Free
Thought and Dogma
The Rambam is
probably the
source most often
sighted in defense of the position that Judaism is
dogmatic. His
famous thirteen principles of faith have
become the accepted theological and philosophic yardstick for Orthodox
Judaism.
As we have seen, early in his Mishna Torah he very strictly designates
what one
must believe and what one absolutely may not. However, at the same
time, the
Rambam is also constantly sighted in defense of Torah Umaddah.
It is
well known that he was a skilled physician, had extensive knowledge of
secular
philosophy, and even included philosophy, physics and metaphysics, in
the
highest level of Torah study. The ever-paradoxical Rambam managed to
position
himself as the voice of intellectual restriction and intellectual
expansion.
- See
Hilchot Tshuva 3:7. When describing the min,
the Rambam uses the language of “ha’omer”,
“the one who says,” any of
the unacceptable beliefs. Compare this to Hilchot Yesoday
Hatorah 1:6,
where the Rambam writes that one violates a commandment if
“it comes up in
his/her thoughts” that there is another God. Are these two
languages
significant? Certainly, one can become a min if
they believe the
unacceptable tenet without verbalizing it. Does ha’omer
imply commitment
to the idea? Does the language in Yesoday Hatorah imply less
commitment? Any
commitment?
- Learn
the first perek of Hilchot Avodah
Kochavim. See specifically 1:3, where the
Rambam writes one should
stay away from any thought that can lead to uprooting a fundamental of
faith.
He states there that we are concerned a person who does not have the
intellectual ability to discern properly will waiver back and forth
between
belief and doubt. Intellectual wandering is called “hirhor,”
the same
term we use for inappropriate sexual thoughts. Many interpret this
halacha to
be forbidding undisciplined thought, conducted outside an assumption of
Torah
truth, but obviously not requiring distance from the study of secular
thought
completely.
- Read
Chapter four of Torah Umadda by Rabbi
Norman Lamm. Rabbi Lamm explores Rambam’s strong inclusion of
secular thought
in Torah study and outlines a model of Torah Umadda
based upon the
Rambam’s approach. Rabbi Lamm’s main critique with
the Rambam’s method is that
it limits what is deemed valuable “madda.”
(Rabbi Lamm provides numerous
solutions to this problem throughout his book. See specifically page
166.)
- Read The Guide
of the Perplexed III:8. The
Rambam explains that thoughts about sin are worse than actual sins
because the
later is “disobedience through his bestiality”
while the former is
“disobedience through the nobler of his two parts.”
Notice how the Rambam
considers thoughts about sin, sins themselves.
The
above is just a sampling of sources relevant to
this topic. It becomes clear that the Rambam both demands rigorous
intellectual
pursuits and greatly limits intellectual exploration. It is highly
difficult to
imagine how one could achieve the first without the second. Can a
person truly
examine his/her belief in God without considering seriously the option
that God
does not exist? However, we must remember, the study of philosophy and
theology
in the time of the Rambam was conducted very differently than it is
today, and
was founded on a vastly different epistemology and ontology. What was
not
necessarily contradictory in the Rambam’s mind might now
appear paradoxical
because we come to the Rambam with our own assumptions as to the
meaning and
value of intellectual honesty. This sets up a new challenge. To
understand the
Rambam, we must understand his theory of knowledge and method of study,
which,
ironically, is hidden in the very halachos that, to be fully
understood,
require comprehension in these areas.
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