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Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest
In this original study, noted scholar and theologian David Hartman discusses the relation between Maimonides' halakhic writings and The Guide of the Perplexed--a connection much closer than is generally supposed. Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest demonstrates that Maimonides' total philosophic endeavor was an attempt to show how the free search for truth, established through the study of logic, physics, and metaphysics, can live harmoniously with a way of life defined by the normative traditions of Judaism.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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August 10, 2023
What a great combination! Maimonides interpreted through the brilliant mind of David Hartman. While this book gets into some very specific philosophic and halachic issues, its overall goal is relatively simple: Hartman is trying to destory the notion that there were "two" Maimonides-one who wrote the Mishneh Torah and one who wrote Guide To The Perplexed. He does so effectively; but Hartman's other goal is more subtle and important to me personally. In showing that Maimonides was both a practicing Halachic Jew and a free-thinking brilliant philosopher, Maimonides paves the way for a Jewish EMBRACE of and SYNTHESIS to modernity.
As Hartman shows how Maimonides didn't have to choose tradition or modernity, he perceptively shows how Philosophy and Science actually ELEVATE our religious practice rather than threaten it. He, of course, argues that Maimonides believed that Jewish tradition saw learning like this from the beginning--the early stories of God and sacrifice and reward and punishment etc., were all designed to serve a practical historical purpose but ARE NOT the end of Jewish religious striving.
As Hartman shows how Maimonides didn't have to choose tradition or modernity, he perceptively shows how Philosophy and Science actually ELEVATE our religious practice rather than threaten it. He, of course, argues that Maimonides believed that Jewish tradition saw learning like this from the beginning--the early stories of God and sacrifice and reward and punishment etc., were all designed to serve a practical historical purpose but ARE NOT the end of Jewish religious striving.
Displaying 1 of 1 review