances (Sefer Hafla’ah)

• Vows and oaths
• Nazirite

BOOK 7: Seeds (Sefer Zera’im)

• Agricultural laws (tithes, sabbatical year)
• Charity

BOOK 8: Service (Sefer Avodah)

• Temple service, sacrifices, priests
• (Not applicable since Temple destruction, but Maimonides includes it for messianic future)

BOOK 9: Offerings (Sefer Korbanot)

• Various sacrificial offerings
• Impurity and purity

BOOK 10: Purity (Sefer Taharah)

• Ritual purity laws
• Mikvah (ritual bath)

BOOK 11: Damages (Sefer Nezikin)

• Civil law: torts, damages, theft
• Courts and legal procedure

BOOK 12: Acquisition (Sefer Kinyan)

• Commercial law: sales, gifts, neighbors
• Slaves, agents

BOOK 13: Judgments (Sefer Mishpatim)

• More civil law: hiring, borrowing, creditors
• Inheritance

BOOK 14: Judges (Sefer Shoftim)

• Sanhedrin (supreme court), witnesses, rebels
• Kings and wars (includes messianic laws)
• CONTROVERSIAL: Includes laws for Jewish kingdom (not relevant without sovereignty)

Key Legal Innovations

1. RATIONALIZATION OF LAW:

• Explains reasons (ta’amei ha-mitzvot) for commandments where possible
• Example: Dietary laws – promote health and self-discipline
• BUT: Some laws are supra-rational (chukim) – accept divine wisdom

2. HALAKHIC DECISIVENESS:

• States law definitively without “some say X, others say Y”
• When Talmud is unclear, he decides based on reason and principle
• Sometimes contradicts earlier authorities (Geonim)

3. INTEGRATION OF PHILOSOPHY:

• Book 1 (Knowledge) includes: 
  • Proof of God’s existence (from Aristotle)
  • Negative theology (God has no positive attributes)
  • Prophecy as perfection of intellect + imagination
  • Resurrection and World to Come

4. STRINGENT RATIONALITY:

• Magic, astrology, superstition – forbidden
• Folk practices – eliminated if not rooted in Talmud
• Anthropomorphic ideas of God – rejected
• “God has no body” is binding belief

5. MEDICALIZED APPROACH:

• Laws on health based on Galenic medicine
• Balances humors, proper diet, exercise
• Mental health considerations

Examples of Maimonides’ Legal Positions

THEOLOGY:

• Denying God’s existence = heretic, no share in World to Come
• Believing God has a body = heretic (controversial – many Jews did!)
• Must believe in: Creation, prophecy, Torah from Heaven, resurrection

ETHICS:

• Golden Mean: Virtue is the middle path between extremes
• Exceptions: Humility and patience – be extremely humble, extremely patient
• Anger is absolutely forbidden (Aristotelian but stricter)

REPENTANCE:

• Always possible, even for worst sins
• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) atones only if one repents
• True repentance = wouldn’t commit sin in same circumstances
• Free will is foundational – without it, reward/punishment meaningless

CHARITY:

• Eight levels of charity (famous hierarchy): 8. Giving reluctantly 7. Giving less than fitting, but cheerfully 6. Giving after being asked 5. Giving before being asked 4. Recipient knows giver, giver doesn’t know recipient 3. Giver knows recipient, recipient doesn’t know giver 2. Both anonymous (through intermediary) 
  1. HIGHEST: Giving loan or employment so person becomes self-sufficient

MESSIAH:

• Will be human king, descendant of David
• Will gather exiles, rebuild Temple, restore Jewish sovereignty
• NO supernatural powers
• Wars of Gog and Magog might be metaphorical
• Messianic age = political freedom, not supernatural utopia
• World operates by natural laws even in messianic times

RESURRECTION:

• Will happen after messianic age
• Then ultimate reward: World to Come (incorporeal afterlife)
• Bodies resurrected, then die again; souls enter eternal bliss
• This was controversial – seemed like he was downplaying resurrection

Impact and Continuing Authority

IMMEDIATE RECEPTION:

• Some communities: Enthusiastic adoption
• Others: Suspicion and condemnation
• Provence (southern France): Major resistance – “He abolishes the Talmud!”
• Some claimed study of Mishneh Torah without Talmud made ignoramuses

LONG-TERM AUTHORITY:

• Became one of three absolutely authoritative codes: 
  1. Mishneh Torah (Maimonides, 1180)
  2. Tur (Jacob ben Asher, 1340)
  3. Shulchan Aruch (Joseph Caro, 1563)
• All later codes reference Maimonides constantly
• His decisions are presumptively correct unless strong reason to differ
• Modern Orthodox Jews study it extensively
• Ultra-Orthodox: More ambivalent due to rationalism

IN PRACTICE TODAY:

• Primary source for many legal questions
• Especially influential in: beliefs, ethics, Temple service (theoretical)
• Medical ethics: His physician’s ethics still cited
• Less decisive in areas where Talmudic debate was complex
• Sephardic communities: Generally follow him more closely
• Ashkenazic communities: Modified by later authorities

Part III: The Guide for the Perplexed – Philosophical Magnum Opus

Purpose and Audience

THE PERPLEXED STUDENT:

• Dedicated to Joseph ben Judah, Maimonides’ student
• Joseph trained in Talmud, then studied philosophy
• Became “perplexed” – apparent contradictions between Torah and philosophy
• Examples: 
  • Torah describes God with body, emotions
  • Philosophy proves God has no body, no change
  • Torah seems to say world was created in time
  • Philosophy proves (?) world is eternal
  • Torah emphasizes divine providence for individuals
  • Philosophy (Aristotle) says providence only for species

THE DUAL AUDIENCE:

• SURFACE: Those with philosophical training who are troubled
• DEEPER: Elite philosophers who can decode esoteric teaching
• Maimonides explicitly states he writes esoterically: 
  • “I have composed this work for the purpose of teaching”
  • But “I have not composed this treatise for the common people”
  • Contradictions are deliberate – truth hidden for those who can find it
  • Some contradictions pedagogical, others protective

WHY ESOTERIC WRITING?

1. PROTECT MASSES: Philosophical truth disturbs those unprepared
2. PROTECT WRITER: Heresy accusations (real danger – see later controversy)
3. MAIMONIDEAN IDEAL: Truth is for philosophers, law is for everyone
4. PLATONIC INFLUENCE: Not everyone can handle metaphysical truth

Structure of the Guide

PART I: DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND LANGUAGE

• 76 chapters
• Main themes: 
  • Anthropomorphic language in Torah
  • Negative theology
  • Prophecy as natural perfection
  • Distinction between what exists necessarily (God) and possibly (creation)

PART II: CREATION AND PROVIDENCE

• 48 chapters
• Main themes: 
  • Proofs for God’s existence
  • Creation vs. eternity of world
  • Divine will and wisdom
  • Prophecy (continued)
  • Account of the Chariot (Ma’aseh Merkavah – mystical throne vision)

PART III: PROVIDENCE, EVIL, AND COMMANDMENTS

• 54 chapters
• Main themes: 
  • Divine providence and human perfection
  • Problem of evil
  • Reasons for commandments
  • Ultimate human perfection: intellectual worship

Major Philosophical Positions

1. NEGATIVE THEOLOGY: God’s Attributes

THE PROBLEM:

• Torah describes God: “mighty,” “merciful,” “jealous,” “angry”
• Philosophy: God is absolutely simple, unchanging, non-composite
• Predicating attributes = implying complexity
• HOW TO RECONCILE?

MAIMONIDES’ SOLUTION:

• NEGATIVE ATTRIBUTES ONLY: When Torah says “God is merciful,” it means “God is not cruel”
• ATTRIBUTES OF ACTION: Describe God’s effects, not God’s essence 
  • “God is merciful” = “God’s actions resemble what merciful human would do”
  • But God has no emotions or psychological states
• THE RADICAL CONCLUSION: We can say almost nothing true about God’s essence 
  • Can say: God exists, God is one, God is not composite
  • Cannot say: God is wise, powerful, good (implies multiple attributes)

IMPLICATIONS:

• Very severe via negativa
• Influenced by Islamic philosophy (Avicenna, al-Farabi)
• But goes further than most Jewish predecessors
• Liturgy becomes problematic – how can we praise God if words don’t apply?
• HIS ANSWER: Liturgical language is for common people; philosophers know it’s not literally true

2. CREATION VS. ETERNITY

THE PROBLEM:

• TORAH: “In the beginning, God created…” – world began in time
• ARISTOTLE: World is eternal – no creation ex nihilo, no beginning
• ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHERS: Mixed – Avicenna said “emanation” (eternal but dependent)
• STAKES: If world is eternal, creation miracle is false

MAIMONIDES’ POSITION (Controversial to Interpret!):

SURFACE READING:

• Aristotle’s arguments for eternity are not demonstrative (conclusive)
• No philosophical proof that world is eternal
• Torah clearly teaches creation ex nihilo
• Therefore: Believe in creation on authority of Torah
• Creation miracle establishes all other miracles possible

ESOTERIC READING (Debated):

• Some scholars think Maimonides secretly believed in eternity
• Evidence: 
  • He says Aristotle’s arguments “almost” proved it
  • He’s suspiciously sympathetic to eternity position
  • Later Jewish philosophers (Gersonides) openly teach eternity
• Counter-evidence: 
  • He explicitly affirms creation multiple times
  • Says eternity would undermine Torah fundamentally
  • Why hide belief in creation? (Unlike attributes, this wasn’t philosophically embarrassing)

SCHOLARLY CONSENSUS: Probably believed in creation, but wasn’t certain

HIS COMPROMISE POSITION:

• Even if eternal, world still depends on God every moment
• “Eternal creation” = God eternally causes world (not “world is uncaused”)
• So eternity wouldn’t necessarily contradict divine will
• BUT: Would contradict Torah’s plain meaning
• So: Accept creation on authority

3. PROPHECY

REVOLUTIONARY NATURALISTIC ACCOUNT:

TRADITIONAL VIEW:

• Prophecy = pure miracle
• God chooses anyone to be prophet
• No natural explanation

MAIMONIDES:

• Prophecy = natural perfection of intellect and imagination
• Requires: 
  1. Intellectual perfection (metaphysical knowledge)
  2. Moral perfection (virtuous character)
  3. Imaginative perfection (strong faculty of imagination)
• Prophet receives overflow from Active Intellect (Aristotelian concept)
• Intellectual overflow → metaphysical knowledge
• Imaginative overflow → dreams, visions, symbolic prophecies

LEVELS OF PROPHECY:

1. Inspiration for good acts (judges, heroes)
2. Knowledge in dreams
3. Visions in dreams with interpretation by dream-angel
4. Hearing divine voice in dream 5-10. Various levels of waking vision
5. MOSES: Unique – no imagination involved, pure intellect, face-to-face

THE MIRACLE:

• God can prevent prophecy even in qualified person
• But cannot grant prophecy to unqualified person
• Exception: Moses (unique case)

IMPLICATIONS:

• Rationalizes prophecy (makes it natural law)
• But: Common people think it’s miracle
• Philosophers understand natural explanation
• Biblical prophets = philosophical-political perfection
• False prophets = imagination without intellect (madness)

4. DIVINE PROVIDENCE

THE PROBLEM:

• Torah: God watches over individuals, rewards/punishes specific people
• Aristotle: Divine knowledge only of universals, not particulars
• How does God “know” individual humans to provide providence?

MAIMONIDES’ SOLUTION:

GRADUATED PROVIDENCE:

• Minerals: No providence, pure natural law
• Plants: Species-level providence only
• Animals: Species-level providence mostly
• Humans: Individual providence proportional to intellectual perfection

THE RADICAL VIEW:

• The more philosophical/intellectually perfected = more providence
• Common person = mostly natural law, some providence
• Philosopher = high degree of individual providence
• Suffering of righteous: They weren’t intellectually perfected enough!

IMPLICATIONS:

• Undermines simple reward-punishment theodicy
• Providence not for “good people” but for “intellectually developed people”
• Very elitist view
• But explains why bad things happen to “good” people

HOW DOES GOD KNOW INDIVIDUALS?

• Through their intellectual connection to Active Intellect
• The more intellect is actualized, the more “in contact” with God
• God’s knowledge of His own essence includes knowledge of intellects connected to Him
• (Very Neoplatonic – influenced by Avicenna)

5. PROBLEM OF EVIL

THREE TYPES OF EVIL:

1. Evils due to matter/physicality:

• Death, disease, physical suffering
• Necessary consequence of being material/corporeal
• God didn’t “create” evil – it’s absence of good (privation theory)
• Very rare compared to blessings

2. Evils humans do to each other:

• Wars, oppression, murder
• Due to human free will
• More common than type 1
• But: Could be avoided if humans were virtuous

3. Evils people do to themselves:

• MOST COMMON TYPE
• Pursuing bodily pleasures, wealth, honor
• Suffering from not getting these ephemeral goods
• Could be eliminated through philosophy!

SOLUTION:

• Most “evil” is self-inflicted due to ignorance
• True good = intellectual perfection
• Physical goods/ills are trivial
• Job’s lesson: Prosperity/suffering are irrelevant to true human perfection

6. REASONS FOR COMMANDMENTS (Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot)

THE POSITION:

• ALL commandments have reasons (not arbitrary)
• Reasons fall into three categories: 
  1. Beliefs (theology, metaphysics)
  2. Ethics (moral perfection)
  3. Political order (social stability)

EXAMPLES:

SACRIFICES:

• Ancient Israelites came from pagan culture with sacrifices
• Can’t eliminate sacrifice immediately – too radical
• So God commanded sacrifices, but only at Temple, only specific animals
• Weaning humanity from paganism gradually
• Ultimate goal: Purely intellectual worship (no sacrifices)

DIETARY LAWS:

• Health benefits (Maimonides was physician)
• Self-discipline
• Avoiding foods used in pagan rites

SABBATH:

• Weekly reminder of creation (theological)
• Rest (ethical)
• Social equality – even slaves rest (political)

FESTIVALS:

• Historical memory (Passover, Sukkot)
• Agricultural recognition
• Social cohesion

THE CONTROVERSIAL CLAIM:

• Sacrifices are concession to human weakness, not ideal
• In messianic age: No sacrifices? (He’s ambiguous)
• Orthodox Jews today: Uncomfortable with this – sacrifices will return!

7. ULTIMATE HUMAN PERFECTION

FOUR TYPES OF HUMAN PERFECTION (ranked):

1. Perfection of possessions:

• Wealth, property
• LEAST IMPORTANT – purely external, easily lost
• “Not perfection at all”

2. Perfection of body:

• Health, strength, beauty
• Still not true human perfection
• Animals can be stronger/healthier

3. Moral perfection:

• Virtues: courage, temperance, justice
• Important, but still relational (only matters in society)
• Prophet alone on island doesn’t need moral virtues

4. Intellectual perfection:

• TRUE HUMAN PERFECTION
• Knowledge of God, metaphysics, physics
• Purely individual
• Brings immortality (actualized intellect survives death)
• Brings providence
• Brings ultimate happiness

THE GOAL OF TORAH:

• Two purposes: 
  1. Welfare of body (political laws)
  2. Welfare of soul (intellectual laws)
• Purpose 2 is ultimate, but requires purpose 1 first
• Commandments are training for intellectual perfection
• Study Torah → philosophical truth → intellectual union with God

THE MYSTIC DIMENSION:

• Final chapters of Guide: Contemplative practice
• “Worship through knowledge”
• Constant intellectual attachment to God
• This is what prophets achieved
• This is the goal of human life

Interpretive Controversies

WHAT DID MAIMONIDES REALLY BELIEVE?

THE RATIONALIST READING:

• Maimonides was thoroughgoing Aristotelian
• Secretly doubted creation, miracles, resurrection
• Judaism = true philosophy in religious garb
• Esotericism hides radical views
• Advocates: Strauss, Pines, Kellner

THE RELIGIOUS READING:

• Maimonides was committed Jew who used philosophy to strengthen faith
• Genuinely believed in creation, miracles, resurrection
• Philosophy is handmaiden to Torah
• Esotericism protects masses, not writer
• Advocates: Traditional Orthodox scholarship

THE MIDDLE READING:

• Maimonides in genuine tension
• Tried to synthesize, sometimes succeeded, sometimes didn’t
• Evolution in his thought over time
• Advocates: Most academic scholars (Twersky, Stroumsa, Ravitzky)

EVIDENCE FOR EACH:

• Rationalist: His naturalization of miracles, negative theology, intellectual immortality only
• Religious: Explicit affirmations of dogma, Mishneh Torah assumes traditional beliefs
• Middle: Contradictions even he acknowledges, unresolved tensions

Part IV: The Maimonidean Controversy

First Phase: The Controversy During His Lifetime (1180-1204)

IMMEDIATE OPPOSITION:

• Mishneh Torah published 1180
• Some rabbis: Enthusiastic
• Others: “Who is he to codify without citations?”
• “His philosophy corrupts Jewish law!”
• “He denies God’s body – heresy!” (Many medieval Jews thought God had body!)

MAIMONIDES’ RESPONSE:

• Letters defending himself
• “I don’t claim perfection, but someone had to organize the law”
• “Study Talmud to verify my sources”
• Offers to write separate work with all citations (never completed)

NO FORMAL BAN: During his lifetime, opposition was limited

Second Phase: The Great Controversy (1230s-1240s)

THE EXPLOSION:

• 30 years after Maimonides’ death
• Southern France (Provence): Center of controversy
• Two camps form:

ANTI-MAIMONIDEANS:

• Led by: Solomon of Montpellier, Jonah Gerondi
• Position: 
  • Guide and Book of Knowledge (Book 1 of Mishneh Torah) are heretical
  • Rationalism undermines faith
  • Allegorizing Torah is dangerous
  • No resurrection, no bodily God, no miracles = atheism
• EXTREME STEP: Appeal to Dominican Inquisition to ban Maimonides!
• RESULT: Dominicans burn copies of the Guide (1232, Paris)

PRO-MAIMONIDEANS:

• Led by: David Kimhi, Jacob Anatoli
• Position: 
  • Maimonides is greatest sage since Talmud
  • Philosophy deepens understanding
  • Opponents are obscurantists
  • Burning books is sacrilege
• COUNTER-ATTACK: Excommunicate (cherem) opponents

THE AFTERMATH:

• Shock that Jews involved Christian authorities
• Solomon of Montpellier dies (1232) – some saw as divine punishment
• Jonah Gerondi: Repents, becomes Maimonides supporter
• BUT: Damage done – Maimonides now permanently controversial
• Fear: Studying philosophy leads to heresy
• 1233: Talmud itself burned by Inquisition (ironic!)
• Some saw this as punishment for burning Maimonides

Third Phase: The 1300s Bans

BAN OF 1305:

• Solomon ibn Adret (Rashba) – leading Spanish rabbi
• LIMITED BAN: 
  • Cannot study philosophy before age 25
  • Cannot study unless also studying Talmud
  • Exception: Medicine and astronomy (useful)
  • Exception: Maimonides’ works themselves (!)
• GOAL: Allow Maimonides, prevent radical philosophy students
• Not universally accepted

BAN DEBATES:

• Provence: Reject ban (philosophy central to their culture)
• Spain: Mixed – some communities accept, others reject
• Rationalist rabbis argue ban undermines Maimonides’ own project
• Conservative rabbis argue ban protects faith

Fourth Phase: Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides) (1288-1344)

THE PROVENCAL RADICAL:

• Provencal Talmudist and philosopher
• Wrote Wars of the Lord (1329)
• MORE RATIONALIST THAN MAIMONIDES: 
  • World is eternal (disagrees with Maimonides)
  • God does not know future free choices (limited omniscience)
  • General providence only (not individual)
• Argued these positions are Aristotelian truth AND Torah truth
• Respected Talmudist – couldn’t be dismissed as ignoramus

REACTION:

• Proves opponents’ fears – philosophy leads to heresy!
• Yet also Talmud scholar – can’t say he’s not learned in Torah
• Creates permanent split: Can Jewish philosophy be this radical?

