Medieval Jewish Philosophy, Maimonides, medieval Jewish philosophic exegesis.

1. Maimonides' Political Thought: Studies in Ethics, Law and the Human Ideal (New York: SUNY Press, 1999) 360 pages.

2. Ma'aseh Nissim by R. Nissim of Marseilles (Heb.), critical annotated edition with introduction (Jerusalem: Mekize Nirdamim, 2000) 515 pages.

3. Prophecy: The History of an Idea in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001). 669 pages.

4. Livyat Hen: Account of Creation by R. Levi ben Avraham (Heb.) critical annotated edition with introduction and edition of section of poem Battei ha-Nefesh ve-Lahashim (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 2004) 480 pages.


Edited Books

1. Shefa Tal: Studies in Jewish Thought in Honor of Bracha Sack (together with Zev Gries and Boaz Huss) (Beer-Sheva: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 2004)


Articles

1. "Maimonides' View of Prophecy as the Overflowing Perfection of Man," Daat, 13 (1984): 21-26.

2. "Miracles in Medieval Jewish Philosophy," Jewish Quarterly Review, 75 (1984): 99-133.

3. "The Verification of Prophecy in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Heb.)," Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought, 4 (1984-85): 1-18.

4. "Maimonides on Christianity and Islam," Jewish Civilization, Essays and Studies, 3 (1985): 153-162.

5. "Sage and Prophet in the Thought of Maimonides and his Followers (Heb.)," Eshel Bersheva, 3 (1986): 149-169.

6. "The Voice of God in Medieval Jewish Philosophic Exegesis (Heb.)," Daat, 16 (1986): 29-38.

7. "The Suffering of the Righteous in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Heb.)," Daat, 19 (1987): 17-29.

8. "Asceticism in the Thought of R. Bahya Ibn Paquda and Maimonides," Daat, 21 (1988): 5-22.

9. "The Practical Intellect in the Philosophy of Maimonides," Hebrew Union College Annual, 59 (1988): 189-215.

10. "The Response of R. Judah Ibn Rokesh regarding Prophecy (Heb.)," Kiryat Sefer, 62 (1989): 439-444.

11. "Veridical Dreams and Prophecy in the Philosophy of Gersonides (Heb.)," Daat, 22 (1989): 73-84.

12. "The Problem of Good in the Philosophy of Maimonides (Heb.)," Iyyun, 38 (1989): 183-208.

13. "Intellectual Perfection and the Role of the Law in the Philosophy of Maimonides," in: J. Neusner, E. Frerichs, N. Sarna eds., From Ancient Israel to Modern Judaism: Intellect in Quest of Understanding (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989): Vol. 3, 25-46.

14. "The Place of Man in the Hierarchy of Existence in the Philosophy of Ibn Gabirol and Maimonides," in: M. Halamish ed., Alei Shefer: Studies in the Literature of Jewish Thought (Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University, 1990): 95-107.

15. "The Land of Israel and Prophecy in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Heb.)," in: M. Halamish and A. Ravitzky eds., The Land of Israel and Prophecy in Medieval Jewish Thought (Jerusalem: Ben-Zevi Institute, 1991): 40-51.

16. "Judah Halevi's Influence on Maimonides: A Preliminary Appraisal," Maimonidean Studies, 2 (1991): 95-121.

17. "Individual Perfection vs. Communal Welfare and the Problem of Contradictions in Maimonides' Approach to Ethics," Proceedings of the American Academy of Jewish Research, 58 (1992): 107-141.

18. "Maimonides on Knowledge of God: Pedagogy, Philosophy and Law," in: R. Link-Salinger ed., Torah and Wisdom (New York, 1992): 95-112.

19. "Judah Halevi's Kuzari: Between the God of Abraham and the God of Aristotle," in: R. Munk, F.J. Hoogewould eds., Joodse filosofie tussen rede en traditie (Kok-Kampen, 1993): 24-34.

