On Dec 3, 2007 5:09 PM, Micha Berger <<a href="mailto:micha@aishdas.org">micha@aishdas.org</a>> wrote:<br><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
My opinion on the dispute between the Rambam and Rihal is split:<br><br>I'm at home with the Rambam's universalism, the notion that being<br>Jewish "just" means having more tools at your disposal to reach the
<br>same goal. Rihal not only defines Jews as different in composition, he<br>makes a distinction between geir and ezrach.<br><br>OTOH, the Rambam is overly cerebral for my liking. <br>--<br>Micha Berger </blockquote>
</div><br>IIRC The sub-title of Kuzari is about the downtrodden People of Israel.<br>Hypothesis:<br><ul><li>There may be various legitimate approaches to G-d and human perfection,</li><li>but there is only 1 societal/communal/national covenant between G-d and a people and that is by means of the Torah.
</li></ul>In this dichotomy you need not take sides which is better.. <br>No matter how 'frum" Shem vo'Ever [or Yisro] were, they did not get the covenant of lema'an yetzaveh that was given to Avraham Avinu.
<br><br><br><br>E.G. if you were to claim that Mother Theresa was the greatest saint of the 20th century and so people should emulate her. I would counter, it CAN work for any individual but as a people the ONLY valid approach is the Torah. Yisroel v'oraisso, vekudsha brich had hu. [Aisi Xitans essentially have never succeeded in creating a Peoplehood or a cohesive Society.]
<br><br>So all philosophies and approaches to G-d can work, and they can be mystical or pragmatic. But ONLY Torah creates a Societal Covenant.<br><br>AISI Das Moshe is not intrinsically superior for the individual, it is for Yisroel. That is perhaps why Yisro and Iyyov left no heritage behind. Nor did the "nefesh asher asu becharan" leave a legacy. ONLY Am Yisroel is the Am Olam [Eternal people]
<br> <br>The Tibetan Buddhists and the Dalai Lama perhaps have the only OTHER people/nation/society I have seen that approximates a holy nation in concept and structure. But I know of no Divine covenant there.<br><br>
Rambam seemed to be obsessed with philophising aboutthe absolutely correct truth re: G-d and the Divine etc.<br><br>Rihal was more interested in perpetuating the peoplehood of Israel,etc. Rambam seemed to be concerned with pointing out the Truth of the Torah as uspeiror to other sysstems. Kuzari [to me anyway] was more about the superiority of the Jewish relationship with HKBH as opposed to other attempts.
<br><br>Recall that it has been recommended that those who do hishtadlus should learn parshas Vayishlach. Now a case could be made that certain segments or sects should simply read this parhsa every week of the year for THEIR perfection. And those in need of parnassa should read the parshas Haman . etc. But what unites us a "people" is that we all prety much read the same parsha every week [with some exceptions between EY and the Golah.] And we are supposed to ma'avir Sidrah to be in step with the weekly reading. Why? So as a people we are literally on the same page.
<br><br> <br>Kol Tuv / Best Regards,<br><a href="mailto:RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com">RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com</a><br>see: <a href="http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/">http://nishmablog.blogspot.com/</a>