Editing The Guide for the Perplexed (section)

== Contents ==
[[File:Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides.jpg|thumb|Cover of a print version]]
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' was originally written sometime between 1185 and 1190 by Maimonides in [[Judeo-Arabic]] (Classical Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet). It was first translated in 1204 into Hebrew by a contemporary of Maimonides, [[Samuel ibn Tibbon]].<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=The Guide to the Perplexed|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/3963/|publisher=World Digital Library|access-date=22 January 2013}}</ref> The work is divided into three parts. According to Maimonides, he wrote the ''Guide'' "to enlighten a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our holy Law, who conscientiously fulfills his moral and religious duties, and at the same time has been successful in his philosophical studies."

{{blockquote|This work has also a second object in view: It seeks to explain certain obscure figures which occur in the Prophets, and are not distinctly characterized as being figures. Ignorant and superficial readers take them in a literal, not in a figurative sense. Even well-informed persons are bewildered if they understand these passages in their literal signification, but they are entirely relieved of their perplexity when we explain the figure, or merely suggest that the terms are figurative. For this reason I have called this book ''Guide for the Perplexed''.<ref name=Friedlander>{{cite book |author=Maimonides |title=Guide for the Perplexed |url=https://archive.org/details/guideforperplexe00maim/page/2/mode/1up?ref=ol&view=theater |page=2 |translator=M. Friedländer |date=1910 |edition=2nd |location=London |publisher=George Routledge and Sons}}</ref>}}

Also, he made a systematic exposition on ''Maaseh Bereishit'' and ''[[Merkabah mysticism]]'', works of [[Kabbalah#Mystic Doctrines in Talmudic Times|Jewish mysticism]] regarding the [[theology]] of [[creation myth|creation]] from the [[Book of Genesis]] and the chariot passage from the [[Book of Ezekiel]]—these being the two main mystical texts in the [[Tanakh]]. This analysis occurs in the third part, and from this perspective, the issues raised in the first two parts are there to provide background and a progression in the mystical and philosophical knowledge required to ponder the climax.

===The opening letter ===
The book begins with a letter from Maimonides to his dear student, Rabbi [[Joseph ben Judah]] of Ceuta. Maimonides praises his student's sharp comprehension and eagerness to acquire knowledge. 

{{blockquote|Then when God decreed our separation and you betook yourself elsewhere, these meetings aroused in me a resolution that had slackened. Your absence moved me to compose this Treatise, which I have composed for you and for those like you, however few they are. I have set it down in dispersed chapters. All of them that are written down will reach you where you are, one after the other.}}

=== The first part ===
[[File:14c ed of the Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides.jpg|thumb|A page from a 14th-century manuscript of the ''Guide''. The figure seated on the chair with [[Star of David|Stars of David]] is thought to be [[Aristotle]].]]

The part begins with Maimonides' thesis of the unity, omnipresence, and incorporeality of God, explaining biblical [[anthropomorphism]] of divine attributes as homonymous or figurative.  The first chapter explains the Genesis 1 description of Adam the first as in the "[[image of God]]", as referring to the intellectual perception of humankind rather than physical form.  In the Bible, one can find many expressions that refer to God in human terms, for instance the "hand of God". Maimonides strongly opposed what he believed to be a [[heresy]] present in unlearned Jews who then assume God to be corporeal (or even possessing positive characteristics).

To explain his belief that this is not the case, Maimonides devoted more than 20&nbsp;chapters in the beginning (and middle) of the first part to analyzing Hebrew terms. Each chapter was about a term used to refer to God (such as "mighty") and, in each case, Maimonides presented a case that the word is a [[homonym]], whereby its usage when referring to a physical entity is completely different from when referring to God. This was done by close [[Content analysis|textual analysis]] of the word in the Tanakh in order to present what Maimonides saw as the proof that according to the Tanakh, God is completely incorporeal:
{{blockquote|[The [[Rambam]]] set up the incorporeality of God as a dogma, and placed any person who denied this doctrine upon a level with an idolater; he devoted much of the first part of the ''Moreh Nevukhim'' to the interpretation of the Biblical anthropomorphisms, endeavoring to define the meaning of each and to identify it with some transcendental metaphysical expression. Some of them are explained by him as perfect homonyms, denoting two or more absolutely distinct things; others, as imperfect homonyms, employed in some instances figuratively and in others homonymously.”<ref name=JE>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=905&letter=M&search=Maimonides#3053 |title=Moses ben Maimon |last1=Jacobs |first1=Joseph |last2=Broydé |first2=Isaac |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |access-date=2007-10-11}}.  See also, Maimonides, ''Guide for the Perplexed,'' Introduction, [https://books.google.com/books?id=a2dRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA211 page 2] of M. Friedländer's translation, 1919 ed.</ref>}}

