Biur 2 of Ralbag's Hakdamah: His Chochma vs Our chochma

The End of Torah is determined by the Soul's process of hasaga
It is vital that we keep in mind that it is impossible for us to completely apprehend the wisdom and grace expressed in the nature of the Torah’s existence. In reality we know but a pittance and are ignorant of much, as is the case with our knowledge of the nature of all existing things with regard to their wisdom and grace. In reality we masig but very little, as is well known to all those who do real research in the natural sciences- and come to appreciate the gap between our models of the of the laws of the Universe and their reality... It therefore follows from the fact that the Torah is divine, [that it’s nature will also only be incompletely understood]. Biur d'varim #2

The end the means and the instrument
The first part of Ralbag's hakdamah formulates the end of the Torah project- attaining knowledge and appreciation of God's Chochma and Tov. Ralbag corrected the erroneous belief that appreciation of D'varim Gedolim is the only means to this end. He focused the reader instead upon the phenomenon of Tuvo, the hashgacha that enables the soul to appreciate Gods ordering of our environment for the excellent man who is seeking God's Chochma. Once the reality that our thought is dependent upon a natural process of illumination is established, the potential for a Torah as a natural instrument becomes clear.

The problems
The next step would seem to be showing us how to use the Torah instrument to satisfy our soul's natural yearning for Emes. Yet this is not the case. The Ralbag first goes into the issue of the gap between our models of knowledge and knowledge itself.

It is vital that we keep in mind that it is impossible for us to completely apprehend (l'hasig) the wisdom and grace expressed in the nature of the Torah’s existence. In reality we know but a pittance and are ignorant of much, as is the case with our knowledge of the nature of all existing things with regard to their wisdom and grace. In reality we masig but very little, as is well known to all those who do real research in the natural sciences- and come to appreciate the gap between our models of the of the laws of the Universe and their reality... It therefore follows from the fact that the Torah is divine, [that it’s nature will also only be incompletely understood].

How is awareness of this gap between our models of laws and their reality relevant to Ralbag's purpose of enabling use of the Torah instrument ?

This very notion of "models" is itself very strange. If our Soul isn't capturing the Emes of the laws of science then what is it actually doing?

The solution: His Chochma vs Our chochma

To answer these questions we must pay close attention to the framework of human apprehension in which Ralbag is operating.

The first step of Ralbag was to show that in external reality the distinction between Chochmaso and Tuvo expressed ie the order of Creation. It is precisely the reality of Tuvo that is the cause of rationality - an order that is apprehensible to man (musag). What it is vital to realize is that the mere fact that there is a cause of apprehension Ralbag's next step is to show the resulting effects of tuvo- the manner in which tuvo enables the soul to apprehend this order in the manner that it can..The mere fact that the Creations are made a cause of apprehension in man does not mean that they will apprehend completely. On the contrary this is not the case at all. A fire may be the cause of heat in a metal, but not the same heat as it itself has.

This point is evident in the Rambam we quoted as well.

When a person gains insight into these d’varim (first principles), recognizing (the entire hierarchy) of the creations, from angel and galaxy all the way to man (and his environment) , and therefore sees the chochmas hashem in all the creations, he adds to his love of the makom, and his soul thirsts and his flesh yearns to love the makom baruch hu. Simultaneously, this person feels a great awe and fear resulting from his smallness and inconsequenciality ...

We must constantly be aware of the fact that our soul is moving toward Emes via the powers of apprehension (hasaga) that it has. These powers of hasaga approach the nature of the musag his Chochma in the manner that they do. It is for this reason that Rambam uses the term d'varim roted in Davar which is speech. Dibra Torah kilshon bnei adam- the torah speaks in the langage of man. The fact that we are materially unable to apprehend the musag intrinsic to the Creation is key to the methodology of Torah. We do not directly approach Emes, we approach the emes via the instruments of soul -the dvarim- available to us. It is precisely this recognition that we are approaching His Chochma via our d'varim that this person feels a great awe and fear resulting from his smallness and inconsequenciality. This distinction between his Chochma and our chochma explains the need for d'varim ketanim as well.

Now I say that it is inappropriate to tour the pardes except for he who has filled his belly with bread and meat . “Bread and meat” refers to knowing the assur and mutar (ie the applied principles) in that which is not first principles. Even though these principles are called davar katan... they come first educationally, since they cultivate (meyashvin) the mind and additionally are the great good by which we develop this world (yishuv Aretz) and attain the world to come.

Man's soul emerges through learning to utilize animal powers to a new end- hasaga of Emes. This demands initiation of the material character of the animal powers into the world of His Chochma. Our soul is, as it were, imprisoned by the attraction to dominance and appetites of the animal psyche it must learn to use. If it is to choose the path of using these powers, rather than being used by them, ie learn how to eat bread and meat as a man rather than a beast, the soul must be become aware of and redeemed from the animal path it is used to. This path is by no means easy as it says it Mishlei 1:4 "Yiras hashem reeshees daas chochma umusar Eveelim bazu". Fear of God is the first step of education,[even though] Chochma and mussar are despised by the sophist. The animal powers desperately resist initiation into the reality of a Chochma external and superior to ourselves. They prefer the fantasy of Human divinity in which we are Creators of Chochma tools by which to attain an impossible eternal dominion on Earth.

This explains why the rest of Ralbag's Hakdamah deals with the inyanim of Torah and the m'komos the methodology by which a person finds the dvarim ketanim of redemption in Chumash.

Translation of Ralbag's Hakdama

This post is the translation of the Ralbag's Hakdama. Thank you R. Rapoport of yehudathoughts.blogspot.com for the m'kmot translation. Finish the rest soon!! I have a general explanation of the whole hakdama in the next post His Chochma vs Our Chochma.