Fifth Phase: Accommodation (1400s-1500s)

EVENTUAL COMPROMISE:

• Most communities: Accept Maimonides’ legal authority absolutely
• Philosophy: Study selectively, carefully
• Guide: For advanced students only
• Practical approach: 
  • Study Talmud and law primarily
  • Some philosophy acceptable
  • Maimonides himself is always acceptable (his students, maybe not)

SPANISH EXPULSION (1492):

• Spanish Jewry expelled
• Many were Maimonidean rationalists
• Sephardic diaspora spreads Maimonidean thought
• But also: Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) spreads as alternative

Long-Term Effects

PERMANENT POLARIZATION:

RATIONALIST CAMP:

• Maimonides is greatest sage
• Philosophy is essential
• Allegory acceptable
• Intellectual perfection is goal
• Concentrated in: Sephardic communities, Italy, some in Germany

ANTI-RATIONALIST CAMP:

• Maimonides’ law: YES; Maimonides’ philosophy: NO
• Talmud study alone sufficient
• Literal interpretation preferred
• Torah study itself is goal, not philosophy
• Concentrated in: Some Ashkenazic communities, later Hasidism

MODERATE CAMP (MAJORITY):

• Maimonides generally reliable
• Philosophy useful but not essential
• Balance between reason and tradition
• Don’t push rationalism too far

MODERN LEGACY:

• Modern Orthodox: Embrace Maimonides fully
• Ultra-Orthodox (Haredi): Ambivalent – legal authority yes, philosophy problematic
• Conservative/Masorti: Maimonides is model of integration
• Reform: Less interested (anti-legalism)
• Academic Jewish philosophy: Maimonides is foundation

Part V: Maimonides’ Influence Beyond Judaism

Influence on Medieval Christian Philosophy

THE TRANSLATION PROJECT:

• Guide translated into Hebrew by Samuel Ibn Tibbon (1204, approved by Maimonides)
• Also translated by al-Ḥarizi (alternate Hebrew translation)
• Latin translation by unclear translators (1200s)
• Read in Latin by Christian scholastics at University of Paris

CHRISTIAN SCHOLASTICS WHO KNEW MAIMONIDES:

1. ALEXANDER OF HALES (1185-1245):

• Franciscan, taught at Paris
• Aware of “Rabbi Moses” (Maimonides)
• Discusses his positions on prophecy

2. ALBERTUS MAGNUS (1200-1280):

• Dominican, teacher of Aquinas
• Cites “Rabbi Moyses”
• Discusses Maimonides on creation, angels

3. THOMAS AQUINAS (1225-1274):

• Most important Christian engagement
• Cites “Rabbi Moses” hundreds of times
• Agrees with Maimonides on: 
  • Negative theology (analogical predication similar)
  • Proofs for God’s existence
  • Angels as separate intellects
  • Providence graduated by perfection
• Disagrees on: 
  • Creation (Aquinas thinks it’s demonstrable)
  • Trinity and Incarnation (obviously)
  • Role of matter in individuation

4. DUNS SCOTUS (1266-1308):

• Franciscan
• Engages Maimonides on individuation, univocity
• More critical than Aquinas

5. MEISTER ECKHART (1260-1328):

• German mystic
• Negative theology similar to Maimonides
• Probably influenced (though maybe independently)

SHARED FRAMEWORK:

• Christian scholastics and Maimonides shared: 
  • Aristotelian philosophy via Arabic tradition
  • Avicenna (Ibn Sina)
  • Averroes (Ibn Rushd)
  • al-Ghazali
  • al-Farabi
• Maimonides was one voice in this shared conversation
• Not as influential as Averroes in Christian world
• But respected authority on Jewish-philosophical issues

Influence on Islamic Philosophy

COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP:

• Maimonides lived in Islamic world
• Wrote Guide in Judeo-Arabic (Arabic in Hebrew script)
• Influenced BY Islamic philosophy profoundly
• Influenced Islamic philosophy: MINIMALLY

WHY MINIMAL INFLUENCE ON ISLAM:

1. He wrote in Judeo-Arabic, not accessible to most Muslims
2. Post-Ghazali, Islamic philosophy declining in Middle East
3. Jewish philosopher in Islamic context = marginal voice
4. Arabic translation of Guide not made until modern times
5. Islamic philosophy continued in Persian world (Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra), who didn’t engage Maimonides

INFLUENCES ON MAIMONIDES FROM ISLAM:

• al-Farabi (872-950): Political philosophy, prophecy as perfection
• Avicenna (Ibn Sina, 980-1037): Metaphysics, soul, necessary vs. possible being
• Averroes (Ibn Rushd, 1126-1198): Aristotelian interpretation, creation debates
• Kalam (Islamic theology): Especially Mu’tazilite rationalism – Maimonides critiques but uses
• Ismaili philosophy: Possible influence on esoteric writing
• Islamic law (fiqh): Influenced his legal methodology in Mishneh Torah

MAIMONIDES = END OF JUDEO-ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHICAL SYNTHESIS:

• Golden age of Judeo-Arabic culture ending
• After 1200s, Jewish philosophy shifts to Hebrew
• Islamic philosophy shifts to Persia
• Shared conversation diminishes

Influence on Modern Philosophy

EARLY MODERN (1500s-1700s):

JEWISH PHILOSOPHERS:

• Leone Ebreo (1460-1521): Dialoghi d’Amore – Neoplatonic, influenced by Maimonides
• Spinoza (1632-1677): 
  • Read Maimonides in Hebrew
  • Rejects Maimonides’ supernaturalism
  • But influenced by: Negative theology, naturalistic prophecy, God-nature identification
  • Tractatus Theologico-Politicus engages Maimonides critically
  • Excommunicated partly for Maimonidean-style rationalism

MOSES MENDELSSOHN (1729-1786):

• German Jewish Enlightenment
• “German Socrates”
• Explicitly models himself on Maimonides
• Project: Synthesize Judaism with modern philosophy (Kant, Leibniz)
• Like Maimonides: Rationalist approach to Judaism
• Unlike Maimonides: Rejects legal compulsion

19TH CENTURY:

REFORM JUDAISM:

• Uses Maimonides’ distinction: Eternal truths vs. temporal laws
• Argument: Many laws were temporal concessions (like sacrifices)
• So can reform Judaism for modern times
• Traditional Jews reject this reading

NEO-KANTIANISM:

• Hermann Cohen (1842-1918): Major Jewish philosopher
• Reads Maimonides through Kant
• Emphasizes ethical monotheism
• Downplays metaphysics and esotericism

20TH CENTURY:

LEO STRAUSS (1899-1973):

• Most important 20th-century interpreter
• Philosophy and Law (1935), “How to Study the Guide” (1963)
• Argument: Maimonides is esoteric philosopher
• Hidden teaching: Philosophy superior to revelation
• Torah = political law for masses, philosophy for elite
• Very controversial reading
• Influenced: Jewish studies, political philosophy generally

JULIUS GUTTMANN (1880-1950):

• Philosophies of Judaism
• Maimonides as pinnacle of medieval Jewish rationalism
• But limited by medieval cosmology

SHLOMO PINES (1908-1990):

• Major Maimonides scholar
• New English translation of Guide (1963, standard today)
• Emphasized Maimonides’ connections to Islamic philosophy

ISADORE TWERSKY (1930-1997):

• Harvard professor
• Emphasized integration of law and philosophy in Maimonides
• Against radical readings (Strauss)
• Maimonides as unified thinker

CONTEMPORARY (1980s-PRESENT):

JEWISH PHILOSOPHY:

• David Hartman (1931-2013): Maimonides for modern Judaism
• Marvin Fox: Study of Maimonides’ method
• Josef Stern: Maimonides’ hermeneutics and metaphor
• Kenneth Seeskin: Ethics and metaphysics
• Sarah Stroumsa: Maimonides in Islamic context

LIBERAL READING:

• Maimonides supports pluralism
• Against dogmatism
• Emphasis on ethics over metaphysics

ORTHODOX READING:

• Maimonides as faithful traditionalist
• Philosophy confirms Torah
• Legal authority paramount

ACADEMIC READING:

• Historical contextualization
• Manuscript studies
• Maimonides in Arabic philosophy tradition

Influence on Jewish Thought and Practice

HALAKHA (JEWISH LAW):

• Absolutely foundational
• Every major legal code cites Maimonides constantly
• Standard reference: “The Rambam says…”
• When Maimonides contradicts earlier authorities, must explain why
• Sephardic communities: Generally follow Maimonides
• Ashkenazic communities: Follow where he agrees with Ashkenazic custom

THEOLOGY:

• Thirteen Principles of Faith: Became standard creed 
  1. Belief in God’s existence
  2. God’s unity
  3. God’s incorporeality
  4. God’s eternity
  5. God alone is to be worshiped
  6. Prophecy exists
  7. Moses is greatest prophet
  8. Torah is from Heaven
  9. Torah is immutable
  10. God knows human actions
  11. God rewards and punishes
  12. Messiah will come
  13. Resurrection of the dead
• Put into Yigdal hymn (sung in synagogues)
• Some later authorities questioned whether these are binding
• But became default Jewish creed

LITURGY:

• Maimonides’ legal rulings shape prayer structure
• His rationalism: Less mystical interpretations of prayers
• Influenced Sephardic prayer traditions more than Ashkenazic

JEWISH EDUCATION:

• Mishneh Torah: Core curriculum in yeshivas
• Study paths: 
  • Traditional: Start with Bible, then Mishnah, Talmud, Codes
  • Maimonidean: Can start with Mishneh Torah directly
• Modern Orthodox: Emphasize Guide too
• Haredi: More ambivalent about Guide

MESSIANISM:

• Maimonides’ rationalist messianism became standard
• Against: Supernatural messianism, date-setting, mystical speculation
• Messiah = human king, descendant of David, restores sovereignty
• Influenced: Against false messiahs (Sabbatai Zevi, others)
• Chabad-Lubavitch: Controversial claim that Rebbe might be Messiah (some say violates Maimonidean rationalism)

ETHICS:

• Golden Mean central
• Eight levels of charity widely taught
• Medical ethics based on Maimonides (physician’s prayer)
• Repentance theology

MYSTICISM (KABBALAH) VS. RATIONALISM:

• After 1300s: Kabbalah rises in popularity
• Kabbalists sometimes anti-Maimonidean
• But also attempts to synthesize: 
  • Maimonidean rationalism for exoteric truth
  • Kabbalah for esoteric truth
• Hasidism (1700s): Less Maimonidean, more mystical
• Mitnagdim (opponents of Hasidism): More Maimonidean

Part VI: Major Themes and Concepts

1. Faith and Reason

MAIMONIDES’ POSITION:

• NO CONFLICT between true philosophy and Torah
• Torah and reason reveal same truth
• Apparent contradictions = misunderstanding one or both

THREE SCENARIOS:

1. Reason demonstrates X, Torah silent:

• Accept reason (e.g., earth is spherical)

1. Torah clearly teaches X, reason silent:

• Accept Torah (e.g., creation ex nihilo)

1. Torah seems to teach X, reason demonstrates not-X:

• REINTERPRET TORAH (e.g., God has body)
• Use allegory, metaphor, homiletics
• “Torah speaks in human language”

LIMITS OF REASON:

• Cannot demonstrate everything
• Creation vs. eternity: Undecided philosophically
• Nature of God’s essence: Unknowable
• World to Come: Beyond reason

PRIMACY OF TORAH:

• When reason is uncertain, Torah decides
• When reason is certain, Torah must be reinterpreted
• But: Who determines when reason is “certain”?

