EPILOGUE

The Idea ofProphecy in Medieval Jewish Philosophy: An Overview

It is true that often a preoccupation with the details leads to the "story" getting lost. As is the case in every area, however, there is another way of looking at things, a different perspective. In trying to get to the "gist" of the story, might we not miss out on the details in which the story really lies? I readily confess that as a reader I find much more interesting those works that get to the "essence" of the matter in a few short sentences, reduce the entire Torah to a single rule (or while "standing on one foot" as the rabbinic saying goes, the Latin regula apparently becoming the Hebrew regelin an ingenious play on words). Reading these works,I am left with a sense of knowing something without being burdened by having to learn it. Did not Aristotle teach us that knowledge consists of knowing the incorporeal "essence" of a thing, and not the numerous sensory data that characterize its appearance. Of course someone has to do the "dirty work" and drudge through all the data in an effort to make sense out of it and get to the "essence". I leave it to each of the scholars in his/her respective field to do so. But why must the author burden the readers with all the minute details? Let each just present major "findings", relegating all the details, if they must be presented, to the notes in small print. Those who care about the details should turn to the primary texts themselves. This is the preferable path in any event. Nevertheless, I have chosen till now to tell a fairly detailed story, even if much of it is a summary of what the philosophers in question have to say about prophecy. My rationale is that for them, as for me, the story is in the details of their approaches to the topic, not just the general points. How these points are deve­ loped step by step and defended, while the points advanced by others - borrowed, critiqued or both, is where the unique contri­ bution of each thinker to the topic is to be found. The thinkers rooted their ideas in finely built conceptual structures. One must 588 EPILOGUE pay attention to the nature and quality of the construction to gain a fuller understanding of the idea. They approached prophecy from a multitude of perspectives and with a multitude of con­ siderations in mind, often leading to noteworthy shifts in their presentation. One must take a careful look at the textual and intellectual contexts of their views in order to appreciate the factors that shape their discussion. How complex a "sim ple " idea becomes when seen in this light! I strove for a balance between the alternative of reducing the philosophers' views on prophecy to their "bare outline", and that of letting each tell his story in his own words by simply creating an anthology of texts on prophecy, interlaced with some of my own comments. In this balance I hoped to convey to the reader a better sense ofwhat the giants of medieval Jewish philosophy thought about the topic, to capture their "original voice", without relinquishing my role as an active "interpreter", "guide", "narrator" (or "storyteller" if you will) . The topic upon which I focused intersects many other topics in the thought of the thinkers discussed here - the nature of God, the make-up of the human soul, providence, the Law , political thought, biblical exegesis. In writing this book,I cut off the "part" from the "whole"- that is, the topic of prophecy from the other topics that, when taken together, constitute the thinker's "philosophy". At the same time I tried to convey a sense of that "whole". Much of the story I told revolves around the problem of the relation between the details of an idea and their literary context, and how the details undergo modification as the context changes. At this point it may be helpful to look at the topic from a much broader perspective, a "birds eye view". Let me then take this opportunity to share with the reader how I see the outline of this topic and some of my thoughts regarding it. The story of prophecy in Jewish thought certainly changed a great deal from biblical times to the medieval period. This is the impression gained by any reader of the Bible and of rabbinic literature, who then turns to a study ofmedieval philosophic liter­ ature. For all the significant differences between the approaches of the philosophers discussed here, they are remarkably similar in contrast to the pictures of prophecy that emerge from the earlier sources. All the medieval Jewish philosophers developed EPILOGUE 589 their approaches in the broader context of an Aristotelian universe. Most of them were conscious of the fact that their approaches were based on the alternate acceptance and rejection of the views presented in the works of Aristotle and his medie­ val Islamic disciples. Even R. Saadiah Gaon, who clearly read no works of Aristotle, or other Greek philosophers and their interpreters, did not escape this influence. He drew heavily from Islamic theological literature that was permeated with Aristotelian and other Greek philosophical ideas. While Spinoza, at the other end of the spectrum both historically and philoso­ phically, sought once and for all to put an end to Aristotle's universe, he hardly ignored it in developing his views. More­ over, for all the differences between the ideas, structure and very nature of the treatises these philosophers wrote, they all dealt with the topic of prophecy in an overtly reflective manner. They analyzed the topic; they sought to explain. The story they told was a philosophic one. This is a far cry from biblical literature that tells us stories about the prophets without comment. We, like the medievals, must try to ascertain from these narratives what the ancients thought about prophecy. No overt contemplation is displayed on the part of the biblical storytellers. The picture they paint is one of God choosing an individual and conveying a certain mes­ sage to him (and occasionally, to her). Sometimes God speaks directly to the individual, sometimes an angel of God conveys the message. The prophet often beholds the speaker. Prophecy generally comes in a dream while the individual is asleep; it also comes while the individual is awake. Most of these mes­ sages consist of knowledge of the future and of admonitions. Often the prophet is given the mission to bring the message to others. At times a dialogue ensues between the prophet and God or the angel. How can God speak to human beings, why does God speak to some and not others, what is the nature of the angel and why does God at times employ angels for this task, among a host of other questions these narratives raise, are left unan­ swered. To be sure, the Bible leaves us with a number of "small" details concerning prophecy that allow the critical reader a glimpse into a much richer and more varied approach to this phenomenon in the thought of the ancients than suggested by a 590 EPILOGUE casual reading of the Bibl e.! The Bible mentions "schools" of prophets, th e strange behavior the prophets exhibited that led people to label them crazy (m eshuga') , the use of music to induce prophecy. It speaks of the prophet as a professional seer who eve n helps one find lost objects. It alludes to offi cial "court" prophets. It also tells ofvast numbers of prophets who lived at the same time and who were put to death by th eir royal adversaries, p rophets wh o left no trace of what they prophesied. Many add itional points abou t prophecy can be uncovered upon closer in spection. The biblical storytellers leave it to us, however, to try to make sense from their stories of wh at sense th ey made of prophecy. They themselves do not attempt to do the task. The talmudic sages more often than not "fill in" the details of the biblical stories with stories of their own. Here and th ere they also introduce sh ort explanatory statements, laying th e founda­ tion for a ratiocinative approach. Yet leaving aside Philo, one has to wait till th e medieval period to find J ewish thinkers who take upon themselves th e task to explain the phenomenon. We may say that the story of prophecy then is the story of how a living phenomenon becomes a recorded one and fro m th ere becomes an analyzed one. This is not to imply that it ceases to remain a living one once people begin to consciously think about it. For many, the opposite is the case. The attempt to understand what is prophecy at th e same tim e points to the direction of its attain­ ment. The idea of prophecy itself may change in th e process, but not necessarily the d esire to experience what is identified as such . The systematic analytic attem p t to an alyze and explain phe­ nomena is perhaps the greatest contribution of th e ancie n t Greeks to world civilization. Not just ideas abou t th e world are presented in Greek philosophy, but also probing, com preh en­ sive , detailed analyses of reality, together with the intellectual tools necessary to undertake such analyses. No one better exem­ plified this attempt than Aristotle. A vast philosophic literature grew out of his philosophy, together with th at of hi s teacher, Plato. Even th ose who were more independent in th eir thinking

) For a study of prophecy in the biblical period see Benj amin Uffenheim, Ancient Prophecy in Israel [Heb.] (j erusalem : Magn es Press, 1984). EPILOGUE 591 remained heavily indebted to these exceptional thinkers (and in crucial ways remain so to the present day). It is easy to see why medieval thinkers - whether Christian, Moslem or Jewish ­ who sought to "understand", and were committed to the power of the human intellect to fulfill this desire ("Human beings by nature desire to know", Aristotle noted in the opening of his Metaphysics), should be captivated by the momentous structures of thought erected by the ancient Greeks and those who came under their influence in antiquity. It is hard to appreciate the challenge posed by these structures to the "religions of revela­ tion" without having a sense of the immense intellectual and even "spiritual" attraction they held to the inquiring mind. To many in the medieval world who started exploring these ancient structures, they were nothing less than a "revelation". Halevi keenly understood this point and superbly captures it in his treatise. Some were so enamored by the philosophic tradition that instead of seeing it as the enemy, they saw in it the key to understand historical revelation itself - that is, prophecy - and the truths that it imparted about God, the world and the place of human beings in the cosmos. The dissonance, if not outright contradictions, between the views found in the works of the philosophers and those taught in the sacred, authoritative texts of Judaism made this task a difficult one, to say the least. Yet even those who saw it as their task to defend Judaism precisely from the attempts to reduce it to the thoughts of the Greeks and their disciples, could hardly ignore these structures or reject them out of hand in developing their own rational approach. The human mind after all was a gift of God just as much as were the more direct forms of divine communication. The problem facing the medieval Jewish philosophers is at times presented by them as how can the sublime God deign to speak to or watch over such lowly creatures as human beings. Yet the challenge posed by Aristotelian philosophy can more accurately be framed: How can the transcendent, unchanging, incorporeal One, who has no physical organs, no knowledge of historical human beings and no volition, and who acts sole­ ly through the order of nature, speak to particular individuals and communicate to them a specific message. R. Saadiah accepted and dealt with only part of this picture - that is, God's 592 EPILOGUE incorporeality. The problem he saw confronting him is how God, who possesses no physical organs, can speak or be seen. His answer - by means of created intermediaries, namely, words created in the air (the Created Speech) and a special entity that can assume different shapes or appear simply as a special light, call ed the Created Glory. These intermediaries are in addition to special beings composed of "spiritual" matter and are capable of speech - th at is, angels. He see s no problem in accepting God's knowledge of individuals or God's performance of volitional acts that are independent of any natural order. The very act of creation in h is view proves that God knows indi­ viduals and performs such acts. It also lays the basis for accept­ in g God's ability to break th e pattern of nature in performing even ts that we identify as miracles. The fact that God alone possesses the ability to perform these acts in R. Saadiah's view, lays th e basis for his treatment of miracles as a trustworthy means for verifying prophecy. The answer R. Saadiah gives to the problem of the nature of th e prophetic vision raised by God's lack of physical organs allows him to solve yet other problems he sees as involvin g this phenomenon. The confidence the prophet has in th e revelation received can be traced to the fact that he expe riences it with his ex te rnal senses, a source of trustworthy knowledge for R. Saadiah. The words heard are aud ible ones, th e sights - visible o nes. This view at th e sam e tim e raises a host of add itional problems, such as the precise nature of the interme diary called th e Created Glo ry and its rel ation to the Created Speech on one hand, and to the angels on the other. Is it an active intermediary or a passive substance? Is its role confined to the visible sights seen by the prophets or is it an invisible en tity that has a much more crucial part to play in God's governance of the world? R. Saadiah's approach also rai ses the problem of th e relation be­ tween prophecy as a sensory phenomenon and th e prophetic dream that is experienced by one's internal faculties, and which frequen tly is mentioned in biblical literature. The problems are further complicated by th e fact th at R. Saadiah 's treatments of th e Created Glory and Created Speech do not appear to form a co n sisten t picture of the precise nature and relation of these en tities. EPILOGUE 593

I have argued that R. Saadiah's views are drawn from both Jewish and non-jewish sources. They reflect a borrowing from and a rejection of alternate conceptions, such as those derived from the doctrine of the logos. By attempting to untangle some of the details of his views in their textual context, we are able to glimpse the complexity of the challenge facing him. R. Saadiah presents his views on prophecy in different works and while dealing with different issues in the same work. This leads to changes of emphasis and, at times, even changes in the sub­ stance of his views. It is not that R. Saadiah completely "com­ partmentalizes" his thinking, treating each issue independent from the overall structure of thought. He also does not treat each work he writes as a "new beginning", divorced from his previ­ ous thinking on the subject. Yet he does not always keep his eye on how all his views on a subject coalesce with all his other views. One can discern how when the issue changes, the views he voices also undergo modification. This point is all the more understandable in the case of the topic of prophecy. He treats prophecy as subservient to other, more fundamental, issues in his thought - most notably, the nature of God and the truth and immutability of the Torah. For this reason, prophecy is treated primarily as a mission, with the primary mission being the communication of commandments. R. Saadiah leaves no doubt in all of his discussions that God is the immediate author of the commandments, as well as the particular messages attained by the prophets, even when God acts through an intermediary. The Created Glory, as one can detect from my discussions in the various chapters of this book, has a fascinating history in its own right. Since a central chapter, if not the central chapter, in the medieval history of the Glory is R. Saadiah's treatment of this entity, there is a tendency to see it as the central chapter in his approach to prophecy. It is certainly the most original and influential contribution he made to subsequent treatments of prophecy in Jewish thought. Yet how much significance R. Saadiah himself attached to this idea is a different question. The gap between the significance an author attaches to an idea, the significance that the idea assumes in subsequent thought, and the significance that the scholar decides to attach to it makes for its own interesting story, one involving a large number of 594 EPILOGUE factors. We have seen throughout this study examples not only of how ideas were modified when adopted by subsequent thinkers, but also how their significance changed as they moved from one conceptual scheme to another. Let us return to our present story. In light of their metaphysi­ cal views, the medieval Islamic philosophers developed a view of prophecy as an impersonal naturalistic phenomenon. Prophe­ cy is an "emanation" received by one who is properly predis­ posed. While the philosophers speak of divine grace and will in the bestowal of prophecy, they have in mind the order of nature of which God is the First Cause. God's grace and will are expressed solely in terms of the working of the order. God does not know individuals, does not speak to individuals and does not impart to them any particular message. As the First Cause of an impersonal world order, God is ultimately "responsible" for everything that happens. God, however, is not the immediate active agent of anything that happens. The particularity of the "message" attained by the prophet must be explained in terms of an internal psychological process taking place in the person's own soul in conjunction with the impersonal forces that reach the individual from without. Aristotle's medieval Islamic follow­ ers had to take under consideration also their religious tradition in developing their approaches to prophecy. Prophecy could not be confined to divination, an ability that for Aristotle was found most frequently by those with an underdeveloped intellect and highly developed imagination. The prophet in the religious tradition was God's "chosen". From there it is only a small step to see in the prophet the ideal individual. If human perfection lies in the perfection of the intellect as conceived by Plato, Aris­ totle and Plotinus, then this perfection had to be ascribed to the prophet by the medieval philosophers belonging to the Islamic tradition. If the sacred texts narrate the prophet's visions of divine matters, and notjust the future, then this form of knowledge too had to be taken into account in explaining the phenomenon. The result is prophecy being treated essentially as two inter­ related phenomena that together account for its various charac­ teristics. The first, and more important, is the illumination of the intellect and conjunction with the divine world. The individual attains a higher-order knowledge of the world and of God. EPILOGUE 595

