The Guide of the Perplexed, the Closing Chapters, 04: Know, My Son — The Parable of the Parable's Interpretation

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Aug 13, 2026

The Rambam's retraction of his own interpretation; a parable can never fully reach its interpretation, which is Hashem Himself; how Torah is parable leading to parable; the contradiction between Mishneh Torah and Moreh Nevuchim is resolved by the doctrine of parables.

1:00 The parable of the sultan and its two interpretations
4:00 The alternative path to God that does not involve studying philosophy nor human perfection
8:00 Rambam gives the interpretation of the parable and then declares that it is not a true interpretation
10:30 Parables have interpretations that are not completely true
12:30 Shlomo went from parable to parable, and likewise the Rambam
14:45 The power of a parable lies in its appeal to the imagination and the body, which stands in tension with the interpretation of the parable
18:00 The first interpretation of the parable is actually a parable for the deeper interpretation of the parable
21:00 Can the first track lead to prophecy? Would it be called prophecy only equivocally with true prophecy achieved through the second track?
24:00 The student requires a parable to motivate him, and he must take the path through the first interpretation, which is itself a parable
27:30 Study of Torah is a lived parable, and only after appreciating its study for its own sake can a person appreciate it as a parable for something else
30:30 Why Aristotle did not become a prophet
31:00 The answer to the greatest contradiction between Mishneh Torah and the Guide, regarding the importance of studying halacha: its study is a living parable
34:30 The key to resolving the contradiction within the Rambam himself is understanding parables