CONTROVERSIES:

• Does he really believe reason can contradict Torah?
• Is he too willing to allegorize?
• Does reason secretly have priority?

2. Perfection and Human Fulfillment

ARISTOTELIAN FRAMEWORK:

• Every being has a telos (purpose, perfection)
• Human telos = rational activity
• Perfection = actualizing potential

MAIMONIDES’ JEWISH VERSION:

BODILY PERFECTION:

• Health, physical well-being
• Necessary foundation
• But not ultimate goal
• Commandments partly serve this (dietary laws, etc.)

MORAL PERFECTION:

• Character virtues: courage, temperance, justice
• Golden Mean
• Necessary for social life
• But not sufficient for ultimate perfection

INTELLECTUAL PERFECTION:

• Knowledge of truth
• Especially: Metaphysics, theology, physics
• THIS IS THE GOAL
• Torah study → philosophical knowledge → ultimate perfection

HIERARCHY:

• Common person: Physical and moral perfection
• Scholar: Intellectual perfection through Torah study
• Philosopher: Intellectual perfection through philosophical theology
• Prophet: Intellectual + imaginative + moral perfection
• Ultimate: Constant intellectual contemplation of God

AFTERLIFE:

• World to Come = reward for intellectual perfection
• Only intellect survives death (not body, not imagination)
• Immortality = actualized intellect united with Active Intellect
• Personal immortality? Ambiguous – seems impersonal in Guide

THEOLOGICAL PROBLEMS:

• Seems elitist: Masses can’t achieve highest perfection
• Contradicts rabbinic emphasis on deeds over knowledge
• Intellectual salvation vs. moral/ritual salvation

3. Law and Ethics

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LAW AND MORALITY:

MAIMONIDES’ VIEW:

• Torah commandments aim at two goals: 
  1. Welfare of soul (intellectual perfection)
  2. Welfare of body (political order)
• Ethics and law are instrumental to intellectual perfection
• But also intrinsically valuable

CATEGORIES OF COMMANDMENTS:

1. MISHPATIM (Rational Laws):

• Murder, theft, honesty
• Self-evident moral truths
• Would be binding even without revelation
• Examples: Don’t murder, honor parents, no stealing

2. EDOT (Testimonial Laws):

• Historical commemorations
• Sabbath, festivals, Passover
• Remind of theological truths (creation, exodus)

3. CHUKIM (Decrees):

• Non-rational (but not irrational)
• Dietary laws, clothing mixtures, etc.
• Have reasons, but not obvious
• Test obedience and discipline

ALL HAVE REASONS:

• Nothing arbitrary in Torah
• Some reasons we can know
• Some reasons unknowable (but exist)
• Purpose: Cultivate intellectual and moral virtue

POLITICAL DIMENSION:

• Torah = perfect political law
• Combines: Moral education + social order + theological truth
• Like Plato’s Republic, but divinely authored

MESSIANIC IMPLICATION:

• In messianic age: Still keep commandments
• But emphasis shifts from political to intellectual
• Perfected society enables universal philosophy

4. Prophecy and Revelation

NATURALISTIC ACCOUNT (Radical for His Time):

PROPHECY = PERFECTION:

• Intellectual perfection (metaphysics)
• Moral perfection (virtues)
• Imaginative perfection (strong imagination)
• Physical perfection (health)

MECHANISM:

• Active Intellect (cosmic intellect) → human intellect (overflow)
• If imagination also strong → symbolic visions
• If imagination weak/absent → pure knowledge (Moses)

LEVELS:

1. Inspiration: Judges, heroes (not technically prophets)
2. Dreams: Visions in sleep
3. Symbolic visions: Most prophets
4. Moses: Unique – no imaginative veil, direct intellectual apprehension

TRUTH OF PROPHECY:

• True prophet: Correctly receives overflow
• False prophet: Strong imagination, weak intellect (madness)
• How to test: Predictions come true, leads to true worship

MIRACLE:

• God can prevent prophecy (even in qualified person)
• God cannot grant prophecy (to unqualified person)
• Exception: Moses (supernatural)

IMPLICATIONS:

• Biblical prophets = philosophers
• Can understand prophecy through philosophy
• Symbolic language = philosophical truths
• Account of Chariot (Ezekiel) = Aristotelian metaphysics
• Creation story = natural philosophy

CONTROVERSIES:

• Too naturalistic?
• Reduces revelation to natural phenomenon
• But: Preserves miraculous element (God can prevent)

5. Knowledge of God

RADICAL NEGATIVE THEOLOGY:

THE PROBLEM:

• God is absolutely simple (no composition)
• Attributes imply composition
• Saying “God is wise, powerful, good” = three things in God
• Contradicts unity

SOLUTION: NEGATIVE PREDICATION:

• Attributes are negative
• “God is living” = “God is not dead”
• “God is powerful” = “God is not weak”
• “God is knowing” = “God is not ignorant”

ATTRIBUTES OF ACTION:

• Describe God’s effects, not essence
• “God is merciful” = “God acts in ways that resemble mercy”
• But God has no emotions

WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT GOD?

• God exists
• God is one
• God is not composite
• THAT’S IT
• All else: Negative or relational

IMPLICATIONS:

• Very austere theology
• Prayer becomes problematic
• Anthropomorphism completely rejected
• Influenced Christian scholastics (analogical predication)

PRACTICAL CONCESSION:

• Common people can use positive attributes
• Philosophers know they’re not literally true
• Esoteric vs. exoteric teaching

6. Free Will and Determinism

ABSOLUTE FREE WILL:

MAIMONIDES’ POSITION:

• Humans have absolute free will
• No physical or astrological determinism
• No divine predestination
• “This is a fundamental principle and pillar of the Torah”

ARGUMENTS:

1. MORAL: Without free will, no reward/punishment justifiable
2. SCRIPTURAL: Torah commands – implies we can obey or disobey
3. RATIONAL: Humans are rational agents
4. EXPERIENTIAL: We experience ourselves as free

RECONCILING WITH DIVINE OMNISCIENCE:

• God knows future choices
• But doesn’t determine them
• HOW?: “Let God know what God knows”
• Maimonides admits this is mystery
• God’s knowledge not like human knowledge
• Beyond human comprehension

AGAINST ASTROLOGY:

• Fierce opponent of astrology
• Stars have no causal power over human choices
• Astrology = idolatry
• Natural world operates by natural law
• But human choice transcends natural law

PROVIDENCE:

• Compatible with free will
• Providence = God’s knowledge + reward/punishment
• Doesn’t determine choices, responds to them

7. The Problem of Anthropomorphism

MAIMONIDES’ CRUSADE:

THE PROBLEM:

• Bible describes God: Hand, face, sitting, walking, angry, jealous
• Common people take literally
• Implies God has body

MAIMONIDES’ SOLUTION:

ALL METAPHORICAL:

• “Hand of God” = power
• “Face of God” = favor/attention
• “God sits” = permanence
• “God walks” = providence
• “God is angry” = acts of punishment (no actual emotion)

SYSTEMATIC INTERPRETATION:

• Part I of Guide: Goes through biblical anthropomorphisms
• Provides non-corporeal interpretations
• Uses Hebrew philology
• Appeals to prophetic symbolism

STAKES:

• Believing God has body = heresy
• No share in World to Come
• This was controversial – many medieval Jews thought God had body!
• Maimonides: Materialist conception of God = idol worship

IMPLICATIONS:

• Transformed Jewish theology
• Set standard: God is incorporeal
• Influenced Christian scholasticism
• Basis for sophisticated philosophical theology

Part VII: Maimonides and Science

Medical Career

MAIMONIDES THE PHYSICIAN:

• Primary profession: Medicine
• Court physician to Saladin’s vizier
• Famous in both Muslim and Jewish communities
• Saw patients all day, studied medicine at night
• Medicine = way he earned living (didn’t take money for rabbinical duties)

MEDICAL PHILOSOPHY:

• Followed Galenic medicine (dominant system)
• Four humors: Blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile
• Health = balance; disease = imbalance
• Preventive medicine emphasized
• Diet, exercise, mental health
• Holistic approach: Mind-body connection

MEDICAL WORKS:

1. Extracts from Galen

• Condensed Galen’s medical works
• Made Greek medicine accessible in Arabic

2. Medical Aphorisms (25 treatises)

• Organized medical knowledge by topic
• Anatomy, physiology, pathology, therapeutics
• Critical approach – doesn’t blindly follow Galen

3. On Asthma

• Written for al-Fadil’s son
• Dietary and climate recommendations
• Psychological factors in disease

4. On Poisons and Their Antidotes

• Practical treatise
• Snakebites, scorpion stings, toxic drugs

5. Regimen of Health

• Written for al-Fadil
• Preventive medicine
• Diet, sleep, exercise, mental health
• “Let nothing prevent you from entering the bath once a week”

6. On Sexual Intercourse

• Written for nephew of Saladin
• Sexual health, aphrodisiacs
• Medical not religious perspective

MEDICAL ETHICS:

• Prayer of Maimonides (possibly spurious, but reflects his approach): 
  • Emphasis on compassion
  • Learning from all sources
  • Humility about medical knowledge
• Equal treatment regardless of religion
• Doctor’s duty to preserve life above almost all else

INTEGRATION WITH PHILOSOPHY:

• Medicine = practical philosophy
• Body-soul connection
• Health necessary for intellectual perfection
• Some commandments have medical rationale

Astronomy

MAIMONIDES AND ASTRONOMY:

• Guide Part II: Discusses cosmology extensively
• Accepts Ptolemaic system (geocentric)
• But: Critical stance

PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM:

• Earth at center
• Celestial spheres rotate
• Each sphere: An intelligence (angel) moves it
• Stars and planets embedded in spheres
• Complicated epicycles to explain retrograde motion

MAIMONIDES’ POSITION:

• Accepts general framework
• But: Uncomfortable with epicycles
• “I think we should not overconfidently accept the Ptolemaic system”
• Admits: Astronomy is complicated, we don’t fully understand
• Against dogmatism in science

ASTROLOGICAL DETERMINISM:

• Strongly rejects astrology
• Stars don’t determine human fate
• But: Stars do have influence on sublunar world (weather, etc.)
• Distinction: Natural causation (yes) vs. fate/destiny (no)

PROPHETIC ASTRONOMY:

• Account of Chariot (Ezekiel 1) = astronomical/cosmological knowledge
• Prophets had advanced scientific knowledge
• But encoded in symbolic visions

