''The Guide for the Perplexed'' (; ; ) is a work of

Jewish theology Jewish philosophy () includes all philosophy carried out by Jews or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until the modern ''Haskalah'' (Jewish Enlightenment) and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to recon ...

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

. It seeks to reconcile

Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by Prior Analytics, deductive logic and an Posterior Analytics, analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics ...

with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text. It was written in

Judeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct ...

, a dialect of

Classical Arabic Classical Arabic or Quranic Arabic () is the standardized literary form of Arabic used from the 7th century and throughout the Middle Ages, most notably in Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid literary texts such as poetry, e ...

using the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

. It was sent originally, part after part, to his student, Rabbi

Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta Joseph ben Judah ( ''Yosef ben Yehuda'') of Ceuta ( 1160–1226) was a Jewish physician and poet, and disciple of Maimonides. Maimonides wrote his work, ''The Guide for the Perplexed'', for Joseph. Life For the first 25 years of his life ben Ju ...

, the son of Rabbi Judah, and is the main source of Maimonides' philosophical views, as opposed to his opinions on

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

. Since many of the philosophical concepts, such as his view of

theodicy In the philosophy of religion, a theodicy (; meaning 'vindication of God', from Ancient Greek θεός ''theos'', "god" and δίκη ''dikē'', "justice") is an argument that attempts to resolve the problem of evil that arises when all powe ...

and the relationship between

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, are relevant beyond Judaism, it has been the work most commonly associated with Maimonides in the non-Jewish world and it is known to have influenced several major non-Jewish philosophers. Following its publication, "almost every philosophic work for the remainder of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

cited, commented on, or criticized Maimonides' views." Within

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

, the ''Guide'' became widely popular, with many

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish communities requesting copies of the manuscript, but also quite controversial, with some communities limiting its study or banning it altogether.

''The Guide for the Perplexed'' was originally written sometime between 1185 and 1190 by Maimonides in

(Classical Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet). It was first translated in 1204 into Hebrew by a contemporary of Maimonides,

Samuel ibn Tibbon Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon ( – ), more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon (, ), was a Jewish philosopher and doctor who lived and worked in Provence, later part of France. He was born about 1150 in Lunel, Hérault, Lunel (Languedoc), and die ...

. The work is divided into three parts. According to Maimonides, he wrote the ''Guide'' "to enlighten a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our holy Law, who conscientiously fulfills his moral and religious duties, and at the same time has been successful in his philosophical studies." Also, he made a systematic exposition on ''Maaseh Bereishit'' and ''

Merkabah mysticism Merkabah () or Merkavah mysticism (lit. Chariot mysticism) is a school of early Jewish mysticism (), centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1 or in the hekhalot literature ("palaces" literature), concerning stories of ascents to ...

'', works of

Jewish mysticism Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), draws distinctions between different forms of mysticism which were practiced in different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbal ...

regarding the

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

of creation from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

and the chariot passage from the

Book of Ezekiel The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Nevi'im#Latter Prophets, Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) and one of the Major Prophets, major prophetic books in the Christian Bible, where it follows Book of Isaiah, Isaiah and ...

—these being the two main mystical texts in the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta. Maimonides praises his student's sharp comprehension and eagerness to acquire knowledge.

The first part

14c ed of the Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides

The part begins with Maimonides' thesis of the unity, omnipresence, and incorporeality of God, explaining biblical

anthropomorphism Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

of divine attributes as homonymous or figurative. The first chapter explains the Genesis 1 description of Adam the first as in the "

image of God The "image of God" (; ; ) is a concept and theological doctrine in Judaism and Christianity. It is a foundational aspect of Judeo-Christian belief with regard to the fundamental understanding of human nature. It stems from the primary text in Gen ...

", as referring to the intellectual perception of humankind rather than physical form. In the Bible, one can find many expressions that refer to God in human terms, for instance the "hand of God". Maimonides strongly opposed what he believed to be a

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

present in unlearned Jews who then assume God to be corporeal (or even possessing positive characteristics). To explain his belief that this is not the case, Maimonides devoted more than 20 chapters in the beginning (and middle) of the first part to analyzing Hebrew terms. Each chapter was about a term used to refer to God (such as "mighty") and, in each case, Maimonides presented a case that the word is a

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are either; '' homographs''—words that mean different things, but have the same spelling (regardless of pronunciation), or '' homophones''—words that mean different things, but have the same pronunciat ...

