Maimonides (ebook)

Argumento de Maimonides (ebook)

"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

"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

"[A] valuable and impressive achievement."--Eric Shoag, Jewish Journal

"[A] brilliant tour de force."--Lawrence Kaplan, Jewish Review of Books

"Halbertal's book provides an introduction to the complexity of Maimonides's work, and should be studied by any serious Maimonides scholar."--Tamar Rudavsky, Journal of the History of Philosophy

"Halbertal, a professor of both law and Jewish studies, is equipped to grasp the richness of Maimonides's thought, which reflects a potent blend of rabbinic expertise and philosophical acumen. . . . If Halbertal's book accomplishes nothing else but to inspire this Maimonidean approach to life and religion, then he has done his job well."--James A. Diamond, Jerusalem Post

"Maimonides, then, remains an elusive and fascinating figure: his importance is clear, but it's hard to grasp exactly what made him so important. That is why Maimonides: Life and Thought, the new study by Moshe Halbertal, is such a valuable contribution. . . . Readers who are curious about this difficult but rewarding thinker will find Maimonides: Life and Thought a thrillingly lucid introduction."--Adam Kirsch, Barnes & Noble Review

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

"In this excellent study, Moshe Halbertal makes it clear, in keeping with Maimonides, that there is no one way to understand the Jewish tradition."--Jude P. Dougherty, Mary Elizabeth Tetzlaff

"[S]tudying the Andalusian refugee Maimonides will be revealing and this terrific book by the philosopher Moshe Halbertal is a great place to begin."--Richard Marshall, 3ammagazine.com

"If you are going to read only one book about Maimonides, make it Moshe Halbertal’s stunning Maimonides. Even if you have read many other books by and about Maimonides, you have much to learn here."--Menachem Kellner, AJS Review

"Moshe Halbertal's Maimonides is a useful guide to the man and his work, with something to offer both novice and scholar. . . . [T]his admirable work invites us to study Moses Maimonides' writings on our own."--Mark Blitz, Weekly Standard

"[Halbertal] pioneers a new path, walking the reader through the different interpretive schools and explaining what supports each one while acknowledging that Maimonides contradicts himself both across and within his many writings--at times purposefully, which inevitably leaves his readers perplexed. Halbertal is a wonderful guide, explaining how different approaches illuminate Maimonides' writings and how certain issues reverberate throughout the sage's work, returning in new forms and contexts. . . . Drawing on all of Maimonides' writings, and especially his many letters, Halbertal crafts a portrait of a refugee who never fully left home and felt the pain of exile for his entire life. . . . [An] extraordinary book."--Jay M. Harris, Foreign Affairs

"In his rigorous and insightful study Maimonides: Life and Thought, Moshe Halbertal reintroduces readers to this rabbi-scientist, who insisted that faith should be an enterprise based on reason."--Dara Horn, Wall Street Journal

"In a sea of literature about the great twelfth-century Jewish sage and philosopher, one could do no better than turn to Moshe Halbertal's single volume work on Maimonides. . . . Accessible to both scholar and interested general reader, this book should be the first work on Maimonides for an English reader to approach."--David Tesler, Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

"[M]agisterial. . . . Halbertal presents a moving and detailed portrait of Maimonides's life as well as his work. . . . Maimonides is not just a titan of Jewish learning; as Halbertal shows in his timely and definitive book, he can be a surprisingly contemporary guide for our times."--David Mikics, Forward

"[A]n unusually comprehensive overview of Maimonides achievements."--Berel Dov Lerner, Religion & Theology0Introduction 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