RABBI NISSIM OF GIRONA ON BIBLICAL EXEGESIS AND FREE INQUIRY

In his Homily on Creation (Homily 1), Rabbi Nissim of Girona (c. 1310-1376), known by acronym as Ran, interprets Genesis 1:2 in accordance with natural science and subsequently in accordance with social ethics. He also explains to the fundamentalists what gives him the right to interpret the Creation story scientifically, homiletically, or allegorically. He argues that the rabbinic prohibition on teaching the Account of the Beginning (ma'aseh be-rešit) does not refer to scientific inquiry but to a secret doctrine revealed prophetically. One who has not received prophecy or who is not an initiate of esoteric teachings cannot possibly transgress the prohibition. Ran thus secures the freedom of biblical exegesis and the freedom to philosophize.