Maimonides’ Foundations of Faith
Maimonides’ wrote that whenever the aggadot in the Talmud seem far-fetched and beyond rational understanding, it is our duty to carefully analyze and immerse ourselves in them until we come to understand the concepts they come to teach us. In this class with Rabbi Jeffrey Saks we will explore Maimonides’ introduction to Perek Chelek, the eleventh chapter of the Talmudic tractate Sanhedrin, which deals with Olam HaBa (the World to Come), Midrash, and the Foundations of Faith.
Maimonides’ Foundations of Faith: Lesson 5
INTERPRETING MASHAL: Hope you’re enjoying the Rambam Shiur. We will continue discussion of Torah Lishma. After that we will begin discussion of how to interpret Aggada-Midrash, and why Chazal wrote the way they did (using mashal – metaphor). I suggest you read the Rambam’s intro to his Guide for the Perplexed – one translation of which is attached cut from this.
Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the founding director of ATID – The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. He is the Editor of the journal Tradition, Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, and Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem. A three-time graduate of Yeshiva University (BA, MA, Semicha), Rabbi Saks has published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature (see https://www.webyeshiva.org/rabbisaks/).