Maimonides’ Path to God

An Analysis of Maimonides’ educational, contemplative and meditative training plan. A breakdown of the mystical chapter of the Guide, 3.51. An attempt to map it, explore its primary themes and language, examine its relationship to mysticism and its impact upon the kabbalists.
Check out the rest of our Maimonides series: • Maimonides' Mysticism
00:00 Intro
00:34 Schema
09:42 Epistemology
12:11 Themes
17:14 Language
22:35 Afterlife
30:08 Conclusion
31:08 Recap
32:21 Up Next
Sources
• Adam Afterman “And They Shall Be One Flesh”: On the Language of Mystical Union in Judaism, 2016
• David Blumenthal, Maimonides: Prayer, Worship, And Mysticism
• David R. Blumenthal, “Maimonides' Philosophic Mysticism” in Daat, 2009, No. 6466, Bar Ilan University Press
• David R. Blumenthal, “Maimonides’ Intellectualist Mysticism and the Superiority of the Prophecy of Moses,” in Philosophic Mysticism: Essays in Rational Religion, ch. 3, 2006
• David R. Blumenthal, Philosophic Mysticism, The Ultimate Goal of Medieval Judaism
• Diana Lobel, “Philosophers and Sufis in the Medieval Mediterranean World”
• Diana Lobel, Moses and Abraham Maimonides: Encountering the Divine, 2021, p. 127
• Ehud Benor, Worship of the Heart, A Study in Maimonides' Philosophy of Religion, 1995, 39-53, 70-76.
• Elliot R. Wolfson, "Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs," in With Reverence for the Word, New York: Oxford University, 2003, 93-99
• Elliot R. Wolfson, Language, Eros, Being, 348-52
• Elliot Wolfson “Via Negativa in Maimonides and Its Impact on Thirteenth- Century Kabbalah.” In Maimonidean Studies 5, 2008, p. 421-35
• Elliot Wolfson, “Beneath the Wings of the Great Eagle: Maimonides and Thirteenth-Century Kabbalah,” in Moses Maimonides, 2004
• Elliot Wolfson, Abraham Abulafia: Kabbalist and Prophet, 52-93, 152-85, 197- 204;
• Gershom Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism, 138-9, 383 n. 76
• Gershom Scholem, Origins of the Kabbalah, 1962, 413.
• Gershom Scholem, The Messianic Idea in Judaism, (New York: Schocken Books, 1971), 205
• Gideon Freudenthal, The Philosophical Mysticism of Maimonides and Maimon
• Ignaz Goldziher, "Ibn Hud, The Mahommedan Mystic, and the Jews of Damascus," Jewish Quarterly Review (OS) 6 (1894), 218-220.
• Isaiah Tishby, The Wisdom of the Zohar vol. III, 980-98
• Ithamar Gruenwald, “Maimonides’ Quest beyond Philosophy and Prophecy,” in Perspectives, ed. J. L. Kraemer, 1996, pp. 143.
• Jacob Dienstag: ‘Maimonides’ Guide and Sefer HaMadda in Hasidic Literature’, in Abraham Weiss Jubilee Volume, Heb. section (New York, 1964), 307-30. See Tzava'at Harivash 3; 81 and 84
• McGinn, “Meister Eckhart on Speaking about God,” in Meister Eckhart, Teacher and Preacher, ed. B. McGinn, F. Tobin, and E. Borgstadt (Mahwah, N.J.: 1986), 15-30
• Michael Fishbane, The Kiss of God: Spiritual and Mystical Death in Judaism (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994) 24-40
• Michah Gottlieb, “Two Paradigms of the Nexus Between Philosophy and Mysticism Judah Halevi and Moses Maimonides” in Faith, Reason, Politics, Academic Studies Press 2013
• Moshe Idel, “Maimonides and Kabbalah,” in Studies in Maimonides, ed. Isadore Twersky (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1990), 54-80
• Moshe Idel, “Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed and the Kabbalah,” Jewish History 18 (2004): 197-226;
• Moshe Idel, Absorbing Perfections, 438-47;
• Moshe Idel, Ben, 328-329.
• Moshe Idel, Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah, 1-31
• Paul Walker, "An Isma'ill Answer to the Problem of Worshiping the Unknowable, Neoplatonic God," American Journal of Arabic Studies 2 (1974): 18.
• Paul Walker, Early Philosophical Shiism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 78.
• Sarah Pessin, The Influence of Islamic Thought on Maimonides
• Shlomo Pines, “The Philosophic Purport of Maimonides’ Halachic Works,” 9-10.
• Yossef Schwartz, Meister Eckhart and Moses Maimonides: From Judaeo-Arabic Rationalism to Christian Mysticism
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[@TheModernHermeticist]