The two expressions of ohr : Tuvo and Chochmaso Derech
Blessed and most revered be the tzur ("rock"), foundation of all existence, whose “insight” (T'vunaso) , “wisdom” (chochmaso) and “knowledge” (Daato) bring into being, a system of existing things, whose existence exhibits a wisdom and grace which none but He can completely masig. Praised be the Creator, who, because of His desire to benefit the creations and facilitate their maturation, directed His hashgacha upon these lowly beings, developing them through the appropriate stages climaxing with the emergence of Mankind.

This hashgacha is not limited to the magnificence of man’s anatomy and physical abilities by which his physical existence is maintained. It extends to guiding man along the path of mental development- the one true fruit of human existence for whose sake alone the lowly material of Aretz is endowed with tzura to the extent that it is. We refer of course to the divine Torah, which is a regimen that orders those who practice it properly to true success. Biur d'varim #1

The End of Torah is determined by the Soul's process of hasaga
It is vital that we keep in mind that it is impossible for us to completely apprehend the wisdom and grace expressed in the nature of the Torah’s existence. In reality we know but a pittance and are ignorant of much, as is the case with our knowledge of the nature of all existing things with regard to their wisdom and grace. In reality we masig but very little, as is well known to all those who do real research in the natural sciences- and come to appreciate the gap between our models of the of the laws of the Universe and their reality... It therefore follows from the fact that the Torah is divine, [that it’s nature will also only be incompletely understood]. Biur d'varim #2

Insofar as the objective of the Torah is the one we have just outlined, its topics will, of necessity, be divisible into the following elements:

A) The first element, mistakenly thought of by many as the entire mission of the Torah, are the Mitzvos which encompass what we have been commanded to believe and do as well as what not to believe or do. This category includes 613 Mitzvos according to the traditional method of counting.

B) The second element encompasses the study of political behavior and society generally. This area is a domain outside of legislative action, because it presupposes a level of human development well beyond the capacity of the standard citizen. To illustrate, let us consider if the Torah were to legislate in the following that we must not be angry except for what one ideally should be angry about, and even then only to the ideal measure of anger, in the proper time and place. Or perhaps that one should not be happy except for what one ideally should be happy about, and even then only to the ideal measure of happiness, in the proper time and place…. All people would be in violation of the law continuously, excluding a minute few. Excellences of this variety should not be the domain of legislation, as it will lead to people ignoring all law, even those laws they could have fulfilled. Therefore the Torah merely makes reference to this area of excellence through accounts of the way of the ancient masters, to guide us to walk in their path and conduct ourselves like them. So too have we been informed of certain evils that were done in order to avoid such behavior as well.

C) The third element includes what the Torah grants us of the Wisdom of the universe, that cannot be attained through human research, save by exhaustive effort, when man fails to avail himself of its prophetic stories that guide us to this hasaga (apprehension).

These very same elements comprise the field of Talmud as well, with the one difference being that its stories are not prophetic, but rather are based upon the accounts of great men renowned for their excellence.

It is of necessity that the Torah regimen should be divided into these elements, since human excellence can only be fully realized, except by attaining excellence of both man's constitution and research to the most excellent degree. Now the element that encompasses the study of political behavior, constitutes a further step toward the ultimate excellence that builds upon that already attained by mitzvot in the domain of developing man's physical constitution. The element that teaches political /social affairs that is beyond command and prohibition, constitutes a further step toward the ultimate excellence that builds upon that already attained by mitzvot in the domain of developing man's psychological constitution... Biur d'varim #3

We decided to present certain fundamental principles based upon authority in this introduction, even though they have been theoretically established in the various fields. This was done because had we introduced all of the needed premises to reduce these fundamentals to first principles, this treatise would become too long, and the reader would be overwhelmed.

Now in our biur of the Mitzvos, and the fundamental principles from which all the dinim are derived in the field of Talmud, our approach will not be to associate these principles to the exemplars pointed to by the chachmei ha-talmud utilizing the 13 midos methodology. This is because when they associated these known truths of the field of mitzvot to these pesukim, it was as a mnemonic device, not because their method demanded that they were truly source material to these dinim. Indeed, it is possible to overturn all the known laws of the torah utilizing such methodologies, even to the point of falsely demonstrating the [ultimately tamei] sheretz to be tahor as our Rabbis have taught us. Biur d'varim #4

Rather [our approach will be] to associate the [biur of the Mitzvos, and the fundamental principles from which all the dinim are derived] to the simple grammatical meanings of the pesukim that could have possibly been real sources for these laws, because this will satisfy the mind. This approach does not contradict Chazal's method, because they never meant to imply that their mnemonic devices were the true source of the laws- but rather they received these laws through tradition going back to Moshe Rabbenu. They merely sought to find a hint [for the dinim] in the Torah as Maimonides taught us in the Sefer ha-mitzvot and the Perush ha-Mishna.

Our objective in associating the dinim to the simple grammatical meanings is to retain their memory traces in our Nefesh, since the Pesukim are easily remembered because we are constantly reading them. Therefore when the biurei ha- Mitzvot are derived from the simple grammatical meanings of the Pesukim, our memory of them will secondarily perpetuate the memory of the biurei ha-Mitzvot as well. It was for this very same reason that we gave the causes of the Mitzvot as best we could, because not only does knowing the causes of a thing consolidate knowledge, it also consolidates our memory of the knowledge. Biur d'varim #5

It is of course vital to remember, that it is impossible in [the kind of topics the Torah deals with] to give causes that allow a derivation of the Mitzvot, in the manner of a Mathematical proof. Neither is it possible to show necessity as in the case of a physical law. This would be impossible to do since it is not in the nature of the Torah subject to allow this kind of proof. This point was already pointed out by the Philosopher in the book of Topics. He pointed out in that work that the rigor of proof possible for a given principle, is delimited by the nature of the subject. This was also explained in Metaphysics. We mentioned this, so that the scrutinizing reader should not be dismissive of the kind of causes we offer in the explanation of the Mitzvot, even if they do not measure up to the proofs characteristic of the sciences whose subjects are by nature able to sustain more rigorous standards than the topics the Torah deals with. Biur d'varim #6

We will now present the M'komot that we will use in the Biurei ha-Mitzvot:

The First Makom

The first Makom [Topos]:
The Torah will cite a particular in place of the general. There are two types:

The first type:
From the particular mentioned in a mitzva the more general category is learned.

