Conclusion

This chapter reviews the complicated interrelationship between Franco-German and Andalusian sources of influence that has preoccupied various scholars who have tried to situate Nahmanides along the axis between Ashkenaz and Sepharad. It analyzes Nahmanides's position in the controversy over Maimonides's writings. It also explains the nature of the kabbalistic stratum within Nahmanides's thought and its relationship to the exoteric that reveals a deep tension within his personality and approach. The chapter points out how Nahmanides introduced a radical dimension into his thought that he anchored in kabbalah and tradition through the medium of secrecy and esotericism. It also summarizes Nahmanides's achievements as the supreme halakhist of the thirteenth century and as one of the most creative commentators of the Torah, making him a medieval luminary of the revealed aspects of the Jewish tradition.