July 2016

CURRICULUM VITAE AND LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Name: Aviram Ravitsky Telephone number: 972-547-299046 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

Education Ph.D. 2001- 2006, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought (summa cum laude) Name of advisor: Prof. Zev Harvey Title of thesis: Logic and Talmudic Methodology: The Application of Aristotelian Logic in the Commentaries on the Methods of Jewish Legal Inference M.A. 1998-2002, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought (summa cum laude) Name of advisor: Prof. Zev Harvey Title of thesis: Sha‘arei S edeq (Attributed to Gersonides): A Critical Edition with Introduction and Notes B.A. 1995-1998, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought (magna cum laude) Teacher’s Certificate 2002-2003, Hebrew University, Department of Education

Employment history 2009-2016: Lecturer, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage (2013 – Senior lecturer) 2009-2016: Lecturer, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought 2012-2014: Lecturer, Rothberg International School, Hebrew University 2009-2015: Lecturer, The David Yellin Academic College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Thought 2008-2009: The Ernest Schwarcz Eminent Visiting Professorship, Queens College, City University of New York, Department of Philosophy 2006-2008: Lecturer, Ben-Gurion University, Department of Jewish Thought 2000-2006: Lecturer, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought 2002-2006: Lecturer, The David Yellin Academic College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Thought Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 2

2005-2006: Lecturer, Lander Institute, Graduate School of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem 1998-2000: Teaching assistant to Prof. Warren Zev Harvey, Department of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University 1998-2000: Research assistant to Prof. David Rosenthal, Department of Talmud, Hebrew University

Membership in professional/scientific societies 2016: The Jewish Law Association (JLA) 2007-2016: The Society for Judeo-Arabic Studies (SJAS) 2009-2016: The Association for Jewish Studies (AJS) 2009-2016: The World Union of Jewish Studies (WUJS)

Courses taught Maimonides’ Theory of Language, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2016 The Land of Israel in Medieval Jewish Thought, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2016 Philosopher, Prophet and Poet: The thought of Rabbi Judah ha-Levi, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2015 Mysticism, Science and Secularism in the Thought of Rabbi A. I. Kook, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2015 Morality, Intellectuality and Theology in Maimonides, Rothberg International School, Hebrew University, 2014 The Influence of Philosophy on Talmudic Scholarship and Halakhic Ruling, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2014 Israel and the Jewish Diaspora in the Thought of Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2013 Jewish Education in Rabbinic Literature, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2013 The Secrets of Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: Esotericism in Medieval Jewish Writings, Rothberg International School, Hebrew University, 2013 Introduction to Greek Philosophy in Context of Jewish Thought, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2012 Relations of Religion and Philosophy, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2012 A History of Jewish Thought in the Modern Era, Ariel University, Department of Israel Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 3

Heritage, 2012 A History of Modern Philosophy, Ariel University, Department of Israel Heritage, 2011 Maimonides’ Ethics and its Aristotelian Setting – Queens College, City University of New York, 2009 What Can We Say about God? The Theories of Devine Attributes in Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2008 Theories of Language and Hermeneutics in Jewish Thought: Philosophy, Law and Kabbalah, Ben-Gurion University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2007 Reading the Guide of the Perplexed, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2000-2006 Religion and Science and the Middle Ages and in the Modern Era, David Yellin College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Philosophy, 2006 Logic and Talmudic Methodology, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2005 Modern Jewish Thought, David Yellin College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Philosophy, 2005 Judaism: A Religion or More than That?, David Yellin College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Philosophy, 2005 Linguistic Theories and their implications in Halakhic Thought, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2004 Introduction to Jewish Thought in the Modern Era, David Yellin College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Philosophy, 2002-2004 Relations of Reason and Tradition in Jewish Thought: Rabbanites, Karaites, Philosophers and Theologians, Hebrew University, Department of Jewish Thought, 2003 Spinoza vs. Mendelssohn on Judaism and the Jewish Nation, David Yellin College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Philosophy, 2003 History and Nationalism in the Philosophy of Rabbi Nahman Krokhmal, David Yellin College of Education, Department of History and Jewish Philosophy, 2002

Awards, honors and fellowships 2008-2009: Post Doctorate Fellowship, the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University 2008-2009: Fulbright post-doctorate fellowship, Fulbright Foundation 2008-2009: Perlman post-doctorate award, the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 4