, whereby its usage when referring to a physical entity is completely different from when referring to God. This was done by close

textual analysis Content analysis is the study of documents and communication artifacts, known as texts e.g. photos, speeches or essays. Social scientists use content analysis to examine patterns in communication in a replicable and systematic manner. One of the ...

of the word in the Tanakh in order to present what Maimonides saw as the proof that according to the Tanakh, God is completely incorporeal: This leads to Maimonides' notion that God cannot be described in any positive terms, but rather only in negative conceptions. ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' notes his view that "As to His essence, the only way to describe it is negatively. For instance, He is not physical, nor bound by time, nor subject to change, etc. These assertions do not involve any incorrect notions or assume any deficiency, while if positive essential attributes are admitted it may be assumed that other things coexisted with Him from eternity." Unrestrained anthropomorphism and perception of positive attributes is seen as a transgression as serious as

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic ...

, because both are fundamental errors in the metaphysics of God's role in the universe, and that is the most important aspect of the world. The first part also contains an analysis of the reasons why philosophy and mysticism are taught late in the Jewish tradition, and only to a few. Maimonides cites many examples of what he sees as the incapability of the masses of understanding these concepts. Thus, approaching them with a mind that is not yet learned in

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

and other Jewish texts can lead to heresy and the transgressions considered the most serious by Maimonides. The part ends (Chapters 73–76) with Maimonides' protracted exposition and criticism of a number of principles and methods identified with the schools of

Jewish Kalam Jewish Kalam was an early medieval style of Jewish philosophy that evolved in response to Kalam in Islam, which in turn was a reaction against Aristotelianism. The term "Jewish Kalam" is used by modern historians, but is not a term by which Jewi ...

and Islamic Kalam, including the argument for creation ''

ex nihilo (Latin, 'creation out of nothing') is the doctrine that matter is not eternal but had to be created by some divine creative act. It is a theistic answer to the question of how the universe came to exist. It is in contrast to ''creatio ex mate ...

'' and the unity and incorporeality of God. While he accepts the conclusions of the Kalam school (because of their consistency with Judaism), he disagrees with their methods and points out many perceived flaws in their arguments: "Maimonides exposes the weakness of these propositions, which he regards as founded not on a basis of positive facts, but on mere fiction ... Maimonides criticizes especially the tenth proposition of the ''Mutakallimīn'', according to which everything that is conceivable by imagination is admissible: e.g., that the terrestrial globe should become the all-encompassing sphere, or that this sphere should become the terrestrial globe."

The second part

The second part begins with 26 propositions from

Aristotle's metaphysics ''Metaphysics'' (Greek: των μετὰ τὰ φυσικά, "those after the physics"; Latin: ''Metaphysica'') is one of the principal works of Aristotle, in which he develops the doctrine that he calls ''First Philosophy''. The work is a compila ...

, of which Maimonides accepts 25 as having been conclusively demonstrated, rejecting only the proposition that holds the universe to be eternal. The exposition of the physical structure of the universe, as seen by Maimonides. The world-view asserted in the work is essentially Aristotelian, with a spherical Earth in the centre, surrounded by concentric

Heavenly Spheres ''Heavenly Spheres'' (L'Harmonie des Sphères) is an a cappella choral album by the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal under the direction of Christopher Jackson (keyboardist), Christopher Jackson. Recorded in 1998, it features songs from ...

. While Aristotle's view with respect to the eternity of the universe is rejected, Maimonides extensively borrows his proofs of the existence of God and his concepts such as the

Prime Mover Prime mover may refer to: Philosophy *Unmoved mover, a concept in Aristotle's writings Engineering * Prime mover (engine or motor), a machine that converts various other forms of energy (chemical, electrical, fluid pressure/flow, etc.) into ener ...

