Episode 133: Rabbi Chaim Eisen "Why the Torah's Theology Needs to Make Sense"

One of our most frequently requested guests, Rabbi Chaim Eisen, returns for a wide-ranging conversation on the broader tradition of Ḥazal and the Rishonim, as illuminated through Maimonides’ cosmological framework. While Rambam describes the metaphysical structure of the universe—with its implications for providence, revelation, and miracles—in terms that reflect Aristotelian physics and cosmology, his goal was never to innovate a new philosophy, but to articulate the timeless truths of the Torah’s sages in the intellectual language of his era. Many assume that if the physics is outdated, the metaphysics must be too—but that assumption reflects a deep misunderstanding of how Maimonidean metaphysics stands independently of the physics and cosmology, and, moreover, how firmly that metaphysics stands within the mainstream rabbinic tradition. We explore how this unified worldview—shared by the overwhelming majority of the Rishonim—preserves the harmony between Torah, reason, and reality. The discussion also considers the potential role of Kabbalah as an alternative framework for our avodah (divine service), while recognizing the danger in reading its metaphors literally as a theological system. Finally, we consider some of the most profound theological questions about God’s omnipotence, transcendence, and the coherence of creation. Through this exploration, Rabbi Eisen shows how Maimonides and the other sages of Israel safeguarded authentic faith as both affirming the categorical transcendence of God, as Ḥazal explicitly enunciated it, and cohering with our conception of the reality of the world He created—in short, explaining how and why the Torah’s theology needs to make sense.

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*This episode is dedicated to the refua shelema of Sarah Miriam bat Tamar, Binyamin ben Zilpa, and our dear friend Yaakov ben Haya Sarah Malakh

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• Bio: Rabbi Chaim Eisen is the founder and dean of Yeshivath Sharashim – Zion Bible Studies, a Web-based educational venture to engage users worldwide in a deepening understanding of the Hebrew Bible and other religious classics, through live, recorded, and written content. An acclaimed speaker, he’s been stimulating audiences throughout Israel, North America, and Europe for over 40 years. For nearly all his career, he’s been involved in adult education, principally as a senior rabbinical lecturer at the Orthodox Union (OU) Jerusalem World Center, where he taught for more than 36 years. For over 20 years, he also taught Talmud and Midrash, Biblical commentary, and especially Jewish thought and philosophy at various yeshivot in Israel. In addition, he served as a Torah lecturer in the Israel Defense Forces Rabbinate Torah Lecture Corps (reserves), for over 16 years, and continued to volunteer there, after his retirement. Besides teaching, he was founding editor of the OU journal 'Jewish Thought: A Journal of Torah Scholarship' and has written and edited numerous essays in this field. He’s been teaching, editing, and publishing Judaica for more than four decades.

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• Check out his channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jewishphilosophymatters

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