Moreover, the individual experiences a transformation of self. "Revelation" in this case is equated with ultimate perfection, which is built into the world order. The prophetic "mission" is essen tially the attempt on the part of the individual to guide others to perfection on the basis of the knowledge attained. The prophet plays the role of Plato's philosopher-king in this view. The other facet of prophecy focuses on its visual and audio aspects, and the special lower-level knowledge attained - that is, knowledge of the future. This is explained in terms of the activity of the individual's imagination when it receives the emanation from the Active Intellect. Both types of prophecy are natural, both the product of "divine grace". Alfarabi, living in the lOth century, is perhaps the most important, but certainly not the first, of the Islamic philosophers to approach prophecy along these lines. Following him were such philosophic luminaries as Avicenna and Ibn Bajja. Even the great critic of the philoso­ phers, Alghazali, was very much influenced by this approach. Already prior to R. Saadiah, Jewish philosophers took under consideration the challenges emerging from Greek philosophic approaches to divine knowledge and volition, and notjust divine incorporeality, in developing their conceptions of prophecy. Halevi must certainly have been familiar with this fairly leng­ thy tradition within Jewish thought when he addresses these issues, though he apparently makes no immediate use of this tradition. Much of his treatise focuses upon prophecy, though he devotes no extended discussion specifically to the topic. In a crucial sense, as much as his treatise is a defense ofJudaism , it is a cogently argued plea to his brethren that they work to com­ plete the conditions that would allow again for the flourishing of prophecy. Halevi's "zionism" and "racism" are integrally tied to this point. I have maintained throughout my discussion of Halevi that he had a dialectical relation with the worldview of the philosophers. His approach to prophecy is the product of this relation. It is not a form of dialectical relation in which Halevi develops the "antithesis" to the philosophers' "thesis". His world­ view in general, and his view of prophecy in particular, is cer­ tainly not built as a point by point rejection of that of the philosophers, though he often tries to leave the impression that it is. Rather, it reflects a point by point struggle with philosophic 596 EPILOGUE views, vacillating between the rejection of th em on one hand, and an acceptance of the m with some modification on the other. J ewish tradition provided th e "thesis" for Halevi, and th e philo­ sophers - the "an tithesis". Halevi does not quite complete th e task of developing th e "syn thesis" because he is too torn between both approaches. While his primary loyalty is to J ewish tradi­ tion, his thought n ever wanders far from th e attraction s and challe nges posed by th e view of the philosophers. Prophecy is the ultimate perfection in his view, involving conjunction with the divine world. It is attained in what essentially is a natural manner by one possessing all the requisite criteria - namely, th e proper physical composition, living in the appropriate physi­ cal environment, and completing th e necessary preparations. This is precisely th e picture painted by the philosophers. Halevi adap ts this picture to Judaism by arguing th at only J ewish parents provide th e individual with the proper com position, th e Land of Israel with th e appropriate environmen t and th e com­ mandments with the necessary preparations. Hi s phenomeno­ logical description of prophecy alternates betw een th e two models he found in his sources. He co nceives of prophecy as a phenomenon involvin g created words and th e Create d Glory th at is experienced by one's external senses, in th e spirit of R. Saadiah's approach . He also conceives it as a phenomenon experienced solely by one's internal faculties, in the spirit of the philosophers' approach . Halevi's God, like that of the philosophers , gives to each entity only what it is prepared to rec eive. Prophecy is seen less as a mission and mor~ in terms of ultimate perfection. Yet like th e God of Abraham, H alevi's God knows all individuals , ac ts in history, performs miracles and is th e immediate source of all th e messages attained by th e prophets. In the case of th e central revelatory events in Jewish history - that is, th e prophecy of Moses and the Giving of th e Torah at Sinai - H alevi has no doubt that the sights seen and sounds heard "really" happened and were perceived by the external senses. The same is true of the miracles experienced by the Israelites. No other view is to be en tertained on this matter. God's activity is not co nfine d to th e natural order. The picture that emerges from Halevi's diverse views on prophecy is that of a thinker caught between two EPILOGUE 597 conceptions of divine activity, with his views on prophecy reflecting this dilemma. Much of the ambiguity of his approach emerges particularly from his use of the term amr iliihi (divine matter), a term which plays such a prominent role in his trea­ tise but is never adequately defined. It refers either to God, or to a divine intermediary. It shares characteristics in common with the Active Intellect in Aristotelian thought, but is treated as separate and superior to the Intellect. The Glory too incorporates different motifs in Halevi's thought, manifesting itself in the visible sights seen by the prophets and also serving as a divine, invisible "light", actively involved in the bestowal of divine providence. While in the case of Halevi, the struggle with two conflicting paradigmatic approaches to prophecy is fairly evident, in the case of Maimonides it is the interpreter who must struggle to ascertain his views on this matter. With Maimonides we find the introduction into Jewish philosophy of esoteric writing. The author refrains from saying openly many things that are on his mind, yet he still wants to convey these views to "select" readers. Moreover, the author presents certain views that he does not accept because of their value to the non-elite reader. Esoteric writing should not be confused with abstruse. Often it appears to be deceptively simple in character. Underneath the apparently straightforward presentation lurk contradictory views that are not immediately apparent, and that are purposefully introduced by the author in order to convey to the elite reader his true thoughts on the subject. The topic of prophecy is a central one in Maimonides' thought. Not only does he devote a separate and lengthy discus­ sion to this topic in the Guide. It also figures prominently in other sections of the treatise, as well as in many of his writings. It is connected to a host of other issues. Essentially, it is integrally related to all the major components of Maimonides' philosophy - the nature of God, divine knowledge, providence, divine law, politics, human perfection and biblical exegesis. It is hard to study his philosophy and not emerge with the impression that it is exceptionally "holistic", with all parts being related to all parts. Despite the numerous shifts in perspectives one can discern in his discussion of certain topics, a sense of the "whole " pervades 598 EPILOGUE his thought. Almost all of Maimonides' interpreters over the ages have agreed on this point at least. The sharp area of disagreement surrounds the question of what that "whole" is. To put it more concretely, to what extent does the view of God lay­ ing at the foundation of his philosophy conform to the Aristo­ telian view of the God of nature and to what extent does he part company with Aristotle in his view of God and divine activity. Maimonides makes no secret of the fact that he regards God as operating primarily by way of the order of nature, that the perfection of the intellect is true human perfection, that the divine Law is framed from the perspective of promoting this goal in a social context, and that prophecy is essentially a natural phenomenon as understood by the philosophers ­ namely an emanation from the Active Intellect to the rational and imaginative faculties ofall individuals predisposed to receive this emanation. Traditional Judaism, however, is anchored in the "exceptions" to this picture, the view of God capable of acting in a direct and "personal" manner. How much of this "tradi­ tional" picture does Maimonides accept has been the question preoccupying students of his thought over the years. The attempt to understand Maimonides' views on prophecy is inseparable from the problem of how one interprets him on this point. Are Mosaic prophecy, the Giving of the Law at Sinai, and the pro­ phetic miracles the product of God's "supernatural" activity, or are these phenomena to be accepted on the basis of tradition but understood in conformity with Aristotle's physical and meta­ physical views? Reading Maimonides involves seeing the possibilities of interpreting him along alternate lines. I have indicated in the course of my discussion of Maimoni­ des that I view him as an Aristotelian thinker who accepts Judaism, but attempts to understand it in conformity with the Aristotelian worldview. The model having the most influence on his thought is that of Alfarabi. For Maimonides, prophecy, in all its aspects, is a completely naturalistic phenomenon that is consequent upon intellectual and moral perfection, as well as the perfection of the imagination. When seen from the perspect­ ive of ultimate human perfection, it involves conjunction with the Active Intellect, the transformation of the individual into an "incorporeal" being, and immortality. The "message" results EPILOGUE 599 from the forces flowing from the Active Intellect, strengthening the activity of the individual's perfect rational and imaginative faculties. This results in the prophet attaining theoretical know­ ledge, knowledge of the future, and learning rules for the proper governance of others. God does not transmit specific informa­ tion to individuals. What the prophet learns is in accordance with the specific knowledge already possessed in the soul. The activity of the imagination is responsible for the figurative forms assumed by the various types of knowledge attained. The individual's imagination produces the sights "seen" and the words "heard" in accordance with the individual's experience and concerns. The "figurative" form of prophecy also enables the prophet to educate different strata of society in accordance with their level of apprehension. It may serve as an aid to the prophet's own apprehension as well. The notion that the pro­ phetic visions are figurative descriptions of reality lays the basis for reading into the biblical literature theoretical truths, and not accepting its contents solely at "face value". The prophetic "mission" results from the emanating perfection of the indi­ vidual, one that involves a feeling of compulsion to assume a public role. There is no specific command that comes to the individual from "above". The "command", like the content of the "message", is the drive felt by the prophet to work to better the social situation with which he/she is familiar. The prophet is the ultimate philosopher-king, but not philoso­ pher-legislator, in Maimonides' thought. The divine Law is the product of Moses' unique, though natural, perfection. The imagi­ nation was not involved in his actual experience of prophecy (though it was involved in the translation of the experience into a regimen for others) . The Revelation at Sinai too should be understood along naturalistic lines. Maimonides does no more than allude to these views. As a public educator, it is crucial for him to continue to treat them as "supernatural" events.R. Saa­ diah's views of the Created Speech and Created Glory are utilized by him to preserve this type of conception of revelation without having to treat God as corporeal in the bargain. The incorporeality of God is for Maimonides the most important doctrine in Judaism. He felt that the time had come not only to promote this doctrine publicly, in contrast to the biblical and 600 EPILOGUE talmudic periods in which it was known only by the elite. The time was ripe to dogmatize it in order to prevent even the masses from entertaining false conceptions on this issue. The use of R. Saadiahs doctrine, traced by Maimonides to Onqelos, allows him to accomplish a further objective. By suggesting that the Revelation at Sinai and Mosaic prophecy were unique, super­ natural phenomena, Maimonides implicitly bolsters belief in the divinity and inviolability of the Torah. Despite the "holistic" character of Maimonides' philosophy, many conflicting concerns characterize his discussions of pro­ phecy. At times this results in apparent inconsistencies, if not outright contradictions, in his views. The intellectual dimen­ sion of prophecy is stressed when he wishes to treat prophecy as human perfection, the imaginative - when he wishes to under­ stand the nature of the visions or to contrast the inferior status of the prophets with the status of Moses . Moses' prophecy alone is treated as purely intellectual in order to set the product of his prophecy, the divine Law, apart from all other prophetic emana­ tions. Moreover, by maintaining that the imagination played no role in Mosaic prophecy, Maimonides implicitly undermines attempts to treat the commandments in a symbolic manner ra­ ther than as actual directives that are incumbent upon everyone to perform. He stresses the theoretical knowledge of the prophets when speaking of it as a private phenomenon, the divinatory ­ when he talks of its public role. He stresses the limits of prophe­ tic authority when the integrity of the Law is the issue, and the leadership ability of the prophet when the superiority ofJudaism is highlighted. Moses' prophecy at times is treated as the ultim­ ate paradigm, especially when Maimonides wishes to depict the nature and limit of human perfection. At other times Maimoni­ des stresses that no one ever again will attain the level of Moses , especially when the status of the divine Law is at stake in the discussion. The greatness of Moses' miracles too is underlined when Maimonides wishes to emphasize Moses' special status. The irrelevance of miracles for verifying prophecy, on the other hand, is maintained when the validity of the divine Law is the issue. No miracle can serve as the basis for introducing any form of change in the Law of Moses. In short, the textual context of Maimonides' views is crucial for an appreciation of them. EPILOGUE 601

The distinctions between "popular" writings and restricted ones, between "esoteric" doctrines and "exoteric" ones, are certainly important for viewing many of the apparent changes in his approach. These labels, however, do not convey the full story. Maimonides' presentation of his philosophy reflects a continu­ ous "balancing act" between different considerations. This fact alone explains why it legitimately lends itself to such diverse interpretations. He not only intended that much of what he had to say would be heard differently by different readers in accord­ ance with the level of their understanding. He also formulated his views in a manner that was appropriate to the main point he wished to convey in a given discussion. Conflicting sets of concerns also underlie his different approa­ ches to levels of prophecy. Maimonides' main distinction is between dream and vision prophecy, which revolves around the power of the imagination. This enables him to explain the dif­ ferences in the manner prophecy is experienced in accordance with the descriptions in the Bible. More important, it enables him to emphasize the distinction between the purely intellectual prophecy of Moses and all other forms of prophecy. In the sam e context he introduces also a distinction between prophecy per se and the reception of the "holy spirit". Ideological considerations appear to playa more important role in framing this distinction than does the desire to account for the nature of those experi­ ences depicted in the Bible that do not involve any vision at all. An additional distinction between prophets, which Maimonides presents in his parable of the king in his palace, is on the basis of their closeness to God. This distinction serves to highlight the primary significance of the intellectual aspect of the attainment. Still ano th er distinction between types of prophets drawn by Maimonides - public ones and private ones - serves to separate the social function of prophecy from the essence of the pheno­ menon. This lays the foundation for approaching prophecy as the perfection of the individual by eliminating the "mission" as a necessary condition. At the same time it helps explain th e social function of many of the prophets in a manner that con­ for ms to the natural workings of th e order. Prophecy is defined as the emanation from the Active Intellect to the perfect rational and imaginative faculties, while public prophecy is defined as 602 EPILOGUE th e "emanating perfection" of th e prophet to others. In his legal wr itings Maimonides prefers to posit conditions th at make it nigh impossible for a person to claim public prophecy due to the dangers prophetic claims pose to th e integrity of th e Law. He sub tly indicates that th ose who attain propheti c perfection can best serve society in th e ca pacity of educators, and th rough the es tablish ed social in stitutions. Abraham is presented as the model of the public educator who taught his con temporaries as a philosopher rather th an as a prophet. R. Judah th e Prince is the model of a post-biblical prophet, who led and educated society in his function as the legal h ead of the J ewish community. The ultimate public prophet for Maimonides will be th e messiah­ king who combines th e prophetic perfection with the institution of kingship. This enables him to bring abou t a profound change in the social order of th e en tire world.Yet h e to o will have n either the legal . au thority to introduce eve n th e smallest chang e in th e divin e Law nor the power to work any change in the natural order. We h ave seen through out th e discussion of Maimonides that "naturalistic" and "su pernaturalistic " aspects of prophecy are woven together in hi s presentation. This characterizes his legal writings as well as th e Guide. The naturalistic ap proach to pro­ phecy clearly emerges from his discussion in th e Commen tary on the Mishnah and Mishnah Torah: La ws oj the Principles oj the T orah, and not just th e Gui de. It plays an important role in his "popular" writings in directing all of his readers to better appre­ ci a te God's wisd om and power as expressed in th e order of nature. It also enables Maimonides to reinforce hi s view of wh ere true human perfecti on lies by reinterpretin g what was com monly seen as a special "su pernatura l" phenomenon along th ese lines. The supernaturalistic approach to Mosaic prophecy and the revelation at Sin ai, on the other hand, emerges also from his discussion in th e Guide,given its importance in buttress­ in g the commitment to th e Law even in his philosophic work. Maimonides provided what immediatel y became th e paradig­ mati c J ewish philosophic model of prophecy for th e succeeding generations of Jewish th inkers. Whatever one's own conclu­ sions on the subject, one could not ignore it. The natural psycho­ lo gic al process involved in th e production of th e prophetic EPILOGUE 603 visions, the notion that Moses did not receive prophecy by way of an intermediary, the miraculous creation of an audible voice at Sinai, the reception of the "holy spirit" as an inferior mani­ festation of prophecy - all became standard components of sub­ sequent approaches, or ones to be challenged or interpreted in accordance with one's views. The other model that Jewish philo­ sophers in the coming centuries could not ignore was the one advanced by Averroes. The influence and challenge of Maimo­ nides' and Averroes' approaches to this issue, and a host of others, provide much of the material for the story of Jewish philosophy in the 13th-15th centuries and beyond. Many of the points that Maimonides can be interpreted as conveying in an esoteric manner, Gersonides decides to present quite openly. Gersonides' God does not know actual historical individuals. God's knowledge consists of all the details of the order. Where there exists different real possibilities - that is, out­ comes that are not necessitated by the order - God does not know what takes place. All phenomena in this view are essentially natural or the product of human volition. Prophecy is no excep­ tion. Yet even if we interpret Maimonides along esoteric lines as adopting a strictly naturalistic approach, a sharp gap remains between his approach and that of Gersonides. Maimonides ascribes much more importance to prophecy than does Gersoni­ des. In many of his discussions he describes prophecy as ultimate perfection. Gersonides, on the other hand, downplays (relatively speaking) the significance of this phenomenon. Though he accepts all the mandatory qualifications for attaining prophecy posited by Maimonides and the Islamic Aristotelian tradition prior to Averroes, he sees the specific nature of prophe­ cy, and not just its public role, as lying primarily in the realm of divination. While Maimonides suggests that the prophet may attain theoretical knowledge that is essentially closed to the philosopher, Gersonides indicates that this is not the case. While Maimonides at times stresses the leadership role of the prophet, Gersonides alludes to this role only indirectly. While Maimo­ nides at times speaks of the prophet as attaining some type of ontological union with the Active Intellect, and hints that the immortality of the intellect is tied to the attainment of this state, Gersonides denies the possibility of such union. "Conjunction" 604 EPILOGUE for him primarily means attaining the level of perfection that allows for the reception of a special type of emanation resulting in "individual providence". Immortality is achieved with the attainment of any intelligible. For all of the significance of prophecy in Maimonides' thought, his description of the phenomenon itself is sparse. Gersonides may attach less significance to this phenomenon than does Maimonides, but he is much more interested in understanding it from a phenomenological perspective. He is concerned with the problem of what actually is happening when a specific vision is "seen" by the prophet. All the same "actors" are involved in his picture of prophecy as that of Maimonides - the Active Intellect, the rational faculty and the imagination. Their roles, nevertheless, are no longer identical and Gersonides is more profuse in his description of them. In addition to positing the perfection of the faculties involved, he introduces the notion of "inner withdrawal", or concentration, in describing the necessary state for experiencing the prophetic emanation. His discussion suggests that the emanation from the Active Intellect consists of actual information pertaining to the order. While Maimonides may be interpreted as maintaining a similar position, he appears to hold that the role of the Active Intellect lies in strengthening the functioning of the human faculties, thereby enabling them to attain knowledge. Gersoni­ des also explicitly ascribes to the rational faculty a much more pivotal role in prophetic divination than does Maimonides, though in this case too it may be more a difference in emphasis than in substance. Most notably, Gersonides draws a much sharper wedge between prophetic and non-prophetic divination. While Maimonides sees in the Active Intellect the immediate source for knowledge of the future in the case of prophet and non-prophet alike, Gersonides views the heavenly bodies as the immediate source for non-prophetic divination. It is important to keep in mind that while Maimonides and Gersonides developed their theories in light of the Aristotelian tradition, this tradition itself changed appreciably between the periods these two thinkers each wrote his major philosophic treatise. Maimonides composed the Guide without the benefit of Averroes' commentaries. Had they been available to him at that EPILOGUE 605 point (they reached him after the completion of his treatise) they would have undoubtedly strongly influenced a good num­ ber of his views, just as they markedly influenced Gersonides and most of Maimonides' disciples. Moreover, Gersonides appears to have absorbed Christian Scholastic influences that were alien to Maimonides' intellectual milieu. Even more note­ worthy for the comparison between these two thinkers is the fact that Gersonides shows more philosophic independence than Maimonides in his approach to the dominant philosophic tradi­ tion of his age. Maimonides was interested in exploring the areas in which Judaism and philosophy meet and often appear to clash. He was not interested in contributing to the philosophic tradition as a philosopher. Even when he framed philosophic arguments against the views of the philosophers, his ostensible goal was to defend traditional Jewish doctrines, not to promote new philosophic truths. Gersonides, on the other hand, was interested in making contributions to philosophy as a philoso­ pher and in revising prevailing philosophic conceptions. Gersonides' theory of prophecy reflects this independent spirit. Essentially Gersonides posits a dual natural order theory. The immediate agents of the standard order governing the sub­ lunar world are the heavenly bodies. The higher-level order is characterized by a special activity belonging to the Active Intel­ lect. When one reaches the requisite perfection, the individual becomes a recipient of the affects of the higher-level order, without the Active Intellect being familiar with its beneficiaries. Prophecy, individual providence and miracles are all explained in reference to this special "impersonal" activity. Having laid down this dual order in a manner he felt to be philosophically valid, Gersonides uses it to explain the actual occurrence of most events recorded in Jewish tradition. Prophecy and providence are incorporated into the impersonal workings of the world order whi le the literal truth of most of the biblical miracles, as well as the revelation at Sinai where an audible voice was heard, are at the same time upheld. Gersonides also sees no problem in upholding the belief in the uniqueness of Mosaic prophecy and in the inviolability of the Law. For all the advantages conferred upon the individual as a result of attaining prophecy, immortality and eternal felicity in 606 EPILOGUE

Gersonides' view are conseque nt u po n the level of one's intellec­ tion.The advantage of the prophet over the philosopher is quan ti­ tative, not qualitative. In order to attain prophecy, the individual m ust be a better philosopher than the non-prophetic one. As a result of one's intell ection , and not any other attainment, the individual enjoys a higher level of eternal felic ity. So narrow is th e gap between prophet and philoso pher in this area for Gerso­ nides that he is also prepared to concede the possibility th at th e prophet to o may on occasion err in theoretica l manners. H e in troduces this notion to ex plain some of the visio ns whose co ntent appears to be problematic from a theoretical perspective. The possibility for prophetic erro r emerges from Maimonides' treatmen t of Eze kiel , but h e never affirmed this possibility explicitly. By esse ntially elim inating the role of prophecy in theoretical matters, Gersonides sees no problem in main tain ing this position. Gersonides appears to push h is dual natural order past its logical limi ts in the attempt to uphold his commitment both to philosophy and to J ewish tradition. In developing h is approach to Jewish philosophy, Crescas was quick to pounce on the prob­ lems inheren t in Gersonides' approach to the reasons for the "par ticularity" of th e prophetic message and individual provid­ ence. In hi s view, one ultimately must posi t a deity who knows ind ividuals, ca n act willfully in h istory and can perform mir­ acles if the biblical descriptions of prophecy are to be sustained. God is capable of transmitting pa rticular messages to specific in dividuals. Go d is ab le to transmi t all forms of knowledge in this manner, including theoretical. The knowledge often is not attainable by the individual by any o ther means. Crescas, in short, is co ncer ned with emphasizing th e su pernatural and miraculous. Once this foundation is accepted one can still adopt from the philosophers a good number of fea tures of their natural­ istic approach. I have suggested that in his basic co nception Cres­ cas can be regarded a neo-Halevian, despite the great d ifference in their style of presentation. They are also star ting from far differe n t points. In the spirit of Aristotelian philosophy Halevi conceives of prophecy less as a mission and more as perfectio n, certain ly a maj or departure from most previous approaches in J ewish tradition. By Crescas' time, th e notion of prophecy as EPILOGUE 607 perfection was widespread and could be regarded as the "stand­ ard" Jewish philosophic view. Thus he is much more con­ cerned with restoring the primacy of the "mission" in his characterization of prophecy. Despite these two different starting points the two thinkers are in essential agreement on most basic points. The notion that the prophet receives specific communi­ cations is combined with the view that prophecy results from the attainment of human perfection. From this perspective, the significance of the phenomenon lies not in the content of the message but in the passionate love of God and ultimate felicity experienced by the individual in this state. For Crescas, as for Halevi, observance of the Law is a mandatory step in preparing the soul to attain this perfection. Crecas is far less equivocal than Halevi in viewing the "sights" seen in biblical prophecy and the "sounds" heard as the product of the prophet's imagination when receiving the emanation, in keeping with the philosophic approach. At the same time he upholds the special nature of Mosaic prophecy and the Revelation at Sinai, and views the voice heard in these cases as a created audible one. Albo continues in Crescas' path, but goes even further in stressing the supernatural dimension of prophecy. While indi­ viduals must prepare themselves for prophecy, every instance of prophecy reflects God's "personal" choice. He agrees that while God determines the specific content of prophecy, the actual sights and sounds involve the activity of the individual's imagination. At one point in his treatise he adopts a different approach. He presents the kabbalistic notion of the "garment"­ that is, incorporeal beings may reveal themselves by clothing themselves in corporeal forms. Thus the prophet may at times actually see with his eyes the sights described. However, he omits any mention of this doctrine in the formal discussion of prophecy. The main point of his discussion is to show that Mosaic Law is given directly by God and is absolutely neces­ sary for the attainment of true human perfection. The notion of the physical reality of the prophetic visions, it should be added, continued to find expression in Jewish philosophical treatises well after R. Saadiah's time, as we have seen. Not only did it serve as one of the views of prophecy presented by Halevi, but also by Ibn Daud. 608 EPILOGUE

