To understand the Rambam's idea that learning Physics and Metaphysics brings one to Love and Fear of God. [This is stated most openly in the Guide for the Perplexed but also shows up in Mishna Torah] [The Rambam tells us what he means in different places. He says this in elliptical form as he warned us openly that he would write in that way. He defines the work of creation מעשה בראשית and work of the divine chariot מעשה מרכבה in the beginning of the Guide for the Perplexed . In the Guide itself he tells us what is the purpose he sees in these--the Work of Creation to come to fear, and the Work of the Divine Chariot to come to love. And this approach of the Rambam is quoted virtually verbatim in all later books of Musar.]
To justify this approach of the Rambam I would like to bring together a few ideas:
[1] we find that God's glory does not extend everywhere. That is even though His glory fills the whole world, there are places where his glory does not reach. וכבודי לאחר לא אתן. Now we find that it says in a verse that God created the whole world for his glory. לכבודי בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו. So his glory is the root and life force of everything that exists. So what about those places where his glory does not extend? They get life force from the hidden statement (מאמר הסתום). "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." That is hidden because it does not say "He said." [In nine other acts of creation it says, "He said."]
So the areas the most hidden from God get their life force from the highest levels of holiness.
And when one turns to God from those areas and calls out "where is the place of his glory?" Then he returns to the highest statement of creation.
In Math and Physics there is no open numinosity. But there is the hidden statement by which the world was created. So when one turns to God there, and learns for the sake of Heaven, he brings up all the creation to God.
[2] Maimonides held that Torah is only the Written and Oral law. But two of the commandments of the Torah are to love and fear God, and these Maimonides held were only possible by learning Physics and Metaphysics. [He was referring to the two sets of books by Aristotle called the Physics and the other called the Metaphysics]. [In Hebrew University I studied both to see if what Aristotle was doing intersected with modern Physics. My conclusion was yes.]
[3] But there are different levels of revelation of Torah.
The world was sustained by the Ten Statements (עשרה מאמרות) before the Torah was given [ten times it says ''And God said'']
But these statements were hidden. Then the ten trials of Abraham were a first step towards the revelation of Torah. The ten plagues on Egypt were the next step to make it possible to reveal the Torah. Then the Ten Commandments were the actual revelation of Torah. [The idea of the plagues was that one has to get rid of evil before the good can be revealed.]
[4] But because the Torah is in everything, it is possible to serve God with everything.
In the above, I am looking at Maimonides's idea and though I realize it has a simple explanation, I am trying to find a deeper justification for it. The way it looks from the Rambam is learning Physics and Metaphysics is to inspire one and awaken him to the deepness and beauty of God's creation. What I am looking for here is the idea that the Physics and Metaphysics themselves are a kind of revelation of one aspect of of God's wisdom contained in his creation.
[Same as what the Rambam says about the idea of natural law that preceded Torah law. But that is a different discussion.]
I am also saying that Torah is a super level of natural law, not that it is identified with natural law.
At least this is the way I conceive of these things. Other people probably have different ideas, but that is my approach. It is basically Neo-Platonic, but I am using it to justify Maimonides' more Aristotelian approach. [The Rambam was not pure Aristotelian either, but as Plotinus himself a kind of mid point between Plato and Aristotle.]
[7] In this world is hidden holiness; and even in the lowest regions in spirituality is hidden the highest holiness that comes from the hidden statement of creation. [In the first statement of Creation there is no "He said"]
[8] Where do you see that "truth is in the ground?" In physical matter? Why is it that the Rambam insists on seeing in facts about physics the highest truths? He probably saw it in a Midrash. God wanted to create Man. The angel of truth came and asked, "How can you create Man when he is full of lies?" God took the angel of truth and threw him on the ground, as the verse says, "He threw truth to the ground.."
[9] The Rambam holds learning Physics and Metaphysics (of Aristotle) is higher than learning Torah. Rambam beginning of the Guide, beginning of Mishna Torah, end of vol III or (vol II) in the Guide in the parable about the palace of the King,
See also LM II:39; LM II:12; LM I:1;
Sefer Hamidot of Nachman Ot Daat.
To put this all together you have to start with the idea that the goal of Torah is to come to love and fear of God. Then you need the idea that the the world was created by the Ten Statements of Genesis, and thus those statements are the life force of all that is in the world. And that those Ten Statements are the clothing of the Ten Commandments. And the highest statement is the first one "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" in which it does not say openly God said. It is the hidden statement which is the life force of everything and everywhere where God's glory is hidden.
Thus Torah is God's revealed wisdom, and Physics and Metaphysics is his hidden wisdom.
[10] There are people that if exposed to straight Torah will not be able to accept it. Often it is better for people to learn the natural sciences rather than open Torah, because זכה נעשית סם חיים, לא זכה נעשית לו סם מוות. By being exposed to open Torah, one can become worse. And in fact this often happens before our very eyes.
