Rabbi Vidal de Tolosa, Author of "Magid Mishne", and His Attitude to Philosophy and Science / ר' וידאל דה טולוסה בעל 'מגיד משנה' ויחסו לפילוסופיה ולמדע

Very little is known about Rabbi Vidal de Tolosa, the mysterious Talmudist of the fourteenth century whose commentary on Maimonides' Mishne Torah became a classic of Talmudic literature. The Magid Mishne was in fact the foundation of a new field of Talmudic literature – the field devoted to del...

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Published in:דעת: כתב-עת לפילוסופיה יהודית וקבלה 2017-01 (84), p.139-154
Main Authors: רובין, ישראל נתנאל, Rubin, Israel Netanel
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Very little is known about Rabbi Vidal de Tolosa, the mysterious Talmudist of the fourteenth century whose commentary on Maimonides' Mishne Torah became a classic of Talmudic literature. The Magid Mishne was in fact the foundation of a new field of Talmudic literature – the field devoted to deliberation on this halachic book of Maimonides, a field which in the wake of the pioneering work of Rabbi Vidal has become an independent genre that includes hundreds of books today. In this article, I examine the attitude of Rabbi Vidal to philosophy, mainly as it is seen from the viewpoint of Magid Mishne. I conclude that the friendly attitude of Rabbi Vidal to philosophy, and more generally to secular studies, the result perhaps of his Provencal origins, led Rabbi Vidal to feel a close mental affinity with Maimonides, viewed as a symbolic figure combining Torah and philosophy, and so led to Rabbi Vidal's decision to dedicate his talents to writing an apology – the first of its kind – defending Maimonides' halachic work.
ISSN:0334-2336