Tamar Rudavsky. Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages: Science, Rationalism, and Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. 320 pp. $40.00, cloth, ISBN 978-0-19-958090-3.
Reviewed by Alexander Green
Published on H-Judaic (June, 2019)
Commissioned by Barbara Krawcowicz (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Tamar Rudavsky’s new book, Jewish Philoso‐ proach to discerning the nature of God, provi‐ phy in the Middle Ages: Science, Rationalism and dence, prophecy, creation, et cetera. Religion, is an important contribution to the ongo‐ Rudavsky’s book difers in that it is construct‐ ing debate about how to defne medieval Jewish ed thematically around the central issues that philosophy. Since the beginning of the twentieth Jewish thinkers debated in the medieval period century, there have been multiple and varying rather than being organized chronologically or in‐ works that have attempted to understand Jewish dividually. While there is some precedent for this thinkers and debates ranging from the time of model in Rudavsky’s own The Cambridge History Saadia Gaon in the ninth century to Baruch of Jewish Philosophy: From Antiquity through the Spinoza in the seventeenth century. One of the Seventeenth Century (2009), edited with Steven major elements unifying Jewish philosophers liv‐ Nadler, and Daniel Rynhold’s An Introduction to ing in Baghdad, Egypt, Spain, Provence, and Italy Medieval Jewish Philosophy (2009), her new work in the medieval world was the question of how to presents her own comprehensive approach to the synthesize Greco-Arabic thought with that of the feld. The advantages of this model over the previ‐ biblical and rabbinic tradition on issues such as ous paradigm is that it shows the commonalities the origin of the universe, the nature of God and of the issues and questions with which medieval the cosmos, the structure of the human soul, and Jewish philosophers dealt during this time period, the right way to live and to organize political com‐ while also drawing out the debates and difer‐ munities. Most histories of medieval Jewish phi‐ ences between their answers, and thus, creating a losophy in the twentieth century have organized sort of transhistorical dialogue between them. their studies chronologically and according to While later thinkers read and critiqued earlier thinker or school of thought, while some of the ones, like Crescas’s critique of Maimonides and more recent works present a more diverse ac‐ Gersonides in Light of the Lord, Maimonides and count of the players in the feld rather than just Gersonides were unfortunately not there to de‐ the famous names.[1] There is a strength to this fend themselves and respond to the critique. model as it allows the reader to understand how Reading Rudavsky’s book allows one to imagine every medieval Jewish philosopher and their this virtual dialogue and debate taking place. schools of thought each developed their own ap‐ The book is divided into ten chapters, cen‐ tered around the key issues and debates, though H-Net Reviews beginning with some introductory chapters frst. ish and Christian traditions, this usually requires Chapter 1, “What is Jewish Philosophy?,” presents discerning the meaning of the book of Job. Ru‐ Jewish philosophy as the tension between science davsky focuses on the debate that revolves and religion, sometimes referred to through the around whether God’s foreknowledge of future symbols of the cities of Athens and Jerusalem. contingents is compatible or incompatible with This chapter looks at how the two came into con‐ the contingency of these events or states of af‐ tact historically and presents diferent models for fairs. Chapter 6, “Creation, Time and Eternity,” in‐ reconciliation: confict, independence, or integra‐ vestigates the diferent theories about the origin tion. The chapter ends with the conclusion that of the universe in medieval Jewish philosophy: there is such a thing as Jewish philosophy, even comparing creation as emanation in neoplatonic though there has been a trend denying it. Ru‐ cosmology, kalam arguments for creation ex nihi‐ davsky defnes it as “philosophizing with and lo, and Aristotelian models of creation in the writ‐ about the Jewish tradition, asking questions about ings of Maimonides, Gersonides, and Crescas. A Judaism as well as using Jewish texts and doc‐ special focus is also placed here on the question of trines to engage in general philosophical specula‐ what is time. Chapter 7, “Philosophical Cosmolo‐ tion about classic problems” (p. 7). Chapter 2, gy: The Nature of the Universe,” addresses the re‐ “Athens, Jerusalem and Beyond: The Formative lationship of the heavenly bodies to the sublunar Schools and Personalities within Medieval Jewish world, including the study of astrology and expla‐ Philosophy,” is a short introduction to the major nation of miracles. Chapter 8, “On Immortality philosophical thinkers and schools of ancient and the Nature of the Soul,” delves into the nature Greece and Islam (e.g., Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, of the human soul, the question of individual im‐ Ptolemy, Plotinus, Kalam) and then of the biblical, mortality, and how to understand the traditional rabbinic, mystical, and philosophical traditions. Jewish belief in the physical resurrection of the Here she also provides useful short biographies of dead. Chapter 9, “Happiness, Virtue and Political Saadya Gaon, Isaac Israeli, Solomon ibn Gabirol, Society: Living the Good Life,” looks into