Maimonides

Last updated

  • Maimonides
  • (Moshe ben Maimon)
Portrait of Moses Maimonides in Thesaurus antiquitatum sacrarum.tif
Engraving in Thesaurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum from which all modern portraits are derived, c. 1744 [1]
Born30 March [2] or 6 April [3] 1135
Possibly born 28 March or 4 April [4] 1138
Córdoba, Almoravid Empire
Died12 December 1204 (66–69 years old)
Fostat, Ayyubid Sultanate
Notable work
Spouse(1) daughter of Nathaniel Baruch (2) daughter of Mishael Halevi
Era Medieval philosophy
Region Middle Eastern philosophy
School Aristotelianism
Language Judeo-Arabic, Medieval Hebrew
Main interests
 Theology, Halakha, Astronomy, Medicine
Notable ideas
 Maimonides' rule, Golden mean, 13 principles of faith
Signature
Firma de Maimonides.svg

Moses ben Maimon [a] (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides ( /maɪˈmɒnɪdiːz/ , my-MON-ih-deez) [b] and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (Hebrew : רמב״ם), [c] was a Sephardic rabbi and philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician, serving as the personal physician of Saladin. He was born and lived in Córdoba in al-Andalus (now in Spain) within the Almoravid Empire on Passover eve 1138 or 1135, [d] until his family was expelled for refusing to convert to Islam. [6] [7] [8] Later, he lived in Morocco and Egypt and worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher.

Contents

During his lifetime, most Jews greeted Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and ethics with acclaim and gratitude, even as far away as Iraq and Yemen. Yet, while Maimonides rose to become the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt, his writings also had vociferous critics, particularly in Spain. He died in Fustat, Egypt, and, according to Jewish tradition, was buried in Tiberias. His tomb in Tiberias is a popular pilgrimage and tourist site.

He was posthumously acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors and philosophers in Jewish history, and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority as a codification of halakha . [9]

Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides also figures very prominently in the history of Islamic and Arab sciences. Influenced by Aristotle, Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina, and his contemporary Ibn Rushd, he became a prominent philosopher and polymath in both the Jewish and Islamic worlds.

Name

Maimonides referred to himself as "Moses, son of Rabbi Maimon the Spaniard" (Hebrew : משה ברבי מימון הספרדי). [e] In Medieval Hebrew, he was usually called ר״ם, short for "our Rabbi Moshe", but mostly he is called רמב״ם, short for "our Rabbi, Moshe son of Maimon" and pronounced Rambam.

In Arabic, he is sometimes called "Moses 'son of Amram' [f] son of Maimon, of Obadiah, [g] the Cordoban" (أَبُو عَمْرَان مُوسَى بْن مَيْمُون بْن عُبَيْد ٱللّٰه ٱلْقُرْطُبِيّ, Abū ʿImrān Mūsā bin Maimūn bin ʿUbaydallāh al-Qurṭubī), or more often simply "Moses, son of Maimon" (موسى بن ميمون).

In Greek, the Hebrew ben ('son of') becomes the patronymic suffix -ides , forming Μωησής Μαϊμονίδης "Moses Maimonides".

He is sometimes known as "The Great Eagle" (Hebrew: הנשר הגדול, romanized: haNesher haGadol). [10]

Biography

Early years

The dominion of the Almohad Caliphate at its greatest extent, c. 1200 Almohads1200.png
The dominion of the Almohad Caliphate at its greatest extent, c. 1200

Maimonides was born 1138 (or 1135) in Córdoba in the Muslim-ruled Almoravid Caliphate, at the end of the golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula after the first centuries of Muslim rule. His father, Maimon ben Joseph, was a dayyan or rabbinic judge. Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen later wrote that he had traced Maimonides' descent back to Simeon ben Judah ha-Nasi from the Davidic line. [11] His ancestry, going back four generations, is given in his Epistle to Yemen as Moses son of Maimon the Judge, son of Joseph the Wise, son of Isaac the Rabbi, son of Obadiah the Judge. [12] At the end of his commentary on the Mishnah, however, a longer, slightly different genealogy is given: Moses son of Maimon the Judge, son of Joseph the Wise, son of Isaac the Judge, son of Joseph the Judge, son of Obadiah the Judge, son of Solomon the Rabbi, son of Obadiah the Judge. [e]