For example, we are commanded in the Torah (D'varim 22:10) that we may not plow with an ox and a donkey together. The Torah cites "ox" and "donkey" in place of any two species - one being tamei and the other tahor; "plowing" is cited in place of any craft that would employ a tahor animal with one that is tamei, as is explained in the eight chapter of K'laim and other places throughout the Talmud.

It will be clear when to learn from the particular the general and when not, from the subject matter of the mitzva and the words that are employed - as will become clear to you from our discussion, when we utilize this makom. For example, the subject matter of this mitzva demands this law apply in the case of other animals - meaning to say, that they should not be joined in one craft, one being tamei and the other tahor, as will be explained there, with God's decree.

The Second Type of the First Makom

The second type:
It is learned from a law that is cited in regard to one particular mitzva, a law that rightly should have more general application to another mitzva - to the same degree as it should be applied to the original mitzva or even more so.

For example, the Torah cites the law (Vayikra 7:15; 22:30) concerning the time the todah offering - which is kodshim kalim - may be eaten - namely, for the period of a day and night and henceforth it is notar and must be burnt. Concerning the time kodshei haKodashim - like the chatat, asham and the rest - may be eaten the Torah is silent. This is because this law should rightly be applied to them the same as it is applied to the todah, or even more so. Therefore, the law concerning the time kodshei haKodashim may be eaten is the same as the law that applies to the todah, as is explained in the fifth chapter of Z'vachim (36A). The philosopher has explained this makom in the rhetorical topics.

The second Makom:

When one statement in the Torah is obscure - its explanation is not known - and this statement is elucidated in another place the explanation of this statement is learned from the other place in which it is elucidated.

For example, the Torah demands a chatat (sin offering) from one who accidently does one of the commandments of God that we are forbidden from doing, or an asham (guilt offering) from one who was ignorant of his violation, as is explained in Parashat Vayikra. It is not clear in this place in the Torah which commandments in the Torah are being referred to here.

The explanation of this statement is learned from what is written in the parallel verses in Parashat Sh'lach L'kha. There it is written (B'midbar 15:24), "If, from the eyes of the aida (congregation) it is done accidentally", just as it is written in Parashat Vayikra (Vayikra 4:13), "And the matter is hidden from the eyes of the kahal (congregation) and they do one of the commandments of God (that one may not do)...". There [in B'midbar] it is found that the tzibbur (congregation) must bring a bull [as an olah (elevation-offering)] just as is required here [in the case in Parashat Vayikra], although there [in B'midbar] a he-goat is added [as a chatat (sin offering)]; there [in B'midbar (15:27)] an individual would be required to bring a she-goat, in its first year [as a chatat (sin offering)] just as here [in Vayikra 4:28; 4:32] a she-goat or a sheep must be brought [as a chatat (sin offering)].

Based on this, we learn that the mitzvot this korban [the one in Parashat Vayikra] is brought for are of the same kind as the mitzva cited in Parashat Sh'lach L'cha - there is no difference between them - only, the one cited in Parashat Sh'lach L'cha is equal to all the mitzvot: idolatry. However, the mitzvot cited in Parashat Vayikra would have no equality to "all the mitzvot". This is what is meant when it is written in Parashat Sh'lach L'cha (15:22), "...all of these mitzvot...", and in Parashat Vayikra (4:13), "...one of the mitzvot of God...". It is impossible to say that what is mean when it is says, "all these mitzvot" that only if one accidentally violates all the mitzvot is he required to bring a bull and a he-goat because one is required, based on what is written in Parashat Vayikra to bring a bull on every single mitzva that is violated accidentally.

Now that this has been established, it will be evident that just as the particular that is cited in Parashat Sh'lach L'cha is only in regard to transgressions that if done intentionally would make the perpetrator liable to karet - as is made evident there when it says (B'midbar 15:30-31), "And the soul that act with an uplifted hand... that soul shall surely be cut off (h'karet t'karet), his iniquity is upon him." - so to that which is cited in Parashat Vayikra is a case in which intentional violation would make the perpetrator liable to karet, as is elucidated in Horiot and K'ritot.

Biur 1 of Ralbag's hakdama: Tuvo vs chochmaso

Hakdama Part 1

Blessed and most revered be the tzur ("rock"), foundation of all existence, whose “insight” (T'vunaso) , “wisdom” (chochmaso) and “knowledge” (Da’ato) bring into being, a system of existing things, whose existence exhibits a wisdom and grace which none but He can completely apprehend.

Praised be the creator, who, because of the desire to benefit the creations and facilitate their maturation, directed His hashgacha upon these lowly beings, developing them through the appropriate stages climaxing with the emergence of mankind.

This hashgacha is not limited to the magnificence of man’s anatomy and physical abilities by which his physical existence is maintained, but rather extends to guiding man along the path of mental development- the one true fruit of human existence for whose sake alone lowly material reality is endowed with tzura to the extent that it is. We refer of course to the divine Torah, which is a regimen that orders those who practice it properly to true success.