2008-2009: Post-doctorate award, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture 2006-2008: Post-doctorate fellowship, Kreitman Foundation, Ben-Gurion University 2005-2006: Post-doctorate fellowship, Pines Foundation, Hebrew University 2006-2007: Warburg post-doctorate award, the Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University (declined) 2006: Schlomiuk Prize for doctorate dissertation, the Faculty of Humanities, Hebrew University 2002-2005: Posen excellence scholarship, the Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University 2001-2002: Fellowship, the Shalom Hartman Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem 2002: Shlomo Glass scholarship, the Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University 2002: Wolf Scholarship, the Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University 2001: Joseph and Wolfe Lebovic scholarship, the Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University 1998-2001: Miscellaneous academic scholarships in support of M.A. studies, the Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University

List of publications Books 1. Logic and Talmudic Methodology: The Application of Aristotelian Logic in the Commentaries on the Methods of Jewish Legal Inference (Hebrew), Magnes Press, Jerusalem 2009 (450 pages) 2. Sha‘arei S edeq (Attributed to Gersonides): A Critical Edition with Introduction and Notes (Hebrew), the Institute of Jewish Studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 2001 (77 pages)

Editorship of collective volumes 4. Man to Man: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Professor Warren Zev Harvey (Hebrew), (co eds. S. Wygoda, A. Akcerman and E. Eisenman), Magnes Press (forthcoming)

Publications in peer review journals 1. “Sa‘adya Ga’on and Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī on the Logical Structure of the Rational and Traditional Laws: Logic and Kalām in the Karaite-Rabbanite Controversy” (Hebrew), Tarbiz, 84 (2016), pp. 161-195 2. “‘The Principles of the Qal va-Homer’ – New Material from the School of Rabbi Isaac Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 5

Kanpanton” (Hebrew), Kobez Al-Yad: Minora Manuscripta Hebraica, n.s. 24 (2016), pp. 181-204 3. “Logic and Karaite Legal Methodology: Hebrew Translation of Qirqisānī’s Kitāb al-Anwār wa al-Marāqib, section 4, chapters 1-8 with Introduction and Critical Notes” (Hebrew), AJS Review (forthcoming) (48 pages) 4. “The Balanced Path and the Path of Asceticism: The Unity of Maimonides’ Ethics”, Tradition, 47 (2014), pp. 28-47 5. “'If There Was Only One Jew in the World': Loneliness and Nationalism in the Thought of Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn and Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik” (Hebrew), (Religion, Nationalism: The Struggle for Modern Jewish Identity) – Jewish Studies: An Interdisciplinary Annual, 1 (2014), pp. 181-191 6. “Philosophical Aspects of a Late 14th Century Commentary on the Mishneh Torah: A Chapter in the History of the Jews of Provence” (Hebrew), Da‘at, 74-75 (2013), pp. 299-324 7. “The Original Commentary of Rabbi Isaac Abuab on Qal va-Homer: MS Sasson 1046” (Hebrew), Kobez Al-Yad: Minora Manuscripta Hebraica, 21 (2012), pp. 261-278 8. “The Doctrine of the Mean and Asceticism: On the Uniformity of Maimonides’ Ethics” (Hebrew), Tarbiz, 79 (2011), pp. 439-469 9. “Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī’s Critique of Talmudic Legal Hermeneutics: A Hebrew Translation from the Arabic of al-Qirqisānī’s Kitāb al-Anwār w al-Marāqib, section 4, chapters 9-21” (Hebrew), Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought, 22 (2011), pp. 123-157 10. “Sa‘adya Gaon and Maimonides on the Logic and Limits of Legal Inference in Context of the Karaite-Rabbanite Controversy”, History and Philosophy of Logic, 32 (2011), pp. 29-36 11. “Talmudic Methodology and Aristotelian Logic: David Ibn Bilia’s Commentary on the Thirteen Hermeneutic Principles,” The Jewish Quarterly Review, 99 (2009), pp. 184-199 12. “Talmudic Methodology and Scholastic Logic: The Commentary of R. Abraham Elijah Cohen on the Thirteen Principles” (Hebrew), Da‘at 63 (2008), pp. 87-102 13. “Maimonides’ Theory of Language: Philosophy and Halakhah” (Hebrew), Tarbiz 76 (2007), pp. 185-231 14. “Halakhic Arguments as Dialectical Arguments and Exegetical Principles as Aristotelian τόποι in Maimonides’ Philosophy” (Hebrew), Tarbiz 73 (2004), pp. 197-224 15. “On the Date of Sha‘arei S edeq, a Work Attributed to Gersonides” (Hebrew), Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 6