: "But as Maimonides recognizes the authority of Aristotle in all matters concerning the sublunary world, he proceeds to show that the Biblical account of the creation of the nether world is in perfect accord with Aristotelian views. Explaining its language as allegorical and the terms employed as homonyms, he summarizes the first chapter of Genesis thus: God created the universe by producing on the first day the ''reshit'' (Intelligence) from which the spheres derived their existence and motion and thus became the source of the existence of the entire universe." A novel point is that Maimonides connects natural forces and heavenly spheres with the concept of an

angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

: these are seen as the same thing. The Spheres are essentially pure Intelligences who receive power from the Prime Mover. This energy overflows from each one to the next and finally reaches earth and the physical domain. This concept of intelligent spheres of existence also appears in

Gnostic Christianity Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse gr ...

Aeons The word aeon , also spelled eon (in American and Australian English), originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", "generation" or "a period of time", though it tended to be translated as "age" in the sense of "ages", "forever", "timele ...

, having been conceived at least eight hundred years before Maimonides. Maimonides' immediate source was probably

Avicenna Ibn Sina ( – 22 June 1037), commonly known in the West as Avicenna ( ), was a preeminent philosopher and physician of the Muslim world, flourishing during the Islamic Golden Age, serving in the courts of various Iranian peoples, Iranian ...

, who may in turn have been influenced by the very similar scheme in Isma'ili Islam. This leads into a brief exposition of Creation as outlined in Genesis and theories about the possible end of the world. The second major part of the part is the discussion of the concept of

prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

. Maimonides departs from the orthodox view in that he emphasizes the intellectual aspect of prophecy: According to this view, prophesy occurs when a vision is ascertained in the imagination, and then interpreted through the intellect of the prophet. In Maimonides view, many aspects of descriptions of prophesy are metaphor. All stories of God speaking with a prophet, with the exception of Moses, are metaphors for the interpretation of a vision. While a perfected "imaginative faculty" is required, and indicated through the behavior of the prophet, the intellect is also required. Maimonides insists that all prophesy, excepting that of Moses, occurs through natural law. Maimonides also states that the descriptions of nation-wide prophesy at Mount Sinai in Exodus are metaphors for the apprehension of logical proofs. For example, he gives the following interpretation: Maimonides outlines 11 levels of prophecy, with that of

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

being beyond the highest, and thus most unimpeded. Subsequent lower levels reduce the immediacy between God and prophet, allowing prophecies through increasingly external and indirect factors such as angels and dreams. Finally, the language and nature of the prophetic books of the Bible are described.

The third part

The beginning of the third part is described as the climax of the whole work. This is the exposition of the mystical passage of the Chariot found in Ezekiel. Traditionally, Jewish law viewed this passage as extremely sensitive, and in theory, did not allow it to be taught explicitly at all. The only way to learn it properly was if a student had enough knowledge and wisdom to be able to interpret their teacher's hints by themselves, in which case the teacher was allowed to teach them indirectly. In practice, however, the mass of detailed rabbinic writings on this subject often crosses the line from hint to detailed teachings. After justifying this "crossing of the line" from hints to direct instruction, Maimonides explains the basic mystical concepts via the Biblical terms referring to Spheres, elements and Intelligences. In these chapters, however, there is still very little in terms of direct explanation. This is followed by an analysis of the

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...

aspects of the universe. Maimonides deals with the

problem of evil The problem of evil is the philosophical question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an Omnipotence, omnipotent, Omnibenevolence, omnibenevolent, and Omniscience, omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ...

(for which people are considered to be responsible because of

free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...

), trials and tests (especially those of

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

and the story of the

Binding of Isaac The Binding of Isaac (), or simply "The Binding" (), is a story from Book of Genesis#Patriarchal age (chapters 12–50), chapter 22 of the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God in Abrahamic religions, God orders A ...

) as well as other aspects traditionally attached to God in theology, such as

providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

and

omniscience Omniscience is the property of possessing maximal knowledge. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, it is often attributed to a divine being or an all-knowing spirit, entity or person. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any ...