Natural Philosophy (Physics)

ARISTOTELIAN PHYSICS:

• Maimonides accepts broadly Aristotelian framework
• Four elements: Earth, water, air, fire
• Natural motions: Earth/water down, air/fire up
• Celestial realm: Different substance (aether)
• Unchanging heavens vs. changing sublunar world

FOUR CAUSES:

• Material cause (matter)
• Formal cause (form)
• Efficient cause (agent)
• Final cause (purpose)
• Maimonides uses this framework to explain commandments

MATTER AND FORM:

• All material beings are composites
• Matter = potentiality
• Form = actuality
• Matter individuates (makes things particular)
• Form is universal

CAUSATION:

• Real causation in nature
• Against Islamic occasionalism (only God causes)
• Secondary causes exist (creatures really cause effects)
• But: Ultimately dependent on God (primary cause)

MIRACLES:

• Prefer naturalistic explanations where possible
• If miracle necessary: Minimally supernatural
• Perhaps miracles “programmed” into nature at creation
• Splitting of Red Sea: Maybe unusual wind patterns
• Manna: Maybe natural substance (with providential timing)

SCIENTIFIC METHOD:

• Observation important
• But reason superior to observation
• Can correct sense experience through reason
• Trust mathematical demonstration most

Integration of Science and Religion

MAIMONIDES’ APPROACH:

HIERARCHY OF KNOWLEDGE:

1. Mathematics: Most certain (demonstration)
2. Logic: Foundation of all science
3. Natural philosophy (physics): Study of nature
4. Metaphysics: Study of God and incorporeal beings
5. Divine law (Torah): Contains all truths, but in encoded form

SCIENCE AS PREREQUISITE:

• Must study logic, mathematics, physics before metaphysics
• Must study metaphysics before understanding Torah’s secrets
• Account of Creation (Ma’aseh Bereshit) = natural philosophy
• Account of Chariot (Ma’aseh Merkavah) = metaphysics
• Curriculum: Logic → Math → Physics → Metaphysics → Esoteric Torah

SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE:

• No conflict when both properly understood
• Apparent conflicts: Reinterpret scripture
• Example: “Firmament” in Genesis – not solid dome, just appearance
• Example: Six days of creation – not literal 24-hour days (?)

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS:

• Medical knowledge helps understand dietary laws
• Astronomical knowledge helps with calendar
• Physics helps understand miracles (natural explanations where possible)

LIMITS:

• Science can’t prove everything
• Creation ex nihilo: Beyond scientific proof
• World to Come: Beyond natural philosophy
• Some commandments: No scientific explanation (chukim)

Part VIII: Legacy and Contemporary Relevance

Maimonides in Modern Jewish Denominations

ORTHODOX JUDAISM:

• MODERN ORTHODOX: 
  • Maimonides as model: Torah u-Madda (Torah and science)
  • Integration of secular knowledge and Torah
  • Yeshiva University: Maimonidean approach
  • Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik: Neo-Maimonidean philosophy
  • Study Guide and Mishneh Torah equally
• HAREDI (ULTRA-ORTHODOX): 
  • Complicated relationship
  • Mishneh Torah: Absolutely authoritative
  • Guide: More ambivalent – some study, some avoid
  • Prefer Talmud study over philosophy
  • Fear: Philosophy undermines simple faith
  • But: Respect Maimonides’ legal authority absolutely

CONSERVATIVE/MASORTI:

• Historical-critical approach
• Maimonides as model of engaged Judaism
• Adapt his method (synthesis) not necessarily conclusions
• Legal flexibility inspired partly by Maimonidean reasoning

REFORM:

• Uses Maimonides selectively
• Emphasizes: Rationalism, ethical monotheism, prophetic message
• Less emphasis on legal authority
• Maimonides’ distinction (eternal truths vs. temporal laws) supports reform

RECONSTRUCTIONIST:

• Less engaged with Maimonides
• More interested in Kaplan’s naturalism
• But appreciate rationalist approach

RENEWAL/JEWISH MYSTICISM:

• Generally prefer Kabbalah
• Maimonides seen as too rationalist
• Though some synthesis attempts

Contemporary Academic Study

FIELDS OF STUDY:

1. MAIMONIDES IN CONTEXT:

• Sarah Stroumsa: Andalusian context
• Joel Kraemer: Maimonides in Islamic culture
• Herbert Davidson: Philosophical sources

2. LEGAL WORKS:

• Isadore Twersky: Integration of law and philosophy
• Menachem Kellner: Theological implications of Mishneh Torah
• Raymond Weiss: Ethical theory

3. GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED:

• Leo Strauss: Esoteric reading
• Shlomo Pines: Translation and commentary
• Josef Stern: Metaphor and allegory
• Kenneth Seeskin: Metaphysics and theology
• Alfred Ivry: Arabic philosophical context

4. MEDICAL WORKS:

• Fred Rosner: Translation and commentary
• Medical historians studying Maimonidean medicine

5. CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES:

• Warren Harvey: Maimonides on attributes
• Daniel Frank: Maimonides and medieval Jewish philosophy
• Gad Freudenthal: Science in Maimonides

DEBATES:

• How esoteric?: Straussian vs. plain reading
• Rationalist vs. traditionalist?: Kellner vs. Shapiro debate
• Resurrection: Did he really believe?
• Influence direction: More influenced by Islam or more original?

Modern Philosophical Relevance

IN JEWISH PHILOSOPHY:

• Absolute foundation
• Every Jewish philosopher post-Maimonides responds to him
• Pro or contra, cannot ignore

IN GENERAL PHILOSOPHY:

1. PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION:

• Negative theology influential
• Classical theism debates
• Faith and reason relationship
• Problem of religious language

2. ETHICS:

• Virtue ethics: Golden Mean influential
• Character development over rule-following
• Integration of ethics and metaphysics

3. POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY:

• Leo Strauss: Maimonides on esotericism and political philosophy
• Relationship between philosophy and society
• Philosopher-king (prophet-lawgiver)

4. MEDIEVAL PHILOSOPHY:

• Essential figure in medieval Aristotelianism
• Bridge between Islamic and Christian philosophy
• Jewish contribution to medieval synthesis

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES:

Science and Religion:

• Model for integration (for some)
• Shows possibility of synthesis
• But: His science is outdated – can method still work?

Fundamentalism vs. Liberalism:

• Both sides claim Maimonides
• Fundamentalists: Firm in halakhah
• Liberals: Rationalist approach, willing to reinterpret
• Maimonides himself: Paradox of rigid law + radical philosophy

Esotericism:

• Straussian political philosophy uses Maimonides as model
• Hidden teaching for elite
• Politically necessary concealment
• Controversial: Is this anti-democratic?

Maimonides and Interfaith Dialogue

CHRISTIAN-JEWISH DIALOGUE:

• Shared Aristotelian framework with Aquinas
• Negative theology common ground
• Proofs for God’s existence similar
• Differences: Clearly articulated (Trinity, Incarnation, law)
• Model of respectful philosophical disagreement

ISLAMIC-JEWISH DIALOGUE:

• Maimonides lived in Islamic world, wrote in Arabic
• Shared philosophical tradition
• Common sources: al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes
• Legal methodology similarities (fiqh vs. halakhah)
• Historical complication: Forced conversion experience

CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE:

• Abrahamic monotheism: Shared commitments
• But: Maimonides not ecumenical – clear about Jewish truth
• Can appreciate other traditions philosophically while maintaining Jewish commitment
• Model: Intellectual engagement without syncretism

Critiques and Limitations

FROM WITHIN JUDAISM:

1. Too Rationalist:

• Undermines simple faith
• Not everyone can be philosopher
• What about common people?
• Kabbalah offers alternative (experiential, mystical)

2. Elitism:

• Intellectual perfection = salvation
• What about those who can’t study philosophy?
• Seems to devalue practical mitzvot
• Contradicts rabbinic emphasis on deeds

3. Legal Controversies:

• Mishneh Torah too definitive
• No citations makes verification difficult
• Some rulings contradict Talmud
• Appears arrogant

4. Resurrection:

• Seems to deny bodily resurrection
• Had to write Treatise on Resurrection to clarify
• But still ambiguous

FROM MODERN PHILOSOPHY:

1. Outdated Science:

• Aristotelian physics wrong
• Ptolemaic astronomy wrong
• Galenic medicine superseded
• Undermines science-Torah synthesis

2. Failed Synthesis:

• Tensions never resolved
• Creation vs. eternity: Unsatisfying compromise
• Divine knowledge vs. human freedom: Mystery, not solution
• Esotericism = admission of failure?

3. Gender Issues:

• Women excluded from higher intellectual perfection (no Torah study obligation)
• Reflects 13th-century norms
• Hard to adapt for modernity

4. Religious Exclusivism:

• Only Jews have Torah, highest revelation
• Christianity and Islam: Preparatory, not final truth
• Difficult for pluralist age

FROM SECULAR PERSPECTIVE:

1. Philosophy Subordinated:

• Despite rationalism, Torah has final word
• Reason limited by revelation
• Not truly free inquiry

2. Authoritarianism:

• Halakhic system is coercive
• Medieval context: Compulsory Jewish law
• Modern democracy: Problematic

3. Esotericism:

• Anti-democratic
• Truth for elite only
• Masses kept in darkness
• Leo Strauss accused of reviving this

Part IX: Reading Maimonides – Practical Guide

Primary Texts: Where to Start

FOR BEGINNERS (No Background):

1. Start Here: Eight Chapters (Introduction to Pirkei Avot)

• Short (~20 pages)
• Clear, accessible
• Ethics: Virtue, Golden Mean, free will
• No complex metaphysics
• Shows Maimonides’ clarity

Translation:

• Raymond Weiss translation in Ethical Writings of Maimonides (good)
• Available in many editions

2. Then: Thirteen Principles of Faith

• From Commentary on the Mishnah
• Basic Jewish theology according to Maimonides
• Foundation beliefs
• Short, clear

3. Selections from Mishneh Torah – Book of Knowledge:

• Laws of Repentance: Ethics and free will
• Laws of Torah Study: How and why to study
• Available in many editions, often excerpted

Recommended Edition:

• Moznaim Publishing (multi-volume English)
• Or: Find excerpts in anthologies

FOR INTERMEDIATE (Some Background):

4. Guide for the Perplexed – Part I:

• Easier than Parts II-III
• Biblical interpretation
• Attributes of God
• Prophecy
• Can read without full philosophical background

Translation:

• Shlomo Pines translation (University of Chicago Press, 1963) – standard, scholarly
• Michael Friedländer translation (older, Victorian English, free online)

