Download File - TLCC Studies of Religion 2015

Judaism – Maimonides - Specimen Questions
Question 5 - Judaism (15 marks)
a. Outline the contribution of ONE significant person or school or thought to Judaism
(3)
b. Explain the effect of ONE significant person or school or thought on Judaism (6)
c. Analyse the contribution of ONE significant person or school or thought to Judaism
(6)
Question 5 - Judaism (20 marks)
Describe the contribution and analyse the effect of ONE significant person or school or
thought on Judaism.
Sample Response
Question 5 - Judaism (15 marks)
a. Outline the contribution of ONE significant person or school or thought to Judaism
(3)
Maimonides, a prolific writer and spiritual leader contributed to Judaism by seeking to consolidate
Jewish communities in the face of dual threats of persecution from Muslim communities and
challenges of classical philosophy. Maimonides did this is through his three major literary works.
Firstly, Maimonides codified the Talmud in his Mishneh Torah to facilitate the study of the Torah.
Secondly, in response to the threat of classical philosophy Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed
brought together philosophy and religion, to show how faith was compatible with reason. Thirdly, in
his Commentary for the Mishnah Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith, which is significant as it
forms the basis for many Jewish credal statements today.
(111 words)
Question 5 - Judaism (15 marks)
b. Explain the effect of ONE significant person or school or thought on Judaism (6)
Maimonides' leadership and his three major literary works the Mishneh Torah, Commentary on the
Mishnah and the Guide for the Perplexed has had a monumental impact upon Judaism.
Maimonides' most significant contribution to Judaism is with his major work the Mishneh Torah. In
this work Maimonides undertakes a thorough and systematic topical codification of the Talmud.
The aim of this work was to facilitate the study of the Torah. The result of this was that he able to
make the Torah more accessible and thus Judaism more relevant to the average Jew living in an
Islamic world. This exhaustive study was to form the basis of other codifications at later times.
The second important contribution made by Maimonides to Judaism was his Commentary on the
Mishnah where he explains the meaning of each mitzvot outside the context of Rabbinic
discussion. The result of this work which focused directly on the final halakhic decision was the
fact that he was able to make the Torah more accessible to ordinary Jews.
The third major contribution made by Maimonides was his philosophical treatise, the Guide for the
Perplexed. The aim of this work was to bring together religion and philosophy in such a way as to
show that Judaism was grounded in and compatible with logic. The effect of this was that he was
able to consolidate Judaism against the threat posed by classical Greek philosophy.
The fourth major contribution made by Maimonides is his formulation of the 13 principles of the
Jewish faith. This formulation is significant because it was to form the basis of many Jewish credal
statements. For example today, Maimonides' 13 principles of faith are appended to every edition
of the Talmud published today.
(285 words)
Question 5 - Judaism (15 marks)
c. Analyse the contribution of ONE significant person or school or thought to Judaism
(6)
Maimonides' contribution to Judaism is difficult to underestimate. The two major areas of this
contribution lie in the facilitation of Torah study, through the Commentary on the Mishnah and the
Mishneh Torah and the marrying of religion, science and philosophy in the Moreh Nevuchim.
The first realm of significant contribution came through his Commentary on the Mishnah. The
Commentary on the Mishnah is a book which provides a comprehensive commentary on each of
the tractates of the Mishnah. This work is significant Maimonides highlights the meaning of each
Mishnah outside the context of rabbinic discourse. Thus, by cutting across the convoluted rabbinic
discourse Jews can more readily find out how they can apply the Oral Torah to day to day life.
The second area of influence that relates to Maimonides' role in the codification of the Talmud is
with his major work, the Mishneh Torah. The Mishneh Torah was written with the intent to provide
a comprehensive topically systematic codification of the Talmud. The intention of this work was to
facilitate the study of the Torah which Maimonides believed would strengthen Judaism in the face
of Islamic dominance. Even opposition against the Mishneh Torah by some scholars who feared
that this work would supplant the use of the Torah, could not diminish the monumental importance
of this work.
The third area of Maimonides' contribution lies in his philosophical treatise, the Guide for the
Perplexed. The Guide sought to explain the apparent contradictions in Jewish theory, particularly
the issue of God's incorporeality versus the anthropomorphic depictions of God in the sacred texts.
Maimonides concluded that where a religious doctrine is incompatible with logic, it should not be
taken at its face value. Essentially, the Guide for the Perplexed is significant because it reflects the
integration of philosophy and religion to a previously unprecedented level. As a result of this,
Maimonides helped to strengthen the validity of Judaism from the threats of classical philosophy.
(322 words)
Sample Response
Question 5 - Judaism (20 marks)
Describe the contribution and analyse the effect of ONE significant person or school or
thought on Judaism
Maimonides' three major literary works, the Mishneh Torah, the Commentary on the Mishnah,
which includes the 13 Principles of Faith, and the Guide for the Perplexed along with his
leadership of the Jewish community has had a significant impact during his day and beyond.
During his time, Maimonides was able to consolidate Jewish communities in the face of the dual
threats of persecution from Muslim dominance and challenges of classical philosophy.
