Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed [Paperback]

Kenneth Seeskin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

How should we describe God? What is so important about monotheism? If God created the universe, why is there evil? How will we know when the Messiah has come? These are among the questions that Maimonides contemplated in the 12th century. And they still perplex students of Judaism today. The classic questions in Maimonides: A Guide For Today's Perplexed are now addressed in modern language. The philosophy and teachings of Maimonides (the first interpreter of Judaism in Western terms) are accessible to every, not just theologians. Maimonides is ideal for young adults and older readers alike. --Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 141 pages
• Publisher: Behrman House (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874415098
• ISBN-13: 978-0874415094
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best introductory guide to the writer, October 16, 2000

By 

R. Kaiser (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed (Paperback)

While I agree that this is a wonderful book, I find the previous reviews on this book incomprehensible. Maimonides's writings are not at all obvious, and Maimonides himself repeatedly claimed that his philosophical writings must never be taken at face value. Rather, Maimonides continues, he is fearful of how the ignorant will not be able to understand certain philosophical concepts, and he is afraid that a straightforward discussion of certain religious/philosophical truths will cause many people to lose faith altogether. Also, Maimonides was fearful of repression by the "orthodox" Jews of his day. Then, as now, theological innovation was condidered heresy by them. Therefore Maimonides explicitly states that several of his controversial positions will only be alluded to, and "the wise will understand". Now - as then - many people are totally unable to understand Maimonides views on this subject, as they assume that his views were more or less "orthodox." (They were not).

This book by Prof. Seeskin is a good introduction to Maimonides thought. For a good introduction to why Maimonides was so controversial (both then and now), see the entry under "Maimonodean Controversy" in the Encyclopaedia Judaica. For another important discussion of the implications of Maimonide's views, see "Must a Jew Believe Anything?" by Menachem Kellner.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent introduction to Maimonides, October 4, 2009

By 

Israel Drazin (Boca Raton, Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed (Paperback)

Kenneth Seeskin, Director of the Jewish Studies Program at Northwestern University, recognizes that Maimonides classic book on philosophy The Guide of the Perplexed is difficult reading for most people. It is long; made up of three books with 178 chapters. Secondly, Maimonides never intended that an insufficiently educated general audience should read it. He expected that his readers knew the sacred books of Judaism, the classics of Greek philosophy and the commentaries written on these classics. The third problem is that this book was composed in the twelfth century when science was radically different than it is today. Seeskin states that he intends to make Maimonides clear to modern readers. He does so by writing in clear English and by clarifying each point with examples from modern life.

What is idol worship?
Maimonides contends that the Torah considers idolatry to be the most reprehensible wrong. It is another name for ignorance, for disregarding what is rational. People can only worship God when they abandon superstition and other forms of ignorance and seek to understand God and the universe in a rational way. In a word, Maimonides felt that Judaism is a religion that teaches the truth. If people think that the Jewish faith is a belief system for which there is no supporting evidence, only blind reliance on tradition, they are wrong; this is not Judaism. This Maimonidean teaching becomes clear when we understand several of his ideas.

God has no body and human functions
Seeskin begins his book, as does Maimonides in his Guide, by stating that God has no physical form and does not act like a human being. Since God has no eyes, feet, and mouth, God does not see, move about or speak. When the Torah uses such terms as God looking, going up and down, coming near, speaking, and creating humans in the divine image, Scripture is speaking figuratively. The Bible does not intend that these words be taken literally because if they were taken literally, they would be describing a God with a body or doing an act that implies that God has a body.
As in English, God "looking" in the Bible does not mean that God has eyes, it should be understood as thinking, as in "I see your point." When the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 6 that he saw God, he means that he understood something about God. Similarly, when the Bible states that God "comes down," it means that there is a divine revelation, and "going up" means that the revelation ended, as in "she moved on to higher mathematics." God did not move. When Scripture writes that God is "coming near" it means that the person begins to understand, as in "the doctors are getting closer and closer to finding a cure." When a prophet hears God "speaking," he is thinking that he understands what God wants him to do. God has no mouth. The statement that humans are created in "God's image" does not imply that God has a physical form, but that humans are given intelligence. Thus the relationship between humans and God is not physical, but intellectual.

What can humans know about God and how should God be worshipped?
If God has no body, how can people describe God? Maimonides insists that it is impossible for humans to know anything about God. God is unlike anything here on earth. He is not like humans at all. When people speak about God knowing or God being all-powerful, they are saying something that is wrong. All we can do is confess ignorance.
If all biblical descriptions of God should be understood as figures of speech and if we cannot know anything about God, how can we worship God? Maimonides explains that while we cannot know God we can know what effect God has upon the earth and humans. We are unable to know if God is just and merciful; however, we are able to read in the Torah how God can cause justice and mercy to occur. This is really all we need to know about God, that God causes good, and we should copy these attributes of God and also act to produce good results. Thus Judaism is not a religion that encourages passive philosophical thinking about God, it is a practical and active religion that teaches true ideas about the world and helps improve individuals and society.
One of the ways that people can "copy" divine behavior is to remember that the Bible begins by teaching that people are created in God's image. Thus one human duty, indeed the paramount human duty, is to "copy" God by not accepting ideas simply because people claim that something is true; people have a duty to think rationally.
Seeskin stresses that Maimonides was opposed to religious fundamentalism; people must use their reason; this is what God wants. This is the implication of people being created in the "divine image."

