Hi,
"For Maimonides, the true love of Gd is the intellectual love of Gd, that is, one begins with the intellectual knowledge of Gd, but then imbues that knowledge with drive, passion, and desire that are themselves cognitive in nature, thereby transforming intellectual knowledge of Gd into intellectual love of Gd."
(Professor Lawrence J. Kaplan, Rav Kook: The Jewish Philosophical Tradition, in Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Jewish Spirituality, pg. 53)
Have a great day,
Mordechai
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What is cognitive, intellectual "love" This seems to be a bit of an oxymoron. Love is above and beyond intellect. The RAMBAM himself describes love of God by comparing it to the love of a man who is obsessed with a woman. She is formost in his thoughts, he would willingly give up all of his worldly possessions and even his life for her. What comes first? This passionate love of God or the intellectual conceptual "love?
ReplyDeleteI must admit falling short of fully understanding this passage.
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