Maimonides: Life and Thought

by Moshe Halbertal

Overview

A comprehensive and accessible account of the life and thought of Judaism's most celebrated philosopher

Maimonides was the greatest Jewish philosopher and legal scholar of the medieval period, a towering figure who has had a profound and lasting influence on Jewish law, philosophy, and religious consciousness. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to his life and work, revealing how his philosophical sensibility and outlook informed his interpretation of Jewish tradition.

Moshe Halbertal vividly describes Maimonides's childhood in Muslim Spain, his family's flight to North Africa to escape persecution, and their eventual resettling in Egypt. He draws on Maimonides's letters and the testimonies of his contemporaries, both Muslims and Jews, to offer new insights into his personality and the circumstances that shaped his thinking. Halbertal then turns to Maimonides's legal and philosophical work, analyzing his three great books—Commentary on the Mishnah, the Mishneh Torah, and the Guide of the Perplexed. He discusses Maimonides's battle against all attempts to personify God, his conviction that God's presence in the world is mediated through the natural order rather than through miracles, and his locating of philosophy and science at the summit of the religious life of Torah. Halbertal examines Maimonides's philosophical positions on fundamental questions such as the nature and limits of religious language, creation and nature, prophecy, providence, the problem of evil, and the meaning of the commandments.

A stunning achievement, Maimonides offers an unparalleled look at the life and thought of this important Jewish philosopher, scholar, and theologian.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691165660
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	06/02/2015
Edition description:	Translatio
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	604,577
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Moshe Halbertal is the Gruss professor of Law at New York University, professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at the Hebrew University, and professor of law at IDC Herzliya in Israel. His books include On Sacrifice and Concealment and Revelation: Esotericism in Jewish Thought and Its Philosophical Implications (both Princeton).

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Chapter One: Moses the Man
"Moses of his Generation" 7
Andalusia: 1138-1159 (?) 14
The Maghrib and Persecution: 1159-1166 23
Fustat: 1166-1177 33
Yemen and Islam: 1172 47
In the Sultan's Palace: 1178-1204 56
The Man Moses 74
Chapter Two: The Commentary on the Mishnah, the Book of Commandments, and the Philosophy of halakhah
In the Laboratory of the Commentary on the Mishnah 92
The Purpose of the Commentary on the Mishnah 96
Controversy, Truth, and Interpretation 99
The Book of Commandments and the Structure of halakhah 107
On the Place of Revelation 111
Revelation and Interpretation 116
Interpretation in halakhah: Between Explanatory Principles and
Deductive Principles 120
Halakhah and Prophecy 126
Chapter Three: Ethics and Belief in the Commentary on the Mishnah
Principles of Faith 134
What Is Man: Immortality of the Soul, and the Afterlife 137
Resurrection of the Dead 142
The Ethics of Virtue and the Ethics of Obligation 148
The Sage and the Pietist 154
Nobility and Saintliness 158
Chapter Four: What Is Mishneh Torah?
The Aims and Qualities of the Compilation 164
Mishneh Torah and the History of halakhah 168
The Mishnah of Rabbi Judah the Prince and Mishneh Torah 171
The Authority of the Talmud and the Authority of the Geonim 175
Mishneh Torah: The Moderate and Radical Alternatives 181
Mishneh Torah and Jewish Curriculum 184
Ambiguity and Codification 189
Codification and Self-Esteem 194
Chapter Five: Philosophy and halakhah in Mishneh Torah
Love and Awe: Philosophy and Religious Experience 197
The Concept of the Divine: Eternal Universe and Creation ex Nihilo 202
Prophecy, Faith, and the Election of Israel 208
Halakhah, Magic, and Idolatry 216
Messianism, halakhah, and Nature 223
Chapter Six: Mishneh Torah and the Conceptual Understanding of halakhah
Reorganizing the halakhah: Form and Content 229
"Laws Concerning Mourning" and the Organization of Mishneh Torah 236
Forging Concepts, Distinctions, and Generalizations 243
Mishneh Torah and Talmudic Sources 255
Three Functions of Aggadah in Mishneh Torah 262
Chapter Seven: The Guide of the Perplexed and Its Critique of Religious Language
Concealed and Revealed in the Guide of the Perplexed 277
Idolatry and Religious Language 288
"For You, Silence Is Praise" 296
The Skeptical Reading and the Mystical Reading 301
Chapter Eight: The Guide of the Perplexed: Will or Wisdom?
The Creation of the World: The Conservative Reading and the Philosophical Reading 313
The Doctrine of Prophecy 321
The Problem of Evil and the Purpose of Existence 329
Providence 335
The Reasons for the Commandments 341
The Commandments and the Philosopher's Spiritual Exercise 349
Conclusion
Four Readings 354
Three Common Elements 358
Maimonides' Teachings in Historical Perspective 362
Maimonides' Writings 369
Bibliography 371
Index 381