In Spinoza we find a reaction to the medieval Jewish philo­ sophic tradition at the same time that he utilizes many of its ideas. In his view, God and nature are synonymous. There is no "su pernatural" activity. There is no knowledge that is "super­ natural". The notion of the "su pernatural" is one belonging to ignorant minds. Everything that "is" belongs to the order of nature. The biblical period is one in which the notion of the "su pernatural" reigned supreme, fettering the minds of the bib­ lical prophets and the masses alike. In other words, the biblical prophets were simple-minded individuals and not philosophers. Spinoza claims that we can clearly discern these points from an accurate reading of the Bible, which he tries to impart to his readers. To be sure, the prophets had a healthy sense of morality in his view. Yet implicit in his discussion is the notion that due to their intellectual defects they lacked a true view of the nature of morality. Their experience involved the imagination and not the intellect. The voices and sights depicted were all the product of the imagination in accordance with the beliefs they possessed. The prophets were capable of divining, but hardly capable of attaining true theoretical knowledge by way of their visions. Following his medieval predecessors, Spinoza regards the imagination acting independent of intellect as the source of errors. Once the activity of the intellect is negated from the biblical prophetic experience, any attempt to read philosophic ideas into the words of the biblical prophets is shown to be patently false . Thus the entire medieval philosophic enterprise of reinterpret­ ing the Bible in accordance with philosophic conceptions is without foundation. Spinoza agrees that Moses , according to the account in the Torah, heard an actual voice rather than an imagined one. Yet in the context of his philosophy, this point only reinforces the notion that the Torah is based on a false understanding of reality. Similarly, its accounts of miracles reflect the defective understanding of the Israelites at the time. Spinoza agrees with the Aristotelian tradition that true perfection and felicity lies in the perfection of the intellect. He agrees that the moral virtues are needed in order to attain this perfection. Finally, a well-ordered society is necessary for human life. Maimonides saw the Law of Moses, the one true divine Law, as EPILOGUE 609 promoting all three goals, with an emphasis on the first. Spinoza saw it as promoting only the last of the goals. Moses himself had a false view of perfection, misunderstanding the task of the Law "revealed" to him. In short, a true understanding of the Bible in Spinoza's view shows that it does not reflect a true understanding of reality. Hence it lacks all authority as a guide to perfection. The Divine Writ is far from being the Word of God, which is synonymous for Spinoza with natural knowledge. It is a very "human" docu­ ment, the product of a false understanding. The Bible contains no esoteric level that is equivalent to philosophic truth. Any attempt to ascribe such level to the text perverts its real meaning. Any true philosopher not only possesses theoretical knowledge that the prophets were incapable of attaining, but also has a clearer understanding on the nature of morality that is not clouded by the fantasies of the imagination. The Law of Moses essentially is only a state law and confers upon its adherents no other advantages than that of a well ordered society for the period it proved to be effective. It hardly provides an appropriate model for the present. With the end of the Israelite state, it lacks all authority. It only continues to have adherents due to their ignorance and stubbornness, as well as the refusal of some of their host societies to integrate them fully even after their conversion. If one wants to talk of "true" prophecy in the context of Spinoza's philosphy, then one must look to the highest level of natural knowledge - the "third kind of knowledge" posited by him in the Ethics. This is "knowledge that proceeds from an adequate idea of certain attributes of God to an adequate know­ ledge of the essence of things", and by which one experiences eternal "intellectual love of God", wherein lies ultimate perfec­ tion and happiness. It is a type of knowledge in which the imagination plays no role. Yet this is precisely the type of knowledge that the biblical prophets lacked. It is open to the modern thinker, unencumbered by dogmas in the quest for truth. The two aspects of prophecy that are merged in the medieval Jewish philosophic tradition - that is, the intellectual and the imaginative - and that lay the basis for treating biblical prophets as the most superior of human beings even from a 610 EPILOGUE naturalistic perspective, are rent asunder by Spinoza. The philo­ sophers are the heirs of the first aspect in his thought. The biblical prophets take the place occupied by the "false prophets" in the medieval philosophic tradition, though Spinoza is careful to treat them with far more respect. Still, in his view, they possess only the trait of a highly developed imagination and all the defects this trait entails. Spinoza turns the medieval philo­ sophic tradition on its head, as it were. This move was necessary in undermining the dogmatic authority of the Bible and preparing the way for a fresh start.

The Medium and the Message: Between the Treatise and the Idea

The history of the idea of prophecy in medieval Jewish philoso­ phy involves not only looking at the changes in the approaches characterizing it and in the worldviews in which it is rooted. One must pay attention also to the changes in the nature and purpose of the treatises in which it appears. The form of presentation of an idea, and often its very content, is in large measure molded by this factor. All the treatises studied here, with the exception of that of Spinoza, were written for an educated Jewish audience, with the intent of understanding and defending Judaism. Nevertheless, they reflect a good deal of diversity in the manner they go about this task. R. Saadiah's Book of Beliefs and Opinions is a tightly construc­ ted, systematic attempt to present and rationally defend basic Jewish beliefs regarding God, the commandments and final reward. In some ways it may be considered a forerunner of the later philosophic treatises devoted to Jewish dogma. Prophecy, however, is not treated by R. Saadiah as an independent topic, but subsumed under other topics. It is the basis for reliable tradition, which belongs to R. Saadiah's approach to epistemo­ logy. It is the means by which divine commands are commu­ nicated, hence it is treated as part of the discussion of the commandments. Given the nature of the treatise, R. Saadiah's primary concerns are to lay down the criteria for verifying the prophetic message and to address the theological problem raised by the notion of God speaking to human beings. Given his audience, his positions are supported by rational arguments EPILOGUE 611 together with scriptural proofs. I have suggested that one of the reasons his approach to the Created Glory is sketchy at best, at times treated interchangeably with the angels, and at others linked with the "pillar of cloud" accompanying Israel on the Exodus, is because the notion was used to solve more basic problems he chose to address. Given the topics of the treatise and the manner he approached them, there was no necessity for him to enter into more detail about this phenomenon or even to think it through more thoroughly. How different from the systematic presentation of the Book of Beliefs and Opinions is Halevi's Kuzari. This treatise discusses and glorifies Judaism in the more loosely structured form of a dia­ logue. The parties involved are not two antagonists, but a sage and a king. The latter assumes the role of a questioning student in search of an answer to his dream. The educated and open minded Jew in quest of spiritual fulfillment finds his condition mirrored in that of Halevi's Khazar king. Given th e form of the treatise, there is no single, long detailed discussion of prophecy but short recurring ones, each one flowing from the immediate topic being addressed. On this point, at least, there is an import­ ant similarity with the treatment of prophecy in R. Saadiah's treatise. Yet prophecy occupies a much more central place in Halevi's thought. This is underscored by the number of times he returns to this topic in his dialogue. The treatise begins with the king's personal experience of revelation and ends with the sage announcing his move to Israel, a step that is intrinsically bound with the desire to pave the way for the return of prophecy. In between, the discussion turns to historical revelation as th e foundation for reliable knowledge, the nature of this revelation, the identification of prophecy with ultimate perfection, the con­ ditions and nature of prophetic perfection, and a host of comple­ mentary issues. The constant switch in the issu es discussed leads to a switch in the aspect of prophecy presented and how it is presented. Since the treatise is designed to address not only the intellect but also the entire soul, to convince and motivate and not only to explain, rational analysis and poetic descriptions go hand and hand. Solid philosophic arguments and bursts of rhetoric intermingle. Perhaps no topic better exemplifies these different trends than that of prophecy. 612 EPILOGUE

Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed is dedicated to his choice disciple and to all those possessing simil ar qualities. Maimoni­ des' ideal reader thus belongs to a far narrower circle than that to which Halevi addresses hi s tre atise. At th e same time Maimo­ nides writes his work with th e cer tain ty that most re aders will not be ideal ones. They too must find in the treatise matters that will benefit them and not up set their faith.Hence he designs th e Guide for different levels of read ers and devises an esoteric style of presentation. The ideal reader looks at th e "irregularities" and problems in th e discussion in order to understand Maimonides' true views, whil e the others simply follow its flow. The organi­ zati on of th e tre atise is a cle ar one for the most part. At times, however, it appears to digress from th e main subject at hand. The digressions th emselves may be seen as one of th e tech­ niques employed for co nveying cer tain "problematic" views. Maimonides' goal, like that of his predecessors, is both to under­ stand and to defend Judaism from a rational perspective. How readers are to in terpret hi s understanding is meant to vary acc ording to th eir level of intelligence. Maimonides deals with prophecy as an independent topic at th e same tim e that h e weaves aspects of prophecy into other discussions. The presen­ tation of a topic in a manner that should be understood different­ ly by different readers, that consists of a formal discu ssion and of significant scattered remarks , governs th e manner he formu­ lates his approach to prophecy and is crucial for appreciating hi s views. Given Maimonides' style of presentation, th e re marks he makes "in passin g" concerning prophecy in the midst of these o ther discussions are as significant as hi s formal discussion, if not more so, for appreciating his approach to the topic. Gersonides sees his task and readership differently. His Wars of the Lord is meant to go beyond the realm of rationally under­ stand ing and defending Judaism and make original philoso­ phic contributions in th e areas in whi ch religion and philoso­ phy meet. Hi s presentation is "philosoph ic" in th e technical scholastic sense. All th e alte rnative views on a problem are pre­ sented . Logical argume nts accompany each step of the analysis for and against each view, until Gersonides co mes to a re solu­ tion of the issue. Problems arising from th e view he accepts are rai sed and discussed. Abstruse rather than esoteric characterizes EPILOGUE 613 this style. Only a reader with a background in philosophy would even think to tackle this work. While Maimonides' trea­ tise is easy to read but hard to understand, Gersonides' treatise is hard to read but easy to understand. He does not have to worry about the "mass" reader, for whom Maimonides shows con­ cern. It is not at all likely that such reader will even pick up his book. Gersonides deals with prophecy and divination together along the lines of presentation I just outlined. The very fact that he discusses this issue indicates that he feels that he has a contribution to make to an understanding of these phenomena that is of philosophic significance, and which requires meticu­ lous rational analysis to bring to light. The phenomena of divi­ nation and prophecy may allow one to attain knowledge that cannot be attained analytically, but this does not mean that the phenomena themselves cannot be understood analytically as is the case with all natural phenomena. The step by step method of exploring phenomena by raising the different possibilities for understanding them, the pros and cons of each possibility, repeating the process with each aspect of the phenomenon, until one reaches a comprehensive conclusion, and then explores the problems with it - characterizes his approach to this topic. In Gersonides' case we can much more clearly see the thought process by which he reached his conclusions than in the case of the earlier philosophers, for it is the very same process through which he takes his readers. Crescas' readers are very similar to those capable of studying Gersonides' treatise. In many instances Crescas expects them to follow the exact same arguments, which he takes over from Gersonides. Yet his Light of the Lord is far different than the Wars of the Lord. While Gersonides wants to revise and improve philo­ sophy, and to reinterpret Judaism accordingly, Crescas seeks to demolish Aristotelian philosophy. He casts himself in the role of upholding fundamental Jewish beliefs against the onslaught of Aristotelian philosophy by undermining in a philosophic manner the structure of that philosophy. He presents Jewish belief as a multi-tiered set of principles in support of belief in God's revelation of the Torah, around which he organizes his treatise. Crescas, in short, sets out to develop a rationally defen­ ded and organized philosophy ofJudaism more in keeping with 614 EPILOGUE trad ition, and not dependent upon the dominant philosophic tradition. Gersonides, by contrast, effectively appears to be less bound to traditional views than is Crescas. He feels that the in terpre tation of tr adition is more open ended , hence more pliable to th e results reached by way of rational analysis. Despite his strong commitment to certain traditional beliefs as th e starting point fo r his philosophy, Crescas is far from being an anti-rationalist. H e is deeply committed to the power of rea­ son to understand. In a crucial sense his treatise is designed to take those conversant with philosophic literature and argumen­ tation and bring them to a different set of conclusions designed to reinforce their commitment to the Torah. In the course of his discussion he displays much philosophic creativity in his thinking, though the broadening of the scope of the discipline of philosophy is not his primary goal. As is th e case with most of the topics in th e treati se, he approaches prophecy in a philo­ soph ic manner, but one designed in large part to serve as a rej oinder to th e Aristotelian approach . Since he co ncentra tes on prophecy as a fun dame n tal principle of Judaism designed to su ppor t the noti on of the divine origin of the Torah , the aspect of "mission " takes on far more importance for him than for many of his predecessors. Similar in this regard is Albo's Book of Principles. Albo, how­ eve r, is a more popular philosopher appealing to a more mass audience. From a philosophic standpoint, th ere is not much that is novel in th e treatise. The auth or does not display nearly th e same level of philosophic acumen as his teacher, Crescas. What he lacks in philosophic depth and rigor, however, h e makes up in his engaging homiletic style that accompanies his argumen­ tation. He simplifies the system of Jewish beli ef, basing it on 3 fundamental principles. Prophecy is subservient to th e principle of "Divine Law from Heaven", and ultimately is fra med from th e standpoint of laying th e grounds for th e acce ptance of this principle. Albo's discussion of prophecy is a go od example of his popular philosophic approach. He goes off on man y tangents in the midst of hi s discus sion but always manages to return to th e main thread of his argume nt. Spinoza addresses the Tractatus Th eologico-Politicus to a non­ Jewish audience for th e purpose of molding their opinion, and EPILOGUE 615 not to Jews trying to understand Judaism. His discussion of prophecy essentially is designed to undermine its authority. More specifically, his goal is to undermine the authority of the texts that are acknowledged to be the product of prophecy and by so doing promote free thought as a cardinal value. His treatise in the final analysis is a political one with all of its strands coming together in support of this end. Keep the Church and the Bible out of politics is its message. Governments should not actively try to "promote" perfection, which they tend to confuse with "religious" belief and practice. Instead, let them cease inter­ fering with its pursuit by recognizing the right to free speech. Given the sensitivity of the subject matter, Spinoza must at times exercise at least some caution in how he presents his views. He must partially protect himself by generating some confusion on how radical they are, at the same time that he desires to con­ vince his readers to accept his line of thought. In a treatise of this nature rhetoric has an important place alongside careful philo­ sophic argumentation.

I Think lVhat I Read

The impression my history of prophecy in medieval Jewish philosophy may leave on readers is that of a few great thinkers, separated by time and place, who sat in their rooms, read the works written by previous great thinkers that were available to them, thought about what they read and then proceeded to write their own treatises. To a large extent I think this in fact is the case. Books mold a person's thought. If one knows what a person reads, one can much better understand what a person thinks and writes. We are dealing with a period in which culture had already been transformed from what was primarily an oral based one into a written one. How different is this situation from that which existed in earlier periods in Jewish history, in which learning relied primarily on human contact.s By the Middle

2 Mendelssohn in his Jerusalem indicates his preference for oral instruc­ tion and bemoans the fact that we have become a culture tied to the written word. Halevi too had indicated his preference for the oral word. For a study of this issue see Raphael ]ospe, "T h e Superiority of Oral over Written 616 EPILOGUE

Ages scholars could attain from books most of what they desired to learn. This is not to say that everything they learnt was from books, or that all their thoughts were formed in the solitude of their rooms. At the end of the day (at least, metaphorically speaking) the philosopher may have sat alone in his room with his books and composed his treatises, but one is more than justified in thinking that this certainly is not the whole story. R. Saadiah appears to have attained much of what he learnt of non-jewish thought from discussions with Islamic theologians rather than from written treatises. Some of his views may have been formed on the basis of arguments he conducted with others. Halevi's thought is partially the product of discussions he held with friends and associates, and we have evidence to this effect.f We also have evidence that Maimonides participated in theological discussions, which probably contributed to the manner he addresses a number of issues. Gersonides cites Christian scho­ lastics whose views he almost certainly learnt from discussions with them.! As for Crecas, Albo and Spinoza - this point hardly requires elaboration. One may further hypothesize that many of these thinkers had disciples with whom they discussed these issues, helping them to sharpen their thinking. Maimonides dedicates his Guide to his favorite pupil, Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta. He had additional disciples such as Joseph ben Judah Ibn Aqnin. Teaching these gifted individuals may well have

Communication: Judah Halevi's Kuzari and Modern Jewish Thought", in : Jacob Neusner, Ernest Frerichs and Nahum Sarna eds., From Ancient Israel to ModernJudaism, vol. 3 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989) : 127-156. 3 In his Commentary on Exodus 20.1 Ibn Ezra reports a discussion he had with Halevi in which he was asked why the First Commandment reads: "I am God your Lord who took who took you out of the Land of Egypt from the house of bondage", and not: "I am God your Lord who created the heaven and the earth". Ibn Ezra's answer that this formulation was aimed at the limited understanding of the masses clearly did not satisfy Halevi, whose Kuzari is based in large measure on an entirely different approach to this problem. Nevertheless, it shows that Halevi's discussions with his friends served as a crucial element in the development of his philosophy. 4 It does not appear that Gersonides was able to read Latin; see Seymour Feldman's discussion of this issue in the introduction to his translation of The Wars of the Lord, Book One (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1984): 5-6. EPILOGUE 617 helped Maimonides in the formulation of his views. This point is equally true of Crescas." Yet for all the importance of these other factors, and one can only guess at the extent of their influence, they still appear to playa secondary role in the formation of the thinker's views when compared to the philosophic masterpieces (in addition to the classic texts of Jewish tradition) that he read and studied. Maimonides' main philosophic guide, for example, is Alfarabi, who lived two centuries earlier. By reading his works he sees the way of bridging the abyss that lies between the thought of Aristotle, whom he carefully studies in Arabic translation toge­ ther with his commentators, and Judaism. He also borrows from Alfarabi much of the latter's multi-dimensional approach to revelation. Gersonides develops his approach to prophecy after a careful study of Averroes and Maimonides, two thinkers long dead who remain his most prominent teachers. Crescas grap­ ples primarily with Maimonides' and Gersonides' treatises in developing his views. Most of the other views he incorporates into his thought, whether they be from his Jewish predecessors or Christian ones, also appear to be learnt from the written word. Albo sits down with much of the library of Jewish thought and proceeds to write his treatise. Spinoza surrounds himself with different libraries of writings - contemporary, medieval and ancient, non-Jewish and Jewish - which provides him with the foundation for his own works."

