[Avodah] Re Rambam on Corporeality

[david guttmann]

Responding to R. Daniel Eidensohn - 
>I don't think your alternative is relevant for the masses and my original
question remains.

There is a difference between accepting that God is incorporeal and that He
acts without an instrument. In other words the masses are taught from
childhood on that God has no body even though they are also taught that He
acts.  For God to act they cannot accept that without attributing to Him an
instrument such as a hand or a foot or another "attribute that indicates
corporeality". Rambam in 1:65 says that about more sophisticated people too
"Shelo Yavin ha'adam bereishit Hamachshava he'ech ye'asseh davar shyesh
ratzon la'asoto be'etzem haratzon bilvad". Here we are told that people
cannot accept an act without at least God speaking - thus all the vayomers
and vayedabers - which are "attributes that indicate corporeality". 

Everyone including the masses are told God has no body. Accept it on faith
as Rambam says in 1:35 " Umi shekaha sichlo...." is told that on faith. But
when it comes to action we let him stay with the idea that God acts similar
to a human. Eventually if he learns and grows he will get the truth. See
also Yesodei Hatorah 1:8-9 - in 8 he says that God is not corporeal in 9 he
immediately allows for accepting attributes that indicate corporeality. That
is consistent with 1;26 where Rambam talks about actions thus attributes
that indicate corporeality - descend, rise etc... And he ends with
"Uleficach rauy leva'aro leotam sherotzim lehavi atzmoam lishleimut
haenoshit" (quotes are from R. Kafih's edition.)

David Guttmann
 
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