Maimonides studied Torah under his father, who had in turn studied under Joseph ibn Migash, a student of Isaac Alfasi. At an early age, Maimonides developed an interest in sciences and philosophy. He read ancient Greek philosophy accessible via Arabic translations and was deeply immersed in the sciences and learning of Islamic culture. [13]

Maimonides, who was revered for his personality as well as for his writings, led a busy life, and wrote many of his works while travelling or in temporary accommodation. [14]

Exile

Maimonides' house in Fez, Morocco, according to local tradition. It is now occupied by the Dar al-Magana. Maimonides house in Fes.JPG
Maimonides' house in Fez, Morocco, according to local tradition. It is now occupied by the Dar al-Magana .

A Berber dynasty, the Almohads, conquered Córdoba in 1148 and abolished dhimmi status (i.e., state protection of non-Muslims ensured through payment of a tax, the jizya ) in some[ which? ] of their territories. The loss of this status forced the Jewish and Christian communities to choose between conversion to Islam, death, or exile. [14] Many Jews were forced to convert, but due to suspicion by the authorities of fake conversions, the new converts had to wear identifying clothing that set them apart and made them subject to public scrutiny. [16]

Maimonides' family, along with many other Jews,[ dubious – discuss ] chose exile. For the next ten years, Maimonides moved about in southern Spain and North Africa, eventually settling in Fez, Morocco. Some say that his teacher in Fez was Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Cohen Ibn Susan, until the latter was killed in 1165. [17]

During this time, he composed his acclaimed commentary on the Mishnah, during the years 1166–1168. [h]

Following this sojourn in Morocco, he lived in Acre with his father and brother, before settling in Fustat in Fatimid Caliphate-controlled Egypt by 1168. [18] There is mention that Maimonides first settled in Alexandria, and moved to Fustat only in 1171.[ citation needed ] While in Cairo, he studied in a yeshiva attached to a small synagogue, which now bears his name. [19] In Jerusalem, he prayed at the Temple Mount. He wrote that this day of visiting the Temple Mount was a day of holiness for him and his descendants. [20]

Maimonides shortly thereafter was instrumental in helping rescue Jews taken captive during the Christian Amalric of Jerusalem's siege of the southeastern Nile Delta town of Bilbeis. He sent five letters to the Jewish communities of Lower Egypt asking them to pool money together to pay the ransom. The money was collected and then given to two judges sent to Palestine to negotiate with the Crusaders. The captives were eventually released. [21]

Death of his brother

Monument in Cordoba Ben Maimonides. Cordoba, Espana-eue.jpg
Monument in Córdoba

Following this success, the Maimonides family, hoping to increase their wealth, gave their savings to his brother, the youngest son David ben Maimon, a merchant. Maimonides directed his brother to procure goods only at the Sudanese port of ʿAydhab. After a long, arduous trip through the desert, however, David was unimpressed by the goods on offer there. Against his brother's wishes, David boarded a ship for India, since great wealth was to be found in the East. [i] Before he could reach his destination, David drowned at sea sometime between 1169 and 1177. The death of his brother caused Maimonides to become sick with grief.

In a letter discovered in the Cairo Geniza, he wrote:

The greatest misfortune that has befallen me during my entire life—worse than anything else—was the demise of the saint, may his memory be blessed, who drowned in the Indian sea, carrying much money belonging to me, to him, and to others, and left with me a little daughter and a widow. On the day I received that terrible news I fell ill and remained in bed for about a year, suffering from a sore boil, fever, and depression, and was almost given up. About eight years have passed, but I am still mourning and unable to accept consolation. And how should I console myself? He grew up on my knees, he was my brother, [and] he was my student. [22]