the Abraham Ibn Ezra, Bahya ibn Paquda, Judah meaning of happiness as the goal of human life, Halevi, Abraham Ibn Daud. Moses Maimonides, the relationship between moral virtues and ratio‐ Levi Gersonides, Hasdai Crescas, Isaac Abarbanel, nal virtues, and the question of whether the Bible Judah Abarbanel, Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, and has a political teaching. Baruch Spinoza. These are the main players with Let me focus on three important points that whose arguments the volume will engage. Chap‐ emerge from the book which I found helpful for ter 3, “On Achieving Truth: Science, Philosophy confrming the relevance of medieval Jewish phi‐ and Faith,” examines the meaning of science for losophy, especially regarding its importance as a diferent medieval Jewish philosophers and how feld of academic study today. First, medieval Jew‐ they integrate it with some concept of religion. ish philosophy can be an independent feld of Chapter 4, “Divine Science: The Existence and Na‐ study without being purely historicist in nature. It ture of God,” studies the problem of describing is able to recognize the historical and philosophi‐ God anthropomorphically, the proof of God’s exis‐ cal roots of its ideas without reducing these ideas tence such as the cosmological, metaphysical, and to their sources alone. Consequently, the ques‐ teleological, and the question of whether we can tions and arguments raised by Jewish philoso‐ speak about God at all. Chapter 5, “God, Sufering phers in the medieval period can still transcend and Omniscience,” deals with the problem of their origin and continue to speak to readers to‐ theodicy, of why a good, all-powerful and all- day, notwithstanding the fact that as moderns we knowing God would allow evil to exist. In the Jew‐ cannot accept much of medieval science. Indeed,
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Rudavsky’s book demonstrates that although me‐ While medieval Jewish philosophy has been dieval Jewish philosophy is rooted in a historical shrinking as a feld in North American academia period, it addresses fundamental questions that over the last few decades, Rudavsky’s book are greater than their historical context. demonstrates that there was a need for a fresh ap‐ Second, medieval Jewish philosophy is not proach to the feld. It may yet give scholars hope dogmatic, and is more akin to a (at times heated) for a resurgence of interest in medieval Jewish debate. As much as certain medieval Jewish philosophy among new students and veteran thinkers strongly and polemically defend their po‐ scholars alike. sition, and may assert it as the absolute truth, this Note is part of their ongoing quest for truth and knowl‐ [1]. Such as: Isaac Husik, A History of Mediae‐ edge. Of course, as a modern reader one can step val Jewish Philosophy (New York: Macmillan, outside of the debate and see the limitations of 1916); Julius Guttmann, Die Philosophie des Juden‐ each position. There is no absolute claim to truth tums [The Philosophy of Judaism: The History of in any one position. There may be better and Jewish Philosophy from Biblical Times to Franz weaker arguments, but that requires the reader to Rosenzweig] (Munich: Reinhardt, 1933); Georges think through the plurality of diferent positions. Vajda, Introduction à la Pensée Juive du Moyen Rudavsky skillfully guides the reader through the Age (Paris: J. Vrin, 1947); Colette Sirat, A History intricacies of medieval arguments and exegesis of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Cam‐ without leading the reader to a simple conclusion. bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985); Eliezer No one philosopher wins the debate in any com‐ Schweid, Haflosofm hagedolim shelanu (Tel plete way and none can claim the title of being Aviv: Yediot Aharonot, 1999); Dan Cohn-Sherbok, right in some absolute sense. Medieval Jewish Philosophy: An Introduction Finally, medieval Jewish philosophy is not a (London: Curzon Press, 1996); Daniel Frank and completed feld of scholarly research. When I frst Oliver Leaman, eds., The Cambridge Companion entered graduate work in medieval Jewish philos‐ to Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Cambridge: Cam‐ ophy, and mentioned it to a local community bridge University Press, 2003); and Raphael Jospe, member, he cynically replied: “Another book on Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Brighton: Maimonides? Hasn’t everything been said al‐ Academic Studies Press, 2009). ready?” Upon reading Rudavsky’s book, you quickly realize that the answer is no. This is an‐ other strength of Rudavsky’s book: she frequently mentions new scholarship by contemporary scholars and weaves their new insights into the discussion. At times, Rudavsky has to limit the extent to which she can pursue these issues due to the scope of the book, which is intended to be a short introduction and not an encyclopedia. Aware of these constraints, the author expresses her hope that her readers will feel the need to delve into the generous footnotes and scholarly literature cited in order to further investigate the academic debate to which Rudavsky introduces readers.
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Citation: Alexander Green. Review of Rudavsky, Tamar. Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages: Science, Rationalism, and Religion. H-Judaic, H-Net Reviews. June, 2019.
URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=53586
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