Searching for a Distant God: The Legacy of MaimonidesMonotheism is usually considered Judaism's greatest contribution to world culture, but it is far from clear what monotheism is. This work examines the notion that monotheism is not so much a claim about the number of God as a claim about the nature of God. Seeskin argues that the idea of a God who is separate from his creation and unique is not just an abstraction but a suitable basis for worship. He examines this conclusion in the contexts of prayer, creation, sabbath observance, repentance, religious freedom, and love of God. Maimonides plays a central role in the argument both because of his importance to Jewish self-understanding and because he deals with the question of how philosophic ideas are embodied in religious ritual. |
Contents
| 3 | |
Two The Challenge of Monotheism | 23 |
Three Speaking of and to God | 43 |
Four The Problem of Creation | 66 |
Five Imitatio Dei | 91 |
Six Monotheism and Freedom | 124 |
Seven Popular Religion and a Personal God | 142 |
Esotericism and the Limits of Knowledge A Critique of Strauss | 177 |
Notes | 189 |
Bibliography | 229 |
| 243 | |
| 249 | |
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accept According to Maimonides achieve Alfarabi apprehension Aquinas argues argument Aristotelian Aristotle attributes of action belief Buber causal claim Cohen commandments created order creation ex nihilo David Novak demonstration Deuteronomy dialectical discussion divine doctrine esotericism essence eternal everything evil existence fact Genesis Gersonides God's Guide heart heavenly Hegel holiness human perfection idea imitatio imitatio Dei implies infinite intellect interpretation Isadore Twersky issue Jewish Philosophy Judaism Kant Kant's Kellner knowledge language Leo Strauss Maimonidean Maimonides GP Maimonides says matter means Medieval merciful metaphysics mind Mishneh Torah monides monotheism moral Moses nature negative theology Neoplatonism passage Perplexed person Pirkei Avot Plato Plotinus popular religion position possible prayer principles problem prophecy prophets question rabbinic rational reason regard religious repentance Schwarzschild sense Shekhinah soul talking theory things thinkers tion tradition true truth understand University Press words worship
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Page 3 - Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth : thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them...