Maimonides is also influential today as his writings have subsequently become the foundation for
much Jewish teaching. The extent of the effect of his contributions is evident in that he is held in
high acclaim by all strands of Judaism.
Moses Maimonides was born in Cordoba in Spain 1135. At his time, Spain was dominated by
Islamic culture and religion and Jews were considered to be second class citizens. The Jewish
people began to be persecuted in Spain in 1148, when Spain was invaded by the fanatical
Almohades. The Maimon family eventually settled in Egypt after fleeing Islamic persecution.
As a Sephardi Jew, Maimonides was educated in both the secular sciences and in Jewish studies,
that is, the Torah and the Talmud. This prolific writer was appointed as the Chief Rabbi of the
Egyptian Jewish community which was one of the highest offices in the Jewish world in those
days. The work of Maimonides in consolidating and strengthening Judaism against Islamic
dominance, as well the revival of classical philosophy needs to be seen in this context.
The nature of Maimonides' influence can be seen in three important areas. The first are is his
codification of the Talmud, the Mishneh Torah. The aim of Maimonides' major work was to provide
a topical codification of the Talmud so as to facilitate a much easier access to Jewish precepts.
Prior to this work, in order for a Jew to find out what they should do in any given circumstance,
they would have to undertake a laborious study of the entire text. This is significant because
Judaism is essentially a practical religion, concerned with the day to day practice of halakhic laws.
Essentially, therefore, the Mishneh Torah is significant because it can be regarded as the first
comprehensive, exhaustive, topical codification of the Talmud. The very fact that it was written in
Hebrew, rather then Arabic, which was the language Maimonides used for most of his works,
gives is an indication of Maimonides' intentions for this work. That is, this great reference work was
to be used not only by Arabic speaking Jews of his era but by Jews in all times. The importance of
the Mishneh Torah as a reference guide is evident in the fact that it was met with almost universal
acclaim across the different strands of Judaism.
The second realm of significant influence for Maimonides came through his Commentary on the
Mishnah which provided a comprehensive commentary on each of the tractates of the Mishnah.
Ultimately, Maimonides intended this work to make Judaism more relevant to the average Jew
living in an Islamic society.
In the Commentary on the Mishnah Maimonides provides a link between learning the Torah and
putting it in practise by providing comprehensive commentary on each of the tractates of the
Mishnah. He wrote in a simple style and explained each mitzvot outside the context of the
Rabbinic discussion and went straight to the halakhic decision. This contribution is significant
because it cuts across the convoluted rabbinic discourse in presenting the final halakhic decision.
The third significant effect Maimonides had on Judaism was to formulate the 13 Principles of Faith
as contained in the Commentary on the Mishnah. This now forms the basis for credal statements
made by Jews today. They highlight the main features of the Jewish faith, and thus assist in
consolidating Judaism by clarifying its core beliefs.
The fourth significant influence for Maimonides is his integration of religion, science and
philosophy primarily through his Guide for the Perplexed. This text sought to rationalise Judaism in
relation to classical philosophy and show that Judaism had a basis in rational thought.
Here he tried to resolve some apparent contradictions in the Jewish religion, which perplexed the
Jewish community and particularly those schooled in Aristotelian thought. In doing so, this work is
helped to preserve faith in Judaism by people who were genuinely perplexed by the apparent
contradictions in Jewish thought. Even more significant is the fact that Maimonides helped to
assure the Jews who were less educated that their religion was one with a sound basis, so that
they would not turn away from Judaism.
The Guide for the Perplexed is mainly concerned with the anthropomorphic depictions of God,
despite the belief about God's incorporeality. He concluded that since this practice of referring to
the hand of God etc cannot be rationally sustained, one should not therefore refer to God that way.
Essentially, Maimonides can be described as a religious rationalist who sought to rationalise
religion in order to save religion from being made irrelevant by rationalist philosophy.
This work was not however without its opponents. For example, the fact that the integration of
philosophy of religion had never fully been embraced before meant that many regarded it as a
contravention of the practised wisdom of the sages. But despite opposition to his work, the extent
of his influence in philosophy remains as a profound one.
The significance of his work is upheld by people from many different strands of Judaism. But the
different strands of Judaism place a slightly different emphasis on which parts of Maimonides'
work they value the most. Zionists hold a high regard for Maimonides because Maimonides
declared that it is a mitzvah to take possession of Israel and live in it. Orthodox Jews place a lot of
emphasis on studying the works of Maimonides in religious institutions because it is a guide to
understanding what is required of Jews on a day to day basis. Liberal and Reform Jews on the
other hand dispute some of his Talmudic commentary including a number of the 13 principles of
faith. Nevertheless, Liberal and Reform Jews do hold his philosophical works in high regard.
It can be seen that Maimonides had a very significant effect on Judaism as he consolidated it in
the face of the threat of Islamic dominance and the revival of classical philosophy. He did this by
making the Torah and Talmud more understandable and accessible to the everyday Jew through
his works the Mishneh Torah and the Commentary on the Mishnah. He also made Judaism
relevant in the face of threats from classical philosophy through the Guide for the Perplexed where
he showed that Judaism was grounded in rationalism. The enormous impact which Maimonides
had on Judaism is reflected in the saying "from Moshe to Moshe there arose none like Moshe".