Nagid

Bas relief of Maimonides in the United States House of Representatives Maimonides bas-relief in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber cropped.jpg
Bas relief of Maimonides in the United States House of Representatives

Around 1171, Maimonides was appointed the Nagid of the Egyptian Jewish community. [19] Arabist Shelomo Dov Goitein believes the leadership he displayed during the ransoming of the Crusader captives led to this appointment. [23] However he was replaced by Sar Shalom ben Moses in 1173. Over the controversial course of Sar Shalom's appointment, during which Sar Shalom was accused of tax farming, Maimonides excommunicated and fought with him for several years until Maimonides was appointed Nagid in 1195. A work known as "Megillat Zutta" was written by Abraham ben Hillel, who writes a scathing description of Sar Shalom while praising Maimonides as "the light of east and west and unique master and marvel of the generation." [24] [25]

Physician

With the loss of the family funds tied up in David's business venture, Maimonides assumed the vocation of physician, for which he was to become famous. He had trained in medicine in both Spain and in Fez. Gaining widespread recognition, he was appointed court physician to al-Qadi al-Fadil, the chief secretary to Sultan Saladin, then to Saladin himself; after whose death he remained a physician to the Ayyubid dynasty. [26]

An autograph from the Cairo Geniza with words in Arabic and their Romance translations, both written in Hebrew script T-S NS 163.57.jpg
An autograph from the Cairo Geniza with words in Arabic and their Romance translations, both written in Hebrew script

In his medical writings, Maimonides described many conditions, including asthma, diabetes, hepatitis, and pneumonia, and he emphasized moderation and a healthy lifestyle. [28] His treatises became influential for generations of physicians. He was knowledgeable about Greek and Arabic medicine, and followed the principles of humorism in the tradition of Galen. He did not blindly accept authority but used his own observation and experience. [28] Julia Bess Frank indicates that Maimonides in his medical writings sought to interpret works of authorities so that they could become acceptable. [26] Maimonides displayed in his interactions with patients attributes that today would be called intercultural awareness and respect for the patient's autonomy. [29] Although he frequently wrote of his longing for solitude in order to come closer to God and to extend his reflections—elements considered essential in his philosophy to the prophetic experience—he gave over most of his time to caring for others. [30] In a famous letter, Maimonides describes his daily routine. After visiting the Sultan's palace, he would arrive home exhausted and hungry, where "I would find the antechambers filled with gentiles and Jews [...] I would go to heal them, and write prescriptions for their illnesses [...] until the evening [...] and I would be extremely weak." [31]

As he goes on to say in this letter, even on Shabbat he would receive members of the community. Still, he managed to write extended treatises, including not only medical and other scientific studies but some of the most systematically thought-through and influential treatises on halakha (rabbinic law) and Jewish philosophy of the Middle Ages. [j]

In 1172–74, Maimonides wrote his famous Epistle to Yemen . [32] It has been suggested that his "incessant travail" undermined his own health and brought about his death at 69 (although this is a normal lifespan). [33]

Death

The Tomb of Maimonides in Tiberias Keverambam.jpg
The Tomb of Maimonides in Tiberias

Maimonides died on 12 December 1204 (20th of Tevet 4965) in Fustat. A variety of medieval sources beginning with Al-Qifti maintain that his body was interred near Lake Tiberias, though there is no contemporary evidence for his removal from Egypt. Gedaliah ibn Yahya records that "He was buried in the Upper Galilee with elegies upon his gravestone. In the time of [David] Kimhi, when the sons of Belial rose up to besmirch [Maimonides] . . . they did evil. They altered his gravestone, which previously had been inscribed 'choicest of the human race (מבחר המין האנושי)', so that instead it read 'the excommunicated heretic (מוחרם ומין)'. But later, after the provocateurs had repented of their act, and praised this great man, a student repaired the gravestone to read 'choicest of the Israelites (מבחר המין הישראלי)'". [34] Today, Tiberias hosts the Tomb of Maimonides, on which is inscribed "From Moses to Moses arose none like Moses." [35]

Maimonides and his wife, the daughter of Mishael ben Yeshayahu Halevi, had one child who survived into adulthood, [36] Abraham Maimonides, who became recognized as a great scholar. He succeeded Maimonides as Nagid and as court physician at the age of eighteen. Throughout his career, he defended his father's writings against all critics. The office of Nagid was held by the Maimonides family for four successive generations until the end of the 14th century.

