Is an Aristotelian Commentary on the Torah Still Relevant Today?

Feb. 16 2024

This week’s Torah reading of T’rumah, with its detailed descriptions of the construction of the Tabernacle, has daunted many readers over the years. It has also given rise to a variety of allegorical, philosophic, and mystical interpretations. Among them is that of Rabbi Levi ben Gershom, also known as Ralbag or Gersonides (1288–1344). Menachem Kellner provides some background on this extraordinary Provençal scholar:

Heavily influenced by Aristotelian philosophy, he is often considered a radical thinker. Gersonides wrote important and often groundbreaking works in biblical exegesis and halakhah, astronomy, astrology, geometry, logic, mathematics, philosophy, and philosophical theology. He also wrote extensive supercommentaries on the commentaries of Averroes (ibn Rushd, 1126–1198) on Aristotle.

Gersonides worked with Christian astronomers and astrologers and apparently enjoyed a cordial relationship with them. His reputation in the wider world was such that a very large number of his scientific and philosophical works were translated into Latin and his astronomical tables were sought after by Johannes Kepler.

It is this knowledge, and Aristotelian philosophy in particular, that Gersonides brings to bear in his allegorical exegesis of the Tabernacle, which leads Kellner to conclude:

Reading him today, we find a great talmudist and a great philosopher struggling to make sense of the sanctuary in the wilderness and, by implication, of the Temple in Jerusalem. Yet his reading is not one that crosses the threshold easily from his Aristotelian world into our own.

This may be true of certain details, but is it really the case, say, with the following comment, rendered by Kellner into English?

Now, the lesson shared in this passage [by all its elements] is that it directs one to believe that there exists a God, Master of all, worthy of worship, since everything comes from Him. We are therefore obliged to honor Him with our wealth, in that He is the ultimate in greatness and honor. Thus, [we are commanded] to make this sanctuary, marvelous in beauty, decoration, in the best way possible.

Read more at theTorah.com

More about: Aristotle, Exodus, Ralbag, Tabernacle

Egypt Is Trapped by the Gaza Dilemma It Helped to Create

Feb. 14 2025

Recent satellite imagery has shown a buildup of Egyptian tanks near the Israeli border, in violation of Egypt-Israel agreements going back to the 1970s. It’s possible Cairo wants to prevent Palestinians from entering the Sinai from Gaza, or perhaps it wants to send a message to the U.S. that it will take all measures necessary to keep that from happening. But there is also a chance, however small, that it could be preparing for something more dangerous. David Wurmser examines President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi’s predicament:

Egypt’s abysmal behavior in allowing its common border with Gaza to be used for the dangerous smuggling of weapons, money, and materiel to Hamas built the problem that exploded on October 7. Hamas could arm only to the level that Egypt enabled it. Once exposed, rather than help Israel fix the problem it enabled, Egypt manufactured tensions with Israel to divert attention from its own culpability.

Now that the Trump administration is threatening to remove the population of Gaza, President Sisi is reaping the consequences of a problem he and his predecessors helped to sow. That, writes Wurmser, leaves him with a dilemma:

On one hand, Egypt fears for its regime’s survival if it accepts Trump’s plan. It would position Cairo as a participant in a second disaster, or nakba. It knows from its own history; King Farouk was overthrown in 1952 in part for his failure to prevent the first nakba in 1948. Any leader who fails to stop a second nakba, let alone participates in it, risks losing legitimacy and being seen as weak. The perception of buckling on the Palestine issue also resulted in the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat’s assassination in 1981. President Sisi risks being seen by his own population as too weak to stand up to Israel or the United States, as not upholding his manliness.

In a worst-case scenario, Wurmser argues, Sisi might decide that he’d rather fight a disastrous war with Israel and blow up his relationship with Washington than display that kind of weakness.

Read more at The Editors

More about: Egypt, Gaza War 2023