[Avodah] D'rabanan vs. D'oraita

[Allen Gerstl]

Sun, 1 Jun 2008 16:02:32 +0300
From: "Marty Bluke" 
Subject: Re: [Avodah] D'rabanan vs.

>R' Michael Makovi wrote:
>>I don't really like the model of mitzvot having intrinsic effects onthe>>universe. For example, when I eat treif, or when I put ontefillin, I don't>>really think anything spiritual is happening in the universe.

>Eating non-kosher it would seem is intrinsically harmful for a person's>soul even if they eat it b'heter. The Ran in his Drashos says this>explicitly. ...

The following blogger discusses the differences between the Rambam and his non-mystical approach and the Ramban and his school at their mystical approach:  http://yediah.blogspot.com/ in many of his postings and he apparently advocates the approach of the Rambam.  The Ran was from the Ramban's school of thought. The reaction of the mystics to the Rambam's non-mysticism was to publicly teach mysticism and publish their mystical texts. 

Centuries later the positions of the Arizal and thereafter the Besht were widely adopted (see Rav Aharon Feldman's article at http://www.zootorah.com/controversy/ravaharon.html in which he controversially states that such has delegitimized the former position).

IIUC, the point of Rav Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff's lecture that was cited by Michah in his Aspaqlaria article is that chassidim and others consider gezeir and takkanot of the rabbanam as also having intrinsic mystical effects and not as being merely being a siyag to de-oreitas. The position of the Rambam is that mitzot do not have intrinsic mystical effects but were given by HKBH to perfect us through our actions in olam hazeh. Of course the Rambam would then say that by doing so and increasing our knowlege of HKBH we improve our active intellects (our souls). So IIUC the Rambam sees olam hazeh actions affecting our souls while the Ramban posits direct other-wordly effects which then return to effect our souls. So the Ramban sees the effects as being mediated through a mystical universe while the Rambam sees the effects as being directly upon our souls and without any such mediation.

Eliyahu