A statue of Maimonides was erected near the Córdoba Synagogue.

Maimonides is sometimes said to be a descendant of King David, although he never made such a claim. [37] [38]

Works

Mishneh Torah

With Mishneh Torah, Maimonides composed a code of Jewish law with the widest-possible scope and depth. The work gathers all the binding laws from the Talmud, and incorporates the positions of the Geonim (post-Talmudic early Medieval scholars, mainly from Mesopotamia). It is also known as Yad ha-Chazaka or simply Yad (יד) which has the numerical value 14, representing the 14 books of the work. The Mishneh Torah made following Jewish law easier for the Jews of his time, who were struggling to understand the complex nature of Jewish rules and regulations as they had adapted over the years.

Later codes of Jewish law, e.g. Arba'ah Turim by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher and Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yosef Karo, draw heavily on Mishneh Torah: both often quote whole sections verbatim. However, it met initially with much opposition. [39] There were two main reasons for this opposition. First, Maimonides had refrained from adding references to his work for the sake of brevity; second, in the introduction, he gave the impression of wanting to "cut out" study of the Talmud, [40] to arrive at a conclusion in Jewish law, although Maimonides later wrote that this was not his intent. His most forceful opponents were the rabbis of Provence (Southern France), and a running critique by Rabbi Abraham ben David (Raavad III) is printed in virtually all editions of Mishneh Torah. Nevertheless, Mishneh Torah was recognized as a monumental contribution to the systemized writing of halakha. Throughout the centuries, it has been widely studied and its halakhic decisions have weighed heavily in later rulings.

In response to those who would attempt to force followers of Maimonides and his Mishneh Torah to abide by the rulings of his own Shulchan Aruch or other later works, Rabbi Yosef Karo wrote: "Who would dare force communities who follow the Rambam to follow any other decisor [of Jewish law], early or late? [...] The Rambam is the greatest of the decisors, and all the communities of the Land of Israel and the Arabistan and the Maghreb practice according to his word, and accepted him as their rabbi." [41]

An oft-cited legal maxim from his pen is: "It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death." He argued that executing a defendant on anything less than absolute certainty would lead to a slippery slope of decreasing burdens of proof, until defendants would be convicted merely according to the judge's caprice. [42]

Other Judaic and philosophical works

An autograph fragment of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed (Judeo-Arabic) Manuscript page by Maimonides Arabic in Hebrew letters (cropped).jpg
An autograph fragment of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed (Judeo-Arabic)
Autograph manuscript of Maimonides' Commentary to Tractate Sukkah, written in Judeo-Arabic solitreo Maimonides-mishna.jpg
Autograph manuscript of Maimonides' Commentary to Tractate Sukkah, written in Judeo-Arabic solitreo

Maimonides composed works of Jewish scholarship, rabbinic law, philosophy, and medical texts. Most of Maimonides' works were written in Judeo-Arabic. However, the Mishneh Torah was written in Hebrew. In addition to Mishneh Torah, his Jewish texts were:

Medical works

Maimonides' achievements in the medical field are well known, and are cited by many medieval authors. One of his more important medical works is his Guide to Good Health (Regimen Sanitatis), which he composed in Arabic for the Sultan al-Afdal, son of Saladin, who suffered from depression. [47] The work was translated into Latin, and published in Florence in 1477, becoming the first medical book to appear in print there. [48] While his prescriptions may have become obsolete, "his ideas about preventive medicine, public hygiene, approach to the suffering patient, and the preservation of the health of the soul have not become obsolete." [49] Maimonides wrote ten known medical works in Arabic that have been translated by the Jewish medical ethicist Fred Rosner into contemporary English. [28] [50] Lectures, conferences and research on Maimonides, even recently in the 21st century, have been done at medical universities in Morocco.

