ABSTRACT
In the past several decades, however, there has been a major shift in scholarly perspective, and as a new century begins, the author finds that this dualistic approach to the question of the relation between Maimonides' halakhic writings and the Guide is almost universally rejected and in its stead a more integrated approach has firmly taken root. In Maimonides' view, "the disinterested love of God", presented by the rabbinic tradition as the highest religious ideal, arises from and "is nurtured only by philosophic knowledge". David Hartman himself suggests that "the lack of any explicit biblical text dealing with the commandment of mourning may very well explain why Maimonides in the context of the Guide does not mention the laws of mourning. Interestingly enough, however, Maimonides would appear to understand the rabbinic ordinance of sheloshim, the thirty-day mourning period, as self-directed, as intended for the therapeutic benefit of the mourner.
