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This book review examines Jose Faur's *Studies in the Mishne Torah: Book of Knowledge*, a scholarly analysis of Maimonides' legal and theological framework within Rabbinic Judaism. Faur employs philological, historical, and literary methodologies to reconstruct Maimonidean thought, tracing the intellectual development from talmudic literature through the Academy of Rav Yosef Ibn Megas. The study demonstrates that for Maimonides, tradition serves as the sole source of religious truth, while reason functions only as a rhetorical guide for applying traditional rules. Faur's key findings include a systematic categorization of the 613 mitsvot and their relationship to rabbinic authority, showing how Maimonides distinguished between Written and Oral Law while emphasizing the rabbinate's role in legal transmission. The analysis reveals Maimonides' opposition to Natural Law doctrines prevalent in Karaite, Mutazillite, and Christian formulations, arguing that these are incompatible with Judaism's covenant-based tradition. Faur concludes that Maimonides' *Mishne Torah* was designed to systematize talmudic decisions and limit post-talmudic rabbinic authority, providing Jews with direct access to their religious obligations. This work represents a significant contribution to Maimonidean scholarship by demonstrating the underlying unity between talmudic Judaism and Maimonides' systematic presentation, while challenging both secular academic interpretations and contemporary Orthodox readings of Maimonidean thought.

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    Published 1980

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