Editing Maimonides (section)

===Theology===
[[File:Measure of men.jpg|thumb|Depiction of Maimonides teaching students about the 'measure of man' in an [[illuminated manuscript]]]]
Maimonides equated the [[God in Judaism|God of Abraham]] to what philosophers refer to as the [[necessary being|Necessary Being]]. God is unique in the universe, and the Torah commands that one [[Love of God#Judaism|love]] and [[Fear of God#Judaism|fear]] God ([[Book of Deuteronomy|Deut]] 10:12) on account of that uniqueness. To Maimonides, this meant that one ought to contemplate God's works and to marvel at the order and wisdom that went into their creation. When one does this, one inevitably comes to love God and to sense how insignificant one is in comparison to God. This is the basis of the Torah.<ref>Kraemer, 326-8</ref>

The principle that inspired his philosophical activity was identical to a fundamental tenet of [[scholasticism]]: there can be no contradiction between the truths which God has revealed and the findings of the human mind in science and philosophy. Maimonides primarily relied upon the science of Aristotle and the teachings of the Talmud, commonly claiming to find a basis for the latter in the former.<ref>Kraemer, 66</ref>

Maimonides' admiration for the [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonic commentators]] led him to doctrines which the later Scholastics did not accept. For instance, Maimonides was an adherent of [[apophatic theology]]. In this theology, one attempts to describe God through negative attributes. For example, one should not say that God exists in the usual sense of the term; it can be said that God is not non-existent. One should not say that "God is wise"; but it can be said that "God is not ignorant," i.e., in some way, God has some properties of knowledge. One should not say that "God is One," but it can be stated that "there is no multiplicity in God's being." In brief, the attempt is to gain and express knowledge of God by describing what God is not, rather than by describing what God "is."<ref name="Robinson">Robinson, George. [https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/maimonides-conception-of-god/ "Maimonides' Conception of God/"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501092948/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/maimonides-conception-of-god/ |date=1 May 2018 }} ''My Jewish Learning''. 30 April 2018.</ref>

Maimonides argued adamantly that God is not corporeal. This was central to his thinking about the sin of [[idolatry]]. Maimonides insisted that all of the [[anthropomorphic]] phrases pertaining to God in sacred texts are to be interpreted [[metaphor]]ically.<ref name="Robinson"/> A related tenet of Maimonidean theology is the notion that the [[613 commandments|commandments]], especially those pertaining to [[Korban|sacrifices]], are intended to help wean the Israelites away from idolatry.<ref name=klein>Reuven Chaim Klein, "[https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/363/htm Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029111645/https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/5/363/htm |date=2021-10-29 }}", ''Religions'' 12(5), 363.</ref>

Maimonides also argued that God embodied [[reason]], [[intellect]], [[science]], and [[nature]], and was [[omnipotent]] and indescribable.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1120116712 |title=Judaism for Dummies |last2=Blatner |last1=Falcon |first1=Ted |first2=David |publisher=[[Wiley (publisher)|John Wiley & Sons, Inc.]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-119-64307-4 |edition=2nd |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |pages=25, 27, 30–31 |oclc=1120116712 |author-link2=David Blatner}}</ref> He said that science, the growth of scientific fields, and discovery of the unknown by comprehension of nature was a way to appreciate God.<ref name=":0"/>