S6, E8 Shemona Perakim; Was Moshe an Angel?

This shiur was generously sponsored in memory of R' Moshe Chaim ben Yitzchak David.

0:00 The importance of the Golden Mean in Maimonides' thought

4:15 What makes the Torah divine?

7:45 Is it possible for a person to be absolutely perfect?

10:00 Maimonides considers a perfect human being to be not a human being but rather an angel

14:00 How a person can become an angel

17:45 How the perfect person can transfer himself from the angelic realm back to the human realm

22:00 People who have no virtues are not human beings but animals

25:00 The behavior of humans that became angels

28:00 For 40 days, Moshe didn't eat – only his body did

32:30 What does it mean that Moshe was made an "Elohim"?

40:15 Moshe's sin: anger

45:00 When Maimonides mentions that he went off topic, it's a red flag that there is a secret that he's concealing

46:00 How could it be that Moshe became angry if he was perfect in character?

49:30 The perfection of the Torah depends on the perfection of Moshe

51:00 How a leader should pretend to get angry to scare his followers, and why Moshe couldn't do that

54:00 The absolute impossibility of an absolutely perfect leader

58:30 Hashem gets angry only regarding idolatry

1:00:00 The lowest Jew was like a prophet by virtue of being in the presence of the angel, Moshe

1:03:00 Moshe's actions are akin to prophecy, and therefore his actions of pretending to lose his temper represent that it is appropriate to lose his temper

1:05:00 Moshe's anger was inappropriate because his leadership is not the only viable leadership, and that's why his leadership was brought to an end

This lecture series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation