Or Adonai

Or Adonai is a significant work by the Spanish Jewish philosopher Hasdai Crescas (1340–1410). Completed in 1410, this treatise is a commentary on various aspects of the Torah. Crescas's primary aim in Or Adonai was to expose the weaknesses of Aristotelian philosophy, challenging the rationalist tradition prevalent in Jewish thought at the time. He rejected traditional proofs for the existence of God, asserting that certainty in this matter stems from biblical authority, specifically the declaration "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deuteronomy 6:4). Crescas's work reflects a broader trend in Spanish Jewry towards a return to religion and mysticism, possibly as a reaction to the precarious position of the Jewish community in Spain. His philosophical approach was influenced by Christian Scholastic thought, particularly the voluntarism of John Duns Scotus and the nominalism of William of Ockham.12