Tarbiz 68 (1999), pp. 401-410

Chapters in collective volumes and academic journals 16. “Maimonides’ Linguistic Thought, its Islamicate and Jewish Background and its Application to Legal Adjudication”, under review in The Origin and Nature of Language and Logic in Medieval Islamic, Jewish, and Christian Thought (tentative title), edited by Steven Harvey and Nadja Germann (20 pages) 17. “Michael Schwarz’s Hebrew Translation of Maimonides’ The Guide of the Perplexed”, The Translations of Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed (tentative title), edited by Josef Stern and James T. Robinson (forthcoming) (25 pages) 18. “The Authority of Tradition in Scientific Affairs: R. Isaac bar Sheshet Perfet and R. Hasdai Crescas as Representing Two Kinds of Hostility Towards Philosophy” (Hebrew), Rabbi Hasdai Crescas: A Leader and Philosopher, edited by Warren Z. Harvey and Esti Eizenman, Zalman Shazar Center, (forthcoming) (21 pages) 19. “The Ethics of Love and Human’s final End in Maimonides’ Thought” (Hebrew), Man to Man: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Professor Warren Zev Harvey, ed. by S. Wygoda, A. Ravitsky, et al., Magnes Press (forthcoming) (26 pages) 20. “The Contribution of Professor Warren Zev Harvey to the Study of Maimonides and Medieval Jewish Thought” (Hebrew) (with Esti Eisenman), Introduction to Man to Man: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Professor Warren Zev Harvey, ed. by S. Wygoda, A. Ravitsky, et al., Magnes Press (forthcoming) (7 pages) 21. “The Commentary of Rabbi Joseph ben Saul on Maimonides’ Laws of Prayer in Mishneh Torah” (Hebrew), Jewish Prayer – New Perspectives (tentative title), edited by Uri Erlich, The Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva (forthcoming) (17 pages) 22. “Tractate Avot in Maimonides’ Ethical Thought” (Hebrew), Sinai, 147 (2014), pp. 112-127 23. “Mezuqqaq Shiv‘atayim (The Philosophical Section): An Unknown Provençal Encyclopedic Commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah”, Andrew Schumann (ed.) Pragmatic and Political Studies in Judaism (Judaism in Context, 14), Piscataway N.J. 2013, pp. 195-218 24. “Sa‘adya’s Theology and Maimonides’ Philosophy: The Characteristics of Medieval Jewish Thought” (Hebrew), Al Da‘at ha-Qahal: Jubilee Volume in Honor of Professor Aviezer Ravitzky, ed. by Y. Stern, A. Rosenak et al., The Israel Democracy Institute, Jerusalem 2012, pp. 287-317 Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 7

25. “Rabbinic Methods of Interpretation and Inference in Relation to Aristotelian Logic” (Hebrew), Philosophy of Halakhah: Halakhah, Meta-Halakhah and Philosophy – Multi-Disciplinary Perspective, ed. by A. Rosenak, Jerusalem 2011, pp. 226-248 26. “Moses’ Authority in Maimonides’ Thought and the Classification of the Law in the Mishneh Torah” (Hebrew), Spiritual Authority: Struggles over Cultural Power in Jewish Thought, ed. by H. Kreisel et al., Beer Sheva 2010, pp. 71-82 27. “The Commentaries on the 13 Hermeneutic Principles and their Application of Logic”, Judaic Logic (Judaism in Context, 8), ed. by A. Schumann, Piscataway N.J. 2010, pp. 117-143 28. “Sa‘adya Gaon on the Limits and Logic of Legal Inference” (Hebrew), Masorah le-Yosef, 6 (2009), pp. 319-332 29. “Maimonides and al-Farabi on the Development of Political Law” (Hebrew), New Streams in Philosophy of Halakhah, A. Ravitzky and A. Rosenak (eds.), Jerusalem 2008, pp. 211-230

