18. The Four Basic Elements

Yesodei HaTorah 3:11

Unlike the spheres, the four forms of matter possess no awareness; they are like dead bodies. Each form has its own inclinations but there is no conscious knowledge or control of them. Psalms 148:7-8 does not contradict this. These verses say, “Praise God from the Earth…fire and hail, snow and vapor, and stormy wind performing His word.” These verses should be understood as telling humans to praise God for His might, which can be seen in the fire, hail, and other phenomena that we can always observe under the sky.

Yesodei HaTorah 4:1

These four forms of matter - fire, wind, water and earth - are the basic elements of all terrestrial creations. Everything that exists – including man, mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, plants, metal, precious gems, pearls, rocks, mountains, dirt, etc. - all of these are a combination of the four basic elements. Accordingly, everything that can be found under the sky, except for these four things, are a combination of matter and spiritual properties; the matter is a combination of these four basic elements. These basic elements are made up of primordial matter and spiritual properties.

Editor’s note: I am not able to explain the Rambam’s science. In Moreh Nevuchim, he is willing to disregard Talmudic dicta (3:14) and even Biblical verses (2:25) in favor of observable science when necessary. Readers are free to assume either that the Rambam was sharing the best science of his day, or that he is describing spiritual rather than physical phenomena.