Ben Schrager
MST20B
February 25, 2009
Maimonides Writes to the Egyptian Jewish Community
Moses Maimon, as Rabbi and Dayan, writes to the rabbis, venerable sages, learned
scholars of Egypt as well as any others who wish to achieve greater understanding of the Law.
(Epistle to Yemen)
May God’s light shine upon you all and assist you in this endeavor for your willingness
to hear my thoughts on reason and its role in finding truth. Through reason, we discover
metaphysics which enables one to cogitate more deeply upon the intricacies of the Book
although such thought does not come easily. While knowledge of metaphysics certainly assists in
understanding the world and word of the Lord, it isn’t strictly necessary nor even desirable. Such
studies stretch over years which few can spare (Life and Works, pg 161-2). As I have said in my
Guide, “He who can swim may bring up pearls from the depth of the sea, he who is unable to
swim will be drowned, therefore only such persons as have had proper instruction should expose
themselves to the risk.” (Guide, ch. xxxiv) As a learned scholar, I offer my own views in an
attempt to edify those in need without requiring a long study of metaphysics although such
knowledge is helpful and undoubtedly present among some of those reading.
The problem lies not with ignorance of metaphysics, but a powerful tendency to
credulity. This credulity blunts the drive to examine and analyze and discover the truth of things.
Today I see blind acceptance that goes hand in hand with willful ignorance, a disgrace to God.
To better understand His works and thus become closer to God is to become closer to perfection
as a human being and this requires a deeper look at the world and the Torah. To dispel this
natural gravitation towards ignorance, one needs to employ a logical mindset; a frame of mind, I
might add, that the Torah presupposes (Empire of Light, pg 10).
Before I continue further, I will interject a few words on miracles. God’s hand can be
seen through His miracles, this is obvious and clear to all Jews. However some of the arguments
arise from the use of the methods of reason to analyze His words and works. The principles of
reason alone do not guarantee the existence of God and thus preclude any sort of belief in the
miracles of God or His word (Empire of Light, 49). With the lack of a God to guide and
shepherd it, the concept of the mean invents its own morality (Life and Works, pg 81). To accept
reason, and reason alone, is to deny God, a concept anathema to any good Jew. Despite his
beliefs, which may be attributable in part to ignorance, Aristotle had concepts that may be used
by us with no need to saddle ourselves with his pagan morality or worldly views. The concept of
the mean, which I mentioned earlier, is useful not to self-determine our morality but to analyze
the true morality given to us by God. The mean simply strives for equilibrium and moderation in
all things for being virtuous is good yet something such as humility taken too far is to deny one’s
own worth which is just as bad as arrogance, the other extreme of humility (Empire of Light, pg
60). So we see that Aristotle and his logical methods are useful for analysis of God’s work only,
we can then safely ignore his pagan beliefs.
The use of rational reasoning is quite appropriate, for when God created the Universe, He
created a stable system with coherent logic. The world is not quite as incomprehensible as
claimed by those who see miracles at every turn and stand in amazement of God’s power. This is
natural and good to be in awe of God’s works yet my amazement stems from a deeper
knowledge of His creation, the universe and our world, as the greatest miracle of all. In doing so,
He created a coherent system that begs to be understood which is difficult to do for those raised
on legends.
I should clarify what exactly is meant by the term miracles. It should be said that Nature
does not preclude miracles as God may easily manipulate it as he does anything else and bend or
break the laws of Nature. Thus we are brought to our two types of miracles, those that are
impossible by nature and those that are possible. Impossible miracles are easy to discern; they
are God’s hand made manifest through an alteration of the world that break the laws of Nature as
we know them (Empire of Light pg 49). Possible miracles are more varied, having three types.
The first is an event that is within the bounds of natural law but has been prophesied and then
comes to pass. The second is an event that while possible, is miraculous because of its intensity
or irregularity and thus highly improbable. For example, the plague of locusts upon the
Egyptians holding the Jews in slavery represents this category. Certainly locusts and even
swarms of locusts are known but the intensity of it reveals God’s hand. The last category is
persistence; that event that is seemingly wholly natural yet lasts for an unnatural length of time.
So one can see that to see something wondrous without knowing what, exactly, a miracle
is could lead to misinterpretation. This rigorous analysis needs to be applied to the words of God
as well, not just his works. The Book should be read with a critical eye with comprehension of
each verse as part of a greater whole. One cannot merely pluck out a quotation bereft of its
context; such action degrades one’s understanding (Empire of Light pg 18-19). Also, there are
those that read the Torah quite literally which once again, results in ignorance of its true
meaning. As I mentioned in the Guide to the Perplexed, a literal reading results in contradictions
which can be resolved with a philosophical attention to the text (Guide, ch. LXXI). It should be
read with a view tending towards allegory and deeper context rather than a plain reading.
I cannot stress how important it is to critically examine the Torah; to do so is achieve a
firmer grasp on the works of God and the acquisition of such knowledge leads one on the road to
perfection and fulfilling their potential as a human being and a servant of God. The proverbs of
Solomon dictate knowing wisdom and instruction, discerning the sayings of understanding and
giving knowledge and discretion to the youth and also say that only fools despise wisdom and
instruction. (Proverbs 1:1) I beseech all of you to reexamine your modes of thought and go on
the path of enlightenment rather than ignorance; go towards God and His light.
Farewell my brethren, may God guide us all in our undertakings and keep us from error
and ignorance.