5 See Shalom Rosenberg's introduction to a work written by a disciple of Crescas, "The Arba'ah Turim of Rabbi Abraham bar Judah Disciple of Don Hasdai Cres cas [Heb.] ", Jerusalem Stud ies in Jewish Thought 3 (1983-84): 526-7. 6 Harry A. Wolfson opens his masterful study of Spinoza with the follow­ ing tal e: "In discussing once with a group of friends th e importance of philology and of bookish learning in general for th e study of the history of philosophy, I happen ed to remark that philosophers, after all, see the universe which they try to explain as already interpreted to th em in books, with the only possible exception, perhaps, of the first recorded phil­ osopher, and all he could see was water. "H ow about Spinoza?" challenged one of the listeners. "Was he also a bookish philosopher?" Without stop­ ping to think, I took up the challenge. "As for Spinoza", I said, "if we could cut up all the philosophic literature available to him into slips of paper, toss them up into th e air, and let them fall back to the ground, then out of these scattered slips of paper we could reconstruct the eth ics". Not long after that I found myself reconstructing th e Ethics out of scattered slips of paper figuratively cu t out of the philosophic lit erature available to 618 EPILOGUE

Natural, Supernatural and Magi cal

Throughout my study I have spoken of two paradigmatic approa­ ch es at the foundation of conceptions of prophecy - the natural­ istic on e and the supernaturalistic one. I h ave used th ese terms in th e modern sense rather th an in th e Ari stotelian one. "Nature" for Ari sto tle is confined to the co rpore al world. All in corporeal existents and their activity belong to the re alm of the "su pernatural" and "metaphysical" (beyond nature and the physical world) . We , on the other hand, tend to think of "nature " as a set of fixed, unbending rules, gove rning corporeal existents and incorporeal ones alike (ifwe accept the existence of th e latter entities). "Supernatural" refers to God's volitional activ­ ity th at is not confined to these rules. God can act in dependently of th em out of knowledge of th e recipients. God's impersonal activity then is equivalent to "natural", according to my usage of th e term, while God's personal activity is termed "supe rnatural". Thus while th e Aristotelians distinguish th e natural from th e supernatural solely on th e basis of the nature of the en tities, I, like many moderns, distinguish them also on the basis of the type of activity involved. This point is important to keep in mind bec ause it shows how basic terms may be employed in far different ways in different co nceptual scheme s. A major source of error in interpretation stems from failing to note these d ifferences. I h ave at tim es also spoken of th e philosophers providing naturalistic explanations for magical practices, such as those practiced by diviners. While this point may appear to make p erfectly good sense at fir st glance, th e distinction between "natural" and "magical" is not so simple as I suggest. We often tend to identify "magical" with "supernatural" since both terms are used to refer to phenomena for which we can provide no naturalistic explanations. Yet "magical", no less than "natural", is the opposite of "supernatural", at least in the manner that I am usin g th e latter term. Magic shares with "nature" a mech anistic view of reality, one that treats forces and beings as controllable by knowing th e right "formula" and kn owing th e causes that

Sp in oza" . See Th e Philosophy of Spinoza, vol. I (Cambridge, MA: Har vard U niversity, 1934) : 3. EPILOGUE 619 will produce the desired effects. The world ofspirits and demons as the magician tends to conceive it is more an impersonal than a personal one, much as the scientist views the forces of nature. Providing a naturalistic explanation for magical practices thus means to look to one mechanistic conception to understand prac­ tices rooted in an alternative mechanistic view. This was pre­ cisely what some of the philosophers did when they approached the issue of divinatory practices. Using the "litmus test" of empirical evidence to distinguish between science and magic hardly is sufficient in this case. In the minds of some thinkers, there existed too much empirical evidence as to the efficacy of certain magical practices to dismiss the outcomes as coinci­ dence. Gersonides, for example, was clearly of this opinion when it came to divinatory practices. The magicians neverthe­ less were not scientists, even while their practices may ultimate­ ly have contributed to advances in scientific understanding. For those whose view of reality was rooted in the writings of Aristotle, the worldview of the practitioners of these practices could not be accepted even when the practices were thought to be effective. Thus an explanation that at least was in harmony with the basic Aristotelian conceptual scheme had to be substi­ tuted. This does not mean that Aristotle's views on many points were not rejected by philosophers and scientists due to advances in science or to alternative explanations being preferred. This also does not mean that serious disputes did not exist among the philosophers themselves regarding the scientific basis of certain areas of knowledge, astrology being the most notable example of such area of controversy within the scientific community. Yet all this was happening within the limits of Aristotle's approach to the structure of the world. Moreover, the philosophers recog­ nized that certain objects had special properties that defied any ready-made scientific explanation as to "how it works". The magnet was the most common example of such object, whose activity appears to defy the "laws of nature" as then understood. This led to many attempts to try to explain its properties. Thus the acknowledgement that certain objects or even practices had special "h idden " properties hardly constituted in itself an "unscientific" or "non-naturalistic" view when there were good reasons to believe in their efficacy. 620 EPILOGUE

It is not my purpose here to enter into this complex story of the relation between science, magic and the supernatural in medieval thought, aspects of which many scholars have dealt wi th.7 Rather I wish to clarify what I see as a confusion that enters into some discussions of this topic. The acceptance of the efficacy of what is labeled as "magical" practices should not be equated with a belief in "magic" or with a belief in the "super­ natural". The determining consideration is the nature of the explanation given for these practices. If philosophers saw no valid reason to dismiss the truth of the reports of exceptional phenomena out of hand, and could not treat the occurrence of these phenomena as accidental, they were driven to offer an explanation of th em that at least was in h armony with the medieval view of nature. These explanations should be con­ sidered "naturalistic" independent of the fact that the same explanations today might well be given a different label. There is no valid reason to treat as a "naturalistic" explanation only one that conforms to our view of nature. What is crucial is that it conformed to the view of nature in the period in which it was offered. Le t us take, for example, the urim and tummim worn by the high priest, by virtue of which he was able to de termine whe­ ther certain courses of action (such as going to war) would meet with success.I regard as supernatural the view that explains the efficacy of this device in terms of God determining, for reasons unknown to us, that this is the ritual God wants performed in order to supply the desired knowledge. The explanation that regards the devise worn by the high priest as an astrolabe, enabling him to determine th e position of the stars and make astrological predictions, is essentially a naturalistic one. So is the one that views the stones in this device as possessing special properties that prepare the imagination to attain by way of the heavenly forces the knowledge in question. In this case, the naturalistic and "magical" explanations may in fact be identical

7 The classic study on th e history of medi eval magic is the mul ti-volume work of Lynn Thorndike, A History of Magic and Experimental Science (N e w York : Columbia University, 1923) . On the relation between magi c and J ewish medieval philosophy see in particular Dov Schwartz, Astral Magic in Medieval Jewish Thought [Heb.] (Ramat Can: Bar-I1an University , 1999) . EPILOGUE 621 due to certain conceptions the two approaches share in common - namely, a belief in astrology, which was widespread in philosophic circles, and a belief that certain objects have special natural properties. The worldviews underlying these explana­ tions are far different from the one underlying the supernatural­ istic one. A more widespread example involves sacrifices, which many regard as an aid to divination. One view treats them as pleasing to God insofar as they reflect the fulfillment of the divine commandments. The act of sacrifice may prompt God to bless the people and decide to reveal to them the future in order to benefit them. Another view traces the revelation of the future to demons. One way to satisfy them is to feed them so that they would be more amenable to reveal their knowledge of hidden matters. Both these explanations are essentially "supernatural­ istic" - one rooted in a monotheistic view, the other a poly­ theistic one. If, on the other hand, the sacrifice, when properly performed, is seen as coercingthe demons to reveal their secrets, or is seen as drawing down "spiritual forces" that result in the knowledge of the future being impressed on the mind of the individual - these explanations are essentially "magical" and view the world as operating in a mechanistic manner. The philosophers who viewed sacrifices as an effective praxis for divination tend to explain it in terms of its affects on the imagi­ nation. The sacrifice helps to prepare the imagination to receive an emanation from the Active Intellect or from the heavenly bodies that results in the individual "seeing" what is to occur if steps are not taken to avoid the outcome. This is a naturalistic explanation that shares much in common with the "magical" one, which explains the efficacy of sacrifices in terms of "spiritual forces". In each of these views, sacrifices are important for divination. Each, however, is rooted in a different conceptual scheme. Once again, what is important to keep in mind is not how we today may regard the practices or the explanations for them. Rather, the determining consideration is what conceptual scheme underlies each of these explanations and how this scheme was regarded in its historical context. Yesterday's scien­ tific views may be regarded as folk superstitions today (perhaps some of them will revert back to their former status and become 622 EPILOGUE tomorrow's scientific views, while some of today's scientific views will become tomorrow's folk superstitions). Nevertheless, they were yesterday's scientific views and should be appreciated as such despite the changes in our view of science. In dismiss­ ing as "unscientific" or "non-naturalistic" all explanations that we from a modern perspective regard as such, we fail to appreciate the thinker's own view of the matter.

Prophecy and Language

In the introduction to the book I pointed out that authors and readers often have different sets of concerns. The issues a reader is looking to find covered in a treatise are not always the same ones that the author thinks important to address. This at times leads the scholarly reader, who is concerned about these issues, to extrapolate the "unstated" views of authors from those that are presented on related issues. While I had earlier critiqued th e practice of "reconstructing" approaches to issues that the medie­ val thinkers did not address explicitly, I do not wish to deny that in some cases enough information is available to see how they implicitly treated a certain topic. At times the very fact that they ignored a topic despite its evident importance calls for an explanation. At this point I would like to deal briefly with a number of issues that were not given their due by the medieval th inkers from the perspective of many modern readers. The relation of thought and language, to take one example, is a dominant issue in modern philosophy. The medieval philoso­ phers, unfortunately, had little to say about this issue in the context of their discussions of prophecy. This is not to say that they never thought about this issue , for in fact they did." Yet precisely when it comes to the divine communication one wishes that they would have said much more. Instead one is left to infer from their stated views what their implicit views were on the subject.

8 For a pioneering study of medieval Hebrew linguistic thought see Irene E. Zwiep , Mother of Reason and Revelation (Amst erdam: J.C . Gieben, 1997) ; for Maimonides' approach see Josef Stern, "Maimonides on Language and the Science of Language", in : R.S. Cohen and H. Levine eds., Maimonides and the Sciences (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2000) : 173-226. EPILOGUE 623

For Maimonides and his followers, as we have seen, the sights beheld and the words heard by the prophet are the pro­ duct of the imagination when receiving the emanation from the Active Intellect. I have suggested that the images may have served more than just a pedagogical role in aiding the prophet to educate his listeners. They may have helped the prophet him­ self in the apprehension of truth. In other words, the prophet requires "visual" aids to grasp abstract truths. This in fact is Halevi's position. Maimonides may be interpreted as holding it as well. The prophet, however, does not simply "draw a picture" of these truths in the reception of prophecy. He also translates this reception into language. He "hears" words in the state of prophecy. Overall, Maimonides' po sition stands in contrast to that of R. Saadiah. According to the latter, the prophet hears with his ears spoken words, just as he sees actual created sights. These spoken words originate with God. There is little question that the words are in the language with which the prophet is familiar according to this view. God and the angels literally communi­ cate thoughts in the language the prophet understands. R. Saa­ diah certainly has no theological problem with the notion that God knows Hebrew, the "divine" language. Neither is there any problem for him to posit that God knows all the convention­ al languages. God possesses complete knowledge of all conting­ ent matters. In short, this problem is a non-problem for him. In many ways this view also characterizes the thought of Halevi. Halevi at times maintains that God communicates to humanity in Hebrew, the primordial language created and given to them by God. Halevi acknowledges that thought is prior to language. Still for him the divine speech to the prophets consists of actual words. As we move to Maimonides and the later philosophers the problems with this view begin to grow more acute. In th e view of the Aristotelian philosophers, God has no "mother tongue". Neither God nor the Active Intellect thinks in words or pictures, but in a completely abstract manner. Humans may attain thoughts from images in th eir mind by a process of abstraction. They then invent words to "capture" these thoughts. Yet th eir thoughts too can exist independently. Ideas may be formed in the mind and certain matters may be understood 624 EPILOGUE without necessarily giving th em a name or painting a picture of th em. Of course, it is much easier to think about th em if one does. Moreover, one can only communicate them to others by way of words or pictures.Maimonides, in th e Treatise on Logic, writes that the term logos (Ar. man~iq) has three meanings: "The firs t is th e faculty, peculiar to man , whereby he conceives ideas ... it is called th e rational facul ty. The second is the idea itself which man h as co nce ived; it is called inner speech tal-naiiq al­ da~ila) . The third is the interpretation (or: expression; Ar. 'ibiira) in language of that which has been impressed on th e soul; it is calle d external speech". 9 The "inner speech " is treated as logic­ ally prior to th e external speech, and it appears to be temporally prior as well. Perhaps no statement of his better captures the gap th at at times ex ists between the two than his declaration in Guide 1.50: "Belief is not the notion that is uttered, but the noti on that is represented in the soul when it has be en averre d of it that it is in fac t j ust as it has been represented ... In accordance with thi s, you will find many stupid people holding to beliefs to which, in their re presen tatio n, they do not attach any meaning whatever (p. Ill) ". It does not appear that the "meaning" that the re presen­ tation attaches to th e beliefs uttered assumes a verbal form. Even in communicating certain ideas to other , language for Maimo­ nides may prove to be exceptionally inadequate and can only do so at best indirectly. Consid er what he says in th e in troduction to the Guide in regard to the teaching of the "secrets" of th e di vin e science: He is un able to explain with complete clarity and cohere nce even th e portion that he has apprehended, as he could do with the other sciences who se teaching is generally recognized. Rather there will befall him when teaching another th at which he had undergone when learning himself. I mean to say th at the subject matter will appear, flash, and then be hidden again, as th ough this were th e nature of th e subj ect matter, be th ere mu ch or little of it. For this reason, all th e Sages possessing knowledge of God the Lord, knowers of truth, when they aimed at teaching some thing of this subject matter, spoke ofit only in parables an d riddles (p, 8).

9 T he tran slation is that of Israel Efros , Ma imonides' Treatise on Logic (New York: America n Academy of J ewish Resear ch , 1938) : 61. For th e Ara bic see the edi tion of J oseph Kafih , Be'ur Melekhet ha-Higgayon le-Rabbenu M oshe ben Maimon (Kiryat Ono, Israel: Makh on Mish nat ha-Rambam, 1997 ): 182. EPILOGUE 625

Maimonides' approach to prophecy appears to be predicated upon the view that the rational faculty relies on the imagination to translate its thoughts into images and words, but they do not in themselves adequately express the thoughts. Clearly, the emanation from the Active Intellect consists of neither. Even for Gersonides, who regards the emanation from the Active Intel­ lect as consisting of actual thoughts, and not simply a force that enables one to think, these thoughts are in a preverbal state. When they reach the recipient they are then given verbal and imaginative forms. It is certainly hard to conceive what exactly non-verbal and non-imaginative thinking "looks" like since our thinking is so bound up with language and images. The signi­ ficance of this view, however, is that we are not necessarily bound to language or pictures in our thinking. It may be difficult to form a concept in our minds while lacking the words, but it is possible. Moreover, the implication of this view is that for these philosophers non-imaginative and non-verbal thinking charac­ terizes the incorporeal state of the individual in the afterlife, in which the imaginative faculty no longer exists.

