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Beit Midrash
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- Chassidish Stories and Great Rabbis
- Chassidish Stories
One of them replied, "The Rambam writes that Aristotle understood the celestial spheres better than Ezekiel the Prophet. Is it surprising, then, that people do not agree with him?"
The Rhoziner responded, "The Rambam is right. Two people entered the king's palace. One of them walked through each chamber and studied scrupulously the magnificent vessels and treasures, and he could not satiate his eyes. The second also walked through the chambers of the palace, but his only thoughts were: This is the home of the king; here are the vessels of the king...soon I shall surely see the king himself, face to face!"
Chassidish Stories (17)
Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
15 - On the Spiritual Hunting Grounds
16 - The King's Palace
17 - Judgement and Accountability
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Because of his strong connection with philosophy, the Rambam created new definitions of what perfect faith is. In his opinion, reaching human perfection calls for observing and understanding God's presence via the intellect.
The first of Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith is the knowledge of God – knowledge, not faith. Even reward in the World to Come wears an intellectual garb in Rambam’s doctrine. According to Rambam, the passage "The righteous sit, wearing their crowns, enjoying the glory of God’s presence" refers to enjoyment that comes from grasping intellectual axioms and the pleasure that comes from acquiring an intellectual knowledge of God’s existence. On this scale, Rambam held Aristotle in great esteem as he who had reached the highest possible level.
All of this sheds light on the way Rambam was viewed by the Hassidim. It leads us to the claim, enunciated in our story, that Rambam held Aristotle in higher esteem than he did Ezekiel the Prophet. This statement compares two ostensibly disparate worlds: the world of prophecy and the world of philosophy. Ezekiel is mentioned in this context because of his vision of the Divine Chariot; Aristotle is mentioned as he who represents the world of philosophy because Rambam so espoused his thought.
From our story it becomes clear that the Rozhiner Rebbe was not disturbed by the comparison of the two. He did not tend to draw a fundamental distinction between the prophet and the philosopher.
One who studies Rambam’s "Yesodei HaTorah" will discover that his ideas appear to be very similar to well-known Kabbalistic ideas. The first four chapters of "Yesodei HaTorah," which deal with the realms of God, the angels, the spheres, and creation, are likely to be viewed as paralleling the four "worlds" of Kabbalah – the "World of Emination," the "World of Creation," the "World of Formation," and the "World of Actions"; Rambam’s ten "intellects" can be seen as paralleling Kabbalah’s ten "sefiroth" (divine attributes or powers), and so forth.
It appears possible, then, to arrive at intellectual cognizance on either a prophetic or philosophical level.
The Rozhiner Rebbe justifies the claim that Rambam compares Aristotle, who comes from the world of philosophy, and Ezekiel, who comes from the world of prophecy. If we look at things from an intellectual standpoint, we might well say that Aristotle understood the fabric of the sublime worlds better than Ezkiel the Prophet.
However, here the Rozhiner Rebbe changes the system of values by which he judges matters. Perhaps Aristotle knew more than Ezekiel, but does it matter if he knew more or less? The real question is not what you know but how that knowledge affects you.
Two people walk through the king’s palace. One of them turns his attention to the precious objects, magnificent vessels, and treasures. For him, the palace is a fascinating place that must be analyzed. He recognizes that the contents of the palace are all beautiful, wise, interesting, but he stops here; he refrains from seeking out the king himself.
It may well be that the second person walking through the palace knows less about the palace itself, but as he walks along he is permeated with a sense of attachment to the king. For him, the palace has no essential significance; it only has meaning inasmuch as it arouses man to attach himself to God.
Ezekiel picked up where Aristotle left off. Aristotle reached an understanding of all celestial forces, but for him the cosmic activity was everything. Ezekiel too saw the Divine Chariot of the cosmos, but for him this was only and introductory vision to the personal bond between man and God.
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
