To approach God is thought to be by spiritual things -not by Physics and Mathematics.
[The most practical way to do this is to have a few books of Math and Physics and go through them in order from beginning to end--in order. As you see in Rav Nahman's Conversations section 76. Say the words and go on. But to do this you need faith and trust in God that He will help you understand what you think you do not understand.]
And to some degree you see this in later achronim [authors after Rav Yoseph Karo] like The Paths of the Just.
However this does not look like the opinion of Ibn Pakuda [author of The Obligations of the Hearts] nor other rishonim [mediaeval authorities] that followed the path of Saadia Gaon.
And the reason seems plain and simple. That Physics and Math deal with the wisdom of God that is at the core of Creation.
That is where you see the glory and wisdom of God.
But in the world of ethics, and morals and spirituality you see things are messy. That even morality is subject to people's opinion seems to be thought to be a desirable thing. So fine. If so, then fine,-- but that does not make it objective and revealing God's wisdom.
[You see this in the Gemara where God said one thing, and the yeshiva in Heaven said something else; and they said 'a certain amora would decide between them''. And also in the events with R Yehoshua that in Bava Metzia the law goes like the majority opinion because "the Torah is not in Heaven". [However the issue is that to get to God's deeper wisdom in the work of Creation, one needs to learn and keep the Laws as they apply to people in order to get there.]
So you can see why in the parable of the palace in Guide why the Physicts are put into the palace of the King and the people that learn and keep the Oral and Written Law ("talmudiim) outside.
[The parable is in the Guide for the Perplexed. There you have a king who rules in a country and there are levels of closeness to the king. People outside the country, those inside, those close to teh palace, and those inside the palace. In that parable those who keep the whole Torah perfectly are outside the palace. Those who learn Physics are inside.]
[The parable is in the Guide for the Perplexed. There you have a king who rules in a country and there are levels of closeness to the king. People outside the country, those inside, those close to teh palace, and those inside the palace. In that parable those who keep the whole Torah perfectly are outside the palace. Those who learn Physics are inside.]
[The most practical way to do this is to have a few books of Math and Physics and go through them in order from beginning to end--in order. As you see in Rav Nahman's Conversations section 76. Say the words and go on. But to do this you need faith and trust in God that He will help you understand what you think you do not understand.]