Lectures and presentations at international conferences and invited seminars 2016: The International Conference of the Judaeo-Arabic Society (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee): “Aristotelian Syllogism and the Skeptic Critique of its Reason, in the Legal Thought of Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī” 2015: The 47th Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS), Boston, Mass.: “Sa‘adya Ga’on and Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī on the Logical Structure of the Rational and Traditional Laws: Logic and Kalām in the Karaite-Rabbanite Controversy” 2014: The Annual SIEPM (=Société Internationale pour l'Etude de la Philosophie Médiévale) Colloquium, Freiburg (Germany): “The Nature of Language in Maimonides’ Writings: Philosophy and Jurisprudence” 2013: The 45th Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS), Boston, Mass.: “Philosophical Interpretation of Talmudic Law and Aggadah Literature in Rabbi Joseph ben Saul Kimh i’s Mezuqqaq Shiv‘atayim (14th Century, Avignon)” 2013: The International Conference of the Judaeo-Arabic Society, Jerusalem: “Tractate Avot in the Ethical Thought of Maimonides” 2013: The Sixteenth International World Congress for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem: “Jewish Law and Science in the School of R. Nissim of Girona: R. Isaac bar Sheshet and R. Hasdai Crescas” 2013: International Conference: Jewish Prayer – New Perspectives, The Goldstein-Goren Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 8

International Center for Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva: “The Commentary of Rabbi Joseph bes Saul on Maimonides’ Laws of Prayer in Mishneh Torah” 2012: The Annual Conference of the Department of Israel Heritage, Ariel University: “‘If There Was only One Jew in the World’: R. Sholom Dovber Schneersohn and R. Joseph Ber Soloveitchik on Jewish Loneliness and Nationalism” 2012: The Annual Conference of the Departments of Jewish Thought of the Israeli Universities, Jerusalem: “The Perfect Human and the Guide of the Perplexed: Warren Z. Harvey and Jewish Pragmatism” 2011: The Conference of the World Union of Jewish Studies in Memory of Professor Efrayim E. Urbakh, Jerusalem: “Tractate Avot in Maimonides’ Ethical Thought” 2011: The Annual Conference of the Departments of Jewish Thought of the Israeli Universities, Beer-Sheva: “Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī’s Critique of Talmudic Legal Hermeneutics” 2010: International Conference: Rabbi Hasdai Crescas – A Leader and Philosopher, Jerusalem: “The Authority of Tradition in Scientific Affairs in the Thought of R. Isaac bar Sheshet Perfet and R. Hasdai Crescas” 2010: International Conference of Bar-Illan University and Lander Institute: The Aggadah and its Interpretation, Ramat-Gan and Jerusalem: “Tractate Avot in the Ethical Thought of Maimonides” 2009: International Conference of the Judaeo-Arabic Society, Tel Aviv: “Sa‘adya Gaon on the Limits and Logic of Legal Inference” 2009: The Fifteenth International World Congress for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem: “Jewish Philosophical-Rabbinical Literature in Provence in the Second Half of the Fourteenth Century” 2009: Queens College (CUNY), New York (USA), “A 1380 Encyclopedic Commentary on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah” 2008: The Fortieth Annual Conference of the Association for Jewish Studies (AJS), Washington DC.: “Sa‘adya Gaon and Maimonides on the Logic and Limits of Legal Inference” 2008: Invited lecturer, the Goldstein-Goren International Center for Jewish Thought, Ben- Gurion University, Beer Sheva: “The Jewish Philosophy in Provence after Rabbi Levi Ben Abraham” 2007: International Conference of the Judaeo-Arabic Society, Córdoba (Spain): “Talmudic Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 9

Methodology and Arabic Logic: R. David ibn Bilia’s Commentary on the Thirteen Exegetical Principles” 2006: Invited lecturer, the Shlomo Pines Society, Hebrew University, Jerusalem: “Maimonides’ Theory of Language – Philosophy and Halakhah” 2005: The Fourteenth International Congress for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem: “Talmudic Methodology and Scholastic Logic, the Commentary of R. Abraham Elijah Cohen to the Thirteen Exegetical Principles” 2005: International Conference: The Halakhah and the Philosophy of Halakhah: A Multi- Disciplinary Perspective, Jerusalem: “Medieval Logic and Talmudic Methodology” 2002: International Conference: The Philosophy of the Halakhah, Jerusalem: “Maimonides and al-Farabi on the Development of Halakhah and Political Law”