Man, I'm so grateful for this in-depth series, thank you so much for this gift. After reading the Guide for the Perplexed, a few biographies and monographs on Maimonides, and following along with my favourite Rabbi YY Jacobson's couple of series on the Rambam I thought I had the gist, but the whole of your series really rounded out all the knowledge I learned elsewhere, so thank you again. Going into this kind of detail on one thinker on KZbin takes a lot of courage and dedication so I commend you for this.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you brother. I so appreciate your appreciation. It means a lot to feel the genuine supportiveness of the religious studies content creators on the channel. I feel honored and lucky to be part of such a thoughtful, diligent and kind crew, yourself included. Congratulations on your recent dissertation defense Dr. Attrell. Your work is outstanding. It’s an exciting moment to be alive in such a space. Glad to be sharing knowledge alongside you. With love, Zevi

[@kimw200blaze4]

The "perfect death" would take a lot of intense and dedicated work taken over a lifetime. I knew a friend who was a Buddhist, and he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He wasn't a monk, but a layperson, who took his Buddhist spiritual practice seriously. Suddenly, on his deathbed, he was completely at peace. He intensified his spiritual practice in the palliative care ward. As such a monk, would come in every day, and carry out joint mediation with my friend. He also had an understanding of the teachings of Buddhism, which helped him to transition peacefully from this life. The doctors in the ward were amazed at how peaceful he was, as he faced his mortality. So I think these principles you refer to Zevi, as articulated by Maimonides have universal application and are found in many spiritual traditions. You can see this phenomenon, also for example, in the many Catholic saints, who were looking forward to their death and achieving the Beatific vision.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Check out the rest of our epic Maimonides series: kzbin.info/aero/PL_7jcKJs6iwXUKaVOvNJWr5DSLPTYV0j9

[@ready1fire1aim1]

["Transcending dimensions" (Jacob's Ladder 🪜)/ 0-5th dimensions corrected & clarified] by C. M. Elmore 2D shape-name or 3D shape-name for determining 4D end-shape and 5D end-shape: (2D 'circle' vs. 3D 'sphere', in this case) 🆗️ Earth IS a 4D 'circle' (2D shape-name); a "quaternion". 🚫 Earth IS NOT a 4D 'sphere' (3D shape-name); a "hypersphere" (lit. 5D/contradictory). 🆗️ 2D 'circle' 🚫 2D 'sphere' contra. 🚫 3D 'circle' contra. 🆗️ 3D 'sphere' 🆗️ 4D 'circle' (2D shape-name) = 4D end-shape "quaternion". 🚫 4D 'sphere' (3D shape-name) = contradictory 🚫 5D 'circle' (2D shape-name) = contradictory 🆗️ 5D 'sphere' (3D shape-name) = 5D end-shape "hypersphere" 2D shape-name for determining 4D end-shape. 3D shape-name for determining 5D end-shape. "Evens and Odds", transcendentally speaking. 0D: point 🔘 1D: length/line 2D: shape-name + L/W "circle/flat earth". 3D: shape-name + L/W + depth "sphere/globe earth". 4D: shape-name + L/W/D + time(flow); current, 'contingent' (not simulated), 4D 'circle' "quaternion" earth. 5D: (H1; hypersphere) Google 'quaternion' stereographic video/images/info. We're demonstrably 4D. "we're 4D?" -me, "🔫 always have been" -also me.

[@ready1fire1aim1]

Does solving metaphysical dimensions help?

[@DaveTheTurd]

Had to watch this one twice - and take notes. Thank you immeasurably.

[@SeekersofUnity]

You’re most welcome Dave. I’m glad it was helpful.