How to Approach:

• Don’t try to read straight through first time
• Use Pines’ introduction
• Read with commentary (Ravitzky, Stern, others)

5. Selected Letters:

• Epistle to Yemen: Consolation during persecution
• Letter on Astrology: Against determinism
• Letter on Apostasy: Forced conversion

Available in:

• Isadore Twersky, A Maimonides Reader
• Various anthologies

FOR ADVANCED (Serious Study):

6. Guide for the Perplexed – Parts II and III:

• Creation and eternity
• Providence and evil
• Commandments and their reasons
• Ultimate perfection
• Very difficult, requires philosophical background

Study Aids:

• Leo Strauss, “How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed“
• Josef Stern, The Matter and Form of Maimonides’ Guide
• Kenneth Seeskin, Searching for a Distant God
• Sarah Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World

7. Mishneh Torah (Complete):

• 14 volumes
• Can focus on particular areas: 
  • Book 1 (Knowledge): Theology and ethics
  • Book 14 (Judges): Messianic age
  • Specific legal topics as interested

Translation:

• Moznaim Publishing (complete English)
• Yale Judaica Series (complete English, scholarly notes)

8. Commentary on the Mishnah:

• Line-by-line commentary
• Requires knowing the Mishnah itself
• Best for those with Talmudic background

Translation:

• Partially translated (no complete English edition)

9. Medical and Scientific Works:

• If interested in history of medicine/science
• Fred Rosner translations (various titles)

Secondary Literature by Level

INTRODUCTIONS (Start Here):

1. Marvin Fox, Interpreting Maimonides (1990)
   • Excellent introduction
   • Balanced perspective
   • Covers major themes
2. Kenneth Seeskin, Maimonides: A Guide for Today’s Perplexed (1991)
   • Accessible, contemporary relevance
   • Good for beginners
3. Moshe Halbertal, Maimonides: Life and Thought (2014)
   • Biography integrated with philosophy
   • Readable, scholarly
   • Good overview
4. Oliver Leaman, Moses Maimonides (2013)
   • Short, clear introduction
   • Part of “Routledge Philosophers” series

INTERMEDIATE:

1. Isadore Twersky, Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah) (1980)
   • Classic study
   • Integration of law and philosophy
   • Essential for understanding Mishneh Torah
2. Joel Kraemer, Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization’s Greatest Minds (2008)
   • Comprehensive biography
   • Historical context
   • Islamic world focus
3. David Hartman, Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest (1976)
   • Religious perspective
   • Maimonides for modern Judaism
   • Readable
4. Herbert Davidson, Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works (2005)
   • Thorough, scholarly
   • All major works covered
   • Good reference
5. Sarah Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World (2009)
   • Andalusian and Islamic context
   • Portrait of intellectual life
   • Excellent for understanding influences

ADVANCED:

1. Leo Strauss, “How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed” (1963)
   • In Pines translation introduction
   • Essential for esoteric reading
   • Controversial but influential
2. Shlomo Pines, Translator’s Introduction to the Guide (1963)
   • Scholarly, comprehensive
   • Philosophical sources
   • 130 pages of dense scholarship
3. Josef Stern, The Matter and Form of Maimonides’ Guide (2013)
   • Contemporary analytic philosophy approach
   • Metaphor and interpretation
   • Technical
4. Kenneth Seeskin, Searching for a Distant God: The Legacy of Maimonides (2000)
   • Philosophical analysis
   • Negative theology focus
   • Advanced
5. Menachem Kellner, Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism (2006)
   • Argues Maimonides anti-mystical
   • Controversial thesis
   • Scholarly
6. Warren Harvey, Physics and Metaphysics in Hasdai Crescas (1998)
   • Includes extensive Maimonides background
   • Technical philosophy
7. Alfred Ivry, Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: A Philosophical Guide (2016)
   • Chapter-by-chapter commentary
   • Philosophical analysis
   • Recent scholarship

COLLECTIONS:

1. Isadore Twersky (ed.), A Maimonides Reader (1972)
   • Essential selections
   • Good translations
   • Helpful introductions
2. Kenneth Seeskin (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides (2005)
   • Essays by leading scholars
   • Covers all major topics
   • Excellent reference

SPECIALIZED TOPICS:

On the Controversy:

• Daniel Frank, The Religious Philosophy of the Saadya Gaon (includes Maimonidean controversy context)
• Marc Saperstein, Decoding the Rabbis

On Science:

• Y. Tzvi Langermann, The Jews and the Sciences in the Middle Ages
• Gad Freudenthal, Science in Medieval Jewish Cultures

On Medicine:

• Fred Rosner, The Medical Legacy of Moses Maimonides

On Ethics:

• Raymond Weiss, Maimonides’ Ethics: The Encounter of Philosophic and Religious Morality

On Law:

• Gerald Blidstein, Political Concepts in Maimonidean Halakha

Study Paths

PATH 1: GENERAL READER (No Background)

1. Moshe Halbertal, Maimonides: Life and Thought (biography)
2. Eight Chapters (primary text)
3. Thirteen Principles of Faith (primary text)
4. Kenneth Seeskin, Maimonides: A Guide for Today’s Perplexed
5. Selections from Mishneh Torah – Book of Knowledge (primary text)
6. Guide for the Perplexed, Part I (primary text with commentary)

PATH 2: JEWISH STUDIES STUDENT

1. Joel Kraemer, Maimonides (biography with context)
2. Eight Chapters and Thirteen Principles
3. Isadore Twersky, Introduction to the Code
4. Mishneh Torah, Book of Knowledge (complete)
5. Isadore Twersky, A Maimonides Reader (selections)
6. Guide for the Perplexed, complete (Pines translation)
7. Twersky (ed.), Studies in Maimonides (essays)
8. Seeskin (ed.), Cambridge Companion

PATH 3: PHILOSOPHER

1. Kenneth Seeskin, Maimonides: A Guide for Today’s Perplexed (overview)
2. Guide for the Perplexed, Part I (primary text)
3. Leo Strauss, “How to Begin to Study the Guide”
4. Guide, Parts II-III (primary text)
5. Pines, Translator’s Introduction
6. Josef Stern, Matter and Form of Maimonides’ Guide
7. Kenneth Seeskin, Searching for a Distant God
8. Seeskin (ed.), Cambridge Companion (selected essays)
9. Comparison with Aquinas, Avicenna, Averroes

PATH 4: RABBINIC/LEGAL SCHOLAR

1. Mishneh Torah, Book of Knowledge (primary text)
2. Isadore Twersky, Introduction to the Code
3. Mishneh Torah, other volumes by interest/need
4. Responsa and letters
5. Commentary on Mishnah (selections)
6. Legal codes that follow Maimonides (Tur, Shulchan Aruch)
7. Comparative study with other authorities

PATH 5: ADVANCED ACADEMIC

1. Complete Mishneh Torah (Hebrew preferred)
2. Complete Guide (Judeo-Arabic or Hebrew preferred)
3. Pines translation with both introductions
4. Strauss, entire corpus on Maimonides
5. Twersky, complete works
6. Stern, Matter and Form
7. Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World
8. Davidson, Man and His Works
9. Specialized studies on specific topics
10. Arabic philosophical sources (al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes)
11. Manuscript studies and textual criticism

How to Read Maimonides: Methodological Advice

1. EXPECT DIFFICULTY:

• Maimonides is hard, even for experts
• Don’t expect to understand everything first time
• Multiple readings reveal new layers

2. LEARN THE CONTEXT:

• 13th-century Aristotelian philosophy
• Islamic philosophy (al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes)
• Rabbinic literature (at least basics)
• Historical situation (Almohads, Egypt, etc.)

3. USE GOOD TRANSLATIONS:

• Pines for Guide (despite Victorian English in places)
• Moznaim or Yale for Mishneh Torah
• Multiple translations help understanding

4. READ WITH COMMENTARY:

• Don’t read Guide without secondary literature
• Traditional commentaries (Shem Tov, Ephodi, Abravanel)
• Modern scholarship

5. WATCH FOR CONTRADICTIONS:

• Maimonides deliberately contradicts himself sometimes
• Note them, think about why
• Esoteric teaching encoded in contradictions

6. DISTINGUISH AUDIENCE:

• Who is Maimonides writing for?
• Common people or philosophers?
• Exoteric or esoteric level?

7. COMPARE WITH OTHER WORKS:

• Mishneh Torah vs. Guide – differences?
• Early vs. late – evolution?
• Letters – more casual, revealing

8. JOIN A STUDY GROUP:

• Maimonides is too hard to read alone
• Find others studying
• Online forums, university classes, synagogue study groups

9. BE PATIENT:

• Understanding Maimonides takes years
• Scholars spend lifetimes
• Start with easier works, build up

10. THINK ABOUT CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE:

• What speaks to today?
• What is outdated?
• How to apply insights?

Part X: Common Misunderstandings and Corrections

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #1: “Maimonides was a rationalist who didn’t really believe in Judaism”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides was devoutly observant Jew his entire life
• Leader of Jewish community
• Spent lifetime codifying Jewish law
• Daily practice of all commandments
• BUT: Understood Judaism philosophically
• Integration, not contradiction
• Not “secret atheist” – committed rationalist believer

EVIDENCE:

• Entire life devoted to Jewish law and community
• Risked life fleeing Almohad persecution rather than convert
• Mishneh Torah – life’s work codifying Jewish law
• Letters show deep personal faith
• Medical career – but made time for Torah study despite exhaustion

STRAUSS DEBATE:

• Leo Strauss suggested esoteric unbelief
• Controversial, minority view
• Most scholars reject this
• Maimonides = faithful Jew who philosophized, not philosopher who pretended

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #2: “The Mishneh Torah replaces the Talmud”

CORRECTION:

• Mishneh Torah is organized legal code
• Makes law accessible
• But does NOT replace Talmud study
• Maimonides himself studied Talmud constantly
• Code = practical reference
• Talmud = intellectual-spiritual practice
• Intended to complement, not replace

HISTORICAL REACTION:

• This was the accusation made by opponents
• Maimonides denied it
• Said he’d write separate work with sources (never completed)
• Later codes (Tur, Shulchan Aruch) do cite sources
• Today: All serious rabbinic scholars study both

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #3: “Maimonides denied resurrection of the dead”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides affirms resurrection in Thirteen Principles
• Also in Mishneh Torah
• Controversy: How he describes World to Come (seems purely spiritual)
• Accused of denying bodily resurrection
• Wrote Treatise on Resurrection (1191) to clarify
• HIS POSITION: 
  • Bodily resurrection will occur
  • After messianic age
  • Bodies live temporarily, then die again
  • Eternal reward: Spiritual World to Come (incorporeal)
  • Resurrection not the ultimate reward, World to Come is

