The following is an excerpt from a letter by Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon showing his position on Astrology. (Parenthesis are included where explanatory words help to understand the English). 

Moses Ben Maimonides Letter on Astrology 

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Letter as quoted from Ben Shahn, (commentator on Jewish Heritage, 1898-1969)

“Truth does not become more true because everyone agrees with it, nor less true even if everyone disagrees with it.” — Maimonides

Rabbi Moses, Ben Maimon, was, without question, one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages. He was not only revered in his own time for the brilliance of his logic, but was also widely read throughout the Arab world and in Europe for centuries afterward. His ideas created an intellectual bridge between Aristotle and the so-called “Age of Reason,” between rationalism and the Talmudic tradition.

In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, he lived in the bustling metropolis of Fustat, then the capital of Egypt, where he had emigrated from Córdoba in southern Spain. Being both Jewish and part of the Arab world, he was able to draw upon both Hebrew and Arabic scholarship, as well as the classical texts of Greece and Rome.

Maimonides’ clarity of thought—and writing—remains utterly compelling today. For example, this is the man who wrote in his Guide for the Perplexed:

“Naturally, we like what we are accustomed to, and we are drawn to it (Astrology) … The same is true of a man’s opinions, which he has been accustomed to since his youth; he likes them, defends them, and avoids opposing opinions.”

He also said::

“In the realm of nature, there is nothing without purpose, trivial, or unnecessary.”

And in his role as a doctor:

“The doctor should not treat the disease, but the patient who suffers from it.”

As a sage in his lifetime, Maimonides’s advice was sought by other rabbis throughout the Arab world and the Mediterranean, from Yemen to Montpellier. One of his responses was to a query from scholars in southern France. It is often called The Epistle on Astrology.

It is important to remember that this was written at a time when astrology was widely accepted. French scholars questioned whether astrologers could truly predict the future accurately.

In this letter, Maimonides uses the word “science” to refer to a system of knowledge, I suspect, since our modern definition of that word didn’t quite fit. But Maimonides’ clarification of the difference between astrology and astronomy remains relevant today. There are many intriguing ideas in this text, in addition to his thoughts on astrology. For example, he makes it clear that the world is a rotating sphere and asks readers to consider the question of fate and the purpose of religion.

The following is a translation from the Hebrew by the Hasidic scholar Isadore Twersky.

September 27, 1194

“I perceive in this matter that, although its branches are many, they are all branches of the same tree, whose common root is: all the statements of ‘the astrologers, the observers of the stars’ (Is. 47:13)….

“Know, my lords, that it is not proper for a man to accept as trustworthy anything other than one of these three things.

“The first is something for which there is clear proof derived from human reasoning—like arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy.

“The second is something that man perceives through one of the five senses—as when he knows for certain that this is red and this is black by sight; or that this is bitter and this is sweet by taste; or that this is hot and this is cold by touch; or that one sound is clear and another indistinct by hearing; or that one smell is pleasant and another unpleasant by smell.

“The third is something that man receives from the prophets or the righteous. Every reasonable man should distinguish in his mind these things that he accepts as true and say: ‘I accept this by tradition (based on authoritative origins- Link Link) , this by sensory perception, and this by reason.’ Whoever accepts as true something that does not belong to these three categories, of him it is said: ‘The simple believe everything’ (Prov. 14:15).

“So you should know that fools have written thousands of books of nothingness and emptiness. Many men, old in years but not in wisdom, wasted their whole lives studying these books and thought that such foolishness was science. They came to believe themselves wise because they knew this ‘science’.

“The matter on which most of the world is mistaken—or all of it, except for a few individuals—is precisely this one I am warning you about. The great sickness and the ‘grave evil’ consists in this: that everything man finds written in books, he assumes to be true—and even more so if the books are old. And since many have studied them and discussed them, the imprudent man immediately concludes that they are words of wisdom…”

“This is why our kingdom was lost and our Temple was destroyed… because our ancestors sinned… by following the teachings of astrologers… thinking they were glorious and useful knowledge. They did not practice warfare or conquer lands… That is why the prophets called them ‘fools.’ And they truly were…”

“Know, my lords, that I myself have thoroughly investigated these matters… So-called judicial astrology… all its claims… are far from scientific; they are nonsense…”

“None of the truly wise men of the nations ever concerned themselves with this or wrote about it… except the Chaldeans, Canaanites, and Egyptians… But the wise men of Greece… mocked these ideas and completely refuted them…”

“And know that the true science of the stars is the knowledge of the spheres… their movements… eclipses… the phases of the moon… the length of the days… and many other amazing things… All this is undoubtedly true…”

“But the claims of astrologers are nothing…”

“Know also that all wise men agree that the world has a Ruler… There is, however, disagreement about his origin…”

(1) Some maintain that the world is eternal.

(2) Others that were formed from pre-existing matter.

(3) And others—like the prophets—who (say) they were created from nothing by divine will.

“Everyone agrees that everything in the world ultimately comes from God…”

“But they differ in terms of what happens to individuals…”

“Philosophers say that everything is by chance…”

“Astrologers say that everything is determined by the stars…”

“Both positions are false…”

“The true path is this: it is not chance nor the stars, but divine will… even if we do not understand its ways…”

“And know that one of the foundations of religion… is that man has free will… he can choose good or evil… there is no star that forces him…”

“In summary: the position of the astrologers is considered false by all men of science…”

“And even if you find ancient texts that seem to say otherwise… do not abandon reason proven by evidence…”

“A man should never abandon his reason…”