[@bradfordlaneromans2994]

You are laying out the path of my life !! When I first read “The Guide” , it hit me right between the eyes ! I suddenly realized that I had the cart before the horse ! For 6 years I had been seeking G_d intensely , but I had neglected the knowledge of the real world. That’s why I found myself at a dead end , in my spiritual mystical quest. So , I moved back to the States and started my 10 year study of Medicine ( math , science , biology , critical thinking , etc ). Now , after 35 years of medical practice , I am prepared to tackle The Mystical. I’m so happy to the point of being overwhelmed with emotion. Now , I turn to the Holy One , blessed be he , and open myself up to catch the overflow of G_d’s love. I love what you are doing and would like to support your work. I’m Doc from Dallas and hope to be in touch …

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you Doc. Glad this is resonating with you so. Looking forward to connecting on the path. Love, Zevi

[@homeostasisrestored4385]

"The more knowledge is inherent in a thing, the greater the love." ~ Paracelsus

[@juliaappleton17]

Thank you for this nourishing wisdom. I am a very old nurse working ER, ICU and now palliative care. I am curious about the moments between life and death. I have seen the kiss and often can guess who will receive this kiss and go gently and who will fight and resist like a 5 year old at bedtime. It is so hard to be human, to suffer, to fear and to grieve.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Wow. Thank you for sharing that deep experience with us. I’m speechless. What you’re doing is such holy work Julia. Thank you for caring for humanity and for sharing it with us.

[@juliaappleton17]

@@SeekersofUnity thank you. HaShem called me and who am I to say no? :I need your wisdom to help me understand what I see. Maimonides was a physician so I lean on him but I do not have the Hebrew literacy to read the source documents and that is why your work is holy and sharing is so needed. Todah Rabah.

[@selsickr]

Hi Zevi, I really liked this episode. Maimonides over here brought 2 verses from the Haftorah of Yom Cipur (Isaiah 57-14 to 58-14). If we want to explain the Haftorah in a way where there are no contradictions it gives a new and unique way of understanding what we are reading and how to serve God. Isaiah 57-14 We must correct our ways and take away the stumbling block (singular). 57-17 We have gone astray and done what we really thought was good (but was not what God really wanted). 57-18 God has seen our mistaken ways and will heal them. He will graciously reward us ( as we thought it was good ) and those that were hurt because of us. 58-1 God asks Isaiah to scream out like a shofar and explain to us what our sins really are. 58-2 We always truly searched for God, wanted to do His will and wanted to be close to Him. 58-3 We fasted and suffered but this was not exactly what God wanted from us. 58-4 We also argued and fought for what we thought God wanted from us. 58-6,7,8 The true service of God is to be good to others and make them happy. We should also never neglect ouselves our families and our friends. ( It does not mean that we should not do the Mizvot but that we should do them with the inner meaning as well). 57-19 God will sent true peace to those near as well as those far away. Everyone will be healed. 58-8 We will then understand the Glory of God which is the greatest reward possible and the highest pleasure that could possibly be attained. 58-13 We will then automatically, with pleasure and passion keep all the laws of Shabat and will love it so much that we will speak about it all the time. (Just like people now talk about politics and sport) 58-14 We will finally understand God and reach the level where Knower, Known and Knowledge are all one. We will then live in ultimate Nirvana, Samhadi, True Happiness, Extase, Bliss, Paradise, Harmony and Peace for ever and ever.

[@ISAbyanymeans]

Best series on KZbin

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you friend :)

[@Bildgesmythe]

Thank you so much for sharing this on KZbin.

[@SeekersofUnity]

You’re most welcome friend 🙏🏼

[@johnnewton8017]

What a beautiful and wonderful man he was!!! Excellent video.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you John 🙏🏼

[@SeekersofUnity]

Melody. Let us exercise our patience and hold our judgments until the end of the series.

[@canisronis2753]

Beautifully done! Thank you

[@SeekersofUnity]

You’re most welcome.

[@Azupiru]

I went through these cognitive and post-cognitive processes, starting with the concepts in the "Sefer Yetzirah", but I came rationally to something that is a lot more similar to the Mandaean conception of God than the Abrahamic conception.