WHY CONTROVERSIAL:

• Emphasis on spiritual afterlife seemed to diminish resurrection
• But he explicitly affirms bodily resurrection
• Not denial, but subordination

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #4: “Maimonides thought the world is eternal”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides explicitly affirms creation ex nihilo
• States this in Mishneh Torah and Guide
• Not esoteric position – clearly taught
• BUT: Says Aristotle’s arguments for eternity are strong
• No demonstrative proof either way
• Therefore: Accept creation on authority of Torah
• If eternity were proven, might need to reinterpret Torah
• But it’s not proven, so believe creation

CONFUSION:

• His sympathy to eternity arguments led some to think he secretly believed it
• Later Jewish philosophers (Gersonides) did accept eternal creation
• But Maimonides himself: Creation ex nihilo

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #5: “Maimonides was opposed to Kabbalah/mysticism”

CORRECTION:

• COMPLICATED
• “Kabbalah” (esoteric mystical tradition) was just emerging in Maimonides’ time
• He doesn’t discuss Kabbalah specifically (developed after him)
• BUT: Does discuss Ma’aseh Merkavah (Account of Chariot – Ezekiel’s vision)
• His view: This is metaphysics, not mysticism
• Symbolic, not experiential
• Intellectual, not ecstatic

LATER CONFLICT:

• After Maimonides: Kabbalah flourished (Zohar, 1280s)
• Rationalists vs. Kabbalists
• Some Kabbalists anti-Maimonidean
• But others tried to synthesize
• Maimonides himself: Pre-Kabbalah, can’t be simply “anti-mystical”

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #6: “Maimonides was more influential in Christianity than Judaism”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides absolutely foundational in Judaism
• Mishneh Torah: One of three essential legal codes
• Every halakhic discussion references him
• Thirteen Principles: Standard creed
• Used daily in Jewish legal decisions
• In Christianity: Known and respected, but not foundational
• Aquinas cites him often, but Aristotle, Augustine, Bible far more central
• Jewish influence: Pervasive and permanent
• Christian influence: Significant but limited

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #7: “Maimonides was a medieval figure with no contemporary relevance”

CORRECTION:

• Many issues he addressed remain live: 
  • Science and religion integration
  • Religious language and God’s nature
  • Ethics and virtue
  • Law and reason
  • Problem of evil
  • Human perfection and purpose
  • Faith and doubt
• His method (not necessarily conclusions) still relevant
• Model of intellectually serious religion
• Contemporary Jewish philosophy constantly engages him
• Questions he raised: Still unanswered

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #8: “You need to know Arabic/Hebrew to understand Maimonides”

CORRECTION:

• IDEAL: Yes, read in original
• PRACTICAL: Excellent English translations available
• Pines translation of Guide: Scholarly, thorough
• Mishneh Torah: Complete in English (Moznaim, Yale)
• Can study seriously in translation
• For academic research: Original languages essential
• For educated general reading: English sufficient
• BUT: Learn context (medieval philosophy, Talmud basics)

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #9: “Maimonides’ philosophy is just Greek philosophy with Jewish labels”

CORRECTION:

• Uses Aristotelian framework: True
• But: Adapts, modifies, transforms
• Not just adding “God” to Aristotle
• Major differences: 
  • Creation (Aristotle: eternal)
  • Providence (Aristotle: only universal)
  • Prophecy (not in Aristotle)
  • Commandments (specific Jewish content)
  • Personal God (vs. Aristotle’s unmoved mover)
• Synthesis, not substitution
• Aristotle = tool for understanding Judaism, not replacement

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #10: “Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles were immediately accepted as orthodox”

CORRECTION:

• Controversial from the start
• Hasdai Crescas (1340-1410): Critiqued them philosophically
• Joseph Albo (1380-1444): Proposed only 3 fundamental principles
• Some rabbis: All of Torah is fundamental, can’t choose 13
• Became standard gradually
• Yigdal hymn helped popularize
• Today: Generally accepted in traditional communities
• But: Scholarly debate continues

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #11: “Maimonides was against astrology because he was scientific”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides fiercely opposed astrology
• But NOT because he was “scientific” in modern sense
• Rather: Theological reasons 
  • Astrology = idolatry (worshiping creation instead of Creator)
  • Undermines free will
  • Leads to fatalism
  • Stars have no power over human choices
• Accepts: Stars influence weather, sublunar elements
• Rejects: Stars determine human fate
• Moral-theological objection, not empirical

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #12: “Maimonides thought women were intellectually inferior”

CORRECTION:

• UNFORTUNATELY: Maimonides held medieval views on women
• Women not obligated in time-bound positive commandments
• Not obligated in Torah study (though permitted)
• Intellectual perfection harder to achieve without Torah study obligation
• CONTEXT: Universal in medieval world
• Not unique to Maimonides
• Reflects Aristotelian biology (women have less “rational soul”)
• MODERN PROBLEM: How to appropriate Maimonides given this?
• Can’t simply excuse as “product of his time”
• But also can’t reject entire philosophy for this
• Contemporary Jewish feminism: Reclaim and reinterpret

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #13: “Maimonides was a Neoplatonist”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides was Aristotelian, not Neoplatonist
• Critiques Neoplatonic emanation theory
• Prefers Aristotle to Ibn Sina (Avicenna, who was Neoplatonist)
• BUT: Some Neoplatonic elements: 
  • Negative theology (via al-Farabi)
  • Active Intellect mediating between God and humans
  • Intellectual union with divine
• Better description: Aristotelianism with Neoplatonic elements
• Like most medieval Aristotelians (including Aquinas)

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #14: “Maimonides wanted to abolish the commandments”

CORRECTION:

• Absolutely false
• Spent life codifying commandments
• Meticulous personal observance
• CONFUSION ARISES FROM: 
  • Saying sacrifices were concession to paganism
  • Ultimate reward is intellectual (World to Come)
  • Intellectual perfection higher than ritual observance
• BUT: Never suggests stopping commandments
• They are eternal, divinely commanded
• Even in messianic age: Commandments continue
• Purpose of commandments: Facilitate intellectual perfection
• Means, not ends – but necessary means

❌ MISUNDERSTANDING #15: “Maimonides was excommunicated for his philosophy”

CORRECTION:

• Maimonides himself was NEVER excommunicated
• Lived as respected leader of Egyptian Jewish community
• Died in good standing
• AFTER HIS DEATH: Controversy over his books
• Some tried to ban his philosophical works
• But never succeeded permanently
• His opponents (Solomon of Montpellier) wanted ban
• But broader Jewish community rejected this
• Maimonides’ reputation: Grew after death
• “From Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses” – said shortly after his death

Part XI: Complete Bibliographic Resources

Primary Texts in English

MAJOR WORKS:

1. Mishneh Torah (Complete):

• Moznaim Publishing (1990s). Mishneh Torah. Brooklyn: Moznaim. [Multi-volume, accessible translation]
• Yale Judaica Series (various dates). Individual volumes with scholarly introductions.
• Online: Sefaria.org (free, parallel Hebrew-English)

2. Guide for the Perplexed:

• Pines, Shlomo (trans.) (1963). The Guide of the Perplexed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [Standard scholarly translation]
• Friedländer, Michael (trans.) (1904). The Guide for the Perplexed. [Victorian English, free online]
• Schwarz, Michael (trans.) (2002). [Alternate modern translation]

3. Letters and Other Writings:

• Twersky, Isadore (ed.) (1972). A Maimonides Reader. Springfield, NJ: Behrman House.
• Halkin, Abraham (trans.) (1993). Epistles of Maimonides: Crisis and Leadership. Philadelphia: JPS.
• Stitskin, Leon (trans.) (1977). Letters of Maimonides. New York: Yeshiva University Press.

4. Eight Chapters and Ethical Writings:

• Weiss, Raymond (trans.) (1975). Ethical Writings of Maimonides. New York: Dover.
• Gorfinkle, Joseph (trans.) (1912). The Eight Chapters of Maimonides on Ethics.

5. Commentary on the Mishnah (Selections):

• Kafih, Yosef (trans.) (1963-68). [Partial English translation]
• Various volumes in translation, but no complete English edition yet.

6. Medical Works:

• Rosner, Fred (trans.) (Various dates): 
  • (1984). The Medical Aphorisms of Moses Maimonides. Haifa: Maimonides Research Institute.
  • (1989). Moses Maimonides’ Glossary of Drug Names. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society.
  • (1998). The Medical Writings of Moses Maimonides. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.

Secondary Literature: Major Studies

BIOGRAPHIES:

• Halbertal, Moshe (2014). Maimonides: Life and Thought. Princeton: Princeton University Press. [Best recent biography]
• Kraemer, Joel (2008). Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization’s Greatest Minds. New York: Doubleday. [Comprehensive, Islamic context]
• Heschel, Abraham Joshua (1982). Maimonides: A Biography. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. [Spiritual approach]
• Yellin, David & Abrahams, Israel (1903). Maimonides. Philadelphia: JPS. [Classic older biography]

COMPREHENSIVE STUDIES:

• Davidson, Herbert (2005). Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Thorough scholarly treatment]
• Stroumsa, Sarah (2009). Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker. Princeton: Princeton University Press. [Islamic context]
• Twersky, Isadore (1972). Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah). New Haven: Yale University Press. [Essential for legal work]
• Fox, Marvin (1990). Interpreting Maimonides: Studies in Methodology, Metaphysics, and Moral Philosophy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

INTRODUCTIONS:

• Seeskin, Kenneth (1991). Maimonides: A Guide for Today’s Perplexed. Springfield, NJ: Behrman House. [Accessible introduction]
• Leaman, Oliver (2013). Moses Maimonides. Abingdon: Routledge. [Short intro, “Routledge Philosophers” series]
• Goodman, Lenn E. (1976). Rambam: Readings in the Philosophy of Moses Maimonides. New York: Viking. [Selections with commentary]
• Hartman, David (1976). Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest. Philadelphia: JPS. [Religious perspective]

PHILOSOPHICAL STUDIES:

• Strauss, Leo (1952). “How to Begin to Study The Guide of the Perplexed.” In Pines translation. [Essential esoteric reading]
• Pines, Shlomo (1963). “Translator’s Introduction” to The Guide of the Perplexed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [130pp scholarly intro]
• Stern, Josef (2013). The Matter and Form of Maimonides’ Guide. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. [Advanced philosophical analysis]
• Seeskin, Kenneth (2000). Searching for a Distant God: The Legacy of Maimonides. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [Negative theology]
• Ivry, Alfred (2016). Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: A Philosophical Guide. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [Chapter-by-chapter commentary]
• Kellner, Menachem (1986). Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [On Thirteen Principles]
• Kellner, Menachem (1991). Maimonides on Judaism and the Jewish People. Albany: SUNY Press.
• Kellner, Menachem (2006). Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism. Oxford: Littman Library.
• Harvey, Warren Z. (1981). Physics and Metaphysics in Hasdai Crescas. Amsterdam: Gieben. [Includes Maimonides background]
• Kreisel, Howard (1999). Maimonides’ Political Thought: Studies in Ethics, Law, and the Human Ideal. Albany: SUNY Press.