This leads to Maimonides' notion that God cannot be described in any positive terms, but rather only in [[Negative theology#In the Jewish tradition|negative conceptions]]. ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' notes his view that "As to His essence, the only way to describe it is negatively. For instance, He is not physical, nor bound by time, nor subject to change, etc. These assertions do not involve any incorrect notions or assume any deficiency, while if positive essential attributes are admitted it may be assumed that other things coexisted with Him from eternity."<ref name=JE/>

Unrestrained anthropomorphism and perception of positive attributes is seen as a transgression as serious as [[idolatry]], because both are fundamental errors in the metaphysics of God's role in the universe, and that is the most important aspect of the world.

The first part also contains an analysis of the reasons why philosophy and mysticism are taught late in the Jewish tradition, and only to a few. Maimonides cites many examples of what he sees as the incapability of the masses of understanding these concepts. Thus, approaching them with a mind that is not yet learned in [[Torah]] and other Jewish texts can lead to heresy and the transgressions considered the most serious by Maimonides.

The part ends (Chapters 73–76) with Maimonides' protracted exposition and criticism of a number of principles and methods identified with the schools of [[Jewish Kalam]] and [[Islamic Kalam]], including the argument for creation ''[[ex nihilo]]'' and the unity and incorporeality of God. While he accepts the conclusions of the Kalam school (because of their consistency with Judaism), he disagrees with their methods and points out many perceived flaws in their arguments: "Maimonides exposes the weakness of these propositions, which he regards as founded not on a basis of positive facts, but on mere fiction ... Maimonides criticizes especially the tenth proposition of the ''Mutakallimīn'', according to which everything that is conceivable by imagination is admissible: e.g., that the terrestrial globe should become the all-encompassing sphere, or that this sphere should become the terrestrial globe."<ref name=JE/>

=== The second part ===

The second part begins with 26 propositions from [[Metaphysics (Aristotle)|Aristotle's metaphysics]], of which Maimonides accepts 25 as having been conclusively demonstrated, rejecting only the proposition that holds the universe to be eternal.  The exposition of the physical structure of the universe, as seen by Maimonides. The world-view asserted in the work is essentially Aristotelian, with a spherical Earth in the centre, surrounded by concentric [[celestial spheres|Heavenly Spheres]]. While Aristotle's view with respect to the eternity of the universe is rejected, Maimonides extensively borrows his proofs of the existence of God and his concepts such as the [[Cosmological argument|Prime Mover]]: "But as Maimonides recognizes the authority of Aristotle in all matters concerning the sublunary world, he proceeds to show that the Biblical account of the creation of the nether world is in perfect accord with Aristotelian views. Explaining its language as allegorical and the terms employed as homonyms, he summarizes the first chapter of Genesis thus: God created the universe by producing on the first day the ''reshit'' (Intelligence) from which the spheres derived their existence and motion and thus became the source of the existence of the entire universe."<ref name=JE/>

A novel point is that Maimonides connects natural forces<ref>{{Cite book|title=Guide for the Perplexed|pages=Part 2, Chapter 6}}</ref> and heavenly spheres with the concept of an [[angel]]: these are seen as the same thing. The Spheres are essentially pure Intelligences who receive power from the Prime Mover. This energy overflows from each one to the next and finally reaches earth and the physical domain. This concept of intelligent spheres of existence also appears in [[Gnosticism|Gnostic Christianity]] as [[Aeon#In philosophy and mysticism|Aeons]], having been conceived at least eight hundred years before Maimonides. Maimonides' immediate source was probably [[Avicenna]], who may in turn have been influenced by the very similar scheme in [[Isma'ilism|Isma'ili Islam]]. This leads into a brief exposition of Creation as outlined in Genesis and theories about the possible [[eschatology|end of the world]].

