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Maimonides: Reason Above All
The book addresses provocative questions such This volume contains surprising facts, such not all Jews believe that people have souls.
- GenresNonfiction
324 pages, Hardcover
First published October 20, 2009
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4 people want to read
About the author
Israel Drazin
45 books9 followersBrigadier General (Ret.) Dr. Israel Drazin, Ph.D. (Aramaic Literature, 1981; M.A., Hebrew Literature, 1978; J.D., Law, 1974; M.Ed., Psychology, 1966; B.A., Theology, 1957), in an ordained rabbi, practicing lawyer, and retired U.S. Army chaplain. A recipient of the Legion of Merit, he completed his service in the active reserves in 1984 as Assistant Chief of Chaplains, the highest reserve officer position available in the Army Chaplaincy.
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December 26, 2024
Studying Maimonides And Jewish Philosophy With Rabbi Israel Drazin
"Maimonides: Reason Above All" (2009) is the final book of a trilogy on the medieval Jewish thinker Moses Maimonides (1138? -- 1204) by the American Rabbi, scholar, and lawyer Israel Drazin (b. 1935. After reading and reviewing the first two volumes, "Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind" and "Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets" I turned eagerly to this third volume. I have got to know Drazin through reviewing on Amazon, and he kindly sent me his Maimonides trilogy to read and review.
The first book in the trilogy offers an overview of Maimonides' thought while the second book concentrates on Biblical interpretation in a manner Drazin finds Maimonidean. This third and overly-provocatively titled book, "Reason above All", primarily examines Maimonides' thought by contrasting it with the thinking of others that Drazin largely rejects. Drazin sees Maimonides as teaching a highly this-worldy approach to Judaism which extolls knowledge and scientific study and rejects mysticism, subjectivity, and the quest for faith. Drazin understands Maimonides as a deist who created the world and then left its operation to natural laws without interference with natural or human affairs. Man's goal under this cosmic plan is to improve understanding and to better oneself and one's society.
In his study, Drazin compares and contrasts Maimonides with a number of other thinkers, beginning with Plato and Aristotle. Many people tend to divide thinking between Platonic and Aristotelian approaches, and Drazin places Maimonides firmly in the tradition of Aristotle, with his non-mystical bent and his search for knowledge in the sciences. The most interesting and detailed of the discussions in Drazin's book are of Maimonides' father, Maimon and, more so, of his son, Abraham Maimonides. From his writings that have survived, Maimon was a traditional faith-based thinker. Maimonides son, Abraham, did a good deal of writing. While he revered his father, Abraham taught a mystical doctrine that owed a great deal to Sufi mysticism. Drazin does not criticize Abraham for learning from the Sufis any more than Maimonides is to be criticized for learning from Aristotle and from other strands of Muslim thought. Drazin, however, is harsh on what he sees as the mystical, self-centered, unproductive character of Sufi mysticism. The Sufis, of course, still have many admirers in the West. Even more so, many Americans are attracted to other forms of Eastern spirituality such as Buddhism which Drazin would appear to reject. I have studied Buddhism myself for many years and it has taught me a great deal. It is possible to understand Drazin's critique while finding it overstated. The critique lies in uneasy tension with Drazin's repeated statements that there are a number of competing and plausible approaches to the truth.
A second part of Drazin's book offers discussions of some of Maimonides' writings, including his medical writings, analyses of various texts and translations of the Bible, and interpretations of several difficult Biblical passages. Some of these materials expand upon Drazin's earlier book about Scriptural interpretation. The material is interesting in itself and shows Drazin's commitment to a rationalistic approach to reading the Bible. An important chapter in the book is titled, "Did Hatred destroy the Second Temple?" which has many contemporary ramifications. Again, Drazin repeatedly rejects what he sees as mystical approaches to understanding.
In the final part of this work, Drazin returns to comparing Maimonides with other thinkers. He first considers the great Platonic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria who read Scriptural texts in an allegorical way. Philo too is someone I have long admired. Drazin argues that the Rabbis were not fully comfortable with Philo's allegorical interpretations. It would also be correct to say that Philo was lost and unknown to Judaism until the 16th Century, but that, as Drazin points out, he heavily influenced Christianity. I wasn't sure at the end of the discussion about how Drazin saw Philo in relation to Maimonides.
