The Guide for the Perplexed

The Guide for the Perplexed (Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, דלאלת אלחאירין; Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text. It was written in Classical Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet in the form of a three-part letter to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta, the son of Rabbi Judah, and is the main source of Maimonides' philosophical views, as opposed to his opinions on Jewish law. A small minority believe the Guide for the Perplexed was written by an anonymous heretic and not Maimonides; most notable amongst these is the revered 18th-century scholar Jacob Emden. Since many of the philosophical concepts, such as his view of theodicy and the relationship between philosophy and religion, are relevant beyond Judaism, it has been the work most commonly associated with Maimonides in the non-Jewish world and it is known to have influenced several major non-Jewish philosophers. Following its publication, "almost every philosophic work for the remainder of the Middle Ages cited, commented on, or criticized Maimonides' views." Within Judaism, the Guide became widely popular, with many Jewish communities requesting copies of the manuscript, but also quite controversial, with some communities limiting its study or banning it altogether. The Guide for the Perplexed was originally written sometime between 1185 and 1190 by Maimonides in Classical Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet. It was first translated in 1204 into Hebrew by a contemporary of Maimonides, Samuel ibn Tibbon. The work is divided into three books. According to Maimonides, he wrote the Guide "to enlighten a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our holy Law, who conscientiously fulfills his moral and religious duties, and at the same time has been successful in his philosophical studies." This work has also a second object in view: It seeks to explain certain obscure figures which occur in the Prophets, and are not distinctly characterized as being figures.

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