tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post302528728584467224..comments2023-10-12T10:09:54.121-04:00Comments on Believing is Knowing: Rambam Responds to Criticism On Mishne Torah.David Guttmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07668302013143561290noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-33485585673174045102007-11-02T08:46:00.000-04:002007-11-02T08:46:00.000-04:00They are both me. I quoted that from the introduct...They are both me. I quoted that from the introduction to extend on my point.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore the Rambam does not exclude himself from this statement:<BR/>30 After the court of Rav Ashe, who wrote the Talmud in the time of his son and completed it, the people of Israel scattered throughout all the nations most exceedingly and reached the most remote parts and distant isles, armed struggle became prevalent in the World, and the public ways became clogged with armies. The study of the Torah declined, and the people of Israel ceased to gather in places of study in their thousands and tens of thousands as before.<BR/><BR/>31 But there gathered together a few individuals, the remnant whom the LORD calls in each city and in each town, and occupied themselves with the Torah, understood all the works of the sages, and knew from them the correct way of the Law.<BR/><BR/>32 Any court that was established in any town after the time of the Talmud and enacted legislations or enacted customs for the town's residents or for several towns' residents, its enactments did not gain the acceptance of all Israel, because of the remoteness of their settlements and the difficulties of travel, and because the members of the court of any particular town were just individuals and the Great Rabbinical Court of seventy members had ceased to exist several years before the writing of the Talmud.<BR/><BR/>33 So a town's residents are not forced to observe the customs of another town, nor is one court told to enact the restrictive legislations of another court in its town. So too, if one of the Geonim understood that the correct way of the Law was such and such, and it became clear to another court afterwards that this was not the correct way of the Law written in the Talmud, the earlier court is not to be obeyed, but rather what seems more correct, whether earlier or later.<BR/><BR/>34 These matters apply to rulings, enactments, and customs that arose after the Talmud had been written. But whatever is in the Babylonian Talmud is binding on all of the people of Israel; and every city and town is forced to observe all the customs observed by the Talmud's scholars and to enact their restrictive legislations and to observe their positive legislations.<BR/><BR/>Shabbat Shalom, from Jerusalem.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-15288369299147112512007-11-02T05:52:00.000-04:002007-11-02T05:52:00.000-04:00Anonymous 2 - You seem to confirm . Am I correct?Anonymous 2 - You seem to confirm . Am I correct?David Guttmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07668302013143561290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-68022163730746418412007-11-02T05:50:00.000-04:002007-11-02T05:50:00.000-04:00>He clearly does not call the French wise men, foo...>He clearly does not call the French wise men, fools, despite them coming to different conclusions than him.<BR/><BR/>He is referring to R. Yonathan of Lunil who corresponded with him. Rambam had the greatest regard for these people as he did for his greatest critic Ra'avad who he refers to Harav Hagadol Mi Posquierre in a letter. Rishonim learned to arrive at a conclusion lehalacha and in this sense they were on the same wavelength as Rambam. Just like nowadays, in his days there were people who learned without that goal in mind and that to whom he refers to critically.<BR/><BR/>As an earlier commenter mentioned he had a good understanding of his own self worth.David Guttmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07668302013143561290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-16968053632174927212007-11-01T20:14:00.000-04:002007-11-01T20:14:00.000-04:0040 In our times, severe troubles come one after a...40 In our times, severe troubles come one after another, and all are in distress; the wisdom of our Torah scholars has disappeared, and the understanding of our discerning men is hidden. Thus, the commentaries, the responses to questions, and the settled laws that the Geonim wrote, which had once seemed clear, have in our times become hard to understand, so that only a few properly understand them. And one hardly needs to mention the Talmud itself--the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, the Sifra, the Sifre, and the Toseftot--which all require a broad mind, a wise soul, and considerable study, before one can correctly know from them what is forbidden or permitted and the other rules of the Torah.<BR/><BR/>41 For this reason, I, Moshe son of the Rav Maimon the Sephardi, found that the current situation is unbearable; and so, relying on the help of the Rock blessed be He, I intently studied all these books, for I saw fit to write what can be determined from all of these works in regard to what is forbidden and permitted, and unclean and clean, and the other rules of the Torah: Everything in clear language and terse style, so that the whole Oral Law would become thoroughly known to all; without bringing problems and solutions or differences of view, but rather clear, convincing, and correct statements, in accordance with the legal rules drawn from all of these works and commentaries that have appeared from the time of Our Holy Teacher to the present.<BR/><BR/>42 This is so that all the rules should be accessible to the small and to the great in the rules of each and every commandment and the rules of the legislations of the Torah scholars and prophets: in short, so that a person should need no other work in the World in the rules of any of the laws of Israel; but that this work might collect the entire Oral Law, including the positive legislations, the customs, and the negative legislations enacted from the time of Moshe Our Teacher until the writing of the Talmud, as the Geonim interpreted it for us in all of the works of commentary they wrote after the Talmud. Thus, I have called this work the [Complete] Restatement of the [Oral] Law (Mishneh Torah), for a person reads the Written Law first and then reads this work, and knows from it the entire Oral Law, without needing to read any other book between them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-58532640085079833212007-11-01T20:08:00.000-04:002007-11-01T20:08:00.000-04:00Contradiction:"[Rambam clearly is referring to the...Contradiction:<BR/>"[Rambam clearly is referring to the supposed Talmidei Chachamim, the elite and not the plain people]"<BR/>"How much more [am I delighted] having already received letters from the French wise men and from others in their name, expressing their wonderment about what was done and are asking for the book in its totality."<BR/><BR/>I think the Rambam is referring to people who do not see benefit in a code like the Minshneh Torah. I do not think the Rambam would hold someone like Rabbi Yose or Rabbi Yoshohua ben Levi as a fool. He clearly does not call the French wise men, fools, despite them coming to different conclusions than him.<BR/><BR/>All I see is he is calling people who are sticking to the talmudic give and take as fools because in talmudic times each rabbi would instruct the people with one opinion an one conclusion without the give and take. <BR/><BR/>Well that is my 2am chiddish. Yes, I got just out of bed to post this comment.<BR/><BR/>Good night folks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-40447062118818740082007-10-30T11:19:00.000-04:002007-10-30T11:19:00.000-04:00at the end of the introduction כללו של דבר, כדי של...at the end of the introduction<BR/> כללו של דבר, כדי שלא יהא אדם צריך לחיבור אחר בעולם בדין מדיני ישראל; אלא יהיה חיבור זה מקבץ לתורה שבעל פה כולה, עם התקנות והמנהגות והגזירות שנעשו מימות משה רבנו ועד חיבור התלמוד, וכמו שפירשו לנו הגאונים בכל חיבוריהן, שחיברו אחר התלמודDavid Guttmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07668302013143561290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-66245386864045325452007-10-30T10:37:00.000-04:002007-10-30T10:37:00.000-04:00Where is the reference in the MT? ThanksWhere is the reference in the MT? ThanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21749731.post-88321433268586774352007-10-29T21:46:00.000-04:002007-10-29T21:46:00.000-04:00May I suggest the unpopular view that "all other s...May I suggest the unpopular view that "all other sefarim" refers to just that - as he explains in the introduction to the MT. Those who see the true merit of the MT will abandon all other study. <BR/><BR/>The fact that Rambam continued teaching "other sefarim" (as he explains in another letter) should not be troublesome - those are all the individuals 'who don't know what he did' (consider the fact that Rambam views Yosef as unique)Yehudahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13012748301457819738noreply@blogger.com