Appendix: It is my hope that people will understand that learning Gemara, Rashi, and Tosphot is also important. I would hope that people can find a balance in which they spend part of their time on the Physics and the rest of the day on straight Torah.
To justify this approach of the Rambam I would like to bring together a few ideas:
[1] we find that God's glory does not extend everywhere. That is even though His glory fills the whole world, there are places where his glory does not reach. וכבודי לאחר לא אתן. Now we find that it says in a verse that God created the whole world for his glory. לכבודי בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו. So his glory is the root and life force of everything that exists. So what about those places where his glory does not extend? They get life force from the hidden statement (מאמר הסתום). "In the beginning God created heaven and earth." That is hidden because it does not say "He said." [In nine other acts of creation it says, "He said."]
So the areas the most hidden from God get their life force from the highest levels of holiness.
And when one turns to God from those areas and calls out "where is the place of his glory?" Then he returns to the highest statement of creation.
In Math and Physics there is no open numinosity. But there is the hidden statement by which the world was created. So when one turns to God there, and learns for the sake of Heaven, he brings up all the creation to God.
[2] Maimonides held that Torah is only the Written and Oral law. But two of the commandments of the Torah are to love and fear God, and these Maimonides held were only possible by learning Physics and Metaphysics. [He was referring to the two sets of books by Aristotle called the Physics and the other called the Metaphysics]. [In Hebrew University I studied both to see if what Aristotle was doing intersected with modern Physics. My conclusion was yes.]
[3] But there are different levels of revelation of Torah.
The world was sustained by the Ten Statements (עשרה מאמרות) before the Torah was given [ten times it says ''And God said'']
But these statements were hidden. Then the ten trials of Abraham were a first step towards the revelation of Torah. The ten plagues on Egypt were the next step to make it possible to reveal the Torah. Then the Ten Commandments were the actual revelation of Torah. [The idea of the plagues was that one has to get rid of evil before the good can be revealed.]
[4] But because the Torah is in everything, it is possible to serve God with everything.
In the above, I am looking at Maimonides's idea and though I realize it has a simple explanation, I am trying to find a deeper justification for it. The way it looks from the Rambam is learning Physics and Metaphysics is to inspire one and awaken him to the deepness and beauty of God's creation. What I am looking for here is the idea that the Physics and Metaphysics themselves are a kind of revelation of one aspect of of God's wisdom contained in his creation.
[Same as what the Rambam says about the idea of natural law that preceded Torah law. But that is a different discussion.]
I am also saying that Torah is a super level of natural law, not that it is identified with natural law.
At least this is the way I conceive of these things. Other people probably have different ideas, but that is my approach. It is basically Neo-Platonic, but I am using it to justify Maimonides' more Aristotelian approach. [The Rambam was not pure Aristotelian either, but as Plotinus himself a kind of mid point between Plato and Aristotle.]
[7] In this world is hidden holiness; and even in the lowest regions in spirituality is hidden the highest holiness that comes from the hidden statement of creation. [In the first statement of Creation there is no "He said"]
[8] Where do you see that "truth is in the ground?" In physical matter? Why is it that the Rambam insists on seeing in facts about physics the highest truths? He probably saw it in a Midrash. God wanted to create Man. The angel of truth came and asked, "How can you create Man when he is full of lies?" God took the angel of truth and threw him on the ground, as the verse says, "He threw truth to the ground.."
[9] The Rambam holds learning Physics and Metaphysics (of Aristotle) is higher than learning Torah. Rambam beginning of the Guide, beginning of Mishna Torah, end of vol III or (vol II) in the Guide in the parable about the palace of the King,
See also LM II:39; LM II:12; LM I:1;
Sefer Hamidot of Nachman Ot Daat.
To put this all together you have to start with the idea that the goal of Torah is to come to love and fear of God. Then you need the idea that the the world was created by the Ten Statements of Genesis, and thus those statements are the life force of all that is in the world. And that those Ten Statements are the clothing of the Ten Commandments. And the highest statement is the first one "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" in which it does not say openly God said. It is the hidden statement which is the life force of everything and everywhere where God's glory is hidden.
Thus Torah is God's revealed wisdom, and Physics and Metaphysics is his hidden wisdom.
[10] There are people that if exposed to straight Torah will not be able to accept it. Often it is better for people to learn the natural sciences rather than open Torah, because זכה נעשית סם חיים, לא זכה נעשית לו סם מוות. By being exposed to open Torah, one can become worse. And in fact this often happens before our very eyes.
Appendix: It is my hope that people will understand that learning Gemara, Rashi, and Tosphot is also important. I would hope that people can find a balance in which they spend part of their time on the Physics and the rest of the day on straight Torah.
