Leo strauss concluded both his first and last major works with reference to Hermann Cohen. The argument of Strauss's first published book – Spinoza's Critique of Religion – is rooted in Strauss's initial work on Cohen's interpretation of Spinoza. Strauss's second book – Philosophy and Law – begins and ends by declaring that Cohen is right that the philosophy of Maimonides represents “true rationalism” and more particularly that Maimonides is better understood as a Platonist than as an Aristotelian. Strauss's last published work, Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, published posthumously, ends with an essay on Cohen, which was also the introduction to the English translation of Religion of Reason Out of the Sources of Judaism. Interestingly, though this essay on Cohen is the final essay in Studies in Platonic Political Philosophy, it doesn't have much to say about Plato. Although Strauss claims in this essay not to have read Religion of Reason for forty years, those familiar with Strauss's project will recognize that it is from an engagement with Cohen that Strauss forms his basic reading of Maimonides and then Plato. These readings changed in emphasis throughout Strauss's career, but they remained fundamental to his philosophical program.

In this chapter, I explore Strauss's philosophical relation to Cohen. It is not an overstatement to suggest that Cohen is responsible for Leo Strauss's turn to medieval Jewish philosophy. The focus of this chapter, however, is not primarily on the details of Cohen and Strauss's respective readings of Maimonides.