The Guide for the Perplexed
by Moses Maimonides

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Book Reviews of The Guide for the Perplexed

Book Review: A must for anyone interested in religion and/or Judaism
Summary: 5 Stars

The text is divided into 3 books.

The first book starts with discussing the use of homonyms in the Bible, especially in relation to describing God. The thesis that emerges is that it is only superficially that the Bible describes God as corporeal but the real doctrine precludes corporeality. The second topic discussed is the nature of esoteric study in Judaism and why it should only be taught in a restricted manner. The third topic is where Rambam protests against people using positive attributes to describe God and tries to prove that God is beyond such attributes. Then, he describes the Kalam argument (an Islamic school of thought that tried to prove the existence of God amongst other things) and points out his view of the flaws in it.

The second book starts with a discussion of Aristotelian philosophy in terms of cosmology and metaphysics and compares that with Judaism, especially the mystical tradition. Rambam then gives his own view of the world structure which is at times very amusing in terms of what we know of science but still very interesting. Then, he describes the nature of prophecy and what exactly it meant to be a Biblical prophet.

The third book opens with a hinted exposition of mystical passages in the Bible, such as Ezekiel's Chariot (Ezek Chap 1 and others). Then, he talks about God and the problem of Evil as well as providence. Finally, he describes the perfect worship of God as well as the purpose of most of the major commandments in the Torah. It is here that I could see why there was much opposition to the work from within the Jewish community - as he tends to provide unorthodox rationalisations that go against traditional expositions.

As you cna see, he convers sooooo much that a serious believer or non-believer would wish to consider that it's an absolute gem. The translation is dense, both in language and print but at least it's accessible in terms of being in one volume as well as the price. If you can penetrate the at-times-archaic language, I think this book will greatly enrich your life.

Summary of The Guide for the Perplexed

World Books

• Books > Subjects > History
• Religion & Spirituality > Judaism
• Spirituality > Inspirational
• Philosophy