Rishonim16th centurySpain; Ashkenaz; Kraków
The Rambam Revolution, the Spanish Response and the Rema's Legacy
Ethics and thought
- Philosophy
- Orders of study
- Halakha
- Metaphysics
- Kabbalah
- The yeshiva world
- Authority
Ethics and thought
Podcast episode · The Rambam Revolution, the Spanish Response and the Rema's Legacy
The debate over the purpose of the Torah: halakha as the goal versus philosophy or Kabbalah as the summit – and the shaping of the yeshiva world.
An intellectual drama about the purpose of Torah study: the Rambam sets metaphysical apprehension as the summit, while the Sages of Spain stress the centrality of the Gemara and at times of Kabbalah. The Rema shapes a model in which the study of halakha and Talmud is itself the goal, and so lays the foundations of the yeshiva world. The chapter points to implications for the question of the authority of the Oral Torah.
includes 2 inspiration linksThe generations follow the Rambam’s introduction to the Mishneh Torah. A dashed line is inspiration, not direct transmission.