Torah in the Observatory: Gersonides, Maimonides, Song of Songs                                         By Menachem Kellner Academic Studies Press, 2010, 374 pages   Reviewed by Israel Drazin   Menachem Kellner is one of the most knowledgeable scholars of Maimonides and Gersonides, the author of many books and articles about them and philosophy generally, and his new book is a [...]

Between Rashi and Maimonides Themes in Medieval Jewish Thought, Literature and Exeg Edited by E. Kanarfogel and M. Sokolow Ktav Publishing House, 2010, 341 pages   Reviewed by Israel Drazin   This is a collection of fifteen scholarly articles discussing the two great sages Rashi (1040-1105) and Maimonides (1138-1204) who lived almost exactly a century [...]

An Intelligent Person is not Moral                                                                                                       By Israel Drazin       Morals are rules of proper conduct, what is good and what is bad. They inform people how to live a proper and safe life. Moral deeds seem to be what all people should do. But is this true?       Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) seems [...]

Torah Umaddah By Rabbi Norman Lamm Maggid Books, 2010, 247 pages   Reviewed by Israel Drazin   Should religious people shun everything secular, even science? This question bothered many religious people for centuries. Some solved it by living in isolation, wearing clothes that distinguish them and keep them apart, and insisting that their children not [...]

  The Treaties of the Pool By Obadyah son of Abraham son of Maimonides Translated with commentary by Paul Felton The Octagon Press, 1981, 146 pages   Maimonides (1138-1204), was the rationalist par excellence, the greatest Jewish thinker. Yet neither his son Abraham nor grandson Obadyah, who wrote this book, nor any of his descendants, [...]