Biur D'varim:

In his hakdamah li-peyrush ha-torah Ralbag distinguishes two senses of our understanding of God:

1) God as the source of order or lawfulness in the universe:

The tzur ("rock"), foundation of all existence, whose “insight” (T'vunaso) , “wisdom” (chochmaso) and “knowledge” (Da’ato) bring into being, a system of existing things whose existence exhibits a wisdom and grace which none but He can completely apprehend.

2) God as the source of good i.e. the harmonious functioning of the specific sub- system of Aretz as a yishuv for the man seeking God:

The creator, who, because of the desire to benefit the creations and facilitate their maturation, directed His hashgacha upon these lowly beings, developing them through the appropriate stages climaxing with the emergence of mankind.

While we have heard these ideas of Tzur and Creator, they feel like abstractions, disconnected from anything real to us in the world. What problem in the world as we experience it does this distinction between Tzur and Creator resolve?

To appreciate the problem the Ralbag's hakdama resolves, we must first explore the perplexity of the general scientific community regarding the phenomena of Chochma in our universe. This perplexity is well portrayed in the writings of Einstein regarding the tension between the method of seeking principles in the world of science and the method of seeking values in the world of religion.

While it is true that science, to the extent of its grasp of causative connections, may reach important conclusions as to the compatibility and incompatibility of goals and evaluations, the independent and fundamental definitions regarding goals and values remain beyond science's reach... Religion is concerned with man's attitude toward nature at large, with the establishing of ideals for the individual and communal life, and with mutual human relationship. These ideals religion attempts to attain by exerting an educational influence on tradition and through the development and promulgation of certain easily accessible thoughts and narratives (epics and myths) which are apt to influence evaluation and action along the lines of the accepted ideals.

Science focuses exclusively on Chochmas hashem as expressed in the overall universe. Newton yearns to know the cause of phenomena as they are a part of the Universe as a whole. When we say that gravity makes the apple fall from the tree, we conceive of an apple as merely another example of body that is subject to the cause of all physical motion throughout the universe. As much as Newton may marvel at the unity of order in the universe that allows the lowly apple as well as planets and whole galaxies to be moved by the same abstract principle- this awareness does not directly inform his action. To act, Newton needs values, a sense of what is good, by which to choose which of the motions of gravity he should seek. Should he seek to throw his apple as a missile? Should he seek to put his apple in a spaceship orbiting the moon? The mere awareness of the general law of gravity gives Newton no answer to these questions of value by which man settles his world.

Einstein goes further and notes that issues of value are in reality a purely human affair. They are external to appreciating the grandeur of His infinite unified wisdom and are relegated to the practical question of how we simple mortals should act during our small lifetimes. In that sense the educational myths that teach values are instruments like a plow or a shovel. As instruments, Einstein thought values must of necessity be a purely human creation. To be sure there could be better myths and worse myths, however in the end it is necessarily man, not God, who would create these myths, in the same way as man invents all instruments.

It is in this tendency of scientists to mistakenly focus exclusively on Chochmaso, to the exclusion of tuvo that is the source of their relegating human education to the realm of a practical instrument. It is this very mistake that Ralbag confronts in his hakdamah. To be sure the Torah recognizes the "chochma" of the tzur, the ultimately abstract unified understanding of all motion in the universe as a whole that Einstein speaks of. However Chochma in the universal sense is not the only expression of Him. There is another phenomenon as well- the grace of the Creator's actions expressed in respect to the excellence of development of the specific subsystems of Aretz that enable man to apprehend the Wisdom of the Creator. This distinction between Chochmaso and tuvo is also made in the Rambam:

When a person gains insight into these d’varim (first principles), recognizing (the entire hierarchy) of the creations, from angel and galaxy all the way to man (and his environment) , and therefore sees the chochmas hashem in all the creations, he adds to his love of the makom, and his soul thirsts and his flesh yearns to love the makom baruch hu. Simultaneously, this person feels a great awe and fear resulting from his smallness and inconsequentiality ...

Now I say that it is inappropriate to tour the pardes except for he who has filled his belly with bread and meat . “Bread and meat” refers to knowing the assur and mutar (ie the applied principles) in that which is not first principles. Even though these principles are called davar katan... they come first educationally, since they cultivate (meyashvin) the mind and additionally are the great good by which we develop this world (yishuv Aretz) and attain the world to come.

It is precisely the remoteness of this wisdom of the Tzur, the difficulty of grasping its generality in the entire hierarchy of the creations that points to the need for His grace. To paraphrase Einstein, the most amazing thing about the Universe is precisely that it is apprehensible to Man. The Ancients viewed this tendency of the wisdom of the Creator to be adapted to the limited capacity of the human mind as a phenomenon of the Universe itself. This grace is similar to a mighty "guiding hand", the hashgacha by which we "cultivate our minds (yishuv daat) and develop this world (yishuv aretz) and attain the world to come". The emergence of davar katan thought in man is not another practical concern like the invention of the plow- it is part of the mechanisms of the Aretz itself no less than our anatomy and physical powers.

Praised be the creator, who, because of the desire to benefit the creations and facilitate their maturation, directed His hashgacha upon these lowly beings, developing them through the appropriate stages climaxing with the emergence of mankind.

This hashgacha is not limited to the magnificence of man’s anatomy and physical abilities by which his physical existence is maintained, but rather extends to guiding man along the path of mental development- the one true fruit of human existence for whose sake alone lowly material reality is endowed with tzura to the extent that it is. We refer of course to the divine Torah, which is a regimen that orders those who practice it properly to true success.

It is precisely this phenomenon of facilitating the intellectual awakening in the seeking man that Ralbag and Rambam are pinpointing as the framework of Torah. As Tehillim points out:

The Lord, from heaven, looked down upon the children of man, to see if there were any man of understanding searching for God (14:2).

