Wittgenstein and Maimonides on God and the Limits of Language

The purpose of this paper is to bring together two thinkers that are concerned with the limits of what can be said, Wittgenstein and Maimonides, and to explore the sense of the good life and of the mystical to which their therapeutic linguistic work gives rise. I argue that despite the similarities, two different senses of the "mystical" are brought to light and two different "forms of life" are explicated and recommended. The paper has three parts. In the first part, I discuss certain key components in Wittgenstein’s early philosophy and the sense of the mystical to which they give rise. In the second part, I discuss Maimonides’ negative theology and its implications for his conception of the ’via mystica’. I end, with a discussion of the relation between the two ideals and its significanc

The Inexhaustible Metaphor of Light: Illuminating the Fault Lines Between Crescas and Maimonides

Moses Maimonides’ (1138-1205) Guide of the Perplexed, and his later philosophical and theological arch-nemesis Hasdai Crescas’ (circa 1340-1412) Light of the Lord, are works of philosophical theology intended in a core sense as primers on how to properly understand God’s revealed word. Since metaphor and allegory are the primary instruments of philosophical exegesis my paper focuses on light as a root metaphor which illuminates an array of the challenges Crescas mounts against Maimonides. Their different uses of light imagery capture what is the core issue that informs the opposition between them across the theological spectrum. For Maimonides reason is the ultimate arbiter of truth and, ipso facto, of the Torah’s meaning, while for Crescas reason is subordinate to the supra-rational truth of the Torah which alone resolves a faith that is ‘perplexed’. Light as a metaphor for truth is one of the images that most strikingly captures the impassable divide between Maimonides and Crescas and is an excellent illustration of light’s profound versatility Hans Blumenberg has shown it to manifest over the course of the history of philosophy. Maimonides incorporates Greek notions of intellect and knowledge as light while Crescas sought to repatriate light to its origins in God and His revelation. For example, what anticipates Crescas’ entire critique of Maimonides’ thoroughgoing rationalism is his early overturning of Maimonides’ hierarchy of light which grades people in terms of its length and intensity ascending from a darkness that does not even qualify as a level of existence to its peak of “unceasing light”. Crescas immediately subverts Maimonides’ hierarchy of light with one grounded in divine grace free to discriminate as to who will be its recipient. What is sight for Maimonides is blindness for Crescas

Menorah Review (No. 15, Winter, 1989)

Jewish Immigrants and Their Daughters: World of Our Mothers -- The Philosopher and God -- Rooted and Uprooted in Italy and Israe

Angels, beasts, machines, and men: Configuring the human and nonhuman in Judaeo-Christian tradition

This is the author's pdf version of the book chapter.This book chapter offers four snapshots from the Judaeo-Christian tradition of the theological significance of the distinction between human and nonhuman life

Menorah Review (No. 42, Winter, 1998)

Black-Jewish Relations: Past, Present and Future -- Exploring Exodus: The Common Root for Judaism and Christianity -- Sarah at the Tent Post -- On Studying Mishnah -- Book Listing -- Christianity Without Jeers -- Book Briefing

Crafting the 613 Commandments

Rabbinic tradition has it that 613 commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, but it does not specify those included in the enumeration. Maimonides methodically and artfully crafts a list of 613 commandments in a work that serves as a prolegemenon to the Mishneh Torah, his monumental code of law. This book explores the surprising way Maimonides put this tradition to use and his possible rationale for using such a tradition. It also explores many of the philosophical and ethical ideas animating the composition of such a list. In the book's second half, Friedberg examines the manner by which Maimonides formulated positive commandments in the Mishneh Torah, leading him to suggest new dimensions in Maimonides' legal theory

Maimonides and Julian: A Guide to Love

For this project, the goal was to write an explanatory analysis of Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, reconstructing his case on divine revelation and intellectual perception. We were asked to then compare Maimonides’ themes to those represented in Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love. I began by closely rereading the assigned section of the Guide’s introductory chapter and taking some notes on the main ideas Maimonides presents. Afterwards, I drafted the body of the essay, summarizing these themes and supporting the summary with specific textual evidence. I then reread Julian’s Revelations, brainstormed major similarities and differences between her and Maimonides’ ideas, and organized these comparisons into a paragraph following my explanation of Maimonides. After writing an introduction and conclusion, I created a bibliography, participated in a peer review, redrafted, visited the Write Place, revised certain sections based on the feedback I received, and finalized the paper

To Make a Rainbow - God’s Work in Nature

The Torah lays out a rich idea of God’s governance in the Scroll of Esther: Circumstance lays the warp, but human choices weave the woof of destiny. God remains unseen. Delegation of agency, including human freedom, is implicit in the act of creation: God does not clutch efficacy jealously to his breast. Biblically, God acts through nature, making the elements his servitors. Miracles do not violate God’s covenant with nature. Maimonides, following rabbinic homilies, finds them embedded in that covenant. Divine agency is clearest today in evolution and its special case, the emergence of autonomy and the rise of consciousness and personhood