Part 3, Introduction to Part III
Arabic (Huseyin Attai, 1962) | English (Michael Friedländer, 1885) | Hebrew (Ibn Tibbon, 1204) | Arabic (Munk, 1856)
Here, Maimonides provides a different ‘objective’ for the book.
it is our primary object in this treatise to expound, as far as possible, the Biblical account of the Creation (Ma‘aseh bereshit) and the description of the Divine Chariot (Ma‘aseh Mercabah) in a manner adapted to the training of those for whom this work is written.
‘those for whom this work is written’ is a phrase that is well explained in GP.I.intro: someone who adheres to religious Law but is also trained in philosophy, and finds it “difficult to accept as correct the teaching based on the literal interpretation of the Law”.
But for Maimonides, “these subjects belong to the mysteries of the Law”, and were known to the Sages, who made it clear that one is not supposed to divulge these “secrets” except with great caution, “although”, Maimonides says, “they are perfectly clear to the philosopher”. Thus, for Maimonides, there are certain profound truths, particulrly metaphysical ones, which can be known either through careful study of Revelation as mediated by ‘the Sages’, or through philosophical study; at one point, he refers to “person[s] favoured by Providence with reason to understand these mysteries”.
However, this kind of knowledge has “entirely disappeared from our nation, and nothing has remained of it. This was unavoidable, for the explanation of these mysteries was always communicated viva voce, it was never committed to writing”. He does not claim a mystical or revelatory source for his own knowledge of these ‘secrets’, nor does he claim that he is a link in the supposed chain of transmission from the Sages; ever the rationalist, Maimonides plainly admits that
my knowledge of them is based on reasoning, not on divine inspiration. I have not received my belief in this respect from any teacher, but it has been formed by what I learnt from Scripture and the utterances of our Sages, and by the philosophical principles which I have adopted. It is therefore possible that my view is wrong, and that I misunderstood the passages referred to.
Conveying once again his reluctance to expound openly what religion commands him to conceal, he states once again that his method of exposition has been deliberately cursory; “those … for whom this treatise has been composed will, on reflecting on it and thoroughly examining each chapter, obtain a perfect and clear insight into all that has been clear and intelligible to me.”
The following few chapters will be devoted to an explanation of the book of the prophet Ezekiel, which contains the ‘description of the Divine Chariot’; in Friedlander’s translation, “this sublime, important, and grand (الشريف الجليل العظيم) subject”.