It is for this reason that the Psalmist extols the Torah as the aid to education and realization of the regular man.

The Torah of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul, the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy, making wise the simple person.

In summary the subject of the Chumash is the fully realized or the excellent man. The hakdama of the peyrush ha-Ralbag sets up the first principles needed for there to be such a thing as the excellent man. To do so Ralbag releases us from the misguided notion of scientists such as Einstein that the only expression of God is the d'varim gedolim -Chochmas hashem seen in the overall universe. Instead he focuses our attention on d'varim k'tanim, the relationship to Hashgacha that facilitates the illumination of the simple man who seeks Tuv hashem in the order of the subsystem of Aretz as a settlement of Man.

The first principle of torah then is not something about the inyanim of the subject of the excellent man. Rather, the first principle is about something prior to the subject of "excellent man" from which the potential for inyanim of this subject could arise- a tuv hashem that is distinct in our thought from chochmaso.

New series

In the course of the last posting "response to R. Maroof", it became clear to me that I have been insufficiently vigilant in my writing with regard to the disease of kat hamidabrim. I will now begin a new series of posts with a new strategy specifically focused on transformational epiphanies a la Adam ha-rishon. I ask that all readers please help me measure how well these posts capture Adam's fundamental sense of problem with his world which is subsequently resolved through insight. The first essay in this transformational series will be a redone explanation of the Ralbag's perush al ha- torah.

Response to R Maroof

R Maroof: First of all, let me officially welcome you to the Jewish blogosphere. The presence of a true Maimonidean in Cyberspace is reason for celebration for rational Jews everywhere.

You characterize the Rambam's approach to Torah Shebichtav as Grammatical-Logical. Yet the Ralbag employs a lot more than grammar and logic in his perush. Moreover, our analyses of Torah Shebichtav are typically deeper and more philosophically sophisticated than a "grammatical" reading a la Ibn Ezra.

How would you precisely characterize the Maimonidean approach to reading Tanach?

R Sacks:
Thank you for R. Maroof for the welcome, you and R. Rapoport have been extremely helpful in getting me into the blogosphere. I am really enjoying it- though it will take a while for me to adapt my thinking strategy to its format.

R. Maroof notes,correctly, that "the Ralbag employs a lot more than grammar and logic in his perush". The reason for this is, that if it is to develop, the Soul must be initiated in the grammatical/ logical method via its pre-existing familiarity with Emes as experienced in the real world- i.e. the phenomenon of observation. The absolute centrality of sensory experience is shared by Rambam himself and both of his Nosei Kelim the Ralbag and Ramchal.

For Rambam the centrality of sensory experience is most easily seen in his Model of the soul in Shemone Perakim. It is of course repeated in the Mishne torah's (Yesodai Torah Perek 4) characterization of the Tzelem Elokim depicted in Braishis as well.

יד [ח] נפש כל בשר, היא צורתו שנתן לו האל. והדעת היתרה המצויה בנפשו של אדם, היא צורת האדם השלם בדעתו; ועל צורה זו נאמר בתורה "נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותנו" (בראשית א,כו), כלומר שתהיה לו צורה היודעת ומשגת הדעות שאין להם גולם, עד שיידמה להן. ואינו אומר על צורה זו הניכרת לעיניים, שהיא הפה והחוטם והלסתות ושאר רושם הגוף, שזו תואר שמה.

For Ralbag this centrality of experience is seen in the introduction to Shir ha-Shirim as well as in the perush of Adam ha-rishon as I hope to post soon.

For Ramchal the centrality of experience a la Adam ha-rishon is the foundation of "Derech Tevunos" as I showed in my posts.

Adam ha-Rishon's naming of his environment is the metaphor by which to understand the Maimonidean method of reading Tanach. Like Piaget, and NLP the Maimonidean approach is to view reading as a tool of the Soul's processing of observational data. As Adam observed then processed his sensory model of his world so should our reading be an aid in processing our model of the world. Today because of the mis-education we receive in school, the inyanim of language and logic are viewed as be as a formal world somehow disconnected from sensory experience. I think this is what R Maroof refers to as 'the grammatical approach" a la Ibn Ezra. This approach is a prison from which the Soul must be redeemed. It is not what Ibn Ezra intended, but it is the use to which most readers today put his commentary nonetheless. Logic and grammar should be viewed as tools the soul uses to process its experience of features of real world things exactly as Ramchal points out.

The core issue we need to resolve in the way we process our experience of the world lies in our relationship to the “good”. In theory we believe in a “good” that is consistent with the truth of the laws of Creation. We do not believe in our power to alter gravity or any physical law. In practice however, our desire for freedom is precisely such a denial. Our experience of a world in which we smoke as we please, eat as we please, spend as we please or in general live as we please is de facto a denial that the general laws of Creation apply to its human part. The first objective of the torah is to properly alert the student to the tension embodied in the notion of “Tov” in the real world vs our experience. This alerting is best expressed in the work of the Ralbag.

Peyrush ha-Ralbag consists of:
A) An introduction to the torah
B) An introduction to principles in sefer Breisheet
C) A division of the Torah text into story units or halakim whose reading is guided by a peyrush operating at three logical levels: 1) a glossary biur hamilot 2) a thematic summary biur divrei ha-sippur and 3) an articulation of principles toaliyot.

Exemplifying Maimonidean reading in Perek 1 of B’raishis

Intro before account
The principle to be dealt with in the sippur is “Tov”. The account gives terms in which the student can reflect upon the tension between an imaginary freedom to choose any life tov one pleases vs the Creation tov of Maase Brayshees. Clearly, the account of Creation is ordered to preclude our predisposition to arbitrarily act on our belief in a freedom to create our own vision of tov safely tucked away from our theoretical knowledge. The Torah accomplishes this by describing man's life tov in a story context in which it is clearly but another instance of the laws of Creation “Va-yar Elokim Ki Tov".

