Maimonides and the Kabbalists

Exploring the relationship between Maimonides and the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah. A history of rejection, acceptance, influence, secret conversions and archenemies. Join us in our attempt to get to the bottom of this love-hate relationship in this third part of our series on Maimonides and Mysticism.

In collaboration with ‪@TheEsotericaChannel‬ and ‪@LetsTalkReligion‬
Filip’s vid:    • The Jewish-Sufi Mystics of Medieval Egypt  
Justin’s vid:    • Maimonides at the Crossroads of Jewish Occ...  

Check out our conversations with Justin and Filip:
Justin: Is Mysticism Rational?    • Is Mysticism Rational? LOGIC and MYSTICISM...  
Filip: Comparative Mysticism with LTR    • Talking Mysticism with Filip Holm @LetsTal...  

Full “Maimonides and Mysticism” Series:
1 Biography: Who was Maimonides?:    • The Genius who Reshaped Judaism: Moses Mai...  
2 Literature Review: Survey of Scholars on Rambam:    • How Many Maimonides are there?  
3 Reception History: Maimonides and the Kabbalists:    • Maimonides and the Kabbalists  
4 Clarifying Terms: Kabbalah, Mysticism and Rationalism:    • Maimonides the Rational Mystic?  
5 A Guide to the Guide:    • The Greatest Book of Jewish Philosophy Eve...  
6 The Forgery: The Theology of Aristotle and Maimonides Negative Theology:    • The Forgery that Fooled the Philosophers  
7 Maimonides' Cosmology and Prophecy:    • Becoming an Angel in Maimonides’ Magical U...  
8 How to Unite with the Mind of God: Maimonides’ Epistemology and Providence:    • How to Unite with the Mind of God (Accordi...  
9 Maimonides’ Perfect Death: Walkthru of Guide 3.51:    • The "Mystical Chapter" of the Guide for th...  
10 Maimonides’ Path to God: Analysis of 3.51:    • Maimonides’ Path to God  
11 Light, Love and Silence: Maimonides’ Divine Illumination, Religious Langue and Negative Theology:    • Maimonides’ Mysticism of Light, Love and S...  
12 Maimonides, Agnostic or Mystic:    • Was Maimonides a Skeptical Agnostic or a S...  
13 Maimonides’ Last Puzzle: The Riddle at the End of the Guide:    • The Riddle at the End of the Guide for the...  
14 Maimonides and the Lost Secrets of Israel:    • Maimonides and the Lost Secrets of Israel  
Bonus:
15 Maimonides’ Hasidic Afterlife: Chabad and Rambam:    • Maimonides’ Hasidic Afterlife  
16 Maimonides’ Crisis of Faith: Discussion with David Fried:    • Maimonides’ Crisis of Faith  


00:00 Intro
02:24 Kabbalistic Antagonism towards Maimonides
04:50 Reasons for the Kabbalists Rejection of Maimonides
12:40 Maimonides, Abulafia and Ecstatic Kabbalah
17:21 Maimonides' Divergent Influence
18:52 Maimonides and the Safed Kabbalist
20:00 Maimonides a Covert Convert to Kabbalah?
21:53 Maimonides and Hasidism
23:05 Conclusion

Sources and Further Reading:
Alexander Altmann, “Maimonides’ Attitude Toward Jewish Mysticism,” in Studies in Jewish Thought, ed. Alfred Jospe (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1981), pp. 200–219
Daniel Silver, Maimonidean Criticism and the Maimonidean Controversy 1180-1240 (London, 1965), 183.
Elliot Wolfson, Abraham Abulafia, Kabbalist and Prophet; Hermeneutics, Theosophy and Theurgy, Cherub Press, Los Angeles, 2000, Introduction.
Elliot Wolfson, “Beneath the Wings of the Great Eagle: Maimonides and Thirteenth-Century Kabbalah,” in Moses Maimonide, Würzburg: Ergon Verlag, 2004, pp. 209–237
Felicia Waldman, ‘Some Considerations on Maimonnides’ influence on Mysticism’, Studia Judaica no.17 (2009).
Gershom Scholem, ‘Mehoker limekkubal, Sefer Harambam’,Tarbiz, 6: 3 (1935), pp. 90-8 (Hebrew).
Harvey, Warren Z. “Aspects of Jewish Philosophy in Medieval Catalonia.” In The Life and Times of Mosse ben Nahman, Girona: Ajuntament de Girona, 1994, pp. 141– 157
Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, “Philosophy and Kabbalah, 1200–1600.” in The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 218–257;
Joseph Citron, Maimonides and Mysticism (unpublished)
Jonathan Dauber, “Competing Approaches to Maimonides in Early Kabbalah,” in The Cultures of Maimonideanism, ed. James T. Robinson (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2009), pp. 57–88.
Louis Jacobs, Attitudes of the Kabbalists and Hasidim towards Maimonides, in The Solomon Goldman Lectures, vol. 5, Judaica Press, 1990, pp. 45-55
Moshe Idel, “Maimonides and Kabbalah,” in Studies In Maimonides, Isadore Twersky (ed.), Harvard University Press, 1990.
Moshe Idel, “Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed and the Kabbalah” in Jewish History 18: 197-226, 2004.


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