Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind [Hardcover]

Israel Drazin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2008

An examination of the remarkable penetrating mind of Moses Maimonides and to his rational eye-opening thoughts on many subjects. It includes ideas that are not incorporated in the usual books about this great philosopher because they are so different than the traditional thinking of the vast majority of people. It contrasts the notions of other Jewish thinkers, somewhat rational and others not rational at all.

The reader will be surprised, if not shocked, to learn that a host of beliefs that are prevalent among the Jewish masses have no rational basis. This does not suggest that Judaism itself is irrational and absurd. Just the opposite. But many Jews have opted to believe the unreasonable and illogical conventional ideas what Maimonides would label non-Jewish sabian notions because they have not been acquainted with Maimonides correct rational alternatives and taken the time to reflect upon it.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Dr. Israel Drazin succeeds in presenting Maimonides philosophy in a manner that the average reader can comprehend. The ideas presented are clearly stated so as to induce the reader to probe his own thinking. The author and the reader are thus engaged in a profound and meaningful conversation. The book is a valuable and original contribution to the vast literature on Maimonides. --Professor Bernard Auerbach, University of Maryland (retired)

Israel Drazin s Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind is a passionate and provocative polemic against ignorance and blind faith in Judaism. Jews must think for themselves. Sadly, many Jews do not adhere to this principle of Judaism. For Drazin, Maimonides is the champion of enlightened and rational commitment to a life of Torah free from superstition and mysticism. --Dr. Raphael Jospe, Department of Jewish Philosophy, Bar Ilan University.

Dr. Israel Drazin, accomplished Targum scholar, has turned his writing skills to Maimonides, whose rationalistic approach ( Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind ) fascinates the author. Despite the overwhelming acceptance of the Rambam s authority, Drazin demonstrates the existence of a surprising gap between the Master s ideas, and contemporary traditional thought and observance. Rambam describes God as withdrawing from His world after creation, for intervention would compromise the philosophic concept of His perfection. But traditional Jews do not cease to pray for God s intervention. Rambam s halakha does not recognize demonic forces, but those sections he eliminated from the liturgy for this reason (e.g. in Kiddush Levana) remain in the most traditional prayer books.

Parts two and three of this book are devoted to exposing non-rational parts of contemporary Jewish practice (devils, demons, mysticism) despite their rejection by Maimonides. Following holiday sequence, Drazin s revelations are fascinating eye-openers: Demons and Sympathetic Magic in the Passover Seder will cause many to begin reading this beautifully crafted volume from Chapter 31!

The conflict between Rambam s rationalism and popular religion is spelled out over a wide range, including passing over Rambam s Mishneh Torah ( why did Judaism reject it ) in favor of other law codes.

Drazin s work on Maimonides is marked by disarming candor, uncompromising intellectual curiosity, penetrating original analysis, and love of Maimonides, making his thought the prism for investigating all things Jewish ( Rashi was convinced that God is corporal, that He has a body, including hands, feet, and head ). The book is written with skill and extreme clarity, uncovering true deep meanings in the Rambam s words. Each chapter spells out questions, and summarized the discussion at the end. The physical production of the volume sets new standards of attractiveness.

Israel Drazin presents us with captivating insights into Jewish intellectual history, thought, and practice, built around Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher king , and pivotal figure for all things Jewish for almost a thousand years.

Drazin tells it like it is. The book cannot be put down!

--Professor Shamma Friedman (Jewish Theological Seminary and Bar Ilan

About the Author

Israel Drazin is the author of seven books, five are on Targum Onkelos. Dr. Drazin received a number of rabbinic ordinations, has earned a B.A. in theology, an M.Ed. in Psychology, an M.A. in Hebrew literature, a degree in law and a Ph.D. in Aramaic literature. He resides in Boca Raton and Jerusalem with his wife, Dina.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Gefen Publishing House (November 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9652294241
• ISBN-13: 978-9652294241
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,086,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

DR. ISRAEL DRAZIN


Education: Dr. Drazin, born in 1935, received three rabbinical degrees in 1957, a B.A. in Theology in 1957, an M.Ed. In Psychology in 1966, a JD in Law in 1974, a MA in Hebrew Literature in 1978 and a Ph.D. with honors in Aramaic Literature in 1981. Thereafter, he completed two years of post-graduate study in both Philosophy and Mysticism and graduated the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College and its War College for generals in 1985.

