This classic work by early-20th-century Jewish humanist andscholar Isaac Heinemann surveys the crucial phases of Jewishthought concerning correct conduct as codified in the commandments.Heinemann offers systematic insights into the intellectual,emotional, pedagogical, and pragmatic reasoning advancedby the major Jewish thinkers. This book, available in English forthe first time, covers Jewish thinkers from the Bible, rabbis, andphilosophers through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, includingSaadiah, Halevi, Maimonides, and many others. Heinemannfollows the Biblical, rabbinic, medieval, and modern rationales offeredfor the commandments in the course of the history of Jewishthought.Isaac Heinemann (1876-1957) was one of the leading Jewishhumanists and scholars of the early twentieth century. His careerspanned the golden age of Jewish scholarship in central Europeand the rise of Jewish studies in modern Israel. He was a leadingauthority on Hellenistic and rabbinic knowledge, writing majorstudies of Philo of Alexandria and the rabbinic lore (agada).