The Guide of the Perplexed

other hand, invocation and prayers are made in every place and by anyone 26. Deut. 5:26. 27. I. e., the capacity of God.

28. Or: He has made a great difference. 29. I Kings 15:53. 30. Deut. 12:26.

31. Deut. 12:13.

jjo The Guide of the Perplexed III • 52 [ 72* whoever he may be. This also applies to the fringes?2 the doorposts,33 and the phylacteries 34 and other similar modes of worship. Because of the notion I have revealed to you, people are frequently blamed in the books of the prophets because of their zeal for sacrifices, and it is explained to them that they are not the object of a purpose sought for its own sake and that God can dispense with them. Thus Samuel says: Hath the Lord as great delight ui burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearkening to the voice of the Lord? and so on.55 And Isaiah says: To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the Lord, and so on.56 And Jeremiah says: For I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices; but this thing com¬ manded I them, saying: Hearken unto My voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be My people}1 This dictum has been regarded as difficult by everyone whose words I have seen or heard. They say: How can Jeremiah say of God that He has given us no injunctions concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices, seeing that the greater part of the commandments are con¬ cerned with these things? However, the purpose of the dictum is as I have explained to you. For he says that the first intention consists only in your apprehending Me and not worshipping someone other than Me: And I will be your God, and ye shall be My people. Those laws concerning sacrifices and repairing to the temple were given only for the sake of the realization of this fundamental principle. It is for the sake of that principle that I transferred these modes of worship to My name, so that the trace of idolatry be effaced and the fundamental principle of My unity be estab¬ lished. You, however, came and abolished this end, while holding fast to what has been done for its sake. For you have doubted of My existence: They have belied the Lord, and said: It is not He}8 And you have committed idolatry: And burn incense unto Baal, | and walk after other gods...and come...unto the house, and so on.39 And still you continue to repair to the temple of the Lord, offering sacrifices, which are things that have not been intended in the first intention.

I have another way of interpreting this verse; it too leads to the very same purpose that we have mentioned. It has been made clear both in the [scriptural] text and in the tradition that in the first legislation given to us there was nothing at all concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices. You ought 39. Jer. 7:9-10. The quotation is not quite exact.

not to occupy your mind with the passover of Egypt*0 for the reason for this is clear and evident, as we shall set forth.41 Moreover this happened in the land of Egypt, whereas the laws referred to in the verse in question are those that have been given to us after the exodus from Egypt. For this reason he 42 makes the following restriction in that verse: In the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt. For the first command given after the exodus from Egypt wras the one given to us in Marah, namely, His saying to us there: If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and so on.*5 There He made for them a statute and a judgment, and so on.** And the correct tradition says: The Sabbath and the civil laws were prescribed at Marah.*5 Accordingly the statute referred to is the Sabbath, and the judg¬ ment consists in the civil laws, that is, in the abolition of mutual wrong¬ doing. And this is, as wre have explained, the first intention: I mean the belief in correct opinions, namely, in the creation of the world in time. For you already know that the foundation of the law addressed to us concern¬ ing the Sabbath is its contribution in fortifying this principle, as we have explained in this Treatise.46 Besides the correctness of the beliefs, the intention 47 also included the abolition of mutual wrongdoing among men. Accordingly it is already clear to you that in the first legislation there was nothing at all concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices, for, as we have mentioned, these belong to the second intention. The very notion | expressed by Jeremiah is also set forth in Psalms by way of blame to the whole religious community48 because of its being at that time ignorant of the first intention and not distinguishing between it and the second intention. [The Psalmist] says: Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: God, thy God, am I. I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices and thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before Me. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy fold.*9 Whenever this notion is repeated, this is what is aimed at thereby. Understand this thoroughly and reflect upon it.

40. Cf. Exod. 12:21 and 26-27, according to which the killing of a lamb in sacrifice was already prescribed in Egypt.

47. The first intention is meant. 48. Or: nation. 49. Ps. 50:7-9.

CHAPTER 35 To the totality of purposes of the perfect Law there belong the abandon¬ ment, depreciation, and restraint of desires in so far as possible, so that these should be satisfied only in so far as this is necessary. You know already that most of the lusts and licentiousness of the multitude consist in an appetite for eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse. This is what destroys man’s last perfection, what harms him also in his first perfection,1 and what corrupts most of the circumstances of the citizens and of the people engaged in dom¬ estic governance. For when only the desires are followed, as is done by the ignorant,2 the longing for speculation is abolished, the body is corrupted, and the man to whom this happens perishes before this is required by his natural term of life $ thus cares and sorrows multiply, mutual envy, hatred, and strife aiming at taking away what the other has, multiply. All this is brought about by the fact that the ignoramus regards pleasure alone as the end to be sought for its own sake. Therefore God, may His name be held sublime, employed a gracious ruse through giving us certain laws | that destroy this end and turn thought away from it in every way. He forbids everything that leads to lusts and to mere pleasure. This is an important purpose of this Law. Do you not see how the texts of the Torah command to kill him who manifestly has an excessive longing for the pleasure of eating and drinking? For he is the stubborn and rebellious son * to whom its following dictum applies: He is a glutton and a drunkard.1' He commands stoning and cutting him off speedily before the matter becomes serious and before he brings about the destruction of many and ruins by the violence of his lust the circumstances of righteous men.