Other academic activity 2014: Organizer of the Annual Conference of the Department of Israel Heritage, Ariel University (‘Judaism and Humanity: Reciprocal Contributions’) 2013: Sub-editor of the journal Israel Heritage, published by the Department for Israel Heritage, Ariel University 2013: Referee of Doctoral and Post-Doctoral fellowship applications for the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture 2011: Member of the organizing committee of the Annual Conference of the Departments of Jewish Thought of the Israeli Universities, the Hebrew University 2010: Member of the organizing committee of the International Conference: Rabbi Hasdai Crescas – A Leader and Philosopher, Zalman Shazar Center 2007-2008: Director and organizer of the colloquium series in the Department of Jewish Thought, Ben-Gurion University 2006: Member of the organizing committee of the Annual Doctoral Conference, Institute for Jewish Studies, Hebrew University

Synopsis of research My field of research focuses on diverse topics in medieval Jewish philosophy and Jewish legal thinking. My recently published works discuss the influence of Aristotelian philosophy on Jewish law in the Middle Ages; the legal-halakhic thought in the writings of Saadya Gaon; the Karaite-Rabbanite controversy; Maimonidean philosophical and legal thought, and Jewish philosophy in Provence in the 14th Century. Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 10

In my book Aristotelian Logic and Talmudic Methodology: The Application of Aristotelian Logic to the Interpretation of the Thirteen Hermeneutic Principles, I analyzed the influence of Aristotelian logic on understanding the methodology of Jewish legal inference and exegesis, during the 14th-16th Century. The Thirteen Hermeneutic Principles are the most famous methods of halakhic inference. They are considered the basic and fundamental rules by which the oral tradition is anchored in and derived from the Written Law. Not surprisingly, commentaries on this set of rules abound, in printed editions as well as in various medieval Hebrew manuscripts. My book focuses on one discernible trend of commentaries that used Aristotelian logic in order to develop a sophisticated and scholarly Talmudic methodology. The Aristotelian trend, which began in the 14th century, was further refined in the 15th-16th Century, and in later times became one of the standard genres of Talmudic methodological literature. The importance of the book lies in its discussion, description and analysis of an extensive sphere of philosophical influence on Jewish law that was previously neglected. This unique method of combining philosophy and Jewish law, as expressed by the Aristotelian commentaries on the Thirteen Principles, is significant not only from the perspective of the development of Talmudic methodology, but also for an understanding of the ongoing interaction between Jewish tradition and external philosophical cultures and trends. Analysis of the Aristotelian commentaries on the Thirteen Principles demonstrates how originally Greek doctrines filtered into medieval Jewish scholarship, mainly through the medium of Arabic philosophy but occasionally via Christian-Scholastic philosophy, after which they were applied to the realm of Jewish legal thought. Another area of my academic interests is the Karaite-Rabbanite controversy. In a current research I am focusing on one of the central issues that were in debate between the Rabbanites and the Karaites: the use of Qiyās (legal analogy) in the realm of Jewish law. In my paper (now under review in Tarbiz) I am analyzing Ya‘qūb al-Qirqisānī’s (one of the prominent and well known Karaite writers in the 10th Century) critique over Sa‘adya Gaon’s rejection of Qiyās, and the Islamic background of this critique. As part of this study I am also currently working on translating the 4th section of Qirqisānī’s Arabic Magnum Opus Kitāb al-Anwār wa al-Marāqib, in which this Karaite scholar apply Qiyās in his Biblical legal interpretation. In an article published in Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought I analyzed al-Qirqisānī’s detailed excursus on Rabbinic hermeneutical methodology. A major portion of the article consists of my Hebrew translation of Qirqisānī’s Arabic commentary on the rabbinic methodology. In the introduction to the translation I discuss the historical significance of Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 11

