Thursday, October 30, 2014

Neither Mysticism Nor Rationalism

"Strangely enough the same line of reasoning [of Rabbi Hirsch's, in his criticism of Rambam and his rationalism] resulted in condemnation of both mysticism and rationalism for their non-humanistic ideals. For the rationalist the knowledge of God, and not the practical consequences of the Mitzvot, constitutes the highest desideratum of religious living. … For Hirsch, the Mitzvot must serve the eternal purpose and task of Israel, the mission to humanity. The higher purpose that Maimonides finds in religion is unacceptable to Hirsch...in his zeal for the humanistic conception of Mitzvot."

Rabbi Howard I. Levine's "Enduring and Transitory Elements in the Philosophy of Samson Raphael Hirsch" (
Tradition 5:2, Spring 1963)  in The-Kuzari-as-Contrasted-With-Rabbi-S-R-Hirsch-s-Conception-of-Tiqun-Olam-The-Place-of-Universalism-and-Morality-in-Judaism-Michael-Makovi

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