Drazin also offers discussions of several philosophers Leo Strauss considered in an early book about Spinoza, the most interesting of which is the Greek thinker Epicurus. This is as close as Drazin comes to considering non-religious thinkers. One might reasonably expect more as Drazin's approach remains religious in character with all its emphasis on rationality, and he needs to develop how and why his position differs from non-theistic, non-traditional approaches. What Drazin says is valuable, but he moves far too quickly. A final chapter of the book contrasts Maimonides with Descartes, who is widely regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. Descartes received heavy criticism from his own day to the present -- with most contemporary thinkers doing their best to avoid thinking in a "Cartesian" way. Drazin favors Maimonides over Descartes, with some justification. There isn't enough in the book, however, to explain the difference between Maimonides' medieval thinking and what many thinkers see as modern thought. Aristotle and his disciples, including Maimonides, had a broadly teleological view of nature which was rejected with modern science. The concept of "reason" and of "rationality" changed. Thinkers, including Drazin and others, still try to figure it out and to find what, if anything, is left in Aristotelian reason with its limited syllogistic logic, its focus on substance, its elitist tendencies in stratifying people, and its teleology.
In a chapter critical of the Jewish Nazarites, Essenes, and their modern-day mystical successors, Drazin tells a little parable of a man who came before God and said he had engaged in many acts of self-denial in pursuit of his faith. God asks:
"I want to know if you appreciated what I gave you and enjoyed it, or whether you thought of Me as a fool who laid out harmful earthly bounty for you. Did you take walks in the fields and eat its fruits? Did you enjoy My wine? Did you listen to the classical music that I made possible? Did you read the good literature that I inspired, the great classics as well as modern writings? Did you develop your mind to understand what I put in the world?"
These are critically important questions to ask, and they include much of Drazin's approach in his books.
Of the three books in Drazin's Maimonides trilogy, I found this final volume the most absorbing and the most provocative. The book is clearly written and aims to be unequivocal in its views of what is "rational" and what is outside of "reason". The author does recognize, however, that reason is not quite as simple or clear as it may appear. I learned a great deal from Drazin's study of Maimonides.
Robin Friedman
"Maimonides: Reason Above All" (2009) is the final book of a trilogy on the medieval Jewish thinker Moses Maimonides (1138? -- 1204) by the American Rabbi, scholar, and lawyer Israel Drazin (b. 1935. After reading and reviewing the first two volumes, "Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind" and "Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets" I turned eagerly to this third volume. I have got to know Drazin through reviewing on Amazon, and he kindly sent me his Maimonides trilogy to read and review.
The first book in the trilogy offers an overview of Maimonides' thought while the second book concentrates on Biblical interpretation in a manner Drazin finds Maimonidean. This third and overly-provocatively titled book, "Reason above All", primarily examines Maimonides' thought by contrasting it with the thinking of others that Drazin largely rejects. Drazin sees Maimonides as teaching a highly this-worldy approach to Judaism which extolls knowledge and scientific study and rejects mysticism, subjectivity, and the quest for faith. Drazin understands Maimonides as a deist who created the world and then left its operation to natural laws without interference with natural or human affairs. Man's goal under this cosmic plan is to improve understanding and to better oneself and one's society.
In his study, Drazin compares and contrasts Maimonides with a number of other thinkers, beginning with Plato and Aristotle. Many people tend to divide thinking between Platonic and Aristotelian approaches, and Drazin places Maimonides firmly in the tradition of Aristotle, with his non-mystical bent and his search for knowledge in the sciences. The most interesting and detailed of the discussions in Drazin's book are of Maimonides' father, Maimon and, more so, of his son, Abraham Maimonides. From his writings that have survived, Maimon was a traditional faith-based thinker. Maimonides son, Abraham, did a good deal of writing. While he revered his father, Abraham taught a mystical doctrine that owed a great deal to Sufi mysticism. Drazin does not criticize Abraham for learning from the Sufis any more than Maimonides is to be criticized for learning from Aristotle and from other strands of Muslim thought. Drazin, however, is harsh on what he sees as the mystical, self-centered, unproductive character of Sufi mysticism. The Sufis, of course, still have many admirers in the West. Even more so, many Americans are attracted to other forms of Eastern spirituality such as Buddhism which Drazin would appear to reject. I have studied Buddhism myself for many years and it has taught me a great deal. It is possible to understand Drazin's critique while finding it overstated. The critique lies in uneasy tension with Drazin's repeated statements that there are a number of competing and plausible approaches to the truth.
