Maimonides on the Decline of the Generations and the Nature of Rabbinic Authority
Moses Maimonides, medieval Judaism's leading legist and philosopher, and a figure of central importance for contemporary Jewish self-understanding, held a view of Judaism which maintained the authority of the Talmudic rabbis in matters of Jewish law while allowing for free and open inquiry in matters of science and philosophy. Maimonides affirmed, not the superiority of the "moderns" (the scholars of his and subsequent generations) over the "ancients" (the Tannaim and Amoraim, the Rabbis of...
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Moses Maimonides, medieval Judaism's leading legist and philosopher, and a figure of central importance for contemporary Jewish self-understanding, held a view of Judaism which maintained the authority of the Talmudic rabbis in matters of Jewish law while allowing for free and open inquiry in matters of science and philosophy. Maimonides affirmed, not the superiority of the "moderns" (the scholars of his and subsequent generations) over the "ancients" (the Tannaim and Amoraim, the Rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud) but the inherent equality of the two. The equality presented here is not equality of halakhic authority, but equality of ability, of essential human characteristics. In order to substantiate these claims, Kellner explores the related idea that Maimonides does not adopt the notion of "the decline of the generations," according to which each succeeding generation, or each succeeding epoch, is in some significant and religiously relevant sense inferior to preceding generations or epochs. Booknews Examines the impact of the ideas of Moses Maimonides, medieval Judaism's leading legist and philosopher, concentrating on his rejection of the notion of "the decline of generations," as well as his views on nature and miracles, the nature of the rabbis' authority, and the authority of the rabbis in non-halakhic matters. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
PrefaceIntroduction1Ch. 1The Decline of the Generations7Ch. 2Maimonides on Nature and Miracles27Ch. 3Maimonides on Decline37Ch. 4Maimonides' Attitude towards the Authority of the Rabbis in non-Halakhic Matters55Ch. 5Maimonides on the "Advance" of the Generations69Ch. 6On the Nature of the Rabbis' Authority83Ch. 7Concluding (Quasi-) Scientific Postscript91Notes97References123Citations from Maimonides' Works133General Index135
\ BooknewsExamines the impact of the ideas of Moses Maimonides, medieval Judaism's leading legist and philosopher, concentrating on his rejection of the notion of "the decline of generations," as well as his views on nature and miracles, the nature of the rabbis' authority, and the authority of the rabbis in non-halakhic matters. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