Military: Brigadier General Drazin entered Army Active Duty, at age 21, as the youngest U.S. Chaplain ever to serve on active duty. He served on active duty from 1957 to 1960 in both Louisiana and Germany, and then joined the active reserves and soldiered, in increasing grades, with half a dozen units. From 1978 until 1981, he lectured at the US Army Chaplains School on legal subjects. In March 1981, the Army requested that he take leave from civil service and return to active duty to handle special constitutional issues. He was responsible for preparing the defense in the trial challenging the constitutionality of the Army Chaplaincy; the military chaplaincies of all the uniformed services, active and reserve, as well as the Veteran's Administration, were attacked utilizing a constitutional rational and could have been disbanded. The Government won the action in 1984 and Drazin was awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit. Drazin returned to civilian life and the active reserves in 1984 as Assistant Chief of Chaplains, the highest reserve officer position available in the Army Chaplaincy, with the rank of Brigadier General. He was the first Jewish person to serve in this capacity in the U.S. Army. During his military career, he revolutionized the role of military chaplains making them officers responsible for the free exercise rights of all military personnel; requiring them to provide for the needs of people of all faiths as well as atheists. General Drazin completed this four-year tour of duty with honors in March 1988, culminating a total of 31 years of military duty.

Attorney: Israel Drazin graduated from law school in 1974 and immediately began a private practice. He handled virtually all manners of suits; including, domestic, criminal, bankruptcy, accident and contract cases. He joined with his son in 1993 and formed offices in Columbia and Dundalk, Maryland. Dr. Drazin stopped actively practicing law in 1997, after 23 years, and became "Of Counsel" to the Law Offices of Drazin and Drazin, P.A.

Civil Service: Israel Drazin joined the U.S. Civil Service in 1962 and remained a civil service employee, with occasional leave for military duty, until retirement in 1990. At retirement he accumulated 31 years of creditable service. During his U.S. Civil Service career, he held many positions; including, being an Equal Opportunity Consultant in the 1960s (advising insurance company top executives regarding civil rights and equal employment) and the head of Medicare's Civil Litigation Staff (supervising a team of lawyers who handled suits filed by and against the government's Medicare program). He also served as the director for all Maryland's Federal Agencies' relationship with the United Fund.

Rabbi: Dr. Drazin was ordained as a rabbi in 1957 at Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland and subsequently received semichot from two other rabbis. He entered on Army active duty in 1957. He left active duty in 1960 and officiated as a weekend rabbi at several synagogues, including being the first rabbi in Columbia, Maryland. He continued the uninterrupted weekend rabbinical practice until 1974 and then officiated as a rabbi on an intermittent basis until 1987. His rabbinical career totaled 30 years.

Philanthropy: Dr. Drazin served as the Executive Director of the Jim Joseph Foundation, a charitable foundation that gives money to support Jewish education, for just over four years, from September 2000 to November 2004.

Author: Israel Drazin is the author of more than 200 popular and scholarly articles and about 500 book reviews. He wrote a book about the case he handled for the US Army, edited a book on legends, and wrote five scholarly books on the Aramaic translation of the Bible. University Microfilm International published Targumic Studies in 1982. Ktav Publishing House published Targum Onkelos to Deuteronomy in 1983, Targum Onkelos to Exodus in 1988, Targum Onkelos to Leviticus in 1993, and Targum Onkelos to Numbers in 1998. Biblical scholars consistently praise the five scholarly volumes as "copious and excellent." He edited Legends Worth Living, a book written by his father and published by Ktav in 1991. He co-wrote For God and Country, which was published by Ktav in 1995. He and Dr. Stanley Wagner published five books on Targum Onkelos called Onkelos on the Torah. The first four volumes appeared were published and the last will be published in January 2011. His twelfth book is published by Urim Publications, A Rational Approach to Judaism and Torah Commentary. His thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth books were published by Gefen Publishing House: Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind and Maimonides and the Biblical Prophets and Maimonides: Reason Above All in 2008 and 2009. His sixteenth book Let's Study Onkelos, written with Dr. Wagner, appears on the website of the Orthodox Union (OU). He writes articles for jewishideas.org and book reviews for thejewisheye.com and other sites.

Memberships and Awards: Brigadier General Drazin is admitted to practice law in Maryland, the Federal Court, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a member of several attorney Bar Associations and the Rabbinical Council of America. He was honored with a number of military awards, the RCA 1985 Joseph Hoenig Memorial Award, and the JWB 1986 Distinguished Service Award. Mayor Kurt Schmoke, of Baltimore, Maryland, named February 8, 1988 "Israel Drazin Day." A leading Baltimore Synagogue named him "Man of the Year" in 1990. He is included in the recent editions of Who's Who in World Jewry, Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in Biblical Studies and Archaeology, and other Who's Who volumes.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Israel Drazin's 'Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind', January 19, 2009

By 

Dr. Jack Cohen - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind (Hardcover)

Dr. Israel Drazin's "Maimonides: the Exceptional Mind" is a well-written and informative work that provides a clear understanding of and penetrating insights into the thinking of Maimonides.