A second part of Drazin's book offers discussions of some of Maimonides' writings, including his medical writings, analyses of various texts and translations of the Bible, and interpretations of several difficult Biblical passages. Some of these materials expand upon Drazin's earlier book about Scriptural interpretation. The material is interesting in itself and shows Drazin's commitment to a rationalistic approach to reading the Bible. An important chapter in the book is titled, "Did Hatred destroy the Second Temple?" which has many contemporary ramifications. Again, Drazin repeatedly rejects what he sees as mystical approaches to understanding.
In the final part of this work, Drazin returns to comparing Maimonides with other thinkers. He first considers the great Platonic Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria who read Scriptural texts in an allegorical way. Philo too is someone I have long admired. Drazin argues that the Rabbis were not fully comfortable with Philo's allegorical interpretations. It would also be correct to say that Philo was lost and unknown to Judaism until the 16th Century, but that, as Drazin points out, he heavily influenced Christianity. I wasn't sure at the end of the discussion about how Drazin saw Philo in relation to Maimonides.
Drazin also offers discussions of several philosophers Leo Strauss considered in an early book about Spinoza, the most interesting of which is the Greek thinker Epicurus. This is as close as Drazin comes to considering non-religious thinkers. One might reasonably expect more as Drazin's approach remains religious in character with all its emphasis on rationality, and he needs to develop how and why his position differs from non-theistic, non-traditional approaches. What Drazin says is valuable, but he moves far too quickly. A final chapter of the book contrasts Maimonides with Descartes, who is widely regarded as the founder of modern philosophy. Descartes received heavy criticism from his own day to the present -- with most contemporary thinkers doing their best to avoid thinking in a "Cartesian" way. Drazin favors Maimonides over Descartes, with some justification. There isn't enough in the book, however, to explain the difference between Maimonides' medieval thinking and what many thinkers see as modern thought. Aristotle and his disciples, including Maimonides, had a broadly teleological view of nature which was rejected with modern science. The concept of "reason" and of "rationality" changed. Thinkers, including Drazin and others, still try to figure it out and to find what, if anything, is left in Aristotelian reason with its limited syllogistic logic, its focus on substance, its elitist tendencies in stratifying people, and its teleology.
In a chapter critical of the Jewish Nazarites, Essenes, and their modern-day mystical successors, Drazin tells a little parable of a man who came before God and said he had engaged in many acts of self-denial in pursuit of his faith. God asks:
"I want to know if you appreciated what I gave you and enjoyed it, or whether you thought of Me as a fool who laid out harmful earthly bounty for you. Did you take walks in the fields and eat its fruits? Did you enjoy My wine? Did you listen to the classical music that I made possible? Did you read the good literature that I inspired, the great classics as well as modern writings? Did you develop your mind to understand what I put in the world?"
These are critically important questions to ask, and they include much of Drazin's approach in his books.
Of the three books in Drazin's Maimonides trilogy, I found this final volume the most absorbing and the most provocative. The book is clearly written and aims to be unequivocal in its views of what is "rational" and what is outside of "reason". The author does recognize, however, that reason is not quite as simple or clear as it may appear. I learned a great deal from Drazin's study of Maimonides.
Robin Friedman
November 25, 2012
I feel this is an important book in many respects. From Maimonides own family, to other philosophers (who either agree or disagree with Maimonides), to the familial relationship between him and his father, Drazin strives to make us think, make us ponder about religion, Jewish life, social contexts re Judaism and Jewish theories, thought, traditions and varied practices within the scope of Judaism.
Depending on issues, Maimonides could sway towards the secular, even though he was a Sephardic Jew. He did make attempts to encompass other sectors of Judaism.
I did enjoy the book, garnered much to think about from it, and recommend it to others.
Depending on issues, Maimonides could sway towards the secular, even though he was a Sephardic Jew. He did make attempts to encompass other sectors of Judaism.
I did enjoy the book, garnered much to think about from it, and recommend it to others.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews