S6, E6 Shemona Perakim; Man as Explicator and the Limits of Explanatory Power

This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David. Highlights: Themistius' Law: Reality doesn't follow opinion; rather, correct opinions follow from reality The universe comports with how humans think The centrality of humans to the universe is based on the fact that humans can understand the universe On Kabbalah and philosophy According to Maimonides, explanatory power reflects truth, but there are also things that are inexplicable; according to Aristotle, everything is explicable Human beings are explicators Maimonides opposes predicating the existence of God on creation ex nihilo because creation ex nihilo is inexplicable If we could explain everything, we wouldn't have awe of God God is the ultimate explanation, and the human that knows Him is the ultimate human being The Will of God is inexplicable The awe that miracles induce is based on us considering ourselves explicators and considering explanation valid; why animals don't have awe of Heaven Maimonides' strange description of the Chanukkah miracle Man's sphere lends itself to explanation, and the heavens don't lend themselves to explanation This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.