Qirqisānī’s critical commentary. I also analyze Qirqisānī’s understanding of the rabbinic hermeneutical principles and their related terminology, which is discernible in his Arabic terminology. In the notes to my Hebrew translation I explain difficult passages in Qirqisānī’s commentary and refer to relevant literature on the subjects discussed. One of the outstanding Rabbis in the period of the Geonim, who was a staunch and strident opponent of the Karaites, is Sa‘adya Gaon (882-942). In a study published in History and Philosophy of Logic I demonstrated that Sa‘adya Gaon rejected the legitimacy of legal inference as part of his polemic with contemporary Karaite scholars. The article analyses Sa‘adya’s stance regarding the logical basis of legal inference and shows that Saadya’s distinction between reason and revelation in the domain of legal inference relates exclusively to ‘illah – the factor that determines the law in a given case. On the other hand, the rationality of the commandments according to Saadya is based upon the manfa‘ah – the utility of the commandments. The distinction between ‘illah and manfa‘ah enables Sa‘adya to endorse the Mu‘tazilite position regarding the rationality of the Divine commandments, while rejecting the Karaite’s rationalism by applying argumentation originating in Muslim- orthodox literature. One of the central topics in my field of research is Maimonidean thought. In a study published in Tarbiz I showed that the research literature has mistakenly understood Maimonides’ ethical doctrine as reflecting conflicting tendencies. The claim is that Maimonides depicted the ethical Doctrine of the Mean as it found expression in Aristotle’s Ethics and in the writings of al-Farabi. However, he expressed also extremist ethical attitudes, even regarding the same issues on which he sides with Aristotle’s Golden Mean. My study reexamines Maimonides’ Doctrine of the Mean. It demonstrates that Maimonides did not understand the Mean as a practical principle, to be utilized in the determination of the desirable course of action. Rather, it is a principle that characterizes desirable activity. Maimonides’ ethics is not monolithic in the sense of instructing all people at all times to pursue the same course of action. While in a universal sense it does direct all human beings towards the same general purpose – intellectual perfection and striving for closeness to God – the means for achieving that goal, in the sense of desired course of action, may be more moderate in some circumstances and more extreme in others. Another subject that I have researched in the context of Maimonides’ philosophy is his theory of language. In my article “Maimonides’ Theory of Language: Philosophy and Halakhah”, published in Tarbiz I analyzed Maimonides’ philosophical theory of language, its Hellenistic and Arabic sources and its significance and implications in terms of Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 12

Maimonides’ legal rulings. In the article I showed that Maimonides’ theory of language derived primarily from the writings of al-Fārābī. Regarding the development of natural language, the Fārābian-Maimonidean theory reflects both Epicurus’ anthropological- natural description of the way language developed on the one hand, and on the other hand – Plato’s concept of the intellectual ‘name-maker’, as formulated in Plato’s Cratylus. However, with regard to the essence and function of language, the Fārābian-Maimonidean theory reflects Aristotle’s semantics that found expression in Aristotle’s De Interpretatione. The article shows that in the Maimonidean theory language is a human phenomenon and not a metaphysical one, and its function is to enable expression and communication. Hence, according to Maimonides, the Hebrew language has no metaphysical superiority over other languages – an attitude that was harshly rejected by post Maimonidean Kabbalists. In a study conducted during my fellowship at the Center for Jewish Studies in Harvard University I described the philosophical scholarship of Jewish Talmudic Sages in Provence in the second half of the 14th Century. Jewish thought in Provence was heavily influenced by Islamic Aristotelianism, especially by the works of Averroes in their Hebrew translation. In addition, Jewish scholars had contacts with their Christian counterparts. In a crucial sense they drew inspiration from three civilizations – the Jewish, the Muslim, and the Christian. In general, the research of Provencal Jewry has developed extensively during the last few decades. Notwithstanding, with regard to the philosophical literature in Provence in the late 14th and the 15th Centuries, the research literature is almost silent. In my research I focus on the sphere of influence and writings of the prolific Rabbinic authority – Rabbi Joseph Ben Saul Kimh i, who lived in Avignon, and composed a comprehensive encyclopedia (418 pages in manuscript) of rabbinical and philosophical sources, formed as a commentary on Maimonides’ Mishne Torah (The Mezuqqaq Shiv‘atayim). The commentary was never published and it survived in a single manuscript, now held in a privet collection (Victor Klagsbald’s collection, Paris). This commentary is one of the comprehensive works that were written on Maimonides’ legal works and its author was clearly a Talmudic expert that was immersed in Aristotelian philosophy and sciences. The commentary is of unique characteristics and it represents the scholarly culture of medieval Provencal Judaism. In my study I am analyzing the author’s varied sources, their use in his commentary, and his novelties in understanding Maimonides’ thought. The first part of my research, analyzing Joseph Ben Saul’s modus operandi was published in the journal Da‘at. Name: Aviram Ravitsky page 13

In the future, I intend to study and research a wide range of topics in medieval Jewish Philosophy and especially the writings of rabbinic authorities in the Muslim areas, and the works of the Provencal Jewish scholars. I will be focusing on texts that can be considered as representative of Jewish falsafa and klām, highlighting the connections between philosophy and law, and the influence of philosophical and theological thought on the formation and formulation of Jewish law and halakhic literature.