Re: Hasdai Crescas

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Posted by Ethel Jean Saltz on December 22, 19100 at 10:25:57:

In Reply to: Re: Hasdai Crescas posted by dvjc editor on May 28, 19100 at 20:34:51:

I just found my way to this response. However, a partial translation of OR ADONAI is not sufficient. I don't know why Warren Zev Levy won't simply translate the entire OR ADONAI. I don't need a fence around the document. I want to read Rabbi Crescas's words for myself.

I've bought THE REFUTATION OF CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES by Hasdai Crescas, and although I've only scanned it, ( a complete translation), I did read the very clever essay on the Virgin Birth. It's hard to believe that he had such an intellect in the turn of the 15th century. I also bought THE PHYSICS AND METAPHYSICS OF HASDAI CRESCAS by Warren Zev Harvey, (who wrote the Encyc Judaica article on Crescas). In this book, Harvey does quote from OR ADONAI which increased my appetite for an actual translation of OR ADONAI. Obviously Harvey can do this very easily. It's probably Christian and Jewish Religious politics that prevents all this.

Every one who leads religion, male and female, refuses to encourage people to read original sources all by themselves. It's the old Aristotelian/RaMBaM idea of the Elite and the Vulgar. It's Ronald Reagan's Disinformation. From what I've read of Spinoza, I sound a lot like him: folks use your own head and reading capability and your own important life and read the sources without any programming from "experts". Every thing I read about experts boils down to: if the masses read this stuff they won't have faith in us. I've already lost the faith, thanks to Internet I can.

Anyway, the Physics and Metaphysics digest by Harvey, shows exactly how Spinoza derives from Crescas.

BTW, in this personal pursuit via Internet, I discovered another untruth that Rabbis have taught me. They say that the Baghdad Muslims were responsible for rediscovering Western Civilization via Greek philosophy. Not true. It was a Baghdad Christian, al Ibadi, around 400 CE. One rabbi wrote me his writings were forbidden by the Christians (which was the Vatican of course). We are all still enslaved by Aristotlelians. I guess that's the wealthy "elite" class who are afraid we middle class will be as smart as they and they won't be able to control our minds in advertising by the media. Shades of Spinoza, poor excommunicated Spinoza, student of Crescas.

All of the above is why we don't have intellectual
USA presidents.


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