Rambam and me - why Rambam? לֹא-כֵן, עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה:

Why Rambam? What makes him so appealing to me as the greatest teacher of Judaism? He is difficult to understand, he based his philosophical writings on medieval philosophy and science which has since been discredited, he seems to be forcing meanings into Pessukim which make modern biblical scholars shudder when they read those interpretations, he seems to be elitist, he is not always politically correct and many more such criticisms that a modern man may enumerate. I am well aware of all these criticisms and still I find him to be the greatest thinker and teacher of Judaism of all times. Let me try to tell you what I see in him.

First when you read him a lot you start getting a picture of Judaism that is quite exhilarating. Rambam sees humankind as evolving from paganism with the societal, moral and ethical ills that were its consequence, to a utopian society where all men will be free and happy, able to spend their full time developing intellectually. Avraham Avinu started that process and it has continued since with his descendants at the vanguard.

He sees the Torah as a blueprint which is understood differently at each stage of human development. The practice of the Mitzvos does not change but the meaning behind each takes on different hues and shapes as our development changes. God’s transcendence and uniqueness is a constant but as we develop we understand it differently.
That is the famous statement of his in 2:25 –

“We do not reject the Eternity of the Universe, because certain passages in Scripture confirm the Creation; for such passages are not more numerous than those in which God is represented as a corporeal being; nor is it impossible or difficult to find for them a suitable interpretation.”

Biblical criticism, high or low, would not faze him nor make a dent in his thought process. He would see it as irrelevant. That is his meaning in 2:40:

“You will also find laws which, in all their rules, aim, as the law just mentioned, at the improvement of the material interests of the people: but, besides, tend to improve the state of the faith of man, to create first correct notions of God, and of angels, and to lead then the people, by instruction and education, to an accurate knowledge of the Universe: this education comes from God; these laws are divine.”

The Torah is divine because of its content. It is a tool given to humankind to use for its material and spiritual advancement. It teaches man to emulate God, to partake in creation and gives us tools how to arrive there. That in itself makes it divine.

Once you understand his approach, the way he handles science vis-à-vis religion starts to make sense. The Torah is teaching us not the sciences but how to relate to science as a religious person. He tells us to learn from the Rabbis and how they related the science of their days to the Torah. He does the same with the science of his times and shows how we can do the same with the science of our times. We have to be truthful and accept that science wins at the end of the day because that is the reality the Torah wants us to interpret from a religious standpoint.

He teaches us to be careful and accept that the metaphysical questions don’t have empirical answers. There is a clear delineation between the physical and the non physical and the barrier cannot be crossed by a physical person. It makes it clear that all the theories about how things function outside the physical are just that, theories and nothing more.

He teaches that Torah and Mitzvos are not a goal in themselves but a tool to be used in the search, apprehension and love of God. As he makes it clear in Moreh 3:54:

“that the simple term hokmah, as a rule, denotes the highest aim of man, the knowledge of God; that those properties which man acquires, makes his peculiar treasure, and considers as his perfection, in reality are not perfection: and that the religious acts prescribed in the Law, I refer to the various kinds of worship and the moral principles which benefit all people in their social intercourse with each other, do not constitute the ultimate aim of man, nor can they be compared to it, for they are but preparations leading to it.”

And finally he gives practical meaning to this dedication to understanding God and the results of His actions. Man having come to a proper apprehension of God emulates Him and partakes in the world by giving back, loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness. Ethical behavior is no longer just a moral obligation but a religious act of bonding with God the Creator by copying Him. Rambam ends the Moreh with this idea:

“Having acquired this knowledge he will then be determined always to seek loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, and thus to imitate the ways of God.”

There is much more to say on this subject. I think that probably the most important aspect of Rambam’s teachings is that he is a teacher par excellence. He does not give you a finished product but opens up new ways of thinking and once having set you on a path, he lets you develop and understand things at your own pace and level.

ז לֹא-כֵן, עַבְדִּי מֹשֶׁה: בְּכָל-בֵּיתִי, נֶאֱמָן הוּא.
7 My servant Moses is not so; he is trusted in all My house;