[@krasbauer]

What i love about Maimonides is how he was able to put those experiences into words. A person might think he is going crazy with such experiences and "deductions" until one hears the words of such as Maimonides (and other philosophers/mystics on this channel). I am thankful he exists, and thankful you exist to relay his words.

[@SeekersofUnity]

🙏🏼

[@keenanarthur8381]

This reminds me of yoga. In the philosophical path of jñāna yoga, the faculty of discernment (intellect or conscience, Sanskrit buddhi) is sharpened to such a degree that it becomes possible to discern universal consciousness as the underlying source of reality. Bhakti yoga, the path of loving devotion to the divine, utilizes emotional, instinctual, non-rational energies in an alchemical process of sublimation leading to ecstatic union.

[@silencenow357]

Blessed be you

[@SeekersofUnity]

Blessed be those who bless ;)

[@rabbiberelscharf8585]

👏👏 Kudos! Another wonderful video! Thank you Zevi! Very enjoyable! Keep them coming!

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you friend 🙏🏼

[@yadidlechem2357]

This is a great channel, just love it. Reading the Guide and with these lessons it keeps on giving.

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you friend. I’m so glad you’re enjoying it.

[@ZULFIKAR.ALI.313]

Really informative!

[@SeekersofUnity]

Thank you Gerry 🙏🏼

[@jbaquinones]

Thank you Zevi. The more I hear you and Dr Sledge speak about Kabbalah the more it sounds like Gnostic Christianity to me. Leaving the body and becoming noetic beings sounds a lot like becoming beings of Gnosis. Thank you for your work Sir. Have you put any thought on continuing your Maimonides series by sharing the works of Abulafia on Maimonides? Thank you again Sir. Much blessings.

[@willielee5253]

@This is beyond me, but your presentation is effortless. Thanks!!!

[@cookiemonster3147]

Thank you.

[@SeekersofUnity]

You’re most welcome Cookie Monster :)

[@osamaj]

Great video, thank you! @29:29 "This bridge allows the human worldly agent to transform into a purely noetic being (i.e. an angel) or transform into a "son" of God, and as an angel they may participate in the divine order of knowledge, according to their place in the metaphysical hierarchy." If I'm not mistaken, the Sufis identify that station as fana' and baqa' and reach Divine Knowledge (similar to Al Khadir). Question, do the Sufis use a parallel analogy to "transforming into a "son" of God"? Or do they leave it as Union and Annihilation with God? I don't even know if what I asked made any sense lol

[@SeekersofUnity]

Yes. There’s a parallel process in Sufism whereby one becomes the “perfect person” al-Insān al-Kāmil, check it out.

[@osamaj]

@@SeekersofUnity ah yes!! Thank you 🙏🏼

[@madsenketty]

Share: 🎧 The Cure - Friday I’m In Love 2:02

[@bosbanon3452]

Why Maimon use many Arabic term?

[@SeekersofUnity]

The entire book was written in Arabic. It was the language of the land of his day. He also wrote works in Hebrew.

[@Elazar40]

"Death," is simply an absence of Life. Rather, transition. The first principle of Budhism, is non-attachment. This also includes the transient egoic formations which do not survive. Some traditions view the world of transition/Maya, as a descent into matter for the experiential process.

[@Beeaura88]

❤

[@lewiakk5844]

Great video but ad mosai are we getting a kvod hagaon Moreinu Elliot wolfson shlit”a interview?

[@SeekersofUnity]

Haha. I’d love to.

[@bradfordlaneromans2994]

I ❤️ U back

[@psciunn]

I'd like to hear your introduction and your comment on the book by Levy Ben Ghershom - RaLBaG - Ghershonide: Milchamot HaShem. I find it much more systematic and clear than Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed. What do you think about it ?

[@SeekersofUnity]

We’ll get there, G d willing. One great book at a time.

[@beagru5706]

🕊️💗🍀🌻🙋‍♀️

[@stumpy31952]

thanks for the introduction , our family has been hiding from fascist's for far too long and hiding, somewhat like Maimonades'

[@SeekersofUnity]

You're most welcome Stephen

[@bradfordlaneromans2994]

You can be really funny. Espically when you say “ if you don’t know what just happened , return to a previous video , etc etc. “ 😂🤣

[@SeekersofUnity]

😋

[@bayreuth79]

But we can never have an adequate concept of God since He/she/it is unlike anything in creation. We know through not knowing.

