Q&A: Commandments and the Resurrection of the Dead in Maimonides' View
Commandments and the Resurrection of the Dead in Maimonides' View
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I am studying Maimonides' thought and having difficulty understanding how he understood the significance of the commandments; that is, how do the commandments themselves grant a person eternity? After all, he holds that the intellect is what grants it. And if we say that the commandments are a means of balancing the soul, enabling strengthening and clarity of the intellective faculty, then why, in the resurrection of the dead, do the righteous return to the body for a short time? That seems to imply that the commandments have intrinsic significance.
Answer
I don't deal with these materials. In my view, these are statements with no basis, and usually no meaning either.
Discussion on Answer
I'm trying to understand one of Maimonides' principles of faith: the resurrection of the dead. It has significance in itself, and likewise the significance of the body and the commandments in Maimonides' conception.
Good luck. I'm currently eating dinner. Good luck to me too.
Enjoy your meal; I'd appreciate a serious response.
I would be very happy to make you happy, but for that you need to do two things: (a) explain your question, and not just toss vague general statements into the air; (b) read the thread and understand that I have no way of doing that.
Even what you call the righteous did not necessarily reach perfection like Moses and the Patriarchs, and they still have room to progress.