The book offers a well-organized addition to and clarification of informal sessions that Dr. Drazin presented to a group of us a few years ago.

The organization of chapters in the form of . . . .

-- introduction with what is to be presented

-- questions to focus the discussion

-- detailed, but readily understood explanations

-- summary with reiteration of and emphasis on the principal topic

. . . . makes for a very readable and understandable text.

I personally learned much that neither my father (of blessed memory) nor my teachers ever taught.

I was especially startled to learn about the so-called demonic, superstitious, and non-Jewish origins of such Jewish traditions as:

-- blowing of the 'shofar' and the 'tashlich' service of Rosh
Hashanah, the Jewish New Year

-- the Passover verses following the welcoming of Elijah:
'Pour Your wrath upon the nations that do do not recognize
you. . . .' , that recitation having never seemed
appropriate for that occasion

-- monthly 'Sanctification of the Moon'

Numerous comparisons with other biblical scholars serve to contrast the philosophy of Maimonides with that of other prominent Jewish thinkers and philosophers.

Finally, as Dr. Drazin explains, Maimonides' emphasis on the importance of the development of the mind, by study of '... Torah, science, and traditional thought ...' and avoidance of the irrational remains an important message to this day.

Two minor criticisms, possibly for a 2nd printing:

-- bottom page 287 appears to have part of question 5. missing

-- in addition to the detailed references and additional reading at
the end of the book, a list of terms with corresponding page
numbers would be helpful


Dr. Jack Cohen, Boynton Beach, FL

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT, May 26, 2009

By 

Dennis Solomon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind (Hardcover)

FINALLY AN AUTHOR THAT WRITES SO ALL CAN UNDERSTAND.WRITING ON THE RAMBAM
IS NO EASY TASK.HE WAS COMPLEX & NOT EASILY UNDERSTOOD.DR DRAZIN MAKES
US WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RAMBAM.DR DRAZIN HAS DEFINATELY BECOME
THE FOREMOST AUTHORITY ON THE RAMBAM.
DENNIS SOLOMON

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tour de force on Jewish rationalism, November 27, 2008

By 

Seth J. Frantzman (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maimonides: The Exceptional Mind (Hardcover)

Dr. Israel Drazin, a man with an eclectic knowledge of Judaism and the law has created an impressive collection of short observations sourounding Maimonides and the question of Jewish rationalism. The primary aim of this book is not so much a biography of Maimonides or his mind but of his thoughts and his disputes with those Jewish thinkers who advocate non-rational things, such as angels and demons. This book is not so much just a discussion of the works of the great mind of Maimonides but is in fact a long discussion of those thoughts and how they square through the ages with other Jewish thinkers such as Joseph Karo, Rashi, Philo, Nachmonides and Spinoza. In constructing this excellent work Dr. Drazin has thus provided a wonderful introduction to Jewish literacy, giving the reader a greater literacy in the history of Jewish thought.

The book is organized primarily as a series of short discussions, beginning with important questions such as `who was Maimonides' and `Are Jews superior to other Jews'. But it then digresses into more obscure issues such as "The non-Jewish, indeed anti-Jewish, Origin of Kapparot" and "Is the notion of the Shekhinah rational?"

The main aim of the book is to present a forceful argument for Jewish rationality, for the rejection of angels and demons and hocus pocus and mysticism. But in making this argument the author must rely partly on the brilliance of Maimonides and also on the arguments of others such as "scholars" and their "proofs that the Zohar is a forgery."

The book assembles an impressive amount of information but leaves the reader begging for more. For instance Gersonides' Wars of the Lord is mentioned but not elaborated on, as are the works of Spinoza. Gnosticism is mentioend but then left aside. The book includes some surprising and apparently incorrect information such as the claim that "there are only three recorded incidents of government sponsored anti-Jewish persecution [in the Muslim world.]" Is the author kidding? This reviewer can think of three examples just in Aretz Israel: The pogrom of the Safed Jews and the burning of the Hurva synagouge in Jerusalem and the restrictions on Jews in Hebron. This doesn't mention numerous incidents, perseuctions, pogroms and riots throughout the ages against Jews in the Muslim World. What the author means is `large' persecutions, but the original claim neither provides source for this highly problematic claim nor provides an explanation. The book claims that since the "average IQ has been increasing" that this therefore "confirmed Maimonides impressive perceptive thinking." But does it? Maimonides rejected the idea of the `decline of generations.' But IQ is a modern concept, not exactly something that can be measured against the great sages of the past.

In the end, despite a number of small flaws of logic and claims, this is an excellent book that many readers will find informative and enlightening if only because it touches on such a wide variety of subjects and shows a great diversity of understanding of the history of Jewish thought. The focus on rationality is a welcome one in a world obsessed with Kabballah, the anti-thesis of Maimonides' ideas.