The Philosophical Islamization of Judaism: Maimonides, the Kabbalists, and the Secret of the Nephilim

Maimonides (Rambam) performed a sweeping conceptual translation that stripped away the material mythology of entities possessing physical form, replacing it with an abstract model grounded directly in Aristotelian-Islamic philosophy. In this sense, the sensation that this represents an "concealment" or a deviation from original tradition precisely reflects the fierce struggle waged against him by the Kabbalists, who argued that he was forcing a foreign model onto the biblical text.

1. Demythologization and the Islamic Influence: The Principle of Tawhid

The root of this fundamental shift lies in the fact that Maimonides operated within the heart of Islamic civilization (Cordoba, Fez, Cairo) and wrote The Guide for the Perplexed in Judeo-Arabic. His intellectual infrastructure was built upon Falsafa—the Aristotelian Islamic philosophy developed by Al-Farabi, Avicenna (Ibn Sina), and Averroes (Ibn Rushd).

• The Principle of Tawhid: At the center of Islamic theology stood the principle of Tawhid—the absolute unity of God, the complete denial of corporeality (tashbih), and the rejection of any physical attributes. Maimonides adopted this model totally and applied it to Judaism: from his perspective, any concept attributing materiality, spatial form, or physical characteristics to higher powers was defined as the grave danger of idolatry.
  
  
• Angels and Forces as Abstractions: To reorganize biblical descriptions within this rational framework, Maimonides redefined the essence of angels and heavenly forces (in Mishneh Torah: Book of Knowledge and The Guide for the Perplexed):
  
  
  • Separate Intellects: According to the Aristotelian model, angels are not entities with a figure or physical presence, but entirely abstract metaphysical entities ("separate intellects") that set the cosmic system in motion.
    
    
  • Natural Laws and Physical Forces: Maimonides explicitly rules that any natural force, biological process, or physical law executing the Creator's will (such as gravity, wind, or physiological processes) is termed an "angel" in biblical language.
    
    

2. Erasing the Ancient Mythical Stratum

What has been perceived as "concealment" was a planned campaign to cleanse the ancient mythical stratum. Prior to Maimonides, ancient Hebrew traditions—starting with the apocrypha (such as the Book of Enoch), through Hekhalot and Merkavah literature, Aramaic Targums, and texts like Shi'ur Komah—described angels, the "sons of God," and supreme entities in a concrete manner, complete with spatial dimensions, names, and a semi-physical presence.

When Maimonides declared that these descriptions were nothing more than "parables" and imagery designed to accommodate the ears of the common people, he effectively neutralized the material mythology and replaced it with an abstract conceptual framework. This sharp evisceration of the ancient ontological layer triggered the famous "Maimonidean Controversy" in the 13th century.

3. The Kabbalists' Response: Nachmanides and Rabbi Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov

Nachmanides (Ramban) and the Critique of Metaphorizing Miracles

Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (Nachmanides) launched a frontal assault on Maimonides’ attempt (Guide for the Perplexed 2:42) to explain that every angelic manifestation (such as the angels seen by Abraham or the angel wrestling with Jacob) occurred strictly within a prophetic vision or dream, rather than as a physical event in reality:

"And behold, according to his words... the angels did not eat with Abraham, nor did they say to him, 'I will return to you,' nor did Sarah say, 'She laughed'... And behold, all these things are falsehoods!... And according to these words, the angels did not come to Lot, nor did he strike the men of the house with blindness... nor did the angels bring him out... Things that cause the destruction of the Torah!"

(Nachmanides' Commentary on the Torah, Genesis 18:1)

The Kabbalistic stance of Nachmanides maintained that angels are capable of clothing themselves in a fine material substance and appearing in physical space:

"However, the angels... are made of spirit and soul, and when they descend below to perform a mission, they clothe themselves in a body made of air and fine elements... and appear to humans in that garb."

(Ibid.)