The Prophetic Experience

Other issues of contemporary interest also merited little attention on the part of the medieval Jewish philosophers. Significantly, some of these issues were the subject of far more reflection on the part of different contemporaneous circles. Many of the philo­ sophers studied here regarded prophecy as a living phenome­ non, at least potentially, and not one that by divine decree was limited to past historical periods. They saw in it the goal in one's quest for perfection, or at least connected to one's attainment of perfection. While in their discussions they tended to refrain from stressing this point, in part in order not to be seen as under­ mining the status of the "classical" prophets, and by extension the Bible, this trend of thought clearly emerges from the philosophy of Maimonides and his followers. We can detect it already in the philosophy of Halevi. Much of this view remains in the philosophy of Crescas, despite his emphasis on the aspect of "mission". In the case of these philosophers, a description of the phenomenon of prophecy is to a large degree implicitly a 626 EPILOGUE description of human perfection, just as a description of human perfection is seen as automatically applying to the prophets. Yet for all their detailed descriptions of prophecy and ultimate perfection, and the existential significance they attached to its attainment, these philosophers had relatively little to say about the experience itself. How strikingly different is the situation when one turns to the medieval Jewish mystical literature. There one finds far more material regarding the experiential aspect of prophecy and perfection. Many identified the experience of prophecy with that of ecstatic mysticism. Abraham Abulafia is probably the most notable example of this trend.!? The ecstatic state was depic­ ted as going far beyond that of having a vision or attaining special knowledge. It was an experience that involved one's whole being and transformed one's whole being."! It was con­ ceived as a state of ontological union - "conjunction" - with the divine world, one that was described in the most fervent, passionate terms. While it is true that many Jewish mystics too showed restraint in describing this state, certainly in compari­ son to their counterparts in other religions.l? on the whole they had far more to say about it than their Jewish philosophic counterparts. The "prophetic experience" assumed a much more prominent role in their thought. A few openly wrote of their personal experiences along these lines. Even many of those who dealt with the subject in more detached terms appear to have attempted to experience this state. Some passages in their writ­ ings suggest that they felt they had succeeded in doing so and were essentially describing their own experience. Islamic mystical and much of its philosophical literature provided them with a model for thinking of prophecy in this manner. This literature in turn was heavily influenced by Neoplatonic literature. In a very famous passage of the Enneads,

10 See in particular Moshe Id el , Stud ies in Ecstatic Kabbalah (Albany: SUNY Press, 1988); see also h is Kabbalah New Perspectives (N ew Haven: Yale University, 1988) . II The most well known philosophic atte mpt to analyze this stat e is th at of Willi am James , The Varieties of Religious Experience (New York : Random Hous e, 1902) : 379-429. 12 See Gershom Sch ol em, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (New York : Shocken Books, 1969) . EPILOGUE 627 found also in the Theology of Aristotle, Plotinus not only offers a brief description of this state but attests to his own experience of iL I3 Some of these sources markedly influenced, directly and indirectly, the Jewish philosophers too. They certainly did not ignore this issue completely. Maimonides' description of "ecstat­ ic death", or death by the "kiss of God" in reference to Moses, Aaron and Miriam that he brings at the end of Guide 3.51 is one of the most well known Jewish philosophic passages pointing to such an experience. There and elsewhere - particularly in his Introduction to Pereq Heleq, Laws of the Principles of the Torah and the end of his Laws of Repentance - he speaks also of the pro­ found love of God and the nature of the felicity experienced in the state of ultimate perfection. In some of his discussions of prophecy, he mentions conjunction with the Active Intellect and the transformation of the individual's identity. In describ­ ing the differences between Moses and other prophets, he lists the emotions experienced by them at the onset of the prophetic experience, such as fear and trembling. Halevi places even greater emphasis on the nature and significance of the prophetic experience, employing terms reminiscent of Sufi descriptions. Crescas too devotes attention to this state, at least in the context of his discussion of ultimate perfection. Yet all these descriptions pale in comparison to those found by many of the Jewish mystics (whom Halevi and even Maimonides may well have helped influence in this matter), let alone those found in

13 In Enneads 4.8.1, Plotinus is reported to have said: "Many times it has happened: lifted out of the body in to myself; becoming external to all other things and self-encentered; beholding a marvelous beauty; then, more than ever, assured of community with the loftiest order; e nacti ng the noblest life, acquiring identity with the divine; statio ning with in It by having attained that activity; poised above whatsoever within the Intel­ lectual is less than the Supreme". See Stephen Mackenna trans., Plotinus: The Enneads (London: Faber and Faber, 1962): 357. For the Arabic version of this passage in the Theology of Aristotle see A. Bad awi, Plotinus apud Arabes (Cairo, 1955) : 22-3 [an English translation by Geoffrey Lewis appears in : P. Henry and H.R. Schwyzer eds., Plotini Opera, tomus II (Paris: Desclee Brouwer, 1959) : 225]. For a discussion of the Theology of Aristotle in th e medieval world (including many of the medieval sources that cite this passage) see Paul Fenton, "The Arabic and Hebrew Version of the Theo­ logy of Aristotle", in : J. Kraye, W.F. Ryan and C.B. Schmitt eds., Pseudo­ Aristotle in the M iddle Ages (London: Univ ersity of Lo ndon, 1986): 241-264. 628 EPILOGUE

Islamic mystical literature. Some of the Islamic philosophers too, most notably Avicenna and Ibn Tufayl, devote much more attention to this aspect of prophecy than what one finds in any of the Jewish philosophic accounts. Let me add that in the case of Halevi, his religious poetry conveys a far better sense of the nature of the experience than does his philosophy, though, as I have argued, I do not think that it is a good guide to studying his conceptual approach to the phenomenon.U Overall, one does not gain the impression that the medieval Jewish philosophers were overly occupied with this issue. The reticence displayed may be due in part to the unfathomable nature of the experience, the need to be silent in the face of the ineffable. Maimonides himself appears to allude to this point in stressing the categorical difference between the pleasures we experience as corporeal beings and the pleasure experienced in the ultimate (and eternal) state of perfection.l" The philosophers' approach to the subjects with which they dealt tended to be a discursive, rational one. The type of thinking in which they were engaged and to which they were committed did not lend itself to an exploration of the nature of an experience that was beyond its boundary to grasp, let alone to convey to others. Those philosophers who were willing to acknowledge the exist­ ence of such experience still lacked the means to try to depict it, except in the most general terms. Poetry was a far more suitable medium to try to do so precisely because of its imaginative ele­ ment, as in the case of prophecy itself.!" Yet only Halevi, among the philosophers we studied, had the necessary inspiration to convey himself in this manner. On occasion the philosophers saw in their own experience a reflection of the prophetic experi­ ence that allowed them to glimpse something of its nature and to convey it to others. Maimonides' statement - "See how these notions came to me in something similar to prophetic revelation

14 See chapter 2, note 10. IS For a study of Maimonides' view of pleasure see Gabriella Berzin, "The Concept of Happiness in th e Teachings of Maimonides and Rabbi Chasdai Crescas [Heb.] ", Masters thesis, Ben-Gurion University, 1998. 16 Elliot Wolfson devotes much attention to th e roles of the imagination in Jewish mysticism throughout his book, Through a Speculum that Shines (P rinceton: Princeton University, 1994 ). EPILOGUE 629

(walJy) ( Guide 3.22:488)" - is one example of this point, though it touches only upon th e intellectual aspect of the experience.!? No t all the philosophers , it should be noted, accepted th e exist­ ence of a state that was so alien to th eir own everyday in tellec­ tual experience. Som e, most notably Gersonides, do not appe ar to h ave conceived perfection in terms of a definin g ecstatic mo­ ment, in which supra-rational knowledge is attained. Ultimate perfection exists on the continuum of philosophic knowledge an d the experience accompanying intellection in ge neral. There is no "leap " to an entirely different dimension of know­ ledge or being. Reaching conclusions on th e basis of logical proofs, experiencing flash es of 'insigh t in theoreti cal matters (a form of intellectual intuition), feeling the pleasure that accompa­ nies all contemplation, is th e same for the prophet and non­ prophet alike . Sin ce the particular superiority of prophecy as a phenomenon lies in th e field of divination in hi s view, he looks upon his own divinatory experiences as akin to prophecy. His silence as to the experience of prophecy as a "super-rational" phenomenon, with all th e traits accompanyin g such an ex peri­ ence, is in accord with hi s view th at th e experience outlined above has no basis in reali ty. Those who think otherwise, in his view, are mistaken. Those who claim to have experienced a state of ontological conjunction with the divine world were simply experiencing the product of their own vivid imaginations .

Prophetic Knowledge

In telling the story of prophecy in medieval J ewish philosophy, I may be accused with some justification of not paying enough attention to a central issue that the philosophers deal with in far more detail than I suggest. Many would even regard this as the most important one of all. I am referring to th e issue whether th e prophet can attain theoretical truths not availabl e by any other means, and what truths did they attain in this manner. In other words, what constituted the theoretical content of revela­ tion, and what advantage did the prophets have over the philoso­ phers in this area. While th e medieval J ewish philosophers

17 See chapter 3, conclus ion, 630 EPILOGUE may not have paid much attention to the nature of the prophetic experience, they hardly could avoid dealing with the problem of what the prophet learned. I certainly did not skirt this issue altogether but neither have I done it the justice it deserves. This issue is inseparable from the relation between philoso­ phy and the basic traditional beliefs of Judaism, inasmuch as these beliefs are considered grounded in the teachings of the Torah and the prophets. The acceptance on the part of the medie­ val Jewish philosophers of any doctrine involving theoretical matters for which philosophy can provide no proof, but is known on the basis of tradition alone, is an implicit acknow­ ledgement of the ability of attaining truths by way of prophecy that are closed to philosophy. An exploration of how the medie­ val Jewish philosophers approached this issue thus involves far more than simply turning to their explicit discussions of whe­ ther the prophet attains knowledge that is beyond the scope of philosophy. It involves the study of their entire philosophy to see what theoretical truths about God and the world they maintain on the basis of tradition even when they can provide no valid philosophic argument to back it up. We may leave aside doc­ trines related to the future (messianic times) , the entire field of biblical history, and the validity of the commandments. These do not involve theoretical truths in their view, hence they are essentially outside the province of philosophy and belong almost exclusively to the religious tradition. This still leaves a large area that requires investigation. It includes the problem of creation and miracles, the manner of divine governance and individual providence, the nature of ultimate perfection and the manner it is attained. We certainly have a good example illustrating the opposite approach - that is, interpreting the Bible to conform to philoso­ phic truth in an area in which earlier rabbinic exegesis was not the determining factor. I am referring to the doctrine of God's incorporeality, which flew in the face of numerous verses that indicated the contrary. The philosophic proofs were regarded as so strong as to leave few options in this area. Either one rejects reason altogether, rejects the Bible, or one finds a way of read­ ing the Bible in accordance with this doctrine. Aside from the cardinal issue of biblical exegesis, other sensitive religious EPILOGUE 631 issues were not at stake here, those that involve the relation between God and the world (rather than the essence of God). But what about areas in which the philosophic tradition spoke with a less certain voice and which did involve more sensitive issues? It is easiest to focus on the one issue that the medieval Jewish philosophers themselves tended to stress when they dealt with the problem of the relation between prophetic and philosophic knowledge - the problem of creation. Is God the cause of an eternal world operating in strict accordance to the laws of nature or is God the creator of a temporal world? The latter view lays the ground for conceiving God as possessing volition and being able to act independent of nature. The problem of creation, it should be noted, is one in which history and science meet. If the world is in fact created in time, it is a historical fact and not only scientific. This point will be important for understanding some of the approaches to the problem. For R. Saadiah, who sees philosophy as either validating or at least showing the rational possibility of all doctrines the Bible presents, there are no fundamental theoretical truths found in the Bible that are not in principle known also by way of reason. Revelation provides us with an invaluable short cut to attaining these doctrines, thereby alleviating us from the need to wait until we finish all the steps of analysis in order to hold true beliefs. It also informs us of God's commands and the types of reward attained in the wake of observance, which we could not know otherwise. Creation too is a doctrine known both by reason and revelation according to R. Saadiah. In other words, the philosophic view that the world is without beginning is one that can be disproved in a demonstrative manner by philosophy itself.l" He ascribes no essential advantage to the prophet over the philosopher in the area of theoretical knowledge. In part this stance may be due to the fact that he has a very optimistic view of the power of reason to know theoretical matters. He regards

18 He certainly would agree that many of the details of the doctrine of creation and other ones involving theoretical issues are known by revela­ tion rather than reason. The order and length of creation, for example, are clearly matters that can be known by revelation alone. Yet it does not appear that he attaches any great significance to these details in the context of his theological treatise. 632 EPILOGUE this as God's particular gift to humanity. Yet more important, he views reward and punishment as consequent upon observance of the commandments. The level of one's theoretical knowledge is at best a secondary factor. Reason and revelation both supply one with the necessary knowledge to understand the nature of God and the necessity of observance. When it comes to know­ ledge of the commandments, revelation's advantage over reason is much greater. In dealing with theoretical knowledge, R. Saadiah is concerned with the problem of duplication - why would a wise God provide us with two different sources to reach the same truths. The differences in the content of the theoretical knowledge found in each source is not a problem on which he focused his attention. For Halevi, on the other hand, the advantage of the prophet over the philosopher in the area of theoretical knowledge is a crucial issue. The philosopher's knowledge, culminating in knowledge of God, is limited to what is capable of being proven. Missing is a reliable historical tradition. The focus of Halevi's entire philosophy is on the superiority of historical knowledge over scientific. Scientific knowledge must be rooted in histori­ cal , at least in that aspect of historical knowledge that deals with supernatural events. The experience of the supernatural in histo­ ry in the form of empirically verifiable events is the starting point for Halevi's philosophy. Miracles were witnessed and the divine speech heard by the Israelite masses in the period of the exodus from Egypt. They passed on to us this knowledge in a reliable chain of transmission. The divine speech communi­ cated knowledge of events occurring prior to human experience - most notably, creation. In other words, empirical data prove the occurrence of supernatural events and the divine origin of the Torah. In turn, the Torah, transmitted to us by way of revela­ tion, discloses truths that are closed to philosophic speculation. Other empirical data attesting to the truth of knowledge gained from the Torah and that has scientific implications relate to the commandments. In Halevi's view, the ritual command­ ments are designed to affect the soul in certain ways. Only one who has complete knowledge of the soul can know what laws to legislate. Hence divine revelation provides one with activities that are necessary for perfection, which the philosophers cannot EPILOGUE 633 discover on their own. The "empirical" data attesting to the truth of this view are the internal sensations accompanying the practice of the commandments. Halevi leaves no doubt to the view that from every perspective, the knowledge of the prophet is far superior to the knowledge of the philosopher. Prophetic knowledge of God and metaphysical reality is far more com­ plete, accurate and unified than the discursive knowledge of the philosophers. The philosophers know God only as First Cause of the natural order. The prophet knows of God's "personal", immediate contact with individuals, which is part and parcel of the prophetic experience. This issue becomes far more complex in Maimonides' philo­ sophy. As with most issues, it is intrinsically tied to how one reads Maimonides. In interpreting Maimonides as essentially an Aristotelian philosopher in his theoretical thought, I have essentially rejected the view that he saw in the doctrine of creation knowledge attained by the prophets that could not be known philosophically (though he brings also philosophic argu­ ments in its support). At the same time, this does necessarily imply that he did not ascribe a greater theoretical knowledge to the prophets. Certainly, enough models were available in Aristo­ telian thought to posit a distinction between two types of know­ ledge - discursive, and one that is the product of the "illumina­ tion" of the intellect. The two are not so much distinguished by "what" is known, but by "how" it is known. Prophetic know­ ledge consists of a much more unified picture of reality. Gersonides perhaps goes furthest in eliminating the distinc­ tion between prophet and philosopher in theoretical matters. He accepts the doctrine of creation as against the philosophic doc­ trine of eternity. Yet it does not appear that upholding the literal account of the biblical story is the major consideration in this case. Philosophic considerations primarily drove him to this conclusion. For all of his loyalty to the Bible, particularly the Torah, as a source of truth, he is more guided by the results of his rational analysis. With Crescas we return to a thinker who wishes to grant the prophets their due in these matters. This point is explicit in his approach to the content of prophecy. God is the source of the prophetic message and God at times conveys to the prophet 634 EPILOGUE th eoretical matters that are closed to the philosophers . Crescas rejects a wide range of philosophic doctrines on the basis of its opposition to traditional teaching, which he sees as th e teach­ ings of the prophets. God's supernatural activity as depicted in the Bible and rej ected by the philosophers is a cornerstone of his thought. Yet perhaps it go es to show how ope n-ended exegetical possibilities are for Crescas when he presents a number of doc­ trines on the basis of his own philosophic thinking th at hardly reflec t the "simple " meaning of Scripture. In addition to his acc eptance of th e doctrine of divine incorporeality, his appro ach to freedom of th e will, and even his failure to reject out of hand th e doctrine of continuous creation.!? which treats as necessary the gran ting of existence to the world on the part of God, indicate th at Crescas was not a simple philosophic apologist for Judaism. He was an independent thinker who was prepared to allow his philosophic thought to "color" how he read the Bible. The possibilities for biblical exegesis with in parameters that the philosophers (or mystics for that matter) felt could be harmo­ niz ed with J ewish tradition were broad enough to allow for even highly unconventional readings. The result was to ascribe to the prophets doctrines whose real basis was in philosophic th ought, a tendency that Spinoza scathingly cri tiqued. Perhaps thi s is th e occupational hazard of even "traditionalist philosophers" who, nonetheless, tak e philosophy seriously. The com mon denomi­ n ator in th e case of all th ese philosophers is that th ey firmly beli eve that the results of their enquiry unlock th e secre ts of th e biblical texts, and that th ey convey to us what th e prophets th emselves thought. Philosophic truth (which is not necessarily th e doctrines held by the mainstream philosophic tradition) and prophetic truth are ultimately in harmony if not identical. This serves as th e basis for maintaining and even stre ngthen ing th eir loyalty to th e tradition without h aving to rej ect loyalty to reason. It is thi s approach that Spinoza rejected. There really are no biblical truth s in theoreti cal matters, in hi s view, and one sh ould not pretend that th ere are. There is only philosophic

19 See Light of the Lord 3.1.5. Mai monides had alre ady labeled this view as essen tially th e sa me as the Ari stotelian view of th e world as n ecessary (though he may have himself accepted it) ; see Guide 2.21. EPILOGUE 635 truth. One should be completely unfettered by all holy texts in the search for it.

The Idea ojProphecy in Modern Jewish Thought

As for the continuation of the story - this would bring us to a post-Aristotelian (and post-Spinozistic) world of thought. Germ­ any replaces Greece as the source for the philosophic currents that dominate much of modern philosophy. Kant, Hegel and Nietzsche, together with a host of other luminaries, replace Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus in shaping this world. While the old philosophic giants are not completely forgotten, their systems no longer serve as the starting point for philosophic thinking. The emanationist metaphysical systems that evolved from their philosophies as they made their way into the medieval world no longer provide the modern world with the foundation for exploring the idea of God's communication with humanity. The German philosophers pave the way for new ways of thinking about the subject. Thinkers living on the "periphery" of this world, such as the great Danish religious "existentialist" Kierkegaard, also play a pivotal role in the development of new ways of thinking about this subject. The modern period witnesses a torrent of intellectual developments, many leaving an indelible mark on different chapters of the story of the prophetic idea. In some cases, their full impact has yet to be felt. The challenge posed by Freudian psychology, as well as other psychological movements, is perhaps a good example of this point. Modern philosophy not only necessitated developing new approaches, but also raised the question whether there is a valid basis for any approach to the subject. Just as Epicurus and his followers in the ancient world undermined the very possibility of "revelation", Nietzsche and his followers playa similar role in the modern world. The "death of God" leaves human beings in a self-enclosed world of their own making in which there can be no "revelation", only enlightenment as to the nature of their state and their ability to mold their world anew. On another front, modern analytic philosophical approaches, such as Logical Positivism, argued against the notion that one can say 636 EPILOGUE anything meaningful - that is, in principle verifiable - in the realm of metaphysics altogether. Yet these and other serious challenges to the prophetic idea may yet prove to serve as the basis for more innovative ways of approaching the subject. The story of the idea of prophecy in medieval Jewish philoso­ phy, as we have seen, is one in which pagan Greek thought is translated, adopted and transformed by the monotheistic Islamic world, first in the East and later in the West. The works of the Islamic thinkers and the Arabic translations of the older philo­ sophic classics leave a sharp impress on Jewish thought. They exert a dominant influence even in places not ruled (or no longer ruled) by the Moslems, and in which Arabic is not known. Through Hebrew translations of these works and the earlier works of Jewish philosophy that were written in an Islamic philosophic milieu, Jewish philosophers continue to remain in the orbit of Islamic thought many cen turies after its heyday. During the course of the period Christian Scholastic thought develops and exercise a growing influence on Jewish thought, but never usurps the place of the older Jewish and Islamic classics. New currents of thought, stemming from Des­ cartes and Hobbes among others, eventually usher in a new age. The story of the idea of prophecy in the modern period is one in which Christian Western-Central Europe takes central stage. It is no historical accident that the Jewish philosophers whose works compose th e main chapters of the continuation of our story are dominated by German Jews. J ewish philosophy tends to thrive in the vicinity of a thriving cultural center. Where the sur­ rounding culture is largely stagnant, one will have trouble find­ ing significant advances in Jewish thought. German replaces Arabic (and Hebrew) as the dominant language of Jewish philosophy for much of the period. Only with the advent of the Holocaust does the situation irrevocably change linguistically and geographically. Hebrew and English (and to a lesser degree French) become the dominant languages, Israel and America (and to a lesser degree France) - the newer centers. If history is a guide, only works written or translated into Hebrew will be in position to influence the next age. We should probably start this story with Moses Mendel­ ssohn's Jerusalem. Mendelssohn, a contemporary of Kant, had EPILOGUE 637 not yet begun to feel the affects of the philosophic revolution initiated by the latter philosopher (much as R. Saadiah did not absorb the full affects of Aristotelian philosophy in developing his thought) . Major chapters would be devoted to Herman Cohen's Religion ofReason out of the Sources ofJudaism and Franz Rozensweig's Star of Redemption. While it would be hard to single out one work of Martin Buber to treat as the focus of a chapter devoted to his approach, for almost all his works may be said to revolve around the prophetic idea, it is clear that no discussion of this topic in modern Judaism would be complete without discussing this seminal thinker. Attention would have to be paid to the pioneering scholar-philosophers of the 19t h century who laid the foundations for the critical "scientific" study of Judaism, such as Abraham Geiger. For many of these individuals, the prophetic idea played a cardinal role in their thought. Religious thinkers who remained firmly within the world of Jewish orthodoxy but who were also very much influ­ enced by the new philosophic trends, such as Samson Raphael Hirsch in the 19th century and Joseph Dov Soloveitchik in the 20 th , also comprise an important part of th e continuation of our story.A chapter certainly must be devoted to Abraham Joshua Heschel whose philosophy and scholarship, like those of Buber, were driven by the prophetic idea. Even "political" thinkers, such as Leo Strauss, wrestled mightily with the relation between revelation and philosophy, and reflect yet a different line of development. Neo-Kantian philosophy, Hegelian dialectics, Existential and Dialogical thought are the labels given to some of the approaches upon which the idea of prophecy in modern Jewish thought is based. The old world of medieval Jewish thought is certainly not for­ gotten in the new. Modern Jewish philosophers not only return to the sources of tradition, such as the Bible and rabbinic litera­ ture, for guidance. The philosophies of Halevi and Maimonides (and Spinoza) remain highly influential, though they are "translated" into new modes of thinking (just as their works are translated into vernacular languages) . Medieval Jewish mysti­ cism also plays a pivotal role in the development of much of modern Jewish thought, often through the mediation of Hassi­ die thought. This is certainly true of the philosophies of Buber 638 EPILOGUE and Heschel. The fusi on of old and new, J ewish and non­ J ewish, "rational" and "mystical", ch aracte rize th e modern h istory of the prophetic idea in Judaism just as it characterizes its medieval history. For all th e innumerable differences between historical phenomena, th ere appear to be discernible patterns in hi story. Those more co mpe tent than I, however, are left with the task of telling this story, which is still in th e process of unfolding.t?

A Final Word

If I were asked what is the single most important lesson pertain­ ing to prophecy that I personally learnt from th e philosophers treated here, one that I feel has lost none of its significance over the years (and one that does not involve the broader issue of the range of possibilities for the interpretation of religious texts), I would point to what I interpret Maimonides as saying. Prophecy is primarily a naturally attain ed, heightened intellectual aware­ ness of reality (with the prophet's ability to foresee the future b eing a secondary "gift") . It originates from "with ou t". The human mind is not the creator, or the measure, of all things. Its reception and the manner it is received, however, are deter­ mined for th e most part by th e state of the recipient. Prophecy requires intellectual perfection. While a naturally superior intel­ lect is mandatory, prophecy, like "ge nius", requires ninety nine pe rcent "perspiration" accompanying one percent "inspir­ ation ". One must first study hard in seeking to attain "pro phetic" understanding in an area. Even a fully developed intellect, how­ ever, is not enough. It is the imagination that allows a person who is an excellent philosopher to make the leap to becoming a "visionary". Otherwis e he/she remains at best a good philoso­ pher - no mean task - but not a prophet. Prophecy, when understood in this manner, always re­ mained with us even though those who attained it did not id entify themselves as prophets, and may not have thought of

20 Som e aspects of this sto ry have, of course, alread y bee n told by scholars d eali ng with individ ual philosoph ers. To the best of my knowledge , however, no co mpre hensive atte mpt has been made to trace the pro ph etic idea in modern J ewish though t. EPILOGUE 639 themselves as such. According to this view, great scientific or philosophic insights are essentially lesser forms of prophecy. Yet the same imagination, so necessary in order to make this leap, is the source of human evil when it is divorced from the rule of intellect. In this case , its possessors goad others to pursue vain goals and serve false gods. How tempting, almost compell­ ing, it is to follow the imaginings it produces. How much physi­ cal and spiritual destruction and misery have been brought about by these "visions", despite, in many cases, their "sh or t term gains". When sensory gratification, wealth, power, honor (at times masquerading as "religious" values) replace know­ ledge and moral values as the desired end, or when "visions" are divorced from a genuine understanding of reality and human nature, what else can be expected? Maimonides appre­ ciated the fact that it is not always easy to distinguish the true vision from the false, knowledge from superstition, what is the product of the intellect from what results from the whims of the imagination, a dream that is worthy of pursuit from one that ultimately leads to the worship of false gods. Everything, however, hangs in the balance of making the proper distinction, whether in the private life of the individual or in the path pursued by a society. Maimonides helps us to evaluate what course to pursue by letting us know that truth, goodness and ideal leadership are in­ separable. If the human being is not the "measure of all things", and certainly not the master of all things, but God is, then the pursuit of knowledge of God - the attempt to understand reality and how everything ultimately is rooted in God by looking to advances in science and to the texts of tradition - and the trans­ lation of this knowledge into a life of significant action should be one's consuming passion. This goal cannot be attained when one is ruled by other passions or consumed by other emotions. Hence moral virtues are also a necessary condition for the true "prophet", the individual who provides a model by which one should live. Furthermore, to concentrate completely upon one body of knowledge to the exclusion of the other is to see God, and all that this outlook entails, from a very stilted perspective. What emerges from Maimonides' philosophy is the conclu­ sion that each of us should pursue prophecy with all the powers 640 EPILOGUE of one's body and soul. At the same time we should deeply mistrust all those "visionaries" who proclaim themselves, or are proclaimed by others, as having attained it. Pursue prophecy but seek out true sages as role models and leaders - that is, excep­ tionally well educated (in traditional and "secular" knowledge), wise, completely upright, humble (though with an appreciation of their ability) individuals whose intellects control their emotions, mold their character traits, determine their decisions, have a healthy understanding of how things are, and who display the necessary gifts to guide others in the direction of attaining greater understanding and social harmony. These are individuals who conduct themselves with their heads, even in preference to their "hearts", let alone other parts of the body. They make no public claim to supernaturally attained know­ ledge, yet they in effect are the true heirs to the prophets. They are deeply committed to the divine Law while at the same time they are living embodiments of the ennobling qualities of the Law. Pursuing prophecy means trying to become such a person. This lesson I find no less relevant in our day than in Maimo­ nides' own. Despite all our "progress", the challenge it poses in our age is, if anything, even greater than before. BIBLIOGRAPHY

This list contains o nly works that are mentioned in th e book. Excluded are standart classical J ewish texts, e.g., Bibl e, Targum, T almud, midrash ic comp ilati o ns.

Primary Sources

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Aaron, 303, 627 Cres cas and, 485, 486, 488, 490­ Abimelech, 264, 267 492,49~96 ,498 , 500,501, Abrabanel, Isaac, 278n, 543 508-512,516,517,519,521­ Abrabanel, Judah, 548 523,528,535,543,607,614 Abraham, 59, 220, 251, 258,265, critique of, 500, 504, 507, 508, 267,276,277,284,294,311,398, 539,540 416,417,456,462,499,602 definition of human perfection, Book of Creation and, 69, 114 509-511 God's appearance to, 59 definition of prophecy 516­ perfection of, 311 518 Abraham Bar Hiyya, 272, 280-281 Disputation at Tortosa and, 486, Abu al-Hudhayl, 49n, 79, 80 487,525 Abulafia, Abraham, 626 Duran and, 488, 489, 505 Active Intellect, 190, 256, 290, 325, Gersonides and, 516, 522, 529, 329,332,333, 336, 337, 339n, 536,542 343,351,352,355-357,373,385, Halevi and, 498, 500, 501, 503, 386,392,395,408,435,437,438, 510-512,514,516,519,522, 441,445,448,451,455,475n, 523,542 598,605 influences of, 488, 617 Alfarabi on, 107; angels and, Kabbalah and, 488 105-106,217 Maimonides and, 486, 492, Avicenna on, 388 494, 495, 498-500, 502-504, conjunction with humans, 110, 511,514-520,526,527,530, 390,391,393,419,420,440, 534-536, 542 442,443,584,585,598,603, Nissim Gerondi and, 488 604,627 non:Jewish sources and, 541 emanation from, 108, 109, 362, on angels, 502-507, 517, 520, 368-369, 377-380, 387,388, 521,534, 541 404,420,443,595, 598,599, on Created Speech , 499, 521, 601,604,621 ,623,625 530,532,607 Gersonides on , 359, 360 on Divine Law, 486, 489-501 , imaginative faculty and, 244, 518,508,509,512,518,524­ 340 526,528,531-536,540 in relation to Divine Matter, on idolatry, 514, 515, 527, 530, 136-137 531 knowledge of, 360-371, 389, 443 on levels of prophecy, 517, 519, miracles and, 393, 394, 396, 520,529,534 398,400,404,409 on Mosaic prophecy, 488, 496, perfect individual and, 105, 106 499,500,502,517,518,521­ Adam, 31-32, 498, 510, 526, 574 524, 528-535, 538, 540, 555, Albo,Joseph, 19,485-543,607,616 558,564,567,573,576,577, Alfarabi and, 498, 526 580, 582 Aquinas and, 488 on Names of God, 502, 505 as eclectic thinker, 487-488, 504 on naturalistic approach to Averroes and, 488, 489, 496, 520 prophecy, 500, 515, 518, 522, Book ofPrinciples, 19,486-543,614 540,542 656 INDEX

on non-naturalistic approach to 217,236,264n, 266, 294, 298, proph ecy,516, 518, 540, 543 313 on princip les of Divine Law, Albo on, 502-507, 517, 520, 521, 486, 489, 490,493-495, 498, 534,541 520,531,535 Alfarab i on, 107 on prophecy as mission, 492, as intermedi ar ies, 50, 51, 57, 493, 496, 499,503,508,532, 189,190, 235, 263, 297, 300 533, 535, 540-543 as Separate Intellects, 185, 220, on Revelation at Sinai, 499, 266, 267, 312,439, 503 500,517, 518, 522, 529, 543 creation of, 114 on shekhinah, 502, 503, 506, 523, doctrine of th e "garment" 607 (rna/bush) and, 505 on verification of prophecy, Hal evi on , 102, 106, 114, 123­ 499, 500, 528-535, 540, 541 125, 130, 134, 137n, 139, 140 Saadiah and, 503, 507, 526, 511, imaginative faculty and, 220, 512,541 237,248 Alexander of Aphrodisias, 79-80, in dr eams, 341 152 in performing miracles, 50 Alfarabi, 22n , 108, 130n, 175, 179, in relation to Moses, 172, 173, 247n, 263,268, 269n , 304, 319, 176,181, 217, 298,299, 502, 339n, 390, 498,526,556,58+ 521,534 586, 595 in sub-prophetic expe rie nces, Commentary on Nicomachean 266 Ethics, 246, 247 incorporeality of, 130, 299, 300 Greek Philosophy and, 107 intellect of, 127 Halevi and, 105, 108, 109 lan guage of, 623 Maim onides and, 150-152, 170, Maim onides on, 172, 173, 176, 175,179,186, 206n , 218, 242, 185,186,189,217,221,236, 24+246, 262, 279,280, 304, 237, 263, 266, 267,278, 281, 498, 526, 598, 617 293, 297, 300, 313, 314 on Active Intellect, 107 reb ellious, 51n on an gels, 107 Saadiah on, 57, 90, 592 on chain of existence , 107 shekhinah and, 51n, 61, 65, 67, on Holy Spirit, 107 76, 89, 114 on human perfecti on, 107 substance of, 75 on immortality, 218 Aqiva, 144n on levels of prophecy, 279, 280 Aquinas, Th om as, 387n, 488 Political Regime, 170, 242 Aristoteli ani sm and Aristotelian Vinuous City, 242-244 philosophers, 60, 63, 95-100, Alghazali, 143n, 319, 482, 595 102-111; 114n, 118, 120, 121, Avicenna and, 337 124, 125, 129-139, 145-147, 149, Crescas and, 425, 480, 482 153, 187,213,222-224, 229n, In coherence of the Philosophers, 237,249-251,255,256, 320,321, 386n, 425, 480 324,330,333,348,391,392, 431, o n "inner eye", 128, 129 444,447,470,482,497,505,508, on Separate Intellects, 387; 509,511,541, 543, 559, 565,566, Alkindi, 103 568,584,589,591,604, 608, 618, amr ilalii. See Divine Matter 619, 623, 633 angels, 169, 186, 264, 265, 275, 277, as mon otheists, 149 293, 329, 336, 338, 375, 437, 457, distin ction between natural 474, 475,517,520,541,589, and conventional law, 40 611 Aristotle, 152, 225, 256, 258, 291, Active In tellect and, 105, 106, 317,319,320,327,329,338,344, INDEX 657

345 ,350,351,373,377,417,481, on Active Intellect, 388 468,557,578,587,590,591,594, on divination, 507 598,617,635 on "inner eye", 128n De Div inatione per Somnum, 327, on miracles, 393, 522, 110n 377 on prophetic intelle ct, 110, 336, De Interpretatione, 345 337 M eteorology, 320 on Separate Intellec ts, 386-387 Nicoma chean Ethi cs, 218, 231n on shekhinah, 256 Parva Nat uralia, 41n (see also Averroes: Epitome of Parva Back of God , 63, 64, 67, 181, 218, Naturalia) 410, 413, 432-434. Spinoza and, 548n See also Face of God Ash 'ariyya, 38 Bahya Ibn Paquda, 105, 145n , astrology, 332, 343, 344, 347, 354, 168n , 173, 174n, 188n 355,360,383, 389, 477,524, 537, Dut ies of the Heart, 21, 105, 173, 619-621 318,319 Atomism: Saadiah on, 48 Balaam, 21, 144, 145, 265, 271, 272­ Averroes, 319, 357, 367, 373, 377, 274,405-407,458,460-462,468, 378, 483, 496, 603, 604 534 Albo and, 488, 489,496, 520 Bar-Kokhba, 203 Avicenna and, 338 Baruch b. Neriah, 227, 467 Crescas and, 427, 437, 444, 445, bodil y faculties: of prophets , 106, 448,480,483,484 247 Epitom e of Parva Naturalia, 322, Book of the Commandments. See 326-349,437,445 Maimonides Gersonides and, 317, 319, 320, Buber , Martin, 637, 638 322, 326-349,354,357,365, burning bush. See Moses 367,373, 377-379,419,420, 556,557,605,617 Cain and Abel, 510 Harm ony ofReligion and Philo- ceremonial laws, 570, 575 sophy, 488 chain of existence, 101, 102, 107, Incoherence of the Incoherence, 480 186 Maimonides and, 152 characteristics: of prophets, 50, on astr ology, 332 121,158, 162, 192,239-241,253, on determinate causes, 332, 333 254,391, 456, 449-457 on divination, 331, 332, 340, Christ, 53, 549, 563, 564, 573, 575- 365 578, 583-584 on dreams, 328, 329, 448 Christian Sch olastics, 427, 482 on free will, 353, 354 Christian Theolo gians, 79 on Moh ammed, 342n climatology, 122,123, 466, 467 Averroism, J ewish, 542 Coh en, Herman , 637 Avicenna, 22n, 80n, 108, 110, 114, co mmand me nts: Divin e 121n , 143n, 212, 247n , 336-339, providence and, 410 347-349,386-388, 429n, 505, 522, goodness of, 38 595, 628 human perfection and, 465 Algh azali and, 337 importanc e of, 479 Gersonides and, 347, 393 logical underpinning of, 37 Halevi and, 99n , 105, 109, 114, human kn owledge of, 42 337, 338 obligatory nature of, 28, 195 Healing, 336, 337 practical utility of, 36-37 Ibn Daud and, 507 regarding pro phecy, 199, 201 Maim onides an d , 152, 180,1 81 , universal value of, 119. 212, 245n , 256n, 338, 563 See also Divine Law 658 INDEX conj unction, 171, 185, 188,246, 224-226, 229, 251,300,314, 247,278,279, 302, 469, 474,475, 315 479,501,594,596,626, 629 miracles implanted at, 226, divination and , 199 227, 286 Halevi on, 104-108, 111, 118, of ange ls, 114 124, 126, 127, 134, 135, 139, Platonic approac h to, 58, 59, 224 141, 146 prophecy and, 210 Moses and, 190 Crescas, Hasdai, 19, 164n , 396, with Active Intellect, 110, 169, 404,425-485, 543,606-607,616, 170,186,199,241, 282n, 283, 625,633,634 390,391,393, 411, 414, 419, Alba and, 485, 486, 488, 490, 420, 440, 442, 443, 584, 585, 491,492,494-496,498,500, 598,603,604,627 501,508-512,516,517-523, with God, 375, 409, 465, 481, 528, 535,543,607, 614 521 Algh azali and, 425 , 480, 482 converts to Judaism, 119, 141-144, as anti-Aristotelian, 425, 428, 458,459,464 429,613 correspondence theory, 29 Averroes and, 427, 437, 444, courage: of prophets, 162, 253, 254, 445, 448, 483, 484 456 Christian sch olastics and , 427 , Created Glo ry. See shekhinah 482 Cre ated Speech, 104, Ill, 200, 230­ Gersonides and , 396, 427, 435­ 233,277,296,410, 439,499, 438, 440-444, 446, 450-455, 518n, 521, 523, 529-531, 533, 460,469, 470,475,480,481, 562,564, 582,603 485, 606, 613,614, 617 Alba on , 499, 521, 530, 532, Halevi and, 427, 443, 440, 456, 607 460, 461,464,466,467,470, Christian Theologians on, 79 472, 473,478-483,485, 606, Crescas on, 439, 478, 607 607 Halevi on , 113-115, 126, 140, influences of, 617 141, 596,623, 632 Kabbalah and, 474, 482 in relation to shekhinah, 63 Light ofthe Lord, 19, 425-485, Islamic Th eologians on, 79 520n Maim on ides on, 156, 177, 178, Maimonides and, 426-432, 444, 193,200,214-217,233,234, 447-450, 456,457,462,464, 268,282, 530, 599, 623 466-469, 471-476,480, 481, nature of, 233 483, 485,617 power of, 78 Nissim Gerondi and, 427, 444, Saadiah on , 56, 57, 63, 64, 66­ 454,460,476 68, 72, 75, 84, 88, 112, 116, on Created Speech, 439, 478, 457,478, 592,599, 623 607 Spinoza on, 608 on creation, 430, 441, 471 cre ation, 58, 69,70,73, 112,251, on Divine Law, 427-431, 434, 317, 322, 350,351, 403,441, 471, 440,444, 447,460,464,468­ 630-631 474,477 Aristotelian approach to, 224, on free will, 429, 435-437, 439, 225 442, 634 Crescas on , 430 on miracles, 429, 440-443, 449, ex nihilo, 28, 153, 223-225, 392, 452, 455-458, 460-464, 467, 493 468,471-473, 477, 478, 484, Gersonides on, 317, 319, 323, 522 324,326,350,392-399,415 on Mosaic prophe cy, 430-435, Maimonides on , 155, 210, 221, 439,440,445-447, 448,453, INDEX 659

455,457, 458, 460,462,463, 177,184,185,192,193-195,197­ 470,472-478 201, 203-208,210, 223-226,229, on problems of prop he cy, 457­ 230, 234, 235, 257-263, 273, 274, 464 283,284, 286,295,297,298,300, on prophetic experience, 627 307,314,315,324,328,394,401, on Revela tion at Sina i, 457, 402,409,410,423,427-431,434, 472, 473, 476-478 440,444,447,460,464,468-474, on shekhinah, 472 , 473, 478 477,486,489-501, 518,524-526, on verification of prophecy, 528,531-536,540,562,600,614 449-457 abrogation of, 53, 54, 532, 535, Refutation of the Christian Prin- 576 ciples, 467 Moses' authorship of, 261, 579­ Saad iah and, 434, 457,483-485 582,582,586, 593 Sermon on Passover, 473 human pe rfection an d, 258, Spin oza and, 425, 482, 548 261,262,401, 402,465,491, 497,498, 501, 512, 513, 563, Daniel, 47n , 87, 268, 271, 272, 585,598,599,607 274n, 281n, 447 in rel ati on to man-made law, David, 86, 203, 270, 271, 273, 447 259, 568 De Divinatione per Somnum. See non-immutability of, 166, 168, Aris to tle 184,199,258,260, 394, 491, demons, 520, 619, 621 493, 500, 52 ~5 28 , 531, 533­ Descar tes, 548n , 636 535,540,583,593,605 divi nation and diviners, 55, 56, obligatory natur e of, 470, 569, 86,87, 146n , 164, 192,207,243, 570 249,250,254,255, 321-323,325, purpose of, 39, 40, 205, 401, 402, 327-329,340-342, 347, 352, 353, 468-471,489, 567, 568, 579, 355,356,358,359,367,368,370­ 582 3 74,3 7~385,387,39 1,395,398, Spinoza on, 555, 560, 568, 569, 403-405, 414,416,419-423,438, 575,576, 583,573,577. 445,501,507,514,515,520, 524, See also commandments 536,537,556,589,594,595, 600, Divine Matter (a mr iliih Z): Halevi 604,608,613, 618,619,638 on, 115, 116, 121-124, 135-137, as purpose of prophecy, 200 141,1 46 as verificatio n of prophecy, 163, Divine providen ce, 117, 118, 138, 197, 322, 325, 392,415,452, 141,174,175,189, 210,223,227, 453, 515 228-230; 288, 294,295, 307, 322, Aver roes on, 331, 332, 340, 365 324,354,355,359, 384, 390-392, childre n and, 377, 378, 381 395,396, 400,402,405-408,411, conjunc tio n and, 199 429,435, 439-443,445, 455, 464, during sleep, 376 468, 495-498,530,531,536,540, felicity and, 41, 342 543,598, 630 in relation to dreams, 328, 329, Divine punishm en t, 406, 407, 440, 341,378,379 441 levels of, 383-390 Divine Voice. See Created Speech Divine attributes, 431-434 dreams, 57, 58, 61, 67, 68, 87, 90, Divine glory, 63, 73, 76, 77, 207, 104,172,176,189, 240,254, 263­ 215, 290, 431, 433,434, 502,503, 269, 275, 277-279,325,327-332, 505, 506. See also shekhinah 334-336,339-343,345,347-349, Divine Law, 28, 32, 39-41, 44, 53, 352-357,359,365,372, 373,378­ 54, 61, 62, 111, 118-120, 125, 381, 414, 415,418,419, 421, 423, 142-145, 149, 151, 152, 155, 156, 445,446,448,457, 459, 520,589, 158,159,161,165-169,173,174, 592,601 660 INDEX

knowledge attained in, 330 , Exalted Faith. See Ibn Daud, 331,335,336,347-349,356, Abraham 357, 358, 373. Exile : absence of prophecy during, See also divination; visions 227 Duran, Simeon b. Zemah, 488, Exodus from Egypt, 44, 227, 576, 489, 492, 493n, 505 . 632 Duties of the Heart. See Bahya Ibn Ezekiel, 67, 72, 85, 253, 284, 289­ Paquda 291,295,357,416-418,523,606 Ezra, 582 Eber, 264 Eight Chapters. See Maimonides Face of God, 131, 180, 181,217-219, Einstein, Albert, 257n 410,413,432-434,502,503,506. Elihu, 293 See also Back of God Elijah, 165, 238, 505, 521 Farabi. See Alfarabi Elisha, 165, 179, 238, 398, 442, 443, false prophets, 52, 160-162, 184, 521 195,198,199,201,295,296,314, emanation, 171, 238, 249, 252, 257, 315,415,452 260,262,300,308,374,376,381­ fear of God, 31,151,185,186,575, 383,390,444,445,447,448,465, 627. See also knowledge of God; 498,513,514,516,517,520,523, love of God 536,594,601 free will, 153, 288, 289, 291-293, from Active Intellect, 108, 109, 344-346,353,354,360,363,364, 169,170,236,237,241,243, 390,397,398,402,429,435-437, 244,248,250,251,267,270, 439, 442,466n, 490,495, 496, 292,293,305,262,368,369, 499,604,606,630,634 377-380,387,388,404,420, 443,513,514,595,598,599, Gabriel, III 601,604,621,623,625 Galen, 335 from God, 307, 373, 422, 478, Geiger, Abraham, 637 517 Gersonides, 23n, 164n, 291n, 316- from messiah, 204 424,457,463,464,468,483,529, from prophet, 204, 310, 311, 542,566,603-606,625,629,633 370,421,422,522,523 Albo and, 516, 522, 529, 536, Ibn Gabirol on, 138, 139 542 imaginative faculty and, 176 Aristotle and, 317, 319, 320, nature of, 244 327,329,338,344,345,350, to group of recipients, 406. 351,373,377,417,481 Empedocles, 103 Averroes and, 317, 319 , 320 , Enneads. See Plotinus 322,326-349,354,357,365, Epicurus, 149, 635 367,373,377-379,419,420, Epistle to the Jews of Yemen. See 556,557,605,617 Maimonides Avicenna and, 336-339, 347-349, Epitome of Paroa Naturalia. See 386-388, 393 Averroes biblical commentaries of, 399­ Esau, 207n, 265 418 Esther, 272 Christian Scholastics and, 321, Ethics. See Spinoza 616 evil, 354, 355, 391, 406, 440, 441, Commentary on Epitome of Paroa 449,450,574,639 Naturalia, 326-328, 340-349, prophecies of, 163, 164, 198, 351,353,354,357 397,451-454,458,461 critique of, 379, 380, 388, 389, evil inclination, 185, 216, 293 395,396 INDEX 661

Crescas and, 427, 435-438, 442­ attributes of, 412 444,450-455,460,469,470, existence of, 412, 428, 486, 492, 475,480,481,485,606,613, 495,498,501-508,531 614,617 in relation to Separate God concept of, 324, 603 Intellect, 237 Ibn Ezra and, 318, 375, 393, 414 incorporeality of, 31, 51, 77, 78, Maimonides and, 316 , 318, 86,132,151,214,312,314, 319,322,326-328,338,341, 484,492,493,591,592, 599, 342,346,352,370,376,384, 630 390,396,398,402-412,416­ language and, 623 A~2~fOd~fG5~ fo?D;-O?1 riugnt or,'if~, 'if33,'4:50,'44:3 on conditional prophecy, 347, miracles and, 223, 400, 401, 397,398,415,418,450 404,405 on creation, 317, 319, 323, 324, Names of, 126, 133, 502, 505 326,350,392-399,415 throne of, 60, 61, 185, 190, on determinate causes, 332, 215 333,340,343,344,347 See also Back of God; Created on divination, 321, 322 , 325 , Speech; Divine glory; Face 327-329,340-342, 352,353, of God ; Kiss of God; 356,367,368,370,372,373, shekhinah 37~385,391,395,398,403­ Golden Calf. 524 405,414,416,419-423,619 Guide of the Perplexed. See Maimo­ on Divine Law, 324, 328, 394, nides 401,402,409,410,423 on dreams, 325, 327-332, 334­ Hagar, 89n, 266-268, 565 336,339-343,345,347,348, Haggadah,83 349, 352-357, 359, 372, 373, Haggai, 523 378-380,414,415,418,419, Halevi,Judah, 19, 22n, 24, 94-147, 421,423,448 188n, 257n , 326,421,442,466, on God's knowl edge, 322 , 325, 470,472,515n, 516, 542, 547n, 345-347,353,400,404,407, 557n, 591, 595-597, 607, 612, 410, 435-438 616,625 on levels of prophecy, 373, 383, Albo and, 498, 500, 501, 503 , 384 510-512,514,516,519,522, on miracles, 322, 326, 384, 392­ 523,542 399,400,404,405,407,408, Alfarabi and, 105, 107-109 410,423,522 Aristotelian philosophers and, on Mosaic prophecy, 342, 376, 96,99n, 100, 102, 105, 106, 377,393,405,406,408-414, 109, Ill, 112, 114n, 118, 120, 419,423,460 121,124, 125, 129-139, 145­ on Revelation at Sinai , 408-410 147,337,338, 553, 616n on verification of prophecy, as apologist, 96, 97, 584 322,325,392,396-399,415, Avicenna and, 100, 102, 105­ 418 112,114,145-146,585 Wars ofthe Lord, 316-318, 320­ Bahya and , 105, 242n 326,350-399,419-424,427, Crescas and, 97, 98, 427, 443, 481,612-613 444,456,460,461,464,466, Ghazali. See Alghazali 467,470,472,473,478-483 Gideon, 284 critique of, 95, 97 Glory of God. See Divine glory; Gersonides and, 478-482 shekhinah Ibn Ezra and, 137n, 478 God: as First Cause, 287, 288 influences of, 95, 637 as intellect, 70, 71, 133 Islamic mystics and, 127-128 662 INDEX

king's dream in Kuzari, 99-100, on superiority of Jewish people, 145,146 101, 118, 118, 120, 121, 124, Kuzari, 19,94-147,186, 242n, 125, 141-145 316,318-319,427,460-461, on three pillars of Judaism, 479-480,519 ,552,58~585, 120, 125, 144 611 on verification of prophecy, 101 Maimonides and, 168n, 186 poetry of, 99n , 628 mysticism and, 96n Saadiah and, 95, 99,111-118, on angels, 102, 106, 114, 123­ 126, 130, 131, 139, 141,483, 125, 130, 134, 137n, 139, 140 511,611 on Aristotelianism, 95-96, 102­ Hananiah b. Azur, 459, 500 , 538 111 Hasidei Ashkenaz, 56 on chain of existence, 101, 102, Hebrew Language, 182, 188,316, 107 319,390,483,486,554,588,623, on conjunction, 104-108,111, 636 118,124,126, 127, 134, 135, Hegel, 635 139, 141, 146 Heschel, Abraham Joshua, 637 , on conversion to Judaism, 119, 638 141-144 High Priest, 188n, 477, 478, 620 on Created Speech, 113-115, Hirsch, Samson Raphael, 637 126,140,141,596,623,632 Hiwi al-Balkhi, 65n , 89n on Divine Law, 111, 118-120, Hobbes, Thomas, 550, 636 125,142-145 Holy Spirit, 107, 109, 110, Ill, 113, on Divine Matter, 115, 116, 115-117,139,140,178,185,187, 121-124,135-137,141,146 188n, 189, 270-275, 337, 408, on Divine Names, 126, 133 446-449,519,601,603 on Exodus from Egypt, 632 Alfarabi on, 107 on historical knowledge, 100, Avicenna on, 110, 337 118,120,632 Christian Theologians on , 79 on idolatry, 514 High Priest and, 188n on incorporeality of God, 113, human perfection and, 478 126-128, 130, 132, 147 Hosea, 284 on "inner eye", 101, 127-132 human immortality, 182, 186, 218, on Land of Israel, 95, 98, 122, 303,322,324,325,352,411,470­ 125,144,145,596 471,479,509,513,598,603-606 on limits of reason, 96, 133 human perfection, 101-103, 105, on messianism, 98 106,118-136,143,144,158, 163, on Moses, 111, 112, 116, 131 169,179,181, 182,200,204,210, on nature of prophetic know- 213,228,260,305,306,310,326, ledge, 106, 116, 121, 124, 334,370,371,375,378,393,403, 129,132-134, 140 419,430,439,441;456,458,468, on providence, 117, 118, 138, 469,478,479,508-511,524,541, 141,407 548,594-596,625,638 on public role of prophet, 100 Divine Law and, 258, 261, 262, on Revelation at Sinai , 100, 465,491,497,498,501,563, 101,111,112,131,138 585,598,607 on ritual commandments, 106, heredity and environment in 107,131,632 relation to, 106, 107, 222, on Separate Intellect, 130, 133, 240 134, 137 on shekhinah (or Glory), 113, Ibn Aqnin, Joseph b. Judah, 616 116-118, 123, 126, 130, 138­ Ibn Bajja, 108n, 121n, 152, 212, 140,473,474,503,596,597 390,595 INDEX 663

Ibn Daud,Abraham, 22, 280, Isaiah , 42, 46n , 207n , 281, 538, 575 281n, 346, 466n, 505-508, 582n, Ishmael, 207n 607 Isra eli, Isaac, 103-104 Ibn Ezra, Abrah am , 22-23, 188n, 318, 375, 393,414, 521, 522, Ja cob , 82, 164, 217, 221,241,265, 582n 267,397, 398,437, 450, 451, 454, Halevi and, 137n , 616 455 on miracles, 393, 521, 522 J erem iah , 228, 252, 253, 268, 270, Ibn Gabiro l, Solom on, 21, 105, 397, 422, 452,523,533 138-139 Jeroboam , 269 Ibn Latif, Isaac, 482 job, 207n, 271, 274n , 294, 295 Ibn Shaprut, Hasdai, 94n j on ah , 52,53, 287 Ibn Sina. See Avice nna joseph , 228, 270, 287, 373 Ibn Tami m, Du nash, 104, 188n, joseph b. judah of Ceuta, 616 282n , 318 joshua,45, 46, 159,228,238, 395, Ibn Tufayl, 628 408,458,463,473 idolatry, 160, 196, 197n , 231n, 464, Judah the Prince, 167, 311, 602 514-515, 520n, 527, 530-531, 639 imagi native facu lty, 129, 132, 141, Kabbalah: Albo and , 488 175, 176,186, 216, 220,221, 240, Crescas an d, 474, 482 241, 244, 249, 254, 279, 306, 329, Spin oza and, 548n 330,348,358,362, 365,367-369, Kan t, Immanuel, 635, 636 372, 374, 376-379, 382-385, 389, Karaites, 33, 82 415, 419, 445, 448, 449, 516, 466, Maimonides and, 166, 273 517,519,520,543,556,565-567, on shekhinah, 130 574,598,608,638 Saadiah and, 82 an gels and , 220, 237 Rierkegaard, 635 Mosaic prophecy and, 262, 529, Kiss of God , 303, 627 557, 558,563, 575,577,581, knowl edge: as attaine d in 582,599,600 dreams, 330, 331, 335, 336, 347­ imitatio Dei, 219, 422 349,357,373 "inner eye", 127-132 as distinct fro m op inions, 356, intellect, 29, 71, 123, 124, 127, 180, 357 181, 339, 344, 345, 347, 365, 367­ of Active In tellect, 360-371 369 , 374, 37 6 , 37~379 ,520,5 67, of God, 31, 178, 182n, 185, 232, 623 302,303,322,346,353,364, acqu ired , 170, 171, 178, 186, 370, 400, 407, 412-414, 429, 246,247,304 434-439,446,448, 454,460, as isolated from ot her facu lties, 464,492,495,496,508,509, 374, 375,377,380,382,404, 510,535-537,561,569,570, 442 623,621, 632,639 during sleep, 358 prophetic, 106, 116, 121,124, limitations of, 133, 180, 182, 129, 132-134, 140, 141, 212, 294,332,333,351,411, 489, 213, 250-255, 350, 351, 417, 511-513,565 418,422,53 7,56 1,56~56 7 , perfection of, 149, 150, 188, 239, 629-635 249, 264, 293,301,302,306, pro phe tic vs. philosophic, 212, 342, 371,383,384,390, 442, 213,250-255, 632-633 543,556,557,581,583,585, scientific, 170, 191,211,239 594 Introduction to Pereq He leq. See Laban , 264, 267 Maim onidcs lan guage, 377, 378, 381, 622-625. Isaac: binding of, 285 See also H ebrew 664 INDEX

Leone Ebreo. See Abrabanel, Commentary on the Mishnah: Intro­ Judah duction to Pereq Heleq, 158, Levi Ben Gershom. See Gersoni- 167-179,188,190, 195n, 203, des 214n , 241, 261, 282n, 570n , Light oj the L lJTd. See Cresc as, Hasdai 627 Logical Positivism, 635 Cres cas and, 426-432, 444, 447­ Logos, 81-84, 136, 139, 593, 624 450,456,457,462,464,466­ Lot, 276-277 469,468,471-476,480,483, love of God , 31, 132,133,140,151, 485,617 160,185,186,302, 303,310,429, defi nition of emanation, 239 434,460,465,469,479,521,548, definition of prophecy, 169-171, 569,570,574,609. 239-242 See also fear of God; knowledge : Epistle to theJews oj Yemen, 157 , of God 205-209, 274n, 294 Gersonides and, 316, 318, 319 , Mac hiave lli, 550n 322,326-328, 338, 341, 342, magic, 191, 194, 198, 461, 462, 514, 346,352, 370,376,384,390, 532,618-621 396,398,402-412,416-423, Maimonides, 19, 148-315, 324, 326, 604,605,613,617 335 n, 342, 351, 370, 376, 377, Guide oj the Perplexed, 148, 151­ 390,396,402,408,409,416,417, 157,171,173 n, 176, 179, 410,421,431,434,449,450,457, 180,185, 187, 188,191, 197, 466,469,471,481,495,504,511, 204, 207n, 209-315, 316, 318, 542,544, 550,551,556,557,565, 319,341,375, 391, 392n, 573,569-571,577,597-605,612, 394n, 421, 429n, 456, 421, 623,625,633,638,639 456,476,515n, 530, 547n , Albo and, 486, 491, 492, 494, 550,551, 597,602, 616, 627, 495,498-500, 502-504,511 , 629 514-520, 526,527,530, 534, Ha levi and, 168n , 186 535,536,542 Ibn Bajja and, 152, 212 Alfarabi and, 150-152, 170, 175, Ibn Daud and, 22n , 280 179, 186,206n,218,242, 244­ Mishneh Torah, 148, 151, 154, 246,262,279,280,304,498, 156, 157, 160, 182-205, 464, 526,598,617 602 as legal authority, 148, 149 Mishneh Torah: Laws oj Idolatry, as politic al philosopher, 150, 197, 201, 202, 311, 515n, 530 219,220,263 Mishneh Torah: Laws oj Kings, as prophet, 308-310 202,203,209 Averroes an d, 152 Mishneh Torah: Laws oj Principles Avicenna and , 152, 180, 181, oJthe Torah, 182, 184-188, 212, 245n, 256n, 338, 563 194, 197,201,208,238,241, Bahya Ibn Paquda and, 168n, 289,296,375,499,602,627 173 Mishneh Torah: Laws oj Repent­ Book ojCommandments, 183, 249, ance, 188n, 194, 195n, 202, 250,456 203,208,627 Commentary on the Mishnah, 151, Mishn eh Torah: Laws oj Vessels oj 155, 157-167, 173n, 182, 183, the San ctuary, 273 188, 191, 193,196-198,205, naturalistic approach to prophe­ 206n , 207, 208,258,311, cy, 156, 157, 160, 164, 171, 602 173, 174-176, 179,191,209 Commentary on the Mishnah : Eight 222-232,238, 249, 250, 254, Chapters, 158, 162, 171, 173n, 257,261,284,289,293-294, 178-182, 206n ,218n, 273 300,301, 307, 312-315 INDEX 665 on angels, 172, 173, 176, 185, on verification of prophecy, 186,189,217,221,236,237, 158-164, 184, 191-199, 315 263,266,267,278,281,293, Saadiah and, 74n, 156, 168, 297,300,313,314 173,177,200,207,214,233, on Created Speech, 156, 177, 271,272,308,483 178,200,214-217,233,268, Spinoza and, 548 , 562, 568, 571­ 282,530,599,623 574,578,582 on creation, 155, 210, 221, 224­ Targum Onqelos and, 77 226,251,300,314,315 Thirteen Principles, 158, 168, on Divine Law, 149, 151, 152, 486,494 155, 156, 158, 159, 161, 165­ Treatise on Logic, 624 169,173,174,177,184,185, Treatise on Resurrection, 157, 312- 192, 193-195, 197-201,203­ 315. 208,210,223-226,229,230, Malachi, 523 234, 235, 257-263, 273, 274, Manasseh, 269 283,284,286,295,297,298, Manicheans, 48 300,307,314,315 manna, 46, 472 on false prophets, 160, 161,249, Manoah, 89n, 266-268 295 Mendelssohn, Moses , 615n, 636- on levels of prophecy, 151,210, 637 228,241,245,270-284 mental telepathy, 381-382 on limitations of prophetic merkavah mystics, 130, 131 authority, 158, 159, 165-167, Messiah and messianism, 98, 202­ 183, 199 205,209,405,410,496,538,602; on love of God, 151, 160, 185, false, 205, 208, 209. 186,302,303,310 See also Time of Redemption on miracles, 151, 157, 159-161, Micaiah, 281 163,164,184,191-198,208, miracles, 30, 31, 43-56, 64, 65, 71, 223-231,235,238,261,265, 85,93, 143, 144, 153, 157, 159­ 286,295,296,313-315,407, 161,163,164,184,191-198,208, 408 223-231,235,238,261,265,286, on Mohammed, 206, 207, 295,296,313-315,322,326,384, 259 392,394,398,400,405,407,408, on Moses and Mosaic prophecy, 410,423,429,440443,449,452, 151,156,159,171-177,189­ 455458,460464,467,468,471­ 194,200,203,208,212,213, 473,477,478,484,499,521,522, 217-220,222,230-242,246, 540,579,596,608,632,630 251,253,257-262,270,281, Active Intellect and, 393, 394, 283,293,295-297, 301-303, 396,398,400,404,408,522, 306,307,311,314,342 409,442,443 on other religions, 205-207 Arabic terms for, 43 on qualifications for prophecy, definition of, 45-46, 85 158,162,239-241,253,254 false prophets and, 52, 53, 295, on prophetic mission and 296,314,315 public prophecy, 163, 184, God and, 400, 401, 404, 405 191,222,223,248,251-253, human agency of, 393, 442, 443, 255,289,301,311 521,522, on prophetic parables, 211, 212, verification of prophecy and, 268,301 43-56, 65, 85, 159-161, 184, on Revelation at Sinai, 184, 191-195,314,315,325,396, 192-194,200,206,207,215, 452,453,499,532,533,592, 228, 230-239, 296, 315, 473, 600 476 Miriam, 265, 303, 627 666 INDEX

Mishneh Torah . See Maimonides Moses ben Maimon. See Moh ammed, 53, 206, 207, 259, Maimonides 342n Mu 'tazila, 37, 78, 80n Mosaic Law. See Divine Law music, 179, 590 Moses and Mosaic prophecy, 45, mysticism, 96n, 626, 627, 637. 52,66,104, Ill, 121n, 151, 156, See also Kabbalah 159,171-177,189-194,203,208, 212,213,217-220,222,230-242, Nahawandi, Benjamin, 58n, 82 246,247,251,253,257-262,270, Nahmanides, 161n , 505, 507n, 281-283,293,295-297,300-303, 514,527 306,307,311,314,342,376,377, Narboni, 278n 393,405,406,408414,419,423, Nazzam, 49, 57n, 79 430,432434,447,474,453,460, Nebuchadnezar,414,415 462,463,488,496,499,517,523, New Testament, 549, 552, 555, 563, 524, 528-535, 540, 555, 558, 564, 581,583 567,573,576,577,580,582,596, Nietzsche, 635 627 Nissim Gerondi, 427 , 444, 454, acquired intellect and, 248 460,476,488 at burning bush, 70, 76, 163, Noah,31, 462,499,526 194,220,412,435,517 Noahite laws, 490, 491, 510, 526n, imaginative faculty and, 176, 532,578 242,262,282,529,563,557, 558,577,582,599,600 oaths, 458, 462 in rel ation to angels, 172, 173, Onqelos, 77, 78, 81, 82, 84, 214, 176,181,217,298,299,502, 218,231,233,600 521,534 Oral Law, 41, 42, 44, 159, 201 in relation to the philoso­ phers, 431 parables: prophetic, 190, 211-213, nature of, 90, 173, 190, 200, 230, 221,268,275,280,290,371-373, 236,439,445,448,474-478, 384,446,475,529 517,521,529,563,603 Paul,574 performance of miracles, 159, Philo of Alexandria, 57n, 58n, 81, 191,208,238,455,472-474, 590 522,532,600 philosopher-king, 246, 422 shekhinah and, 84, 85, 88, 89, Philosophy, philosophers . See 116 Aristotelianism and Aristo­ staff of, 443 telian philosophers. sup eriority of, 61-64, 86, 151, Pinchas, 159 156, 171, 172, 174, 235, 238, plagues, 45n , 47, 163 283,371,374,475,528,532, Plato, 58, 59, 150, 225, 253, 590, 534,562 594,635 uniqueness of, 166, 168, 172, Plotinus, 103, 107,594,635 174-176, 177n , 181-183, 184, Enneads, 375, 626, 627 189,190,193,200,206,208, Theology of Aristotle, 80n, 103, 213,217,218,232,235,237­ 626,627 239,242,246,257,258,260, Political Regime. See Alfarabi 262,281,283,295,306,311, prayer, 536 376,377,383,409,423,439, priestly blessings, 536 440,446,447,457,458,460, Proclus, 103 470,472,473,476,500,517, prophecy: as mission, 30, 49, 50, 518,522,529,538,564,568, 62, 163, 184, 191, 222, 223, 248, 582,600,601,605,607 251-253,280,289,311,396,422, INDEX 667

446,449,454,456,466,467,485, Refutation of the Christian Princip les. 492,493, 496,499,503,508,532, See Crescas 533, 535, 540-543, 595 resurrection of th e dead, 312n, 471 aut ho rity of, 158, 159, 165-167, reward an d punishment, 28, 33, 183, 184, 195, 199 66,324,443,453,471,486,492, conditional, 163, 164, 347, 397, 493,499,524,531,535-538,573, 398,415,416,418,449,450, 577,632 453,458,478,540,541 Rosen zweig, Franz, 637 , 99n fallibility of, 291, 417, 459, 538 Saad iah Gao n, 19, 24, 27-93, 483­ infa llibility of, 163, 164, 290, 485 291,296-297,397,415418, Book of Beliefs and Opinions, 19, 449, 452, 459460,516,537, 24, 27-70, 72-76,83, 85, 87, 538,563,566 89-93,316,318,319,483, 485, levels of, 92, 93, 151, 210, 228, 610,611 241, 245, 270-284,373,383, Commentary on Book of Creation, . 384, 449, 517,519-521,529, 69, 73-84, 88, 271 534 Commentary on Daniel, 84-88 naturalistic ap proac h to, 156, Commentary on Psalms, 86 157,160,164,165, 171,173, Commentary on Torah, 83-86 174-176,179,191, 209, 222­ Hiwi al-Balkhi and, 89 n 232,238,249,250,254,257, Islamic sources and, 26, 48, 51, 261,262,283,284,289,293, 53,78,79,80,82,616 294,300,301,307,312-315, Karaites and, 82 350, 371, 403, 404,500, 515, on ange ls, 50, 5 1, 57,60,62,65­ 518,522,540,542,543,594­ 68,72, 74-78, 88-92, 592 596,602,603,61~622,638 on Created Speech, 56-57, 63-64, prep arations for attainment of, 66-67,72,75,84,88, 112, 116, 112, 178, 179, 228, 230, 308, 173,200,233,457,478,592, 414,458,466,522,523,590 599,623 public role of, 100, 104, 159, on divination, 42, 55, 56, 86, 87 162, 163, 167, 183, 184, 190, on Divine Law, 28, 32, 3941, 191, 201, 208n , 217, 222, 223, 44,53,54,61,62 248,251-253 ,289 ,305, 30~ on dreams, 57, 62, 67, 68, 87-91, 311,370,371,418,419,421­ 117 423, 580, 600-602. on Holy Spirit, 70-72, 74, 81, See also Created Speech; 113, 115, 116 conj unctio n; divination; on miracles, 30, 31, 43-56, 64, dreams; emanation; human 65, 71,85,93 pe rfection; kn owled ge: pro­ on shekhinah (Created Glory ), phe tic; Moses and Mosaic 47n, 51n, 56, 59-67, 69-71, prophecy; sub-pro phetic 131,173,177,178, 207,474n , expe rience; verifica tion of 503,507,596,500,592,593, pro phecy; and sub-entries of 611 individ ua l philosophers. on sub-prophetic experiences, purity laws, 39, 131 89 on Trin ity, 57-59, 66, 78 Qir qisani, 58n on verification of prophecy, 42­ 56,61, 159 Rabad,492n rejection of the doctrine of Rabina , 159 hypostases, 69, 79 Rashi , 527 relation to sub sequent Jewish Rebecca, 264 phi losophers , 74n , 95, 99, 668 INDEX

111-118,126,130,131,139, Solomon, 203, 271, 273,447,459, 141,156,160, 168n , 173, 177, 573, 574 200,207,214,233,271,272, Soloveitchik, Joseph Dov, 637 308, 434, 457, 483, 503, 507, soothsaye rs. See magic; divina­ 511-512, 526,541, 593, 611 tion Sabians, 297, 300, 314 Spinoz a, 19-21,482, 543, 608-610, sacrifices, 575-576; laws of, 263, 616, 634 403, 620 Tra ctatu s Theologico-Politicus, 19­ Samuel, 62n , 269, 270, 562 21, 544-586, 614,615 Sanhedrin, 165, 183 Aristoteli an ism and, 548n , Saul, 185, 198, 398 558,578,584, 589 Separate Intellects, 130, 134, 248, as esoteric thinker, 550-552 331, 334, 370,386, 387,412-414, Christianity and, 545, 552-555, 503,506 577, 578 Seventy Elders, 271, 405, 407 Eth ics, 545-549, 563, 584, 609 shekhinah (Glory), 47n, 51n , 56, 59­ influences of 546, 617, 637 67,69,71,75,85,86,89,113, on Created Speech, 608 116-118,123, 126, 130, 131, 138­ on democracy, 576, 580, 586 140, 144n , 173, 177, 178, 188n, on Divine Law, 554, 555, 557, 189,215,216,413,457,472-474, 558, 561-563,567-570, 574­ 478,479,502, 503, 506,507,523, 577, 579,582,583 592, 593, 595-597,599,607,608, on freed om of thought, 546, 611 552, 559,560, 583,584, 586 air as analogous to, 71,72 on interpretation of Scripture, angels and, 67, 76, 89, 114 554,559, 562,571,572,575, as verification of prophesy, 61, 609 64, 73, 76 on miracles, 579, 608 at Sina i, 207 on prophetic authority, 560 at the burning bush , 70 political age nd a of, 554, 555 dreams and, 67 relation to pr evious Jewish human soul and, 66 thinkers, 425, 482, 544, 548­ in rabbinic literature, 77 551,556,562,563,565, 568, Moses and, 84, 85, 88, 89, 116 570-574,577,578,581,582 nature of, 72, 73, 113,473 Straus, Leo , 550n , 637 pr ovidence and, 75 sub-prophetic expe rience s, 74n , 89, relation to Created Speech, 63, 141,187,249, 266-268,270,272, 73,91 275,372, 377, 378, 382, 396,407, rol e in creation, 73 408,447,456, 501, 520 rol e in World to Com e, 65, 66, 75,77,117 Tabernacle, Temple, 65, 77, 215, Temple and, 77 297,518n, 557 Shem Tov,Joseph b., 578 Targum Onqelos. See Onqelos Sifre, 456 Ten Commandmen ts, Ill, 530, Sifre Zutta, 62, 173 531,533 Sinai : Revelation at, 100, 101, Ill, Themistius, 152 112,131,138,184,192-1 94,200, Tibbon,Samuel Ibn, 152, 188n, 206,207,215,228,230-239,296, 278n, 319 315, 408-410, 457, 472, 473,476­ Tim e of Red emption, 41, 42, 55, 478, 499, 500, 517,518,522,529, 65, 68, 75, 77, 117. 543, 562, 564, 596, 599,600, 603, See also World to Come ; Mes­ 605, 607 sia h and messianism Mosaic prophecy and, 184, 192, Torah. See Divine Law; co mmand­ 230-239, 408-413 ments INDEX 669

Tractatus Theologico-Politicus. See shekhinah and, 61, 64, 76. Spinoza See also prophecy: conditional Treatise on Resurrection. See visions, 129, 132, 172, 189, 221, Maimonides 240, 263-269, 275-279, 284, 296, 337,357,358, 372,418,446,519, urim ve-tu mmim, 188n , 271, 273,471, 581,592,601. 478,620 See also dreams Voice of God. See Created Speec h veils, 172-174,178,180,181 verification of prophecy, 42-56, 61, Wars of the Lord. See Gersonides 68,73,88,91,101, 158-164,184, Wisdom of Solomon, 81,83 191-199, 201, 315, 322, 325, 384, Witch of Endor, 398 392, 396-399, 415,416,418,449­ World to Come, 41, 42, 52n, 55, 457,500,528-535,540,566,610 65, 66, 75, 77, 134, 135, 158, 167, divination and, 163, 197, 322, 203, 313,491,510,578,630. 325, 392, 415, 452,453, 515 See also Time of Red emption mir acles an d, 43-49, 53, 65, 85, 159-161, 184, 191-195, 314, Yefet b. Ali, 271, 280 315,325, 396,452,453,499, 532, 533,592, 600 Zechariah, 268, 269, 284, 523 Amsterdam Studies in Jewish Thought

PUBLISHED VOLUMES [Vols. 1-6 published by J.C. Gieben, Amsterdam]

1. Rotenstreich, Nathan: Essays in Jewish Philosophy in the Modern Era. With an introduction by Paul Mendes-Flohr. Edited by Reinier Munk. 1996. ISBN 90-5063-587-3 2. Ravitzky, Aviezer: History and Faith. Studies in Jewish Philosophy. 1996. ISBN 90-5063-597-0 3. Munk, Reinier: The Rationale ofHalakhic Man. Joseph B. Soloveitchik's Conception ofJewish Thought. 1996. ISBN 90-5063-607-1 4. Boer, Theodore de: The Rationality ofTranscendence. Studies in the Philosophy ofEmmanuel Levinas. 1997. ISBN 90-5063-217-3 5. Zwiep, Irene E.: Mother of Reason and Revelation. A Short History of Medieval Jewish Linguistic Thought. 1997. ISBN 90-5063-207-6 6. Harvey, Warren Zev: Physics and Metaphysics in Hasdai Crescas. 1998. ISBN 90-5063-347-1

[from Volume 7 published by Kluwer Academic Publishers] 7. Harvey, Steven (ed.): The Medieval Hebrew Encyclopedias ofScience and Philosophy. 2000. ISBN 0-7923-6242-X 8. Kreisel, Howard: Prophecy. The History ofan Idea in Medieval Jewish Philosophy. 2001 ISBN0-7923-7124-0

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