Rambam vs. Riaz (and Thomas Jefferson vs. Pirkei Avos) Artwork

Machshavah Lab

My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss. My goal as a Torah educator is not merely to teach my students my OWN hashkafah. Rather, my goal is to equip them with the foundations, the methodological training, and the tools which will enable them to arrive at their OWN understanding of Judaism and cultivate their OWN relationship with Hashem and His Torah. This podcast is devoted to the shiurim I give which are geared specifically towards that end. As such, the range of topics covered here will be diverse. There will be shiurim on Jewish philosophy, Chumash methodology, aggadic midrashim, maybe even some non-Jewish philosophy as well. Merriam-Webster defines "laboratory" as a place providing opportunity for experimentation, observation, or practice in a field of study. I call this podcast "Machshavah Lab" because this is where we will conduct Torah "experiments" by exploring questions, texts, and ideas in an effort to develop our machshavah in a "hands on," exploratory, firsthand manner.

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Machshavah Lab

Rambam vs. Riaz (and Thomas Jefferson vs. Pirkei Avos)

February 16, 2021 • Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss

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Note: This is essentially the same shiur I gave in my Rambam Bekius chavurah at YBT on 2/15/21, but this one is slightly shorter, due to the length of the periods at Lomdeha. Also, I didn't mistakenly refer to the Riaz as the Rid in this shiur!

This morning (2/16/21 at Lomdeha) we took up a side-quest: to defend the Rambam against a charge leveled by the Riaz (R' Yeshaya Acharon di'Trani). The Rambam famously held that one who believes that Hashem has a body or an appearance qualifies as a "min" (heretic). The Riaz, like the Raavad, disagreed with the Rambam's psak and explains his reasoning. Our defense was drawn from the best Rambam defender of them all: the Rambam himself! The Rambam reveals the mistaken premise on which the Riaz's conclusion is based. Since yesterday was Presidents Day, we then read an excerpt from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson on the topic of Jewish morality in which he relies on an "expert" historian of philosophy who commits the same error as the Riaz. Lastly, we read an excerpt from Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman's book, "Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith," which frames the errors of both men as an example of fallacious anachronistic thinking.
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מקורות:
ריא"ז - קונטרס הראיות סנהדרין דף פח עמוד ב - צ עמוד א
רמב"ם - פירוש המשניות, מנחות ד:א
Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams (10/12/1813)
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman - "Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith," pp.191-193
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Machshavah Lab

Machshavah Lab

Rambam vs. Riaz (and Thomas Jefferson vs. Pirkei Avos)

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