Between Worlds: The Life and Thought of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon

7. A Systematic Theologian

7 A Systematic Theologian Rabbinic Theism, Philosophy, and Kabbalah God is per se the subject of theology. R. David's literary activity culminated in a systematic exposition of the concept of God in the last section of Tehillah Ie-David. The work was written in Salonika in the 1530s, but R. David died before he finished it. R. David has written about God twice before, in Magen David and in his commentary of Maimonides, Ein ha-Qore.! This time he wrote in scholastic style, presenting a highly structured, logically arranged exposition. R. David fuses three distinct intellectual traditions: rabbinic Judaism, medieval scholasticism, and Kabbalah. R. David did not espouse philosophy as a universal explanation grounded exclusively and ultimately in human reason; nor did he espouse Kabbalah as esoteric theurgy. Rather, R. David espoused theology: a systematic, reasoned exposition of propositions logically derived from axioms (i.e., dogmas) assumed to be divinely revealed. R. David was a theologian, and his God was the God of theologians. As a professing Jew, Rabbi R. David ben Judah Messer Leon 184 Systematic Theologian 185 worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He understood the rabbinic tradition and argued that creation, prophecy, and miracles are the three dogmas of Judaism, specifically to protect that tradition from misinterpretation.2 In considering theology a scientific discipline, R. David claimed that the teachings of the revealed faith were compatible with the dictates of human reason. Looked at from the opposite side, R. David asserted that reason could help explain, but could not independently demonstrate or prove, the dogmas of Judaism. The rabbinic tradition espoused theism: "the belief in one God who is personal, worthy of adoration, separate from the world, but continuously active in it."3 God is a Subject possessing not only mind but also will. Being fully personal, God can be conceived through images drawn from human life and can be addressed as "Thou" in prayer. This personal God is the ultimate reality. Because God is perfect , wholly good, and infinitely powerful, God alone deserves adoration (or worship). God's infinite benevolence and omnipotence manifest themselves in the very creation of the world. God created the world ex nihilo and continues to preserve and protect the world. As creator, God knows His creations intimately. He listens to their needs and responds to them; occasionally He intervenes in nature and history in order to benefit His creation. In rabbinic theism, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Perfect Being who has entered a covenant with Israel, the Chosen People. God revealed the Torah to Israel, and His intimate relationship with Israel is determined by Israel's observance of the Torah. When Israel is loyal to God's will, she is rewarded abundantly; when Israel transgresses the divine commands, she is punished. God judges Israel collectively and individually with justice and mercy. He rewards the righteous and punishes the sinner. The ultimate retribution would come at the end of days when all evil will cease. R. David ben Judah Messer Leon wrote a rational, systematic, scholastic defense of rabbinic theism. Interwoven through that exposition are two contributions uniquely characteristic of Jewish writers at the turn of the sixteenth century. First, R. David adapts Thomas Aquinas' scholastic methodology to Jewish thought. Indeed, R. David's philosophical exposition of rabbinic theism closely resembles Aquinas' philosophical exposition of Christian theism. R. David cites Aquinas as an authority on divine knowledge and providence,4 and R. David's proofs of God's existence, theory of being, and theory of divine attributes also resonate with Aquinas. Of course R. David frequently cites Jewish philosophic and religious sources; yet the man- 186 Between Worlds ner in which he blends them-the "inner logic" of his position-is essentially Thomistic. For example, in the third section of Tehilfah Ie-David, R. David addresses the major questions of medieval scholasticism: Can God's existence be rationally proven? Is God's existence unique? How does God's existence relate to His essence? What is the essence of God? Can God's essence be known? If not, how can we talk meaningfully about God? What are the major attributes which we can predicate of God? How does God relate to the world? Does God know particulars? How does God's knowledge reconcile with human freedom? What is the nature of divine providence? R. David then responds in the scholastic style: he first reviews...