What is the secret that Maimonides hides? He himself tells us: the rabbis of the Talmud used the expression ma'aseh bereshit ("Account of Creation") for what the Greeks called physics and used the expression ma'aseh merkavah ("Account of the Chariot") for what the Greeks called metaphysics. So why is this important? The consequences of these equations are momentous. Maimonides imports what we today would call science into the heart of Torah. This is allied to his universalism and to his conception of the com-mandments of the Torah as tools (which could in principle have been different), whose importance lies in the end they serve, and not in themselves. That being the case, true reward and punish-ment are not connected to behaviour, no matter how saintly or how vile, but to proper conceptions of God, crystallised in the 'Thirteen Principles'. Maimonides hid these secrets from his fellow Jews, not out of fear of reprisal (protected as he was by his good friend, al-Qadi at-Facil, he had no reason to fear them), but out of noblesse oblige. Exposing simple Jews (and their philosophically no less simple rabbis) to these truths could only lead to perplexity (in the best of circumstances) or to falling away from observance (in the worst of circumstances), neither of which Maimonides had any interest in promoting. One God wrote two books, as it were: Torah and Cosmos. The truly devout Jew realises that he or she must study both books, or only have access to half of God's oeuvre.

"The essays in this book are bold, clear, and authoritative. Anyone interested in Maimonides or the relation between science and religion will want to read them closely and then go back and read them again." -- Kenneth Seeskin, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Religion, Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Professor of Jewish Civilization, Northwestern University; Editor of the SUNY Press series in Jewish Philosophy
"Menachem Kellner’s Science in the Bet Midrash: Studies in Maimonides (Academic Studies Press) is a collection of previously published English essays, organized around 4 major themes: Approaches to the Study of Maimonides; Religious Faith and Dogma; Science and Torah; and Universalism. Fans of Kellner’s writings, including myself, will surely recognize that these themes (particularly dogma and universalism) were also the subject of some of his acclaimed (and sometimes controversial) books. Those who have read those books may find some of the articles superfluous (sometimes they reflect earlier drafts, other times slight amendments or clarifications), but they remain probing and stimulating. The articles are intended for the scholarly or sophisticated lay reader. " -- Shlomo Brody * Tradition Online *
"Professor Menachem Kellner is an expert on Maimonides. He writes clearly and logically in easy to read and vibrant language…" -- Dr. Israel Drazin * The Jewish Eye *

Born and educated in the United States, Menachem Kellner (Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis, 1973) has lived in Israel for the last 30 years. Author, editor, or translator of 16 books and over 100 scholarly articles, Kellner’s most recent books include Science in the Bet Midrash and Maimonides’ Confrontation with Mysticism (2006).