: "Maimonides endeavors to show that evil has no positive existence, but is a privation of a certain capacity and does not proceed from God; when, therefore, evils are mentioned in Scripture as sent by God, the Scriptural expressions must be explained allegorically. Indeed, says Maimonides, all existing evils, with the exception of some which have their origin in the laws of production and destruction and which are rather an expression of God's mercy, since by them the species are perpetuated, are created by men themselves." Maimonides then explains his views on the reasons for the

613 mitzvot According to Jewish tradition, the Torah contains 613 commandments (). Although the number 613 is mentioned in the Talmud, its real significance increased in later medieval rabbinic literature, including many works listing or arranged by the . Th ...

, the 613 laws contained within the five books of Moses. Maimonides divides these laws into 14 sections—the same as in his

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...

. However, he departs from traditional Rabbinic explanations in favour of a more physical/

pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: * "Pragmaticism", Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy * Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics * ''Pragmatics'' (journal), an aca ...

approach by explaining the purpose of the commandments (especially of

sacrifices Sacrifice is an act or offering made to a deity. A sacrifice can serve as propitiation, or a sacrifice can be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks ...

) as intending to help wean the Israelites away from idolatry.Reuven Chaim Klein,
Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices
, ''Religions'' 12(5), 363. Having culminated with the

commandments Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, ...

, Maimonides concludes the work with the notion of the perfect and harmonious life, founded on the correct worship of God. The possession of a correct philosophy underlying Judaism (as outlined in the Guide) is seen as being an essential aspect in true wisdom.

Reception

While many Jewish communities revered Maimonides' work and viewed it as a triumph, others deemed many of its ideas

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

. The Guide was often banned and, in some occasions, even burned in Paris in 1233. In particular, the adversaries of Maimonides'

declared war against the "Guide". His views concerning angels, prophecy, and miracles—and especially his assertion that he would have had no difficulty in reconciling the biblical account of the creation with the doctrine of the eternity of the universe, had the Aristotelian proofs for it been conclusive—provoked the indignation of his coreligionists. Likewise, some (most famously Rabbi

Abraham ben David Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal ḥakham, an important commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Isaac Alfasi, an ...

, known as the RaBad) objected to Maimonides' raising the notion of the incorporeality of God as a

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

, claiming that great and wise men of previous generations held a different view. In modern-day Jewish circles, controversies regarding Aristotelian thought are significantly less heated, and, over time, many of Maimonides' ideas have become authoritative. As such, the book is seen as a legitimate and canonical, if somewhat abstruse, religious masterpiece. The Guide had great influence in Christian thought, both

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

and

Duns Scotus John Duns Scotus ( ; , "Duns the Scot"; – 8 November 1308) was a Scottish Catholic priest and Franciscan friar, university professor, philosopher and theologian. He is considered one of the four most important Christian philosopher-t ...

making extensive use of it: the negative theology contained in it also influenced mystics such as

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart (), Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart,

. Due to The Guide's influence on Western Christian thought, it has been regarded as a "Jewish-scholastic ''Summa.''" It was massively used in—and disseminated through— Ramon Martí's ''Pugio Fidei''. It was also read and commented on in Islamic circles, and remains in print in Arab countries. Several decades after Maimonides' death, a Muslim philosopher by the name of Muhammad ibn Abi-Bakr Al-Tabrizi wrote a commentary in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

on the first 25 propositions (out of 26) of Book Two, leaving out the last one, which states that the universe is eternal. The extant manuscript of the commentary was written in 677AH (1278 CE), and states that it was copied from a copy in Maimonides' own hand writing. The commentary was printed in Cairo in 1949.

Analysis

By Maimonides' own design, most readers of the ''Guide'' have come to the conclusion that his beliefs were orthodox, i.e. in line with the thinking of most rabbis of his day. He wrote that his Guide was addressed to only a select and educated readership, and that he is proposing ideas that are deliberately concealed from the masses. He writes in the introduction:

No intelligent man will require and expect that on introducing any subject I shall completely exhaust it; or that on commencing the exposition of a figure I shall fully explain all its parts.

and:

My object in adopting this arrangement is that the truths should be at one time apparent and at another time concealed. Thus we shall not be in opposition to the Divine Will (from which it is wrong to deviate) which has withheld from the multitude the truths required for the knowledge of God, according to the words, 'The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him (Psalm 25:14)'

Marvin Fox Marvin may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography ;In the United States * Marvyn, Alabama, also spelled Marvin, an unincorporated community * Marvin, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Marvin, North Carolina, a village * Marvin, South Dakota, a town * ...

comments on this:

It is one of the mysteries of our intellectual history that these explicit statements of Maimonides, together with his other extensive instructions on how to read his book, have been so widely ignored. No author could have been more open in informing his readers that they were confronting no ordinary book.Marvin Fox
Interpreting Maimonides: Studies in Methodology, Metaphysics, and Moral Philosophy
/ref>

Marvin Fox writes further:

In his introduction to the Guide Maimonides speaks repeatedly of the "secret" doctrine that must be set forth in a way appropriate to its secret character. Rabbinic law, to which Maimonides as a loyal Jew is committed, prohibits any direct, public teaching of the secrets of the Torah. One is permitted to teach these only in private to selected students of proven competence ... It would seem that there is no way to write such a book without violating rabbinic law ... Yet at times it is urgent to teach a body of sound doctrine to those who require it ... The problem is to find a method for writing such book in a way that does not violate Jewish law while conveying its message successfully to those who are properly qualified.

According to Fox, Maimonides carefully assembled the Guide "so as to protect people without a sound scientific and philosophical education from doctrines that they cannot understand and that would only harm them, while making the truths available to students with the proper personal and intellectual preparation."

Aviezer Ravitzky Aviezer () is a small religious moshav in central Israel. Located seven kilometres south of Beit Shemesh, at the east end of the Elah valley, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Th ...

writes:

Those who upheld a radical interpretation of the secrets of the Guide, from Joseph Caspi and Moses Narboni in the 14th century to
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...
and
Shlomo Pines Shlomo Pines (; ; 5 August 1908 – 9 January 1990) was an Israeli scholar of Jewish and Islamic philosophy, best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide of the Perplexed''. Biography Pines was born in Charenton-le-Pont near P ...
in the 20th, proposed and developed tools and methods for the decoding of the concealed intentions of the Guide. Can we already find the roots of this approach in the writings of
Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon ( – ), more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon (, ), was a Jewish philosopher and doctor who lived and worked in Provence, later part of France. He was born about 1150 in Lunel (Languedoc), and died about 1230 in ...
, a few years after the writing of the Guide? ... Ibn Tibbon's comments reveal his general approach toward the nature of the contradictions in the Guide: The interpreter need not be troubled by contradiction when one assertion is consistent with the "philosophic view" whereas the other is completely satisfactory to "men of religion". Such contradictions are to be expected, and the worthy reader will know the reason for them and the direction they tend to ... The correct reading of the Guide's chapters should be carried out in two complementary directions: on the one hand, one should distinguish each chapter from the rest, and on the other one should combine different chapters and construct out of them a single topic. Again, on the one hand, one should get to the bottom of the specific subject matter of each chapter, its specific "innovation", an innovation not necessarily limited to the explicit subject matter of the chapter. On the other hand, one should combine scattered chapters which allude to one single topic so as to reconstruct the full scope of the topic.

Translations

The original version of the Guide was written in

Judaeo-Arabic Judeo-Arabic (; ; ) sometimes referred as Sharh, are a group of different ethnolects within the branches of the Arabic language used by jewish communities. Although Jewish use of Arabic, which predates Islam, has been in some ways distinct f ...

. The first

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

translation (titled ''Moreh HaNevukhim'') was written in 1204 by a contemporary of Maimonides,

Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon ( – ), more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon (, ), was a Jewish philosopher and doctor who lived and worked in Provence, later part of France. He was born about 1150 in Lunel (Languedoc), and died about 1230 in ...

in southern France. This Hebrew edition has been used for many centuries. A new, modern edition of this translation was published in 2019 by

Feldheim Publishers Feldheim Publishers (or Feldheim) is an American Orthodox Jewish publisher of Torah books and literature. Its extensive catalog of titles includes books on Jewish law, Torah, Talmud, Jewish lifestyle, Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Jewish history, ...

