- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
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.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication Page
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter One: Moses the Man
- Chapter Two: The Commentary on the Mishnah, the Book of Commandments, and the Philosophy of halakhah
- Chapter Three: Ethics and Belief in the Commentary on the Mishnah
- Chapter Four: What Is Mishneh Torah?
- Chapter Five: Philosophy and halakhah in Mishneh Torah
- Chapter Six: Mishneh Torah and the Conceptual Understanding of halakhah
- Chapter Seven: The Guide of the Perplexed and Its Critique of Religious Language
- Chapter Eight: The Guide of the Perplexed: Will or Wisdom?
- Conclusion
- Maimonides’ Writings
- Bibliography
- Index