# <![CDATA[S7, E4, The Guide of the Perplexed, Creation, 04: Creation ex Nihilo as the Essence of the Torah's Teaching]]>

From **The Great Sources with Rabbi Shnayor Burton** by R Shnayor Burton.

- **Published:** Wed, 20 Mar 2024 13:41:03 GMT
- **Duration:** 01:01:45
- **Audio:** https://anchor.fm/s/fb5467c/podcast/play/84294359/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2024-2-20%2F7b5ce087-1224-6c38-8e8d-cd0a51a6b304.m4a
- **Page:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shnayor-burton/episodes/S7--E4--The-Guide-of-the-Perplexed--Creation--04-Creation-ex-Nihilo-as-the-Essence-of-the-Torahs-Teaching-e2hav8n
- **TorahApp:** https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_r_shnayor_burton_great_sources/e/7206c2da-eb96-439d-8c14-39e9e1e7a6df

<![CDATA[<p>This shiur was generously sponsored by Mr. Ari Schwartz. This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation.

Highlights:
0:00 Abraham's project to strip away divinity from the universe and its association with Creation ex Nihilo </p>
<p>7:00 Divine bodies</p>
<p>11:00 Overview of the Guide 2:25</p>
<p>17:00 Maimonides' seven questions on the Torah</p>
<p>23:30 The middle question suggests that mitzvahs have no reason, contrary to Maimonides' opinion</p>
<p>29:00 That God has an unfathomable intent is the foundation of the Torah; Torah is irreducible to reason</p>
<p>34:00 If Aristotle's model of reality were to be proven, the Torah would be eventually abandoned, because if Torah is reducible to reason, it would be dispensable</p>
<p>45:30 The reasonableness of idolatry </p>
<p>49:15 Why is idolatry reasonable if it's based on the eternity of the universe?</p>
<p>51:00 The project of the Torah to uproot idolatry is the project of promoting the doctrine of Creation ex Nihilo and God's unfathomable intent in general
55:00 Abraham and Moses brought back God's intent into history










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