Account of First Sippur In B’raishis (1:1-2:4)
The story describes the first stages of the coming into being of Creation. In essence this Creation is “melacha” the production of a system of interrelated substances out of material base that is by nature indeterminate or pure potentia. The story describes melacha first with a large all encompassing focus on the entirety of shamayim and aretz (“the big picture”) then narrows its focus to the aretz alone (“the small picture”).
Though merely a special case of becoming of ohr, nonetheless aretz gets special attention as the life environment of man. Aretz “becomes” through a series of steps logically ordered to a distinct end point or tachlit - man. This series is composed of tovs - the “actualized” sub-systems of creations that emerge from the potentia of matter.

It is critical to note that the principle of ohr is embedded in a description rooted in sensory experience.

1) The relation of Earth and sun (i.e. the solar system needed for sunlight atmosphere) (meoros hagedolim limoadim vishanim etc) is described pictorially.

2) Earth and water and other inanimate elements (principle of occupation of space-quantity in certain manner quality needed for constituent material parts or substatrum) for animate entities vegetation (principle of growth), animal (principle of purposeful locomotion) and man (principle of rational motion) are presented pictorially.

The First toaliyot Principles are discerned by the Student’s Nefesh in these very pictorial descriptions.
Intro:
The principle of ohr and its application that an independent human freedom to choose his life tov is in contradiction to theoretical knowledge emerges from reflection on the pictorial accounts.

Principle: All tov’s in Creation are result of ohr principles
Definition: Man’s tov is part of tov’s in Creation
Conclusion Man’s tov is result of ohr principles
Obviously that which results from ohr principles is discovered like any other law through torah research and is not created or freely chosen by the whims of man.

Please read the first post on Ramchal and Ralbag in light of this comment. I hope you see them in a new light.

Intro to Rambam system part 1

I have this posting here for comments. Due to its centrality it is also permanently posted at the bottom of the site.

Why Rambam?

Todays Torah world sees a proliferation of texts, perhaps greater than that of any other time in history. Alongside this proliferation however we find a tremendous dilution in clarity of purpose. Unlike the ancients whose focus was on the end intended by their projects, we rarely find anyone asking themselves today- what is the end of our Torah study?

The reason for this, in large measure, is the very proliferation of texts itself. It is so easy to get lost in the sea of arguments and counter arguments about isolated topics that one can forget to ask- what subject are these topics that we arguing about instrumental to? What principles are these arguments founded upon? Are these arguments bringing us any closer to what our Soul really needs - true appreciation for the underlying unified Mada of the Creator that allows us to have love (ahavaso) and awe (yiraso) of Him?

If we consider this most fundamental question- we understand why Rambam is the only possible path. Mi-Moshe ad Moshe lo kam ki-Moshe. In his introduction to the Mishne Torah Rambam not only identifies the dead end we have enslaved ourselves in, he points to the method that leads to redemption.
We must order ourselves to a unified educational curriculum of the premier Baal ha-mesorah who understands our problem.

In our times, severe troubles come one after another, and all are in distress; the wisdom of our Torah scholars has disappeared, and the understanding of our discerning men is hidden. Thus, the commentaries, the responses to questions, and the settled laws that the Geonim wrote, which had once seemed clear, have in our times become hard to understand, so that only a few properly understand them. And one hardly needs to mention the Talmud itself--the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, the Sifra, the Sifre, and the Toseftot--which all require a broad mind, a wise soul, and considerable study, before one can correctly know from them what is forbidden or permitted and the other rules of the Torah.

41 For this reason, I, Moshe son of the Rav Maimon the Sephardi, found that the current situation is unbearable; and so, relying on the help of the Rock blessed be He, I intently studied all these books, for I saw fit to write what can be determined from all of these works in regard to what is forbidden and permitted, and unclean and clean, and the other rules of the Torah: Everything in clear language and terse style, so that the whole Oral Law would become thoroughly known to all; without bringing problems and solutions or differences of view, but rather clear, convincing, and correct statements, in accordance with the legal rules drawn from all of these works and commentaries that have appeared from the time of Our Holy Teacher to the present.

42 This is so that all the rules should be accessible to the small and to the great in the rules of each and every commandment and the rules of the legislations of the Torah scholars and prophets: in short, so that a person should need no other work in the World in the rules of any of the laws of Israel; but that this work might collect the entire Oral Law, including the positive legislations, the customs, and the negative legislations enacted from the time of Moshe Our Teacher until the writing of the Talmud, as the Geonim interpreted it for us in all of the works of commentary they wrote after the Talmud. Thus, I have called this work the [Complete] Restatement of the [Oral] Law (Mishneh Torah), for a person reads the Written Law first and then reads this work, and knows from it the entire Oral Law, without needing to read any other book between them.

43 I have seen fit to divide this work into groups of the laws according to topics, and I divide the groups into chapters dealing with one topic; each chapter I divide into paragraphs, so that they may be learned by heart.

44 Among the groups in the various topics, some groups include the detailed laws of a single Biblical commandment, when the commandment comes with many oral traditions that make up a single topic; and other groups include the detailed laws of many Biblical commandments, when all the commandments are on one topic: For the organization of this work is according to topics, and is not according to the counting of commandments, as will be clear to one who reads it.

Over the years the Rambam himself has become somewhat remote from us. While Rambam saw the confusion in Torah Shebaal peh, he clearly presupposed a living tradition of reading Torah Shebictav ordered to understanding Mitzvos. This tradition was founded upon a grammatical/ logical method. In our day this tradition has become confused as well. There is very little effort put into understanding Torah shebichtav as a source material for Mitzvos at all, let alone based upon a coherent grammatical/logical method. Fortunately great masters have stepped in to fill this breach. Ralbag wrote an entire peyrush la-torah dedicated to showing the way to finding Mitzvos in torah shebichtav. Ramchal wrote excellent works on the logical method and grammatical approach needed to unravel the principles underlying these texts.

