Introduction to Part One, Approaches to the Study of Maimonides

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter 1
2. TABLE OF CONTENTS 5
3. By Way of Personal Introduction 7
4. Acknowledgements 12
5. PART ONE. APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF MAIMONIDES
6. Introduction to Part One, Approaches to the Study of Maimonides 15
7. 1. Reading Rambam – Approaches to the Interpretation of Maimonides 19
8. 2. Strauss’ Maimonides vs. Maimonides’ Maimonides: Could Maimonides have been both Enlightened and Orthodox? 33
9. 3. The Literary Character of the Mishneh Torah: On the Art of Writing in Maimonides’ Halakhic Works 45
10. 4. Is Maimonides’ Ideal Person Austerely Rationalist? 63
11. PART TWO. RELIGIOUS FAITH AND DOGMA
12. Introduction to Part Two, Religious Faith and Dogma 83
13. 5. Heresy and the Nature of Faith in Medieval Jewish Philosophy 87
14. 6. What is Heresy? 105
15. 7. Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles and the Structure of the Guide of the Perplexed 123
16. 8. Maimonides, Crescas, and Abravanel on Ex. 20:2: A Medieval Jewish Exegetical Dispute 133
17. 9. Could Maimonides Get into Rambam’s Heaven? 145
18. 10. Returning the Crown to its Ancient Glory: Marc Shapiro’s The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides’ Thirteen Principles Reappraised 157
19. 11. The Virtue of Faith 165
20. PART THREE. SCIENCE AND TORAH
21. Introduction to Part Three, Science and Torah 177
22. 12. On the Status of the Astronomy and Physics in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed: A Chapter in the History of Science 179
23. 13. Maimonides on the Science of the Mishneh Torah: Provisional or Permanent? 193
24. 14. Maimonides’ Allegiances to Science and Judaism 217
25. 15. Faith, Science, and Orthodoxy 233
26. PART FOUR. UNIVERSALISM
27. Introduction to Part Four, Universalism 249
28. 16. Chosenness, Not Chauvinism: Maimonides on the Chosen People 251
29. 17. Was Maimonides Truly Universalist? 273
30. 18. Maimonides’ True Religion – for Jews, or All Humanity? 291
31. 19. Spirituality and a Life of Holiness – How One Lives a Holy Life and Who Can Do It 321
32. 20. Epilogue 349
33. Works cited 359
34. Index 389