Guiding the Perplexed

Rambam concludes his masterpiece with a discussion of the ultimate fulfillment of our purpose as human beings, to know God, and then to emulate His ways and live a life of kindness, justice and righteousness.

Rambam describes the three ways we experience our relationship with God, Chessed - kindness, Tzedek - justice, Mishpat - Judgement.

Rambam discusses the providence of God that one experiences when one is totally devoted to the pursuit of the truth of God, and the misfortune that can only happen when one separates oneself from that devotion. We also learn the meaning of death by a "kiss" from God.

Rambam begins his final chapters with his famous parable of the palace and he gives guidance to his student on the true nature of worship of God.

Rambam describes why the Torah includes passages about events that don't seem to be important.

Rambam describes his understanding of the reason for circumcision. He concludes his discussion of the reasons for the commandments of the Torah by explaining that the reason why many of the Torah's commands don't seem to make sense to us is because we don't understand the circumstances of the world in which the Torah was given.

Rambam explains the logic behind the sexual prohibitions in the Torah, and the importance of keeping your work and not trying to cheat women out of the money they are due.

In 48 Rambam discusses the rationale for the Kosher laws, and in 49 we begin his discussion of the laws regarding sexual morality.

In 47 Rambam discusses the reasons for the commandments surrounding the laws of purity, and in 48a we begin the discussion of the reasons for the kosher laws.

Rambam describes the reasons for the 11th category of commandments, those pertaining to the details of the Temple service.

Rambam explains the reasons for the commandments regarding the Temple vessels and the people who serve in the Tample.

in 43b, Rambam completes his discussion of the reasons for the holidays, and also discusses the proper place of Midrash in the interpretation of verses. In 44 he discusses those commandments that are meant to intensify our relationship with God.

In 41c, we complete Rambam's discussion of the reasons for commandments related to laws of war. In 42, Rambam discusses the the reasons for the laws of transactions between and the importance of familial ties. In 43 we begin Rambam's discussion of the reasons for mitzvot related to the Jewish calendar.

In 40b Rambam describes his novel approach to the commandment of the breaking of the neck of the heifer, an otherwise quite perplexing passage in the Torah. in 41a he begins to describe the rationale behind the punishments prescribed by the Torah for various transgressions.

In 39b Rambam describes the importance of having pity on the oppressed and our responsibility to provide shelter and care for a refugee. in 40a Rambam describes the reasons for the commandments regarding our responsibility to prevent harm to others.

In 38, Rambam describes the third category of commandments, those whose purpose it is to make us mre ethical people. In 39, Rambam discusses the commandments of the fourth category, those that teach us to treat others properly.

Rambam continues to describe the Torah's commandments related to abolishing notions of idolatry and superstition.

Rambam describes the dangers of superstition and how it inevitably is bound up in idolatry.

In 35, Rambam categorizes all of the commandments into 14 categories. He begins explaining each category in detail in chapter 36 as he describes those commandments that are meant to bring each person to proper intellectual and spiritual beliefs.

In 32b we complete Rambam's understanding of Jeremiah's claim that God did not command us regarding the sacrifices on our way out of Egypt. Then in 33 and 34 Rambam describes two more principles we will need to understand before we can explain the reasons for the commandments of the Torah.

Rambam describes why God commanded us to bring animal sacrifices in the Temple even though this is clearly not His end goal for the type of worship He wants us to achieve.

In 29b Rambam finishes his description of the beliefs of the Sabians and discusses the dangers of magical thinking and of interpreting literally the metaphorical parts of the Torah. In 30 Rambam discusses how the Torah leads us away from these beliefs and toward belief in god. In 31 Rambam emphasizes why it is so important to understand that every commandment has a logical reason.

Rambam describes the pre-Abrahamic world of the pagans and why destroying any remnant of paganism is so important.

In 27, Rambam describes that the purpose of the Torah's commandments is first to perfect our society so that our needs are taken care of. This allows us to achieve our primary purpose which is spiritual and intellectual perfection. In 28 Rambam describes how every teaching of the Torah teaches us one of three things; a true idea, a prohibition against actions that cause strife, or a commandment th...

Rambam describes that just as every part of creation has a purpose and is important, so to all the Mitzvot (God's commandments) each has a logical and useful purpose.