How was the world created?
Since we cannot know anything about God other than the consequences of the divine acts, what can we know about how the world came into being? The Torah seems to say that God created the world out of nothing. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato claimed that God formed the world from pre-existing matter. His student Aristotle said that both God and the world existed for eternity. Some scholars are convinced that Maimonides was unable to decide between these three views. Maimonides states explicitly that if he wanted he could read the Bible as expressing any of the three views. "In fact," Seeskin writes, "he is so open minded about it that some scholars think he is actually committed to a version of the Aristotelian position." Seeskin himself thinks that Maimonides preferred the Platonic view.

Do miracles occur?
Should the biblical accounts of miracles be understood literally? Seeskin notes that Maimonides is not altogether clear on this issue. He describes some biblical miracles as dreams and others as really part of the natural order. People viewing an unusual event might think that it is not natural - such as a twelfth century man seeing a plane flying in the air. While Seeskin is correct that Maimonides is unclear whether miracles occur, other scholars say that Maimonides is hinting that all "miracles" fall into one of these two categories, but he does not say this explicitly because he did not want to offend or confuse those people who felt strongly that God interferes with nature and performs miracles.

Evil
Does the universe contain evil? Maimonides answers, "No." Some things in nature appear to be evil but are not. It is impossible to have a universe without the imperfections inherent in material things. When a mountain is washed with rain, the rocks that compose the mountain will be eaten away. When the sun shines on part of the earth, the other part will be dark. When a doctor saves a person's life with surgery, the person will experience pain. This is the nature of this world. The eaten away rocks, the darkness and pain are not evil; they are the natural consequences of having a universe.
Why do good people suffer? Maimonides states that God is not behind misfortunes; suffering may come from one of three sources. The first is the one just described. The individual suffers because of the laws of nature. A wind or hurricane blows and harms a person. The second is the harm that people do to themselves, such as by laziness, greed or self-deception. The third is the harm that some people inflict on other people, such as cruelty, murder, robbery and injustice. Maimonides adds that people need to understand that the universe does not revolve around people. We do not know and cannot know why God created the world, but it seems clear that it was not focused on humans who make up a very small part of the world.

Prophecy
What is prophecy? Maimonides describes three positions. The first, the one held by most people, is that prophecy is supernatural. God chooses the person to speak to. The human has no choice in the matter and he or she may be smart or ignorant, rich or poor. The second is a natural view: prophecy is a natural event; it is a higher level of intelligence; only a highly intelligent and well-learned person can be a prophet. God is not involved. The third notion is called a compromise. It is the Maimonidean view. It accepts the second position that prophecy is a higher level of intelligence, but says that while God does not instigate it, God can stop it.
Scholars debate what Maimonides understood by his statement that God can stop prophecy. Seeskin takes Maimonides' words literally, although an individual has attained the level of prophecy and wants to communicate his or her ideas, God may not concur and may stop the prophet from speaking. However, others, such as Joseph ibn Caspi, say that God is not involved at all. He understands that Maimonides is saying that even the most intelligent person will be unable to express an understanding/prophecy if that person is ill or depressed. By saying "God can stop prophecy," Maimonides meant what he said at the end of the section on prophecy, in 2:48: many actions are ascribed to God even though the act is not directly done by God, but is simply the result of natural laws, but they are ascribed to God because God is the ultimate cause of everything, since God created the world and its laws of nature.
What kind of intelligence does a prophet need? A prophet must have both a keen understanding of the world and the imagination of how to implement what he or she understands. The prophet must also be virtuous. A person who only has one of these attributes will not be able to help improve people and society.

The Torah commands
Since prophecy is obtained through intelligence (and can only be stopped but not started by God, according to Seeskin), then, Seeskin writes, the Torah commands must also be the result of the natural use of intelligence. Yet all are divine in the sense that they contribute to human... Read more ›

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A straightforward introduction to Moses Maimonides., March 26, 2000

By 

John S. Ryan "Scott Ryan" (Cuyahoga Falls, OH) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Maimonides: A Guide for Today's Perplexed (Paperback)

This volume is an excellent introduction to the philosophy/theology of Moses Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, or the "Rambam"). Seeskin's presentation is lucidly clear, accessible to the layperson, and blessedly free of Straussian persecution-and-the-art-of-writing searches for "hidden meanings." Seeskin levels some pointed critiques against this entire mode of interpretation and quite sensibly treats the Rambam as though he meant what he wrote. The result is a fairly short, not-overly-technical overview of the thought of the man who was undeniably far and away the greatest philosopher in Jewish history -- and, moreover, a readable introduction to systematic theology in general. Highly recommended.