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In the gorgeous and rugged terrain of Jewish thought, there is no higher mountain to climb than Maimonides, and no more slippery or exhilarating ascent. Halbertal has made it all the way to the top, and his survey of the whole of the Maimonidean landscape is trustworthy and masterful. This is the richest and most intellectually sophisticated book on Maimonides I have ever read."—Leon Wieseltier

"In this learned and penetrating work, Halbertal offers us a Maimonides who draws on the dominant Greco-Islamic thought of his time while creating a system of thought that is fully Jewish. He shows us how the early Commentary on the Mishnah links up with the Mishneh Torah and with the Guide of the Perplexed, written at the end of his life, to form an unexpected and radical intellectual unity. Beautifully written, Maimonides brings out both Maimonides's intellectual success and the paradoxical critical approaches to him after his death."—David J. Wasserstein, Vanderbilt University

"Insightful and learned. Halbertal is perhaps the leading philosopher of Jewish law today. His book on Maimonides, like his other writings, reflects wide erudition and is written clearly and sharply."—Warren Zev Harvey, professor emeritus, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

"Displaying the marvelous depth and clarity that mark all his work, Halbertal explains in abundant detail the transformations that Maimonides sought to effect in the Jewish world. He provides incisive interpretations of both legal and philosophical writings, yet he is also a biographer, binding together Maimonides's life, self-perception, and intellectual agenda. This is an exceptionally rich book, one that offers fresh perspectives for experts and a highly accessible introduction for general readers."—David Shatz, Yeshiva University

"An outstanding and thrilling portrait of Maimonides. Halbertal's analytic lucidity and psychological depth are singular, and his talents are abundantly apparent on every page. This is an extraordinary book."—Menachem Lorberbaum, Tel Aviv University

Editorial Reviews

"Winner of the 2013 National Jewish Book Award in Scholarship, Jewish Book Council"

"Honorable Mention for the 2015 PROSE Award in Theology & Religious Studies, Association of American Publishers"

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2014

From the Publisher

"This insightful, well-written book offers a fresh perspective on Maimonides. Halbertal offers an excellent introductory overview of Maimonides's life and contributions to Jewish law, philosophy, medicine, and religious consciousness. He also makes clear how Mainmonides's personality, psychology, and evolving outlook penetrate his oeuvre. . . . The author offers a window into the self-perception of this greatest of medieval rabbinic thinkers, physicians, legalists, and theologians, and the radical transformations he sought to effect in Judaism."

Choice

11/11/2013
Maimonides, also known in Hebrew as Rambam, was a great Jewish philosopher and physician. Born in Andalusia, Spain, in 1138, he was forced to flee after the intolerant Almohad dynasty gained power. After years of wandering in North Africa, he finally reached Egypt in 1166, where he became a leader of the Egyptian Jewish community until his death in 1204. Many commentators have written about Maimonides’s contributions, especially about his work on Jewish law. This new book adds the ideas of author Halbertal, a philosopher who teaches at Hebrew University and New York University, to scholarly understanding of Maimonides. His work, originally in Hebrew, is difficult to follow. Readers need to be well-versed in Jewish philosophy and the writings of Maimonides to comprehend Halbertal’s analysis. Many others, some cited in a lengthy bibliography organized by chapters, have written clearer analyses of Maimonides’s contributions. This is a book that will be useful only for those who are well-versed in Jewish philosophy and especially in the books written by Maimonides. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly