Menachem Kellner, SUNY Press, 1996
The lengthy title should not put the reader off this superb small book by a leading Modern Orthodox academic thinker. The author, an expert on the Rambam and mediaeval philosophy, writes in a readable fashion about complex issues. Here he tackles the thorny subject of rabbinic authority in the thought of the Rambam. Common wisdom states that the Talmudic rabbis are held to have special powers, and perhaps occupy a unique position in Jewish history, which invests them with a matchless degree of authority. The alternative to this would be to challenge the authority of the Talmud. Kellner demonstrates that, at least from the perspective of the Rambam, neither of these extremes is correct. He shows, using an exhaustive set of sources from the Rambam that certain circumstances (which could, at least in principle, be replicated) invested the Talmudic sages with great authority. This is a fascinating academic study that has wide-ranging consequences. It is much less obscure than this review indicates! A book to borrow, as it’s quite expensive for 100 pages.
Maimonides On The Decline Of The Generations
