Maimonides, Spinoza and Us: Toward an Intellectually Vibrant Judaism

Many books and articles are devoted to the biographies and ideas of the two great Jewish philosophers, Maimonides (1138–1204) and Spinoza (1632–1677). Angel comes up with the laudable notion of comparing and contrasting their views in a single volume. This is a bold venture, since he is an Orthodox rabbi and his predecessors in the Amsterdam Jewish community excommunicated Spinoza as a heretic in 1656, just two years after the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue was founded in New Amsterdam (now New York). Angel, born into Seattle’s Sephardic community, became the New York synagogue’s rabbi in 1969 and now serves as rabbi emeritus. Although he is respectful of many notions advocated by Spinoza, Angel makes clear his preference for the thinking of Maimonides. He explores what each of them had to say about faith, reason, God, Torah, superstition, and the relationship between Jews and non-Jews, invariably advocating the positions espoused by Maimonides. This thoughtful presentation will appeal to everyone interested in religion, Judaism, theology, and philosophy. (Dec.)