The Reasons for the Commandments in Jewish Thought

This classic work by early-20th-century Jewish humanist and scholar Isaac Heinemann surveys the crucial phases of Jewish thought concerning correct conduct as codified in the commandments. Heinemann provides his own systematic insights about the intellectual, emotional, pedagogical, and pragmatic reasoning advanced by the major Jewish thinkers. This book, translated here for the first time, covers Jewish thinkers from the Bible, rabbis and Hellenistic philosophers through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, including Saadiah, Halevi, Maimonides, Albo, and many others. Heinemann addresses such questions as: What were the Biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern rationales offered for the commandments in the course of Jewish thought?

Isaac Heinemann (1876-1957) was one of the leading Jewish humanists and scholars of the early 20th century. His career spanned the golden age of Jewish scholarship in central Europe and the rise of Jewish studies in modern Israel. He was a leading authority in Hellenistic and rabbinic studies, writing major studies of Philo of Alexandria and the rabbinic lore (agada).