. Another translation, which most scholars see as inferior, though more user-friendly, was that of Judah al-Harizi. A first complete translation in Latin (''Rabbi Mossei Aegyptii Dux seu Director dubitantium aut perplexorum'') was printed in Paris by Agostino Giustiniani/Augustinus Justinianus in 1520. A French translation accompanied the first critical edition, published by Salomon Munk in three volumes from 1856 (). The first complete English translation was ''The Guide for the Perplexed'', by

Michael Friedländer Michael Friedländer (29 April 1833 – 10 December 1910) was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide to the Perplexed'', which was the most popular such trans ...

, with Mr. Joseph Abrahams and Reverend H. Gollancz, dates from 1881. It was originally published in a three volume edition with footnotes. In 1904 it was republished in a less expensive one volume edition, without footnotes, with revisions. The second edition is still in use today, sold through

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

. Despite the age of this publication it still has a good reputation, as Friedländer had solid command of Judeao-Arabic and remained particularly faithful to the literal text of Maimonides' work. Another translation to English was made by

Chaim Rabin Chaim Menachem Rabin (; 1915–1996) was a German, then British, and finally Israeli professor of Hebrew and Semitic languages. Chaim Rabin was born in Giessen, Germany, 22 November 1915, the son of Israel and Martel Rabin. Having completed his ...

in 1952, also published in an abridged edition. The most popular English translation is the two-volume set ''The Guide of the Perplexed'', translated by

Shlomo Pines Shlomo Pines (; ; 5 August 1908 – 9 January 1990) was an Israeli scholar of Jewish and Islamic philosophy, best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide of the Perplexed''. Biography Pines was born in Charenton-le-Pont near P ...

, with an extensive introductory essay by

Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was an American scholar of political philosophy. He spent much of his career as a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, where he taught several generations of students an ...

, published in 1963. A new English translation published by Lenn E. Goodman and Phillip I. Lieberman of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

was published in 2024. This edition attempts to highlight the conversational, emotionally resonant tone of the original text. A modern translation to Hebrew was written by

Yosef Qafih Yosef Qafiḥ ( , ), widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach (27 November 1917 – 21 July 2000), was a Yemenite-Israeli posek, authority on Jewish religious law (''halakha''), a Dayan (rabbinic judge), dayan of the Judiciary of Israel#Jewish courts, ...

and published by Mossad Harav Kook,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, 1977. A new modern Hebrew translation has been written by Prof. Michael Schwartz,

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

's departments of Jewish philosophy and Arabic language and literature. ''Mishneh Torah Project'' published another Hebrew edition between 2018 and 2021, translated by

Hillel Gershuni Hillel () is a Jewish masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Hillel the Elder (110 BC–10 AD), Babylonian sage, scholar, and Jewish leader * Hillel, son of Gamaliel III (3rd century), Jewish scholar * Hillel II, Jewis ...

. (1842–1915), the rabbi of

Nagybecskerek Zrenjanin ( sr-Cyrl, Зрењанин, ; ; ; ; ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Central Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The city urban area has a population of 67,129 inh ...

translated it to Hungarian and published it in multiple volumes between 1878 and 1890. The Arabic original was published from Arabic manuscripts in a critical edition by the Turkish Dr. Hussein Atai and published in Turkey, then in Cairo Egypt. Translations exist also in Yiddish, French, Polish, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, and Chinese.

Manuscripts

The earliest complete Judeo-Arabic copy of Maimonides' ''Guide for the Perplexed'', copied in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

in 1380, was found in the India Office Library and added to the collection of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

in 1992. Another manuscript, copied in 1396 on vellum and written in Spanish cursive script, but discovered in Yemen by bibliophile,

David Solomon Sassoon David Solomon Sassoon (; 8 December 1880 – 10 August 1942) (also known as "David Suleiman Sassoon"), was a bibliophile and grandson of 19th century Baghdadi Jewish community leader David Sassoon. Family Sassoon was born in Bombay to Solom ...

, was formerly housed at the Sassoon Library in

Letchworth Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2021 census was 33,990. Letchworth ...