The second major part of the part is the discussion of the concept of [[prophecy]]. Maimonides departs from the orthodox view in that he emphasizes the intellectual aspect of prophecy: According to this view, prophesy occurs when a vision is ascertained in the imagination, and then interpreted through the intellect of the prophet. In Maimonides view, many aspects of descriptions of prophesy are metaphor. All stories of God speaking with a prophet, with the exception of Moses, are metaphors for the interpretation of a vision. While a perfected "imaginative faculty" is required, and indicated through the behavior of the prophet, the intellect is also required. Maimonides insists that all prophesy, excepting that of Moses, occurs through natural law. Maimonides also states that the descriptions of nation-wide prophesy at Mount Sinai in Exodus are metaphors for the apprehension of logical proofs. For example, he gives the following interpretation:

{{blockquote|[I]n the speech of Isaiah, ... it very frequently occurs ... that when he speaks of the fall of a dynasty or the destruction of a great religious community, he uses such expressions as: the stars have fallen, the heavens were rolled up, the sun was blackened, the earth was devastated and quaked, and many similar figurative expressions (II.29).<ref>Buck, Christopher (1990). [https://www.academia.edu/41485175/The_Anatomy_of_Figuration_Maimonides_Exegesis_of_Natural_Convulsions_in_Apocalyptic_Texts_Guide_II.29_ The Anatomy of Figuration: Maimonides’ Exegesis of Natural Convulsions in Apocalyptic Texts (Guide II.29)]. University of Calgary.</ref>}}

Maimonides outlines 11&nbsp;levels of prophecy, with that of [[Moses]] being beyond the highest, and thus most unimpeded. Subsequent lower levels reduce the immediacy between God and prophet, allowing prophecies through increasingly external and indirect factors such as angels and dreams. Finally, the language and nature of the prophetic books of the Bible are described.

=== The third part ===
[[File:Guiaperplexos 202a.jpg|right|thumb]]
The beginning of the third part is described as the climax of the whole work. This is the exposition of the mystical passage of the Chariot found in Ezekiel. Traditionally, Jewish law viewed this passage as extremely sensitive, and in theory, did not allow it to be taught explicitly at all. The only way to learn it properly was if a student had enough knowledge and wisdom to be able to interpret their teacher's hints by themselves, in which case the teacher was allowed to teach them indirectly. In practice, however, the mass of detailed rabbinic writings on this subject often crosses the line from hint to detailed teachings.

After justifying this "crossing of the line" from hints to direct instruction, Maimonides explains the basic mystical concepts via the Biblical terms referring to Spheres, elements and Intelligences. In these chapters, however, there is still very little in terms of direct explanation.

This is followed by an analysis of the [[morality|moral]] aspects of the universe. Maimonides deals with the [[problem of evil]] (for which people are considered to be responsible because of [[free will]]), trials and tests (especially those of [[Book of Job|Job]] and the story of the [[Binding of Isaac]]) as well as other aspects traditionally attached to God in theology, such as [[Divine Providence|providence]] and [[omniscience]]: "Maimonides endeavors to show that evil has no positive existence, but is a privation of a certain capacity and does not proceed from God; when, therefore, evils are mentioned in Scripture as sent by God, the Scriptural expressions must be explained allegorically. Indeed, says Maimonides, all existing evils, with the exception of some which have their origin in the laws of production and destruction and which are rather an expression of God's mercy, since by them the species are perpetuated, are created by men themselves."<ref name=JE/>

Maimonides then explains his views on the reasons for the [[613 mitzvot]], the 613 laws contained within the five books of Moses. Maimonides divides these laws into 14 sections—the same as in his [[Mishneh Torah]]. However, he departs from traditional Rabbinic explanations in favour of a more physical/[[pragmatism|pragmatic]] approach by explaining the purpose of the commandments (especially of [[Korban|sacrifices]]) as intending to help wean the Israelites away from idolatry.<ref name=klein>Reuven Chaim Klein, "[https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/363/htm Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices]", ''Religions'' 12(5), 363.</ref>

Having culminated with the [[Ten Commandments|commandments]], Maimonides concludes the work with the notion of the perfect and harmonious life, founded on the correct worship of God. The possession of a correct philosophy underlying Judaism (as outlined in the Guide) is seen as being an essential aspect in true wisdom.