‘With Clarification Concealment is Also Necessary’

Esoteric Reading and Commentary in Shem Tov ben Joseph Ibn Shem Tov’s Commentary on Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed

Abstract

This paper is devoted to analyzing Shem Tov ben Joseph Ibn Shem Tov’s understanding of the esoteric character of Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed, as well as to the esoteric techniques Shem Tov himself employed in his commentary on the book. His commentary, written shortly prior to the Spanish expulsion, is characterized by a thorough rationalistic reading of Maimonides’ views on different key theological and philosophical issues. His basic stance is to identify Maimonides’ views with those of earlier Aristotelian philosophers, especially Alfarabi and Avicenna. In his magnum opus, Maimonides employed a host of esoteric techniques with the aim of revealing the truth only to the few true intellectuals, and we will describe how Shem Tov understood these techniques. As we will see, Shem Tov was a careful reader of the Guide and he paid special attention to the terms Maimonides employed. Moreover, just as Maimonides employed an esoteric style when discussing the secrets of the Torah, so too does the commentator when discussing the secrets of the. The adoption of an esoteric style of writing is, in my view, what most defines the uniqueness of this commentator and it is, ironically, this very aspect that has not received adequate scholarly attention.