[Avodah] Was the Rambam really a rationalist?

Micha Berger micha at aishdas.org
Wed Aug 22 07:39:20 PDT 2018


On Sun, Aug 12, 2018 at 09:34:20PM -0400, David Riceman via Avodah wrote:
: Could you translate "rationalist" and "mystic" into Hebrew?

I assume this is your way of pointing out that historically we couldn't
have classified outselves this way; we didn't even think in those terms,
at least not often enough to bother coining words for it.

I am not sure that matters. The Rambam could be a Rationalist (or not)
whether or not he was aware of the fact. It may mean we are overly
focused on a distinction that didn't matter to baalei mesorah. Ot it
may mean that we found a useful way to model ideas that were inherently
there all along, but never before consciously thought about and discusses.

Much the way no one ever applied gavra vs cheftza (eg) all across halakhah
until R' Chaim. But does that mean R' Chaim was wrong, or that he found
a way of illuminating ideas inherent but not consciously analyzed in
what the rishonim were already arguing?


Just today, Philologos argues that there is no classical Hebrew term
for spirituality. Philologos believes this is because Tanakh and Chazal
wouldn't have valued an inner spiritual life divorced from external
expression.

Notzrut had words even back in Greek and Latin, but we didn't coin
"ruchnius u"ntil the Middle Ages. And, he believes, because "ruchnius"
is about "ruach" rather than "neshamah" it means something closer to
"intellectual" rather than "spiritual".
https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/2018/08/why-theres-no-word-in-the-hebrew-bible-for-spirituality

Reminds me of the discussion of whether we translate "Chovos haLvavos"
as "duties of the heart", or "of the mind".

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Like a bird, man can reach undreamed-of
micha at aishdas.org        heights as long as he works his wings.
http://www.aishdas.org   But if he relaxes them for but one minute,
Fax: (270) 514-1507      he plummets downward.   - Rav Yisrael Salanter


More information about the Avodah mailing list