According to Rambam believing that Hashem has a body is an ideological crime, similar to the ideological crime of being an atheist. See the article: Are Chinese Atheists Who Persecute Judaism and Threaten Israel, Bad People? for details.
The great Rishonim, who came after Rashi never suspected, Rashi of having views about Hashem that differ from standard Jewish belief. For most of us, that should be enough. Nevertheless, Rabbi Natan Slifkin by reexamining the sources and proofs wanted to assert that Rashi’s view about the nature of Hashem differed from the standard Jewish view.
Rabbi Saul Zucker wrote a 29 page article at https://hakirah.org/Vol%209%20Zucker.pdf proving that Rashi was not a Corporealist. That is to say, Rashi agrees with the standard Jewish belief that Hashem does not have a body.
For the average person that article should have been enough proof even if we ignore the fact that the great Rishonim, who came after Rashi never suspected, Rashi of having views about Hashem that differ from standard Jewish belief. For some reason Rabbi Slifkin objected to the proofs.
Vilnagaon.org received permission from Rabbi Zucker to present here the rebuttal originally posted at http://corporealismdiscussion.com/slifkin.pdf The rebuttal was copied to this web site out of fear that the link might become outdated at some time in the future.
Rabbi Slifkin deeply respects Rambam’s outlook on Torah issues.
I wish to bring to his attention the following words of Rambam.
One should judge all of the person favorably. Its subject is when there is a person whom you do not know about him if he is righteous or if he is wicked and you see him doing an act or saying something and if you interpret it one way it will be good and if you interpret in another way it will be bad – [in this case,] take it to the good and do not think bad about it. But if the man is known to be famously righteous and of good deeds; and an action of his is seen that all of its aspects indicate that it is a bad deed and a person can only determine it to be good with great stretching and a distant possibility, it is fit that you take it that it is good, since there is some aspect of a possibility that it is good. And it is not permissible for you to suspect him; and about this did they say (Shabbat 97a), “The body of anyone who suspects proper ones will be struck.” And so [too] when it is an evildoer and his deeds are famous, and afterwards we see him that he does a deed, all of the indications about which are that it is good but there is an aspect of a distant possibility that it is bad; it is fit to guard oneself from him and not to believe that it is good, since there is a possibility for the bad. And about this is it stated (Proverbs 26:25), (Also) “Though he be fair-spoken do not trust him, etc.” {end of quote}
Rambam is informing you Rabbi Slifkin, if you have a way to clear Rashi from an accusation of being a Corporealist, you are morally obligated to go in that direction!
As a follow up to this post, please read:
Rashi Biography as presented by Hidabroot.com