Guide for the Perplexed

Rating:
Summary: very dense and perhaps not the ideal translation . . .
Review: as other reviewers pointed out. But even so I got something out of it - especially at the beginning (where Maimonides attacks simple-minded literalism) and the end (where Maimonides tries to justify the mitzvot). I'm sure that in a few years when I am a bit more intellectually sophisticated, I will get more out of it.

One really interesting part of the book that none of the other reviewers has mentioned so far: Maimonides' explanation of divine intervention in our lives. He asserts, based on Torah, that such Divine intervention affects humans but not animals (Part III, Ch. 17). Why? Because "Divine Providence is connected with Divine intellectual influence, and the same beings which are benefited by the latter so as to become intellectual, and to comprehend things comprehensible to rational beings, are also under the control of Divine Providence." (Id.) And given that Divine Providence is connected with intellect, it further follows that "the greater the share which a person has obtained of this Divine influence ... the greater must also be the effect of Divine Providence upon him." (Id., Ch. 18). Thus, "the greater the human perfection a person has attained, the greater the benefit he derives from Divine Providence." (Id.) In other words, if you are Abraham or Moses, you get plenty of divine influence in your life. For the rest of us, the world takes its natural course.

It seems to me that this theory allows us to reconcile Biblical miracles with the day-to-day reality of bad things happening to good people and vice versa: perhaps prophets get individualized reward and punishment in this world, and the rest of us don't. (Caveat: I am NOT saying that this view is factually correct, or even that Maimonides endorses this view; it is not clear to me how spiritually elevated Maimonides thinks one has to be to receive Divine intervention- whether only Moses, Abraham, etc. get it, or whether ordinary good and intelligent people get it as well, or whether he would draw the line someplace in between).

Rating:
Summary: Great Things Come in Small Type
Review: I gave it 5 stars, because it is a great piece of work - essential in Jewish studies - in its full, unabridged version. In keeping the price of the book low, the creators of the work left the readers a couple of problems. One, the type is way too small. Two, aside from the introduction, there are no notes or commentary, leaving the unexperienced reader with little resources for such an extremely intricate work. The creators should have tripled the size of this book and put it out in two volumes. I, and I'm sure many others, would have had no problem paying triple for it, if that were the case, for it is a work that is well worth the price. But that does not diminish its current greatness.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: I'm going to try to separate my critique of the text as it is presented, and Maimonides work.

The typeface used here is awfully small, and crammed onto the pages with a crowbar, it seems. The margins must be measured with a micrometer. I suppose the publishers were determined to get the thing into one volume, but this book is really pretty slender; I don't see why it couldn't be larger to accommodate larger print, with more white space, so the words aren't crammed together like passengers in steerage.

The translation is dated, and takes some getting used to, if you haven't had a lot of exposure to late Victorian English, the language may be off-putting. I happen to have a degree in English literature, and have read many styles extensively, and barely notice how dated the language was. There are other translations, but Freidlander, in this translation is very cautious in keeping his words consistent. This is important, because a large part of Guide for the Perplexed is defining Biblical terms.

The Guide for the Perplexed is a brilliant work. Maimonides is my nomination for "most important post-Talmudic scholar."

The Guide is not a simple work; Maimonides does not spell things out; he doesn't give succinct answers to ages old questions. One doesn't go to this book, look up "Cain," and say, "Ah, there's where he got his wife."

This is a book to aid the reader in becoming a better scholar. Where Maimonides does not give answers, he presents the tools that may assist the reader in studying the Torah, and coming up with his (or her!) own answers.

Words are defined, and also analyzed in an etymological way, which is really more mystical than scientific, but we're talking Torah.

Maimonides knows better than to give tools for interpretation without also giving lessons in interpretation. Some of his own mishnot come through as he discusses interpreting the Torah. He also discusses prophecy and free will, but eventually brings it all back to Torah.

Anyone who wants to be a serious Torah scholar needs this book.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book, Terrible Translation
Review: Maimonides' Guide is a masterwork of philosophic interest to Jews and non-Jews interested in the problem posed by philosophy to revealed religion, but Friedlander's translation is not the way to approach it. Besides removing the ambiguity of Maimonides' title by rendering it "The Guide *for* the Perplexed", he translates technical Rabbanic hermaneutical terms into awkward and sometimes inappropriate Latin 'equivilants'. Anyone who needs such translation won't be able to understand Maimonides' thought anyway, steeped in Rabbinics as it is; anyone looking to learn something of the Guide will be unable to do so with this translation. Shlomo Pines' translation is universally considered superior; be sure to get both volumes.

Rating:
Summary: Essential to the understanding of modern Judaism
Review: The Guide for the Perplexed is truly a masterpiece of Jewish thinking, providing a foundation for integrating Toraic and Talmudic insights with Aristotelian philosophy and scientific observation. Be forewarned: This is an intense piece of Rabbinic literature and tends to require digestion in small pieces. A discussion partner, reading the book with you is a great help. My only criticism of this particular edition is that the typeface is small and older style - if you're a dinosaur like me, that can be a limitation.

Rating:
Summary: A must for anyone interested in religion and/or Judaism
Review: This has become one of my favourite non-fiction books. The Rambam (Maimonides) is an absolute giant of learning and explanations. In this volume, he presents many of the philosophical sides of Judaism which are rarely encountered.

The text is divided into 3 books.

The first book starts with discussing the use of homonyms in the Bible, especially in relation to describing God. The thesis that emerges is that it is only superficially that the Bible describes God as corporeal but the real doctrine precludes corporeality. The second topic discussed is the nature of esoteric study in Judaism and why it should only be taught in a restricted manner. The third topic is where Rambam protests against people using positive attributes to describe God and tries to prove that God is beyond such attributes. Then, he describes the Kalam argument (an Islamic school of thought that tried to prove the existence of God amongst other things) and points out his view of the flaws in it.

The second book starts with a discussion of Aristotelian philosophy in terms of cosmology and metaphysics and compares that with Judaism, especially the mystical tradition. Rambam then gives his own view of the world structure which is at times very amusing in terms of what we know of science but still very interesting. Then, he describes the nature of prophecy and what exactly it meant to be a Biblical prophet.

The third book opens with a hinted exposition of mystical passages in the Bible, such as Ezekiel's Chariot (Ezek Chap 1 and others). Then, he talks about God and the problem of Evil as well as providence. Finally, he describes the perfect worship of God as well as the purpose of most of the major commandments in the Torah. It is here that I could see why there was much opposition to the work from within the Jewish community - as he tends to provide unorthodox rationalisations that go against traditional expositions.

As you cna see, he convers sooooo much that a serious believer or non-believer would wish to consider that it's an absolute gem. The translation is dense, both in language and print but at least it's accessible in terms of being in one volume as well as the price. If you can penetrate the at-times-archaic language, I think this book will greatly enrich your life.

Rating:
Summary: Outdated translation
Review: This turn-of-the- (20th) century tranlation from the Arabic has been absolutely superceded by the Pines-Strauss University of Chicago edition. No one really interested in studying Maimonides can afford to use this translation.Maimonides in his introduction makes it clear just how careful he was in his choice of words, so someone who has to read the book in translation cannot afford to save a few bucks and buy a flawed version

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This work of philosophy is in fact three books, the last one not really dealing with philosophy, is one of the greatest masterpieces of philosophy ever written. Composed almost a thousand years ago, it is still extremely relevant. Words cannot really describe it - you MUST read for yourself.

The translation is pretty good, if sometimes difficult, in any case, it is a much easier read than the Hebrew translation.