What remains for us as a community is to gain facility in these tools of the Soul provided us by the ancient masters to attain the end articulated by Rambam

so that all the rules should be accessible to the small and to the great in the rules of each and every commandment and the rules of the legislations of the Torah scholars and prophets: in short, so that a person should need no other work in the World in the rules of any of the laws of Israel; but that this work might collect the entire Oral Law.

Such a systematic apprehension of Torah could indeed give our soul what it yearns for- an appreciation of Chochmaso that allows us Ahavaso and Yiraso

Intro to Rambam system part2

In response to Matt's questions I am posting this article which I wrote some time ago for a different purpose. It is a good beginning to explaining the notion of a "Rambam system".

The Rambam system of mesorah

The challenge of modern Jewish education is to prepare its graduates for the unique issues of the 21st century- developing a rich torah identity within the framework of full citizenship in a modern society. Torah U’mada, as this haskafa is known today, finds its clearest exposition in the works of Rambam. Central to Rambam is Mada, the notion that an overarching world of abstract principles - ie the Wisdom of the Creator - unifies all disciplines, Torah as well as general studies. Mada is percieved through a lawfulness (nimmus) external to our minds, that is expressed in all things of shamayim va-aretz as a world of principles or “forms” embodied in the mechanisms of matter. Brayshees describes the relationship of the world of abstract principles to the Creation through the metaphor of “ohr”. Ruach Chen explains the metaphor. Physical light’s primary existence is outside man as a luminous entity and only secondarily exists as an illuminator of man utilizing the eye of the body. By way of analogy, ohr’s primary existence is outside man -the nimmus that governs all things in shamayim va-aretz - and only secondarily exists as an illuminator of man’s hashkafa upon ohr utilizing the eye of the soul . What is unique in man’s development as a mind is kabbalas ole malchus shamayim- the need for a human being to choose to attain his tachlit- apprehending the Creator to the extent of our ability through his hashkafa upon ohr . This kabbalas ole malchus shamayim choice depends upon the initiation of the mind to hashkafa. To attain the skill set proper to hashkafa, a student must be initiated into the ohr of the world of abstraction. Torah has a special role in the student’s development of haskafa -becoming a Nefesh able to use its skills to recognize the expression of ohr in the overarching sovereignty of general principles and subject matters of mada.

The initiation of an immature Nefesh to Hashkafa

Rambam, in his intro to chelek, exhorts a Rav to take great care in initiating his students into hashkafa upon the world of abstract general principles. The reason for this is pointed out in Shemone Perakim. As rational animal the hashkafa skills of our Nefesh sichli must develop in an immature psyche or Nefesh behami that is essentially animal in character. As animal, the immature Nefesh’s kochos are oriented to ahava for the pleasant, the colors, tastes, feel and smells of particulars apprehended by the animal senses. The immature Nefesh’s ahava of the material world of particulars is antithetical to initiation into the principles and subject matters proper to true research- a mechitza in the words of Rambam. Such initiation requires that the students orientation shift from an immature hashkafa upon the worlds of sports, fashion and pop culture- worlds ordered to focusing hashkafa upon material properties that attract the Nefesh behami , to a mature hashkafa upon the worlds of Mathematics, torah she-bichtav/ baal peh and sciences - subject matters ordered to focusing haskafa upon the essential properties that motivate the Nefesh sichli. The first step of initiation into the torah world of abstract general principles is coaxing the immature Nefesh out of its focus upon particulars. This coaxing must be done with great care. If the Rav forces the students to see the overarching sovereignty of general principles and subject matters ie malchus shamayim as he himself sees them, he will disrupt the orientation of kochos natural to the young student. The nefesh behami will perceive the incompatibility of its focus upon particulars with malchus shamayim and resist accepting its malchus with every possible defense. The Rav therefore, must imitate rachmanut ha-boreh by introducing the principles and subject matters of malchus shamayim in a student centered sequence or path. As an animal, man naturally focuses upon principles exemplified in cases of practical benefit to his dominion and pleasure-ie yishuv aretz and yishuv daat. Such a nefesh sichli insofar as it is yet unilluminated by ohr must be carefully guided to finding the ohr experience within social life as this immature nefesh percieves it.

The intro to chelek provides this student centered path - mitoch shelo lishma bah lishma instruction in ikrim. Once this initiation is completed the Ikrim serve as first principles- the core abstractions which are the very tools by which the immature Nefesh attains kedushas yisrael, ie becoming a Nefesh with a sufficiently stable focus upon the abstract world to percieve Shamayim va-aretz as a subject matter for Torah principles of yishuv. It is through the ikrim curricullum that we understand the torah’s priority in Mada. This priority exists because of the need to initiate the immature nefesh hashkafa to the abstract world through the subject of yishuv that it is naturally motivated by.