Rabbi Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov: The Accusation of Adopting Islamic Philosophy

The 15th-century Kabbalist Rabbi Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov argued directly in his Sefer Ha-Emunot that Maimonides and his camp followed Aristotle, Al-Farabi, and Avicenna, thereby erasing the spiritual-material reality of Kabbalah:

"For those who follow philosophy think that angels are nothing but separate intellects... and they denied everything that the sages of truth received... for angels have actual existence, fine garments... and they literally govern this world, not merely dry laws."

(Sefer Ha-Emunot, Gate 1)

4. The Secret of the Nephilim: The Book of Enoch and Nachmanides in Acre

The most prominent breaking point between the demythologization trend and the Kabbalistic view is found in the commentary on the passage of the "sons of God" and the Nephilim (Genesis 6). Maimonides and Saadia Gaon attempted to strip away the physical description, interpreting the "sons of God" as sons of judges or flesh-and-blood rulers. Nachmanides, by contrast, preserved the ancient mythical tradition of the fallen angels:

"And these were Uzza and Azael... and these sons of God were angels from heaven... and when they fell from their holy place... they materialized in the thickness of the air and descended to the earth... and begot the Nephilim, who were men of great stature and might."

(Nachmanides' Commentary, Genesis 6:2)

• Nachmanides' Arrival in Acre and His Silence: When Nachmanides immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled in Acre in the 13th century, students and seekers pressed him to reveal the full "doctrine of the Nephilim." According to tradition, Nachmanides maintained profound silence and refused to explicitly interpret the full secret.
  
  
• The Disappearance of the Book of Enoch: The secret of the Nephilim is fundamentally based on the Book of Enoch (an apocryphal work), which was condemned by the rabbinic establishment and turned into an apocryphon. The book was cast out and almost completely destroyed in its original language (Hebrew/Aramaic), surviving in its entirety solely in the Ethiopic language (Ge'ez). This historical paradox illustrates that had European powers (specifically Italy) erased Ethiopia during their colonial ambitions, this book would have vanished entirely, leaving traces only in the secret archives of the Vatican.
  
  

5. The Zohar and the Doctrine of Reincarnation (Gilgul Neshamot)

• The Zohar: Concurrently with the Maimonidean controversy at the end of the 13th century, the Zohar was disseminated, depicting angels and upper forces not as a logical-mathematical model, but as an army of entities endowed with specific names, ranks, and garments:
  
  

  "Come and see: All those angels who are sent below, all of them wear garments of this world... and were they not to wear garments according to this world, they could not stand in this world, and the world could not endure them."

  (Zohar, Part I, 58b)

  
  

• Reincarnation (Gilgul Neshamot): Another point of resistance arose around the nature of the soul. Maimonides, loyal to Aristotelian philosophy, rejected the idea of metempsychosis (reincarnation). For him, an individual's intellect merges with the Active Intellect after death based on accumulated knowledge, making the concept of wandering souls seem foreign to rational thought. Kabbalah, conversely, elevated gilgul neshamot into a fundamental law of spiritual evolution and divine justice (later developed extensively by Rabbi Chaim Vital based on the teachings of the Arizal). The soul does not dissolve into an abstract cosmos; rather, it undergoes multiple incarnations to rectify its flaws, maintaining a deep personal connection to the divine emanations (Sefirot).
  
  

Summary of Core Differences

• The Nature of God: While Maimonides championed absolute abstraction and the total negation of attributes, Kabbalah speaks of the Ein-Sof (Infinite) illuminating and revealing itself through a dynamic system of Sefirot.
  
  
• The Status of Angels: For Maimonides, they are intangible separate intellects or laws of nature; for the Kabbalists, they are entities possessing ontological reality and fine spiritual garments.
  
  
• The Identity of the Nephilim: Maimonides interpreted them as sons of flesh-and-blood judges and rulers, whereas Kabbalists viewed them as fallen angels that materialized (in alignment with the Book of Enoch).
  
  
• The Concept of Miracles: Maimonides subordinated miracles to natural laws via hidden mechanisms, while Kabbalah viewed them as direct ruptures of reality and actual spiritual substances.
  
  
• The Human Soul: Maimonides spoke of integration with the Active Intellect and rejected reincarnation, whereas Kabbalah views reincarnation as a multi-stage evolutionary journey for spiritual rectification.