We find that world view issues were
important to Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon. It is not just that he wrote the Guide for the Perplexed to answer questions concerning,
well, world view issues, but that these ideas pop up often in all of his
writings.
But when you try to get into
the Rambam [Maimonides] you find several pitfalls.
One obvious one is Jose Faur. While
his devotion to the cause of the Rambam is admirable but his knowledge
and understanding of the Rishonim [medieval authorities] is ziltch and when he
attacks the other Rishonim based on his lack of knowledge it come out
looking like he went of a bit much into the "Sefardi pride" trap.
I think it is a true thing that the
best way to learn the Rambam is in conjunction with the regular normal Rishonim
like Topshpot and not to make a fetish out of him. [This is the way Ashkenazim
have always learned the Rambam and Reb Ovadia Joseph also for that matter.]
On the other hand it is a good idea
for people to start the task of understanding the Rambam in world view issues a
little better.
I need to mention here that
the Rambam had children and descendants that continued to be the rav roshi
[chief rabbi] in Cairo for many generations. And a lot of them wrote books
along the lines of the Rambam. So even if they are not the last word on what
the Rambam was thinking, still they are instructive to give some hints about
his path.
One curious issue that does come up
in the Guide and in the book of the Rambam's son
[Avraham ben Moshe] was the issue of pantheism.
You can guess why the Guide for the Perplexed is the most unpopular book in the
world for Hasidim. You certainly do not want people finding out that the Rambam
did not think that Torah belief and pantheism or panetheism were compatible.
In fact I once went through a book
concerning the Gaon from Villna and it was clear form reading the actual
documents of his time that the Hasidim were using a sophisticated strategy to
convert Jews to another religion. They were holding on to Jewish ritual
even more strongly than normal religious Jews. This gave them the ability to
substitute Jewish beliefs with pantheism. And they also learned how to use
seemly sincere acts of kindness to promote their movement.
The original Guide that
you used to see hanging out in the frum world [you know the one with the
commentary of Joseph Albo and someone else. It is a very difficult book
but it rewards the effort.
There is a great book on the Rambam
by David Hartman which is the best modern commentary on the Rambam that I have
ever seen.