Given the critical place of ikrim in Rambam’s approach, one would expect his modern day Torah U’Mada disciples to root their curricula in Rambam’s intros to chelek and Shemone Perakim. Yet in practice, we see scarcely any attention devoted to these works, or for that matter to any theory of Nefesh development whatsoever. In point of fact, first generation Torah U’Mada programs emphasize behavioral conditioning proper to training animals- mitzvas anashim melumada. The mitzvas anashim melumada of the morning curriculum remains virtually unchanged since medieval times, while an independent general studies curriculum teaches rote memorization through behavioral conditioning in the afternoon. This intermarriage of mitzvas anashim melumada curricula ignores the most essential dimension of Rambam’s program - the absolute centrality of utilizing all disciplines as instruments to the core objective of nurturing the Nefesh Sichli to ahava for abstract general principles ie the ikrim curriculum of chelek. Do we really expect the student exposed to our current education to mature from ahava of particulars, the cornerstone of Western popular culture? What we should expect is indeed what we are getting- a generation of students whose ahava is essentially for Western popular culture and whose attachment to Judaism remains sentimental at best, cynical and rebellious at worst. This situation is a Chillul hashem of the highest order and a recipe for disaster. Ultimately, a community will act on its ahava for non Jewish life objectives in the form of assimilation. We must not repeat the mistake of pre-emancipation Jewry that accepted mitzvas anashim melumada only to ultimately witness the loss of the vast majority of Jews to the siren song of assimilation. Similar to New Orleans our current mitzvas anashim melumada culture is a levy whose hurricane Katrina will inevitably come. We must immediately restore the ikrim as the core instrument of communal culture and cease deluding ourselves that our current mitzvas anashim melumada program is motivating our students to the skills of hashkafa needed for the pursuit of ahava.

Ikrim must substitute for Nefesh’s organic experience with a true yishuv

The natural path is for the immature nefesh to be initiated by gaining rich experience of ohr as it organically emerges from the model of his parents, community and rabbinic leadership. Shema beni mussar avicha, vi-al titosh toras imecha. In the absence of principles that imbue the societal life strategies of Judaism with purpose and meaning proper to ahava of a mature Nefesh sichli, torah degenerates from being a subject participating in the unity of mada to being just another faith, a sentimental attachment to an ancient arbitrary culture typical of non Jewish nations. Bereft of ahava, Judaism becomes a mitzvas anashim melumada scholasticism founded upon blind attachment to authority rather than honest conceptual research, a deadly rote observance of meaningless mitzvos utterly detached from life. As the navi so aptly puts it a dry bones remnant of the living organism of the community with ahava for Mada pursuit is all that remains; once the adults of the community lose serve as role models with the capacity to initiate their children into the world of abstraction a dark age of Judaism must emerge.

The cause of this is clear. In the absence of initiation to the abstract world of Mada, the tachlit of man underlying the Mitzva system becomes locked into animal notions of the immature nefesh. By extension, the torah’s instrumentality to an orientation shift from an immature focus upon material properties that attract the Nefesh behami , to a mature focus upon essential properties subject to the abstract general principles that motivate the Nefesh sichli becomes meaningless. Obviously, if the tachlit of man is some form of animal good the core educational path of mitoch shelo lishma bah lishma founders and adults lose the ability to function as agents of hashgacha by initiating their children into the world of abstraction. Alienated from the sovereignty of adult abstract perspective a new parallell universe “Judaism” emerges in which the Nefesh’s kochos are mispercieved as instrumental to material ends. Like a cancer, the badui material objective of the Nefesh’s kochos metastisizes throughout throughout the gamut of topics of involved in understanding of the infrastructure of the social system. ie the inyanim of Torah. Incapable as they are of percieving the social system as an instrument to the hashgacha’s end of nuturing the kochos to the development of Nefesh sichli, ignorant preachers spin endless paradigms for the subject matter of torah ie yishuv aretz out of their favored distortions. Each such “haskafo” shares three fundamental distortions that make them attractive to the immature Nefesh unitiated into the world of abstraction:

1) Substitution of a material tachlit for kedushas ha-Nefesh and by extension a false torah she-baal peh method through distortion of the core torah description of “the man of the state” the Creation of Adam ie “Gan Eden”

2) Application of above core distotortion to the general outline of hashgachas facilitating of overall human development into a society of kedusha “the state of men” ie geula through instruments of Gan Eden, techiyas ha-meysim and Moshiach

3) An enslaving mitzvas anashim melumada culture of anti talmud torah u’mitzvos distorting the complete subject matter of topics needed to understand hasgacha and Geula.

As the sorcerers of Pharoah tried to make staff into a snake, these preachers create the illusion of giving life to small numbers of mitzvot that satisfies the masses of immature nefesh’s uninitiated into the world of abtraction. In their overall objective however they inevitably fail. The majesty of the mitzva system with its vast array of instruments dedicated to developing a society of kedusha, a torah whose method of exploring the special case of man is in harmony with the other subjects exploring mada as it is expressed throughout Creation cannot be contained in the imprisoning walls of such “haskafos”.

Sequential courses ordered to establishing the Rambamic lashon limudim

Once Rambam liberates the community through foundational hakaras ha-chet, a new world of talmud torah u’mitzvos opens up. Schools can then return to their core objective- torah lishma ie ahava rooted in the pursuit of the abstract principles of mada through the overarching framework or subject of talmud torah u’mitzvos. Rambam bids the reader to take to heart that he must review the intro to Chelek regularly if he is to truly apprehend its message. Clearly, there is to be Talmud Torah in between these readings. How exactly do these readings interconnect?

Rambam implies a cycle of readings united by the mediating concepts of Gan Eden, techiyas ha-meysim and Moshiach. This requires an explicit cyclical student centered path of guided reading of torah initiating him into the world of abstraction ie a mitoch shelo lishma bah lishma instruction in ikrim. Each of these readings is instrumental to stabilizing principles of varying logical levels. These readings are best thought of as a series of sequential courses moving through the skills needed for attaining hashkafa. These principles are not entirely learned from the subjects however. There is a craft of thinking- logic- designed to train the mind in the method of thinking needed to succeed in the Rambam approach. Over the years other thinkers have, in effect, joined in Rambam's project, giving further aid in the cycle of readings. Of these the ones most interesting to me are the Ramchal and the Ralbag. The Ramchal specializes in logic, while the Ralbag specializes in applying logic to Tanach.