EDITED COLLECTIONS:

• Seeskin, Kenneth (ed.) (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Essential, covers all topics]
• Twersky, Isadore (ed.) (1941). Studies in Maimonides. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
• Dobbs-Weinstein, Idit, et al. (eds.) (2004). Maimonides and His Heritage. Albany: SUNY Press.
• Kraemer, Joel (ed.) (1991). Perspectives on Maimonides: Philosophical and Historical Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

SPECIALIZED TOPICS:

Ethics:

• Weiss, Raymond (1991). Maimonides’ Ethics: The Encounter of Philosophic and Religious Morality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Blidstein, Gerald (2001). Political Concepts in Maimonidean Halakha. Ramat Gan: Bar Ilan University Press.

Medicine:

• Rosner, Fred (1995). The Medical Legacy of Moses Maimonides. Hoboken, NJ: KTAV.
• Rosner, Fred & Kottek, Samuel (eds.) (1993). Moses Maimonides: Physician, Scientist, and Philosopher. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.

Science:

• Freudenthal, Gad (2012). Science in Medieval Jewish Cultures. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [Includes Maimonides]
• Langermann, Y. Tzvi (2011). The Jews and the Sciences in the Middle Ages. Aldershot: Ashgate.

The Controversy:

• Frank, Daniel (ed.) (1997). A Straight Path: Studies in Medieval Philosophy and Culture. [Includes essays on controversy]
• Saperstein, Marc (1989). Decoding the Rabbis: A Thirteenth-Century Commentary on the Aggadah. [Context for controversy]

Context:

• Hyman, Arthur & Walsh, James (eds.) (1973). Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Indianapolis: Hackett. [Includes Maimonides in context]
• Frank, Daniel & Leaman, Oliver (eds.) (2003). The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Academic Articles (Selected)

Essential Articles:

• Altmann, Alexander (1969). “Maimonides’ Four Perfections.” Israel Oriental Studies 2: 15-24.
• Berman, Lawrence (1980). “Maimonides, the Disciple of Alfarabi.” Israel Oriental Studies 4: 154-178.
• Davidson, Herbert (1987). “Maimonides’ Secret Position on Creation.” In Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature, ed. Isadore Twersky, 16-40.
• Feldman, Seymour (1980). “The End of the Universe in Medieval Jewish Philosophy.” AJS Review 11(1): 53-77.
• Harvey, Warren Z. (1991). “Maimonides’ First Commandment, Physics, and Doubt.” In Hazon Nahum, 149-162.
• Ivry, Alfred (1991). “Neoplatonic Currents in Maimonides’ Thought.” In Perspectives on Maimonides, ed. Joel Kraemer, 115-140.
• Pines, Shlomo (1979). “The Limitations of Human Knowledge According to Al-Farabi, ibn Bajja, and Maimonides.” In Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature, ed. Isadore Twersky, 82-109.
• Ravitzky, Aviezer (1981). “Samuel ibn Tibbon and the Esoteric Character of the Guide.” AJS Review 6: 87-123.

Digital Resources

PRIMARY TEXTS ONLINE:

1. Sefaria.org – Complete Mishneh Torah and other works in parallel Hebrew-English (free)
2. Internet Archive – Friedländer translation of Guide (free)
3. Jewish Virtual Library – Selections and summaries
4. Mechon Mamre – Complete Hebrew texts

SECONDARY RESOURCES:

1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Article on Maimonides (scholarly, regularly updated)
2. Project MUSE – Academic articles (subscription)
3. JSTOR – Academic articles (subscription or free with library)
4. Academia.edu – Scholars post papers (free)

Glossary of Key Terms

Philosophical Terms

Active Intellect (sekhel ha-po’el): In Aristotelian philosophy, the cosmic intellect that actuates human potential intellect. For Maimonides, the source of prophecy and human intellectual perfection.

Attributes of Action (middot ha-pe’ulah): Descriptions of God based on His effects rather than His essence (e.g., “merciful” means God acts mercifully, not that God has the emotion of mercy).

Demonstration (mofet): Apodictic proof; certain knowledge through logical reasoning from necessary premises.

Emanation (shefa): Neoplatonic concept of how effects flow from cause. Maimonides uses it carefully, modified by Aristotelian notions.

Form (tzurah): In Aristotelian hylomorphism, the actuality or essence that determines what a thing is.

Ma’aseh Bereshit (Account of Creation): Genesis creation narrative. For Maimonides, encodes natural philosophy (physics).

Ma’aseh Merkavah (Account of the Chariot): Ezekiel’s throne-chariot vision (Ezekiel 1). For Maimonides, encodes metaphysics.

Matter (homer): In Aristotelian hylomorphism, the potentiality or substrate that individuates.

Necessary Existent (wajib al-wujud): That which exists by its own nature and cannot not exist (God). Vs. “possible existent” (everything else).

Negative Theology (via negativa): Method of describing God by what He is not, rather than positive attributes.

Possible Existent (mumkin al-wujud): That which might exist or might not exist; requires a cause (everything except God).

Privation (he’eder): Absence of perfection; for Maimonides, evil is privation of good, not positive reality.

Legal/Rabbinic Terms

Cherem: Excommunication; ban from Jewish community.

Chukim (Decrees): Commandments without obvious rational explanation (e.g., dietary laws).

Edot (Testimonies): Commandments commemorating historical events (e.g., Sabbath, Passover).

Gaon (pl. Geonim): Leaders of Babylonian Jewish academies (6th-11th centuries).

Halakhah: Jewish law; legal practice.

Herem de-Rabbeinu Gershom: Ban issued by Rabbenu Gershom (11th century); later used for various prohibitions.

Mishpatim (Judgments): Rational moral laws (e.g., prohibitions on murder, theft).

Mishnah: First major written collection of Jewish oral law (edited ~200 CE).

Mitzvah (pl. mitzvot): Commandment; Jewish law or obligation.

Nagid: Jewish communal leader (literally “prince”).

Responsa (she’elot u-teshuvot): Rabbinic answers to legal questions.

Talmud: Central text of rabbinic Judaism; commentary on Mishnah (Babylonian ~500 CE, Jerusalem ~400 CE).

Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot: Reasons for the commandments.

Yeshiva: Traditional Jewish academy for Torah study.

Historical/Cultural Terms

Almohad Dynasty: Fundamentalist Berber Muslim dynasty that conquered Spain and North Africa (1147-1269), forcing conversions.

Al-Andalus: Muslim-ruled Iberian Peninsula (711-1492).

Ashkenazic: Jews of Central and Eastern European descent.

Converso: Jew who converted to Christianity (often forced); also called anusim (forced ones).

Dhimmi: Protected non-Muslim minority under Islamic law (Jews, Christians).

Karaites: Jewish sect rejecting rabbinic authority, accepting only written Torah.

Maimonidean Controversy: 13th-century debates over whether to study Maimonides’ philosophical works.

Sephardic: Jews of Iberian (Spanish/Portuguese) descent.

Religious Concepts

Active Intellect: See Philosophical Terms.

Olam Ha-Ba (World to Come): Eternal afterlife; for Maimonides, incorporeal existence of actualized intellects.

Prophecy (nevuah): Divine communication; for Maimonides, natural perfection of intellect and imagination.

Providence (hashgachah): God’s knowledge and care for individuals; for Maimonides, proportional to intellectual perfection.

Resurrection (techiyat ha-metim): Revival of the dead; Maimonides affirms bodily resurrection followed by death, then eternal World to Come.

Thirteen Principles (Shloshah Asar Ikkarim): Maimonides’ thirteen fundamental beliefs of Judaism (later became standard creed).

Tsimtsum: Kabbalistic concept (post-Maimonides) of God’s “contraction”; not relevant to Maimonides’ thought.

Conclusion: The Enduring Maimonides

Moses ben Maimon – physician, jurist, philosopher, communal leader – created the most comprehensive synthesis of Jewish tradition and Aristotelian philosophy ever attempted. Working in 12th-century Egypt, under Muslim rule, in an era of persecution and upheaval, he produced works that remain authoritative 800 years later.

His Achievement:

• Legal: Codified all of Jewish law in systematic, accessible form (Mishneh Torah)
• Philosophical: Reconciled Torah with Aristotelian philosophy while maintaining Jewish commitments (Guide)
• Theological: Articulated Jewish beliefs systematically (Thirteen Principles)
• Medical: Advanced medical knowledge in his time
• Ethical: Developed Jewish virtue ethics based on Aristotelian Golden Mean

His Paradox:

• Rigorous legal traditionalist AND radical philosophical rationalist
• Revered AND condemned
• Foundation of tradition AND controversial heretic
• Clear systematizer AND esoteric writer

His Legacy:

• Absolutely foundational for Jewish law
• Central for Jewish philosophy
• Influential in Christian scholasticism
• Model of faith-reason integration
• Perpetually controversial and debated

Why He Matters Today:

• Integration of science and religion (method, not conclusions)
• Intellectual honesty within religious commitment
• Systematic thinking about Jewish law
• Ethical framework (virtue ethics)
• Questions that remain unanswered: Providence, evil, God’s nature, human purpose

“From Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses” – The traditional epithet captures both his achievement and his uniqueness. Moses received Torah at Sinai; Maimonides systematized and interpreted it for the philosophical age. Whether one accepts his answers or not, his questions, method, and intellectual courage remain exemplary.

No subsequent Jewish philosopher has escaped his influence. Every major Jewish thinker since must position themselves in relation to Maimonides – in agreement, disagreement, or attempted synthesis. He defined the terms of debate for Jewish philosophy and law.

For those who wish to understand medieval philosophy, Jewish thought, or the perennial questions of faith and reason, Maimonides remains indispensable.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY – See Part XI for complete bibliographic resources including all primary texts in English translation and comprehensive secondary literature from introductory to advanced levels.