[@skylerallensmith]

Armageddon: God’s choicest Weapon: Learn the Lesson, Forgiveness cannot be achieved through a Simple Confession. You must have Pure Intention to achieve True Ascension.

[@thesoulmateconnection]

Believe in the Jew ✡ 🙏✡

[@klausschmied7144]

Shit happens....

[@matthewsingleton1165]

God already has a 7 step plan. Don’t add to or take away from YAHOWAHS Towrah.

[@monalisa6264]

Lilith the first female the true God made with Adam, who didn’t want her and demonise her. Malachi 2:14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the LORD accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows. Lilith and her daughters aka daughters of Zion were rejected from men because Adam demonise her. They are the precious stones and cornerstone. Psalms 118:22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. The living god on earth now is heavens ark of the covenant, the word of god, the true church is the Bride of Christ. She is daughter Zion, the child called up to God in Revelation 12, the female Christ. DaVinci painted her The Mona Lisa. If you calculate this year 2022 minus the year the 1st Mona Lisa died 1542=480 years, the same amount of time from Exodus to the rebuild of the new temple in the Bible. She has inherited the nations. Father god of the Old Testament is Samael aka Yaldabaeoth aka Yahweh aka Satan. He is mean and punishes. He was/is the one trying to stop humans to ascend to the loving true Almighty God, Mother God aka Lucifer aka aka Lilith aka El aka Lisa and her consort Archangel Michael. Yahweh aka Satan is described as a dragon which shows he’s not the omnipresent God “The LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.” Jeremiah 31:22 😇A woman aka the Bride will help you find the way to the new earth! She is the key 🔑 The living presence of God on earth is the 4 living creatures described at the throne. She is the Bride aka Israel aka female Christ aka wisdom aka El aka Lilith the first human, Mary Magdalene, Ephraim, the lioness of Judah, the unicorn, Mona Lisa, key of David, daughter of Israel. The true third of the Trinity that Satan tried to erase & suppressed. God woke her from her up from her slumber 1 year to date

[@saul2491]

Wow. You should know not only does jeremiah 31:3/ show you we will still be observing the laws after the messiah comes Jeremiah 31:33 shows specifically it hasn't happened yet. Where is the knowledge throughout the world. How come you still need to teach your neighbour Really dumb to try use jeremiah 31. It is an anti christian chapter And malachi 2 is referring to Israel. The companion and wife of your covenant A d G-d will not deal treacherously with israel and restore her as he has already started to do as seen in 1948 and 1967

[@knowone3529]

When the victim is a Gentile, the position is quite different. A Jew who murders a Gentile is guilty only of a sin against the laws of Heaven, not punish­able by a court.1 To cause indirectly the death of a Gentile is no sin at all.2 Thus, one of the two most important commentators on the Shulhan ‘Arukh explains that when it comes to a Gentile, ‘one must not lift one’s hand to harm him, but one may harm him indirectly, for instance by removing a ladder after he had fallen into a crevice… there is no prohibition here, because it was not done directly.’3 He points out, however, that an act leading indirectly to a Gentile’s death is forbidden if it may cause the spread of hostility towards Jews.4

[@shira1270]

Our Rabbi wants us to learn these things so guess it’s too late to play the female card and get out of the “work”!

[@saul2491]

Meanwhile you are seen elsewhere on youtube constantly trying to prove Judaism and the tanach false. Something is very wrong with you

[@shira1270]

@@saul2491 U can follow me around on which sites I wish to watch or you can live your own life which apparently you don’t have one or you wouldn’t be so fascinated by mine..which is nothing interesting at all!!

[@aljuric5887]

Jesus is Lord.

[@SeekersofUnity]

And so are You - William Blake

[@aljuric5887]

@@SeekersofUnity You can not even make a blade of grass, you arrogant fool.

[@saul2491]

Jesus is not lord. He even is the worst candidate in history to be called the messiah. I am not exaggerating. Can't think of any historical figure who is a worse candidate than jesus for the messiah

[@SeekersofUnity]

@@saul2491 Proverbs 3:17 ;)

[@aljuric5887]

@@saul2491 You poor, poor bastard. I mean that literally.