20. "Judah Halevi and the Problem of Philosophical Ethics (Heb.)," in: A. Sagi and D. Statman eds., Between Religion and Ethics (Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University, 1993): 171-183.

21. "Imitatio Dei in Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed," AJS Review, 19 (1994): 169-211.

22. "Maimonides' Approach to Astrology (Heb.)," Proceedings of the Eleventh World Congress of Jewish Studies, Vol. 2 (1994): 25-32.

23. "The Term Kol in Abraham Ibn Ezra: A Reappraisal," Revue des etudes juives, 153 (1994): 29-66.

24. "Some Aspects of Maimonides' Political Philosophy," in: B. Carlos Barzan, E. Andujar, L. Sbrocchi eds., Moral and Political Philosophies in the Middle Ages (Ottawa: Legas, 1995).

25. "Moses Maimonides," in: D. Frank, O. Leaman eds., History of Jewish Philosophy (London: Routledge, 1996): 245-280.

26. ""Love" and "Fear" in Maimonides' Thought (Heb.)," Daat 37, (1996): 127-151.

27. "A Fragment from a Commentary on Ruth Ascribed to R. Nissim of Marseilles (Heb.)," Jerusalem Studies in Jewish Thought, 14 (1998): 159-180.

28. "Some Observations on Ma`aseh Nissim by R. Nissim b. Moses of Marseilles," in: A. Ivry, A. Arkush, and E. Wolfson eds., Perspectives on Jewish Thought and Mysticism (Amsterdam: Harwood, 1998): 201-222.

29. "The Philosophical-Allegorical Exegesis of Scripture in the Middle Ages: Ma`aseh Nissim by R. Nissim of Marseilles (Heb.)," in: G. Blidstein, E. Fleisher, B. Septimus eds., Me`ah She`arim: Studies in Medieval Jewish Spiritual Life (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2001): 297-316.

30. "The Torah Commentary of R. Nissim b. Moshe of Marseilles: A Medieval Approach to Torah u-Madda," to appear in The Torah U-Madda Journal (accepted 2001).

31.“`Livyat Hen` und die mittelalterliche judische philosophische Literatur der Provence,” Im Gesprach, 5 (2002): 36-48.

32. “From Dialogue to Contemplation – The Transformation of the Meaning of Prayer in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Heb.),” in: Z. Gries, H. Kreisel, B. Huss eds., Shefa Tal: Studies in Jewish Thought in Honor of Bracha Sack (Beer-Sheva: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 2004): 59-83.

33. “The Shabbat in Medieval Jewish Philosophy: From the Supernatural to the Natural (Heb.),” in: G. Blidstein ed., Sabbath: Idea, History, Reality (Beer-Sheva: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Press, 2004): 69-81.

34. “Maimonides’ Political Philosophy,” to appear in: K. Seeskin ed., The Cambridge Companion to Moses Maimonides, (submitted, 2002).

35. "Prophecy in Post-Biblical Jewish Thought," to appear in: Encyclopedia of Religion. D. Graves ed. (submitted, 2003).

36. Reasons for the Commandments in Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed and in Provencal Jewish Philosophy," to appear in Maimonidean Studies (submitted, 2004).



Book Reviews

1. Arthur Hyman ed., Maimonidean Studies I, in Jewish Quarterly Review, 83 (1993): 429-432.

2. Raymond L. Weiss, Maimonides’ Ethics, in Speculum 69 (1994): 581-3.


Newspaper Articles

1. “Snuff Movies” (originally entitled: “On Morality, Aesthetics, and the Philosophic Tradition,”) op. ed., Jerusalem Post, January 19, 1995.

2. A series of articles for Jewish Free Press (Calgary): “Following in the Footsteps of Abraham: Some Personal Reflections on Rosh Hashana” (September 21, 1995); “Reflections in the Aftermath of Rabin’s Assassination” (November 16, 1995); “Reflections on Chanukah and Current Events” (December 15, 1995); “Reflections on Magic and Judaism (April 25, 1996); “Reflections on Magic and Judaism - Part II” (June 6, 1996); “Reflections of a Lonely Judaica Scholar” (August 29, 1996).


