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Yehoshua Ben-Shimon | ๐ค๐ค๐ค ๐ค๐ค
@JBS053
๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ธ Attorney โ๏ธ dad๐จ and wannabe connoisseur of Andalusian Jewry.
New York, NY
Joined April 2022
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@ShabbosReads I finished this over Shabbat. Always found it fascinating that Ramchal wrote three romance plays. This one in particular made me struggle with the Hebrew more than the others. If you can get through this, itโs definitely a fascinating read.
@dov_rabinowitz Not so fast my man
Greatest Final turnaround! Congratulations NY Knicks! Knicks in Five!!
Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Avrum Shapira and Rav Mordechai Eliyahu
@NhavsMaimonides @Shadow_Rebbe @shnayor When reading someone who can defend Leibowitzean philosophy, deflect rebuttals, and garner support from classical sources as well as you do, it's a no brainer.
@shnayor @eunoicredamancy Thank you! I recently subscribed to your Substack and began reading a number of your articles. Earlier today, I sent you a DM on something that came across my mind while reading your takes on the philosophy of Jewish History. Pleas check it out and let me know your thoughts.
@shnayor @eunoicredamancy I really enjoyed reading this. The cover page says that it is Vol. 1 No.1 - I am assuming future writings will be available? Any way to sign up?
@isaacson Both stumbled with women. See Torah Temimah on Bereishit 24:1
Youโre reinterpreting Rambam in a very forced, anachronistic way to fit your framework.
Rambam explicitly contrasts two things:Belief based on miracles which he dismisses.
Belief based on the public, collective eyewitness experience at Sinai: โOur eyes saw, and not a strangerโs; our ears heard, and not anotherโs โ the fire, the voices, the torchesโฆโ
He then says this direct perception is what makes Mosesโ prophecy uniquely credible, so that no future prophet can ever override him.The part you quoted comes after this. It is explaining why we reject a new prophet who contradicts Moshe โ because we already have this unbreakable historical foundation from Sinai. It doesnโt erase the empirical character of the Sinai event; it builds upon it. Rambam treats the Sinai revelation as a public historical fact that removes doubt in a way no private miracle could.
Hereโs the problem with invoking the Rambam to support your position. He explicitly grounds Jewish belief in Moses and the Torah in the historical event at Sinai: ืึผืึทืึถึผื ืึถืึฑืึดืื ืึผ ืึผืึน. ืึฐึผืึทืขึฒืึทื ืึทืจ ืกึดืื ึทื ืฉึถืืขึตืื ึตืื ืึผ ืจึธืืึผ ืึฐืึนื ืึธืจ ืึฐืึธืึฐื ึตืื ืึผ ืฉึธืืึฐืขืึผ ืึฐืึนื ืึทืึตืจ ืึธืึตืฉื ืึฐืึทืงึผืึนืืึนืช ืึฐืึทืึทึผืคึดึผืืึดืื ืึฐืืึผื ื ึดืึทึผืฉื ืึถื ืึธืขึฒืจึธืคึถื ืึฐืึทืงึผืึนื ืึดืึทึผืึตึผืจ ืึตืึธืื ืึฐืึธื ืึผ ืฉืืึนืึฐืขึดืื ืืฉึถืื ืืฉึถืื ืึตืึฐ ืึฑืึนืจ ืึธืึถื ืึธึผืึฐ ืึฐืึธืึฐ. He says we believe because of a specific historical occurrence that served as direct, empirical validation for that generation, which then becomes binding for all future generations.This directly contradicts the claim that historical origin is โcompletely irrelevantโ to the Torahโs divinity. For Rambam, the historical Sinai revelation is central โ itโs what distinguishes true prophecy from potential fabrication. You canโt selectively use Rambamโs โno other Torahโ rule while dismissing the very mechanism he uses to establish the first one.
It may be axiomatic within the system, but labeling it 'divine' because it's a self-constituting normative framework doesn't solve the problem. Every successful religious tradition (Catholic canon law, Islamic Sharia ) can claim to be an 'underived axiomatic system of obligation consecrated by its community.' What elevates this one to uniquely divine status rather than simply a highly effective human cultural artifact?If there's no external anchor โ no historical Sinai event, no metaphysical transcendence beyond collective consecration โ then 'God' here seems to function mainly as a honorific for the system's own self-validation.
It seems deeply circular. You're saying the Written Torah derives its divine legitimacy from the Oral Torah/Halakhah (the living normative system that the community has consecrated), yet the Oral Torah itself draws its authority from the Written Torah's commands to obey the judges, follow the Sages, etc. If the entire development of the Oral Law is ultimately a human process โ rabbinic interpretation, collective acceptance, and institutionalization over centuries โ then we're left with a self-referential loop: humans create a system that retroactively declares a humanly-developed text 'divine,' which in turn validates the human system that created it.
The Rambam's source is likely the Mishnah in Taanit which says that because we decrease in simcha on Chodesh Av, we don't eat meat and wine for the seudat mafseket. The implication is that both wine and meat are associated with simcha, even without the Beit Hamikdash being around.
Is Zionism built on a biblical myth?
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