[Avodah] Knowing Ikarim

[Micha Berger]

As I think many of you know, there is a big issue over what the Rambam
meant by accepting the iqarim. R' Yosef al-Qafih ("Kapach") very strongly
states that the usual translation of "emunah" (or "belief"). Rather,
the Arabic is closer to "to know". That the Rambam expects people to
necessarily come to their beliefs through proof and thus have certainty.

However, R' Meir Treibitz pointed out something interesting in an aside
in his recording at
<http://hashkafacircle.com/shiurim/uncategorized/13-ikkarim-01-existence-of-g-d>.

The first two diberos were heard by everyone miPi haGevurah, the other
611 mitzvos via nevu'as Moshe (Makkor 24a). In the Moreh (2:33), the
Rambam would apparently take that to mean that the first two diberos are
truths a person could apprehend without Toras Moshe. Which would seem to
mean that the first iqarim (however many of them you feel are included in
"Anokhi" and "Lo sihyeh lekha", RMT said three, but I would think iqar
#5 is all about "lo sihyeh") are amenable to knowledge through proof,
but the others are not. To quote (Friedlander's translation):

    There is, however, an opinion of our Sages frequently expressed in
    the Midrashim, and found also in the Talmud, to this effect: The
    Israelites heard the first and the second commandments from God,
    i.e., they learnt the truth of the principles contained in these two
    commandments in the same manner as Moses, and not through Moses. For
    these two principles, the existence of God and His Unity, can be
    arrived at by means of reasoning, and whatever can be established by
    proof is known by the prophet in the same way as by any other person;
    he has no advantage in this respect. These two principles were not
    known through prophecy alone. Comp., "Thou hast been shown to know
    that," etc. (Deut. iv. 34). But the rest of the commandments are of
    an ethical and authoritative character, and do not contain [truths]
    perceived by the intellect.

The Rambam's point is in contrast to the other 611 mitzvos, but I share
RMT's obsevation that the same would logically be true in contrast to
the other iqarim.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             When we are no longer able to change a situation
micha at aishdas.org        -- just think of an incurable disease such as
http://www.aishdas.org   inoperable cancer -- we are challenged to change
Fax: (270) 514-1507      ourselves.      - Victor Frankl (MSfM)