By Israel Drazin Most people listen to a sermon and think, “This is Torah,” and never ask if what they hear is philosophy, theology, or hermeneutics. There is a big difference. Philosophy is the search for the truth. Ideas are developed from what is sensed by the five senses, proven [...]
Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism By Menachem Kellner Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2011, 343 pages Anyone, of any religion, agnostic, or atheist, wanting to understand the truth about life, the ideas taught by the great philosopher Moses Maimonides (1138-1204), should read this splendid easily comprehensible book first published in 2006, reprinted because of its [...]
Maimonides the Rationalist By Herbert A. Davidson The Littman Library, 2011, 318 pages Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) criticized most people in his monumental Guide of the Perplexed 3:51 when he wrote that “He who thinks about God and talks about him at length without scientific knowledge…does not truly talk about God and think about [...]
Persecution and the Art of writing By Leo Strauss The University of Chicago Press, 1980, 204 pages Reviewed by Israel Drazin This book, first published in 1952, is a classic that is quoted frequently when people ask: do philosophers say what they really believe or do they hide the truth? Strauss explains [...]
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, [...]
Where’s My Miracle Exploring Jewish Traditions for Dealing with Tragedy By Morey Schwartz Gefen Publishing House, 2010, 191 pages Reviewed by Israel Drazin Schwartz examines the many answers that Jewish sages offered to the age-old question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” He writes in easily understandable English with full, but [...]
