{"product_id":"reading-maimonides-mishneh-torah-9781802070330","title":"Reading Maimonides' Mishneh Torah","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this highly original study, David Gillis demonstrates that the Mishneh torah, Maimonides’ code of Jewish law, has the structure of a microcosm. Through this symbolic form, Maimonides presents the law as designed to perfect the individual and society by shaping them in the image of the divinely created cosmic order. The commandments of the law thereby bring human beings closer to fulfilling their ultimate purpose, knowledge of God. This symbolism turns the Mishneh torah into an object of contemplation that itself communicates such knowledge. In short, it is a work of art. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGillis unpacks the metaphysical and cosmological underpinnings of Maimonides’ scheme of organization with consummate skill, allowing the reader to understand the Mishneh torah’s artistic dimension and to appreciate its power. Moreover, as he makes clear, uncovering this dimension casts new light on one of the great cruxes of Maimonides studies: the relationship of the Mishneh torah to his philosophical treatise The Guide of the Perplexed. A fundamental unity is revealed between Maimonides the codifier and Maimonides the philosopher that has not been fully appreciated hitherto. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMaimonides’ artistry in composition is repeatedly shown to serve his aims in persuading us of the coherence and wisdom of the halakhic system. Gillis’s fine exegesis sets in high relief the humane and transcendental purposes and methods of halakhah as Maimonides conceived of it, in an argument that is sure-footed and convincing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReviews ‘David Gillis proves, not that \u003ci\u003eMishneh Torah\u003c\/i\u003e 'also' contains philosophy over and above its halakhic content (as is often claimed), but that the very structure of the entire work reflects both Maimonides’ Neoplatonism and his artistry. This work will surely force a paradigm shift in the way in which \u003ci\u003eMishneh Torah\u003c\/i\u003e is read and studied. It is written with the confidence of a mature and seasoned scholar, and with the verve of a master stylist: just as Gillis shows that Maimonides brought artistry to bear on the composition of \u003ci\u003eMishneh Torah\u003c\/i\u003e, so does Gillis himself bring artistry to bear on the writing of this exciting book.’ \u003cbr\u003eMenachem Kellner\u003cbr\u003e‘Novel, fresh, and creative as well as cogently argued. It is an original contribution to the study of Maimonides in particular and of medieval Jewish thought in general . . . shows how philosophy informs the entire \u003ci\u003eMishneh Torah\u003c\/i\u003e from beginning to end in an exquisite structure that is Aristotelian in number and Plotinian in order . . . Gillis does not just present purely theoretical theses but applies them in order to resolve some of the problems that have engaged both scholars and the rabbinic world in making sense of various anomalies, inconsistencies, and contradictions in the Maimonidean corpus.’ \u003cbr\u003e James A. Diamond\u003cbr\u003e‘A brilliant piece of work . . . it will have a major impact on the study of Maimonides and on the larger realm of Jewish and cosmopolitan scholarship . . . Gillis pries open a window that affords broad vistas of forests, valleys, mountains, and the heavens themselves.’ \u003cbr\u003e Lenn E. Goodman\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eList of tables \u003cbr\u003eNote on Transliteration \u003cbr\u003eNote on Sources and Conventions \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIntroduction: A Portrait of the Artist \u003cbr\u003eThe Cosmic Model - Aggadah in \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003ci\u003eMishneh tora\u003c\/i\u003eh as Art: The History \tof an Idea - Defining Art - The Poet in Maimonides’ Republic - Necessities and \tLiterary Invention - Art as \u003ci\u003eImitatio Dei\u003c\/i\u003e - Maimonides and Modern Literary Theory - Literary Models: Hebrew as Genre - Structures of the Commandments - Summary: \tPhilosopher, Statesman, Artist \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e1\tIn God’s Image \u003cbr\u003eTwo Scholars - Man as Microcosm - Man as Microcosm in the \u003ci\u003eGuide of the Perplexed\u003c\/i\u003e - Intellectual Virtue and Moral Virtue - Moral Virtue in \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e 1: \tPreparation for Intellectual Virtue - Moral Virtue's Two Phases in \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e - Self-Knowledge and the Knowledge of God • In Maimonides’ Workshop • Virtue \tEthics and Command Ethics: Abraham and Moses - Portrait of Perfection - Summary\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e2\tThe ‘Great Thing’ and the ‘Small Thing’: \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e as Microcosm \tThe Divide in \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e - How Many Spheres Make a Universe? - The Spheres and the Commandments - The Commandment as Form - From ‘Knowledge \tThat’ to ‘Knowledge Of’ - Origin of the Commandments - Performance of the Commandments and Immortality - Fourteen - Some Contrasts - Summary  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e3\tEmanation \u003cbr\u003eMaimonides on Emanation - ‘According to Greatness and Degree’ - First and Second Intention - The Love–Awe Polarity - The Hierarchy of Holiness - The Flow of Form from the Book of Knowledge - The Sacrifice Paradox - Mikveh as Metaphor - \tSummary \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e4\tReturn \u003cbr\u003eThe Ladder of the Commandments and the Ladder of Prophecy - From Dystopia to Utopia - Loss and Restoration - Rationalizing the Commandments: \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e \tversus the Guide - Why Is ‘Laws of Mourning’ Where It Is? - Summary \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e5\tFrom Theory to History, via Midrash: A Commentary on ‘Laws of the Foundations of \tthe Torah’, 6: 9 and 7: 3 \tThe Problem of ‘Laws of the Foundations of the Torah’, 6: 9 - How to Read - The \tProblem of ‘Laws of the Foundations of the Torah’, 7: 3 - Theory and History in the \tProphet’s Epiphany - \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e as Prophecy - Summary \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e6\tConclusion: \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e as Parable \u003cbr\u003eThe Lost Language of the Commandments - A Jacob’s Ladder - Literary Devices - The Problem of Obsolescence - Silver and Gold \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAppendix I: The Books and Sections of \u003ci\u003eMishneh torah\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003eAppendix II: Philosophical Background \u003cbr\u003eOutline of Neoplatonism - The World According to Alfarabi and Avicenna \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGlossary \u003cbr\u003eBibliography \u003cbr\u003eIndex of Citations \u003cbr\u003eIndex of Subjects","brand":"Liverpool University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48868544479575,"sku":"9781802070330","price":29.66,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781802070330.jpg?v=1722288551","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/reading-maimonides-mishneh-torah-9781802070330","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}