Similarly to the totality of intentions of the Law there belong gentle¬ ness and docility 5 man should not be hard and rough, but responsive, obedient, acquiescent, and docile. You know' already His commandment, may He be exalted: Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.5 Be silent, and hearken, O Israel.6 If ye be willing and obedient.1 With regard to docility in accepting what ought to be accepted, it is said: And we will hear it, and do it.8 By way of a parable, it is said about this: Draw me, we will run after thee.9 l. As to these two perfections, cf. Ill 27. 2. jahiliyya. Cf. Ill 8, n. 8.

g. Song of Songs 1:4. In the Midrash to this verse, it is interpreted as referring to the obedience promised by Israel to God at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai.

74 a ] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 53 Similarly one of the intentions of the Law is purity and sanctification; I mean by this renouncing and avoiding sexual intercourse and causing it to be as infrequent as possible, as I shall make clear.10 Thus when He, may He be exalted, commanded the religious community 11 to be sanctified with a view to receiving the Torah, and He said: And sanctify them today and to¬ morrow12 — He said: Come not near a woman,13 Consequently He states clearly that sanctity consists in renouncing sexual intercourse, just as He also states explicitly that the giving-up of the drinking of wine constitutes sanctity, in what He says about the Nazarite: He shall be saintly}* A text of Siphra reads: Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holyiS — This con¬ cerns santification by the commandments. And just as the Law designates obedience to these commandments as sanctity and purity, it also designates transgression of these commandments and the perpetration of evil actions as impurity, | as I shall make clear.

Cleaning garments, washing the body, and removal of dirt also con¬ stitute one of the purposes of this Law. But this comes after the purification of the actions and the purification of the heart from polluting opinions and polluting moral qualities. For to confine oneself to cleaning the outward appearance through washing and cleaning the garment, while having at the same time a lust for various pleasures and unbridled license in eating and sexual intercourse, merits the utmost blame. Isaiah says about this: They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves to go unto the gardens behind one in the midst, eating the flesh of swine, and so on.16 He says: They purify themselves and sanctify themselves in the open and public places; and after¬ wards, when they are alone in their rooms and in the interior of their houses, they are engaged in acts of disobedience — that is, in their unbridled license in eating forbidden food: the swine and the detestable thing and the mouse}1 Perhaps he refers by means of the words, behind one in the midst, to engaging in solitude in forbidden sexual intercourse. To sum up the dictum: Their outward appearances are clean and universally known as unsullied and pure, whereas innerly they are engaged in the pursuit of their desires and the pleasures of their bodies. But this is not the purpose of the Law, for the first purpose is to restrain desire — the purification of the outer coming after the purification of the inner. Solomon has drawn attention to those who rely upon washing the body and cleaning the garments, whereas their actions are io. Cf. Ill 49. 11. Or: nation. 12. Exod. 19:10. 13. Exod. 19:15.

14. Num. 6: 5.

15. Lev. 1 1 144. The following words are from the Siphra to this verse.

534 The Guide of the Perplexed III • 34 [ 74 b impure and their moral qualities evil. For he says: There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.iS If then you consider likewise these intentions we have mentioned in this chapter, the reasons for many laws will become clear to you; those reasons were unknown before these intentions were known, as I shall explain when recommencing, j CHAPTER 34 1 mong the things that you likewise ought to know is the fact that the Law does not pay attention to the isolated. The Law was not given with a view to things that are rare. For in everything that it wishes to bring about, be it an opinion or a moral habit or a useful work, it is directed only toward the things that occur in the majority of cases and pays no attention to what happens rarely or to the damage occurring to the unique human being be¬ cause of this way of determination and because of the legal character of the governance. For the Law is a divine thing; and it is your business to reflect on the natural things in which the general utility, which is included in them, nonetheless necessarily produces damages to individuals, as is clear from our discourse and the discourse of others. In view of this consideration also, you will not wonder at the fact that the purpose of the Law is not perfectly achieved in every individual and that, on the contrary, it necessarily fol¬ lows that there should exist individuals whom this governance of the Law does not make perfect. For not everything that derives necessarily from the natural specific forms is actualized in every individual. Indeed, all things proceed from one deity and one agent and have been given from one shep¬ herd 3 The contrary of this is impossible, and we have already explained2 that the impossible has a stable nature that never changes. In view of this consideration, it also will not be possible that the laws be dependent on changes in the circumstances of the individuals and of the times, as is the case with regard to medical treatment, which is particularized for every individual in conformity with his present temperament. On the contrary, 75^ ] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 35 j governance of the Law ought to be absolute and universal, including every¬ one, | even if it is suitable only for certain individuals and not suitable for others; for if it were made to fit individuals, the whole would be corrupted and you would, make out of it something that varies.5 For this reason, matters that are primarily intended in the Law ought not to be dependent on time or place; but the decrees ought to be absolute and universal, according to what He, may He be exalted, says: As for the congregation, there shall be one statute \huqqah\ for you.* However, only the universal interests, those of the majority, are considered in them, as we have explained.

After I have set forth these premises, I shall begin to explain what I have intended to explain.

CHAPTER 35 With a view to this purpose, I have divided all the commandments into fourteen classes.

The first class comprises the commandments that are fundamental opinions. They are those that we have enumerated in Laws of the Founda¬ tions of the Torah [Hilkhoth Yesodei ha-Torah].* Repentance and fasts also belong, as I shall explain, to this class. With respect to inculcating opinions that are correct and that are useful for belief in the Law, one should not say, what is their utility? as we have explained.

The second class comprises the commandments concerned with the prohibition of idolatry. They are those that we have enumerated in Laws concerning Idolatry [ Hilkhoth c Abodah ZaraK\. Know that the prohibitions regarding garments of diverse sorts, first products 2 [of trees], and [sowing] the vineyard with diverse seeds,5 also belong to this class, as shall be explained. The reason for this class is also well known. For all of them are meant to validate the true opinions and to make the multitude cling to them through¬ out | the ages.

The third class comprises the commandments concerned with improve¬ ment of the moral qualities. They are those that we have enumerated in Laws concerning Opinions [. Hilkhoth Decoth]. It is well known that through 1. This and the other titles referred to in this chapter are parts of Maimonides’ legal com¬ pilation, Mishneh Torah.

2. Literally: foreskin. 3. Cf. Ill 26.

The Guide of the Perplexed III • 55 [ 76a fine moral qualities human association and society are perfected, which is necessary for the good order of human circumstances.

The fourth class comprises the commandments concerned with giving alms, lending, bestowal of gifts, and matters that are connected with this — as for instance estimations and anathemas,4 the ordinances concerning loans and slaves, and all the commandments that we have enumerated in the Book of Seeds [ Sepher ZeraHm ] with the exception of those treating of the mingling [of diverse species] and the first products [of trees]. The reason for all these is manifest, for they are equally useful in turn to all men. For one who is rich today will be poor tomorrow, or his descendants will be poor} whereas one who is poor today will be rich tomorrow, or his son will be rich.

The fifth class comprises the commandments concerned with prohibiting wrongdoing and aggression. They are those included in our compilation in the Book of Torts [ Sepher Neziqin]. The utility of this class is manifest.

The sixth class comprises the commandments concerned with punish¬ ments, as for instance laws concerning thieves and robbers and laws concerning false witnesses — in fact most of the matters we have enumerated in the Book of Judges [ Sepher Shophet/'m]. The utility of this is clear and manifest, for if a criminal is not punished, injurious acts will not be abolished in any way and none of those who design aggression will be deterred. No one is as weak-minded as those who deem that the abolition of punishments would be merciful on men. On the contrary, this would be cruelty itself on them as well as the ruin of the order of the city. On the contrary, mercy is to be found in His command, may He be exalted: Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates J The seventh class comprises the laws of property concerned with the mutual transactions | of people, such as loans, hire for wages, deposits, buy¬ ing, selling, and other things of this kind. Inheritance also belongs to this group. These are the commandments that we have enumerated in the Book of Acquisition and Judgments [Sepher Qinyan ve-Mishpatim ]. The utility of this class is clear and manifest. For these property associations are necessary for people in every city, and it is indispensable that rules of justice should be given with a view to these transactions and that these transactions be regulated in a useful manner.

The eighth class comprises the commandments concerning the days in which work is forbidden,6 I mean Sabbaths and festivals. Scripture has 4. I.e., vows that can be redeemed and those that cannot.

5. Deut. 16:18. 6. Literally: the forbidden days.

explained the reason of each of these days and has mentioned the cause for each of them, which may consist either in the intention to inculcate a cer¬ tain opinion or to procure a rest for the body or in both these things, as we shall explain later on.

The ninth class comprises all the other practices of worship prescribed to everybody,7 such as prayer and recitation of She ma: and the other things we have enumerated in the Book of Love \Sepher Ahabah\ with the excep¬ tion of circumcision. The utility of this class is manifest, for it is wholly composed of works that fortify opinions concerning the love of the deity and what ought to be believed about Him and ascribed to Him.

The tenth class comprises the commandments concerned with the Sanc¬ tuary and its utensils and servants. These are the commandments that we have enumerated in a portion of the Book of Divine Worship [Sepher Abodah ]. We have already set forth in the foregoing8 the utility of this class of commandments.

The eleventh class comprises the commandments concerned with the sacrifices. These are the majority of the commandments that we have enumerated in the Book of Divine Worship and the Book of Sacrifices [Sepher Qorbanoth]. We have already set forth in the foregoing9 the utility of the legislation with regard to the sacrifices in general and the necessity for it in those | times.

The twelfth class comprises the commandments concerned with things unclean and clean. The purpose of all of them is in general to make people avoid entering the Sanctuary, so that it should be considered as great by the soul and feared and venerated, as I shall explain.

The thirteenth class comprises the commandments concerned with the prohibition of certain foods and what is connected therewith. These are the commandments that we have enumerated in the Laws concerning For¬ bidden Foods [Hilkhoth Mcfakholoth Asuroth]. The [commandments con¬ cerning] vows and the state of the Nazarites belong to this class. The purpose of all this is, as we have explained in the Commentary on the Mishnah in the introduction to Aboth,i0 to put an end to the lusts and licentiousness manifested in seeking what is most pleasurable and to taking the desire for food and drink as an end.

The fourteenth class comprises the commandments concerned with the prohibition of certain sexual unions. They are those that we have enumer¬ ated in the Book of Women [ Sepher Nashim ] and in Laws concerning 7. I.e., not only to the Priests and the Levites. 8. Cf. Ill 32.

9. Cf. Ill 32. 10. Cf. Maimonides’ Bight Chapters, IV in fine.

22 j The Guide of the Perplexed III • 35 [ 77a Prohibited Sexual Relations [Hilkhoth Issurei BP ah]. The interbreeding of beasts belongs to this class. The purpose of this too is to bring about a decrease of sexual intercourse and to diminish the desire for mating as far as possible, so that it should not be taken as an end, as is done by the ignorant,11 accord¬ ing to what we have explained in the Commentary on the Tractate Abothf 2 Circumcision also belongs to this class.

It is known that all the commandments are divided into two groups: transgressions between man and his fellow man and transgressions between man and God.iS Among the classes we have differentiated and enumerated, the fifth, sixth, seventh, and a portion of the third, belong to the group devoted to the relation between man and his fellow man, while all the other classes deal with the relation between man and God. For every command¬ ment, whether it be a prescription or a prohibition, whose purpose it is to bring about the achievement | of a certain moral quality or of an opinion or the rightness of actions, which only concerns the individual himself and his becoming more perfect, is called by them14 [a commandment dealing with the relation] between man and God, even though in reality it sometimes may affect relations between man and his fellow man. But this happens only after many intermediate steps and through comprehensive considerations, and it does not lead from the beginning to harming a fellow man. Under¬ stand this.

After I have made known the reasons for these classes of command¬ ments, I shall return to examining the commandments belonging to each class, namely, those of which it may be fancied that they have no utility or that they constitute a decree that cannot be comprehended by the intellect in any way. And I shall explain the reasons for them and in what respect they are useful, making an exception only for those few whose purpose I have not grasped up to this time.

11. Or: the pagan. 12. Cf. Eigkt Chapters, IV in fine.

13. Cf. B.T., Yoma, 85b. The Hebrew word signifying “God” in this context is maqom.

Hitherto it has been translated literally as “place.”

14. I.e., by the talmudic Sages.

CHAPTER 36 The commandments comprised in the first class, which are the opinions that we have enumerated in Laws of the Foundations of the Torah, have all of them a manifest cause. If you consider them one by one, you discover the correctness of this opinion and its being a demonstrable matter. Simi¬ larly all the encouragement to learning and teaching and the fortifying assurances with regard to them figuring therein, are of manifest utility 5 for if knowledge is not achieved, no right action and no correct opinion can be achieved. There is also a manifest utility in honoring the bearers of the Law; for if a great veneration is not accorded to them in the souls, their voice will not be listened to when they give guidance regarding opinions and actions. Within this commandment — I mean its dictum, Thou shalt rise up before, the hoary head* — is also included the injunction to be invested with the moral quality of modesty.2