, England, but has since been acquired by the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. The manuscript has an introduction written by Samuel ibn Tibbon, and is nearly complete, with the exception of a lacuna between two of its pages. Containing a total of 496 pages, written in two columns of 23 lines to a column, with 229 illuminations, the manuscript has been described by David Solomon Sassoon in his ''Descriptive Catalogue of the Hebrew and Samaritan Manuscripts in the Sassoon Library''. In the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

at Oxford University, England, there are at least fifteen incomplete copies and fragments of the original Arabic text, all described by

Adolf Neubauer Adolf Neubauer (11 March 1831 – 6 April 1907) was a Hungarian-born at the Bodleian Library and reader (academic rank), reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University. Biography He was born in Bittse (Nagybiccse), Upper Hungary (now Bytča ...

in his ''Catalogue of Hebrew Manuscripts''. Two

Leyden Leiden ( ; ; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 127,046 (31 January 2023), but the city forms one densely connecte ...

manuscripts (cod. 18 and 211) have also the original Arabic texts, as do various manuscripts of the ''Bibliothèque Nationale'' in Paris (No. 760, very old; 761 and 758, copied by Rabbi Saadia ibn Danan). A copy of the original Arabic text was also stored at the Berlin Royal Library (now

Berlin State Library The Berlin State Library (; officially abbreviated as ''SBB'', colloquially ''Stabi'') is a universal library in Berlin, Germany, and a property of the German public cultural organization the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (). Founded in ...

), under the category Ms. Or. Qu., 579 (105 in Catalogue of

Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...

); it is defective in the beginning and at the end.''The Guide for the Perplexed'', by Moses Maimonides, M. Friedländer (ed.), 2nd edition, New York 1956, (Preface) p. xxviii Hebrew translations of the Arabic texts, made by Samuel ibn Tibbon and

Yehuda Alharizi Yehuda Alharizi, also Judah ben Solomon Harizi or al-Harizi (, ), was a rabbi, translator, poet, and traveler active in al-Andalus (mid-12th century Toledo, Spain? – 1225 in Aleppo, Ayyubid Syria). He was supported by wealthy patrons, to who ...

, albeit independently of each other, abound in university and state libraries.

References

External links

* Original

full text ** (#217) Joel edition with Arabic text per Munk (public domain, free download in

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

). *
Writings of Maimonides; manuscripts and early print editions. Jewish National and University Library
* Original text

transliterate Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or L ...

d to Arabic *
"دلالة الحائرين" Edited and Transliterated by Hussein Attai
*

full text *
Ibn Tibbon Translation (PDF) Part 1
�
Part 2
�
Part 3
*

*
trans. Michael Schwarz
*
Writings of Maimonides; manuscripts and early print editions. Jewish National and University Library
*
Moreh Nevuchim
recorded lectures in Hebrew, (

Podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

) *
Collection of Various Works by Maimonides
in Hebrew from the 14th-century * Latin full text *
Writings of Maimonides; manuscripts and early print editions. Jewish National and University Library
* English full text *
Steinberg - The Revised New English Guide for the Perplexed on ''Amazon''
*
Friedländer translation at Project Gutenberg
** Friedlander translation at Wikisource *
Friedlander translation PDF
*

** *
Shiurim
from Rav

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

Lopiansky * Russian full text of Part One *
trans. Michael Shneider
* Discussion *
Summary of the Guide for the Perplexed
*

*
Approaching the Guide: Penetrating Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim, Rabbi Jonathan Blass
** Three series of video/audio shiurim on select sections of the ''Moreh Nevukhim'', Rabbi Meir Triebitz
On Book I (Negative Theology)On Book II (Creation)On Book III (Divine Commandments)
*
Yahoo Maimonides Discussion Group
**
The Guide: An Explanatory Commentary on Each Chapter of Maimonides' Guide of The Perplexed
' by Scott Michael Alexander (covers all of Book I, currently) {{DEFAULTSORT:Guide For The Perplexed 1190s books Book burnings Censorship in Judaism Jewish philosophical and ethical texts Works by Maimonides Judeo-Arabic literature Sifrei Kodesh

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