How did medieval Jewish scholars, from Saadia Gaon to Yitzhak Abravanel, imagine a world that has experienced salvation? What is the nature of reality in the days of the Messiah? This work explores reactions to the seductive promises of apocalyptic teachings, tracing their fluctuations between intellect and imagination. The volume extensively surveys the tension between naturalistic and apocalyptic approaches to the history of the messianic idea so fundamental to the history of Jewish philosophy in the Middle Ages and reveals the scope and challenges of medieval thought.
How did medieval Jewish scholars, from Saadia Gaon to Yitzhak Abravanel, imagine a world that has experienced salvation? What is the nature of reality...
Offers a new reading of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed, exploring how Maimonides' commitment to integrity led him to a critique of the Kal?m, to a complex concept of immortality, and to insight into the human yearning for metaphysical knowledge.
Offers a new reading of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed, exploring how Maimonides' commitment to integrity led him to a critique of the Kal?m, to a...