Book Abstracts

Maimonides' Political Thought
State University of New York Press, 1999

This book presents a series of studies that cover a wide range of issues relating to Maimonides' political thought, including the basis for political and ethical knowledge; the notion of the "good"; imitatio Dei; apparent contradictions in his position on ethics; the conception of God that he attempts to inculcate to Jewish society at large; and his novel approach to the love and fear of God. Taking into account his medieval Aristotelian and Jewish sources, these explorations also deal with some of the opposing considerations that Maimonides had to balance in developing and presenting his positions on such subjects as the nature of the divine law, the static vs. dynamic dimensions of Mosaic law, prophetic and rabbinic authority within Judaism, the reasons for the commandments, and martyrdom. A close reading of the manner in which he formulated his views, in light of their literary and intellectual-historical contexts, allows us a better glimpse of how profound and subtle Maimonides is as a thinker and an educator.

360 pages, including abstract, bibliography and general index


Ma`aseh Nissim
Perush la-Torah le-Rav Nissim me-Marseilles
Mekize Nirdamim, 2000

This book is an annotated edition with introduction of the unique philosophic commentary on the Torah by R. Nissim of Marseilles, written at the beginning of the 14th century. In this commentary R. Nissim attempts to show that everything in the Torah, whether tales of miraculous events or commandments that appear to be without a rational foundation, should be understood in accordance with a naturalistic worldview. The first part of the commentary contains a discussion of such diverse topics as articles of faith, providence, prophecy, Mosaic prophecy, the blessings and curses presented in the Torah, and miracles.

515 pages, including introduction, bibliography and indices.


Prophecy: The History of an Idea in Medieval Jewish Philosophy
Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001 (Amsterdam Studies in Jewish Thought, Vol. 8)


More than any other topic, prophecy represents the point at which the Divine meets the human, the Absolute meets the relative. How can a human being attain the Word of God? In what manner does God, when conceived as eternal and transcendent, address corporeal, transitory creatures? What happens to God's divine Truth when it is beheld by minds limited in their power to apprehend, and influenced by the intellectual currents of their time and place? How were these issues viewed by the great Jewish philosophers of the past, who took the divine communication and all it entails seriously, while at the same time desired to understand it as much as humanly possible in the course of dealing with a myriad of other issues that occupied their attention? This book offers an in-depth study of prophecy in the thought of seven of the leading medieval Jewish philosophers: R. Saadiah Gaon, R. Judah Halevi, Maimonides, Gersonides, R. Hasdai Crescas, R. Joseph Albo and Baruch Spinoza. It attempts to capture the "original voice" of these thinkers by looking at the intellectual milieus in which they developed their philosophies, and by carefully analyzing their views in their textual contexts. It also deals with the relation between the earlier approaches and the later ones. Overall, this book presents a significant model for narrating the history of an idea.

669 pages, including bibliography and general index.


Livyat Hen: Account of Creation by R. Levi ben Avraham (Heb.) critical annotated edition with introduction and edition of section of poem Battei ha-Nefesh ve-Lahashim Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 2004.

Jewish philosophical-allegorical exegesis reached its zenith in Provence at the end of the 13th century in the multi dimensional treatise Livyat Hen by R. Levi ben Avraham. Five sections of this encyclopedic work are devoted to the sciences and two sections with Judaism. In the part entitled "Work of Creation" (the third part of the first section devoted to Judaism), R. Levi deals with the creation story in the Torah, the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the stories of the early generations of humanity. In his commentary he incorporates a great deal of material from rabbinic literature, exegetical literature, philosophy and the sciences. The edition includes both the shorter and longer recensions of this part as well as the section "Work of Creation" from R. Levi's encyclopedic poem, Battei ha-Nefesh ve-Lahashi.