The Oath of Maimonides

The Oath of Maimonides is a document about the medical calling and recited as a substitute for the Hippocratic Oath . It is not to be confused with a more lengthy Prayer of Maimonides. These documents may not have been written by Maimonides, but later. [26] The Prayer appeared first in print in 1793 and has been attributed to Markus Herz, a German physician, pupil of Immanuel Kant. [59]

Treatise on logic

The Treatise on Logic (Arabic: Maqala Fi-Sinat Al-Mantiq) has been printed 17 times, including editions in Latin (1527), German (1805, 1822, 1833, 1828), French (1936) by Moïse Ventura and in 1996 by Rémi Brague, and English (1938) by Israel Efros, and in an abridged Hebrew form. The work illustrates the essentials of Aristotelian logic to be found in the teachings of the great Islamic philosophers such as Avicenna and, above all, Al-Farabi, "the Second Master," the "First Master" being Aristotle. In his work devoted to the Treatise, Rémi Brague stresses the fact that Al-Farabi is the only philosopher mentioned therein. This indicates a line of conduct for the reader, who must read the text keeping in mind Al-Farabi's works on logic. In the Hebrew versions, the Treatise is called The words of Logic which describes the bulk of the work. The author explains the technical meaning of the words used by logicians. The Treatise duly inventories the terms used by the logician and indicates what they refer to. The work proceeds rationally through a lexicon of philosophical terms to a summary of higher philosophical topics, in 14 chapters corresponding to Maimonides' birthdate of 14 Nissan. The number 14 recurs in many of Maimonides' works. Each chapter offers a cluster of associated notions. The meaning of the words is explained and illustrated with examples. At the end of each chapter, the author carefully draws up the list of words studied.

Until very recently, it was accepted that Maimonides wrote the Treatise on Logic in his twenties or even in his teen years. [60] Herbert Davidson has raised questions about Maimonides' authorship of this short work (and of other short works traditionally attributed to Maimonides). He maintains that Maimonides was not the author at all, based on a report of two Arabic-language manuscripts, unavailable to Western investigators in Asia Minor. [61] Rabbi Yosef Kafih maintained that it is by Maimonides and newly translated it to Hebrew (as Beiur M'lekhet HaHiggayon) from the Judeo-Arabic. [62]

Philosophy

Through The Guide for the Perplexed and the philosophical introductions to sections of his commentaries on the Mishna, Maimonides exerted an important influence on the Scholastic philosophers, especially on Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus. He was a Jewish Scholastic. Educated more by reading the works of Arab Muslim philosophers than by personal contact with Arabian teachers, he acquired an intimate acquaintance not only with Arab Muslim philosophy, but with the doctrines of Aristotle. Maimonides strove to reconcile Aristotelianism and science with the teachings of the Torah. [45] In his Guide for the Perplexed, he often explains the function and purpose of the statutory provisions contained in the Torah against the backdrop of the historical conditions. The book was highly controversial in its day, and was banned by French rabbis, who burnt copies of the work in Montpellier. [63]

Thirteen principles of faith

In his commentary on the Mishnah (Tractate Sanhedrin, chapter 10), Maimonides formulates his "13 principles of faith"; and that these principles summarized what he viewed as the required beliefs of Judaism:

  1. The existence of God.
  2. God's unity and indivisibility into elements.
  3. God's spirituality and incorporeality.
  4. God's eternity.
  5. God alone should be the object of worship.
  6. Revelation through God's prophets.
  7. The preeminence of Moses among the prophets.
  8. That the entire Torah (both the Written and Oral law) are of Divine origin and were dictated to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai.
  9. The Torah given by Moses is permanent and will not be replaced or changed.
  10. God's awareness of all human actions and thoughts.
  11. Reward of righteousness and punishment of evil.
  12. The coming of the Jewish Messiah.
  13. The resurrection of the dead.

Maimonides is said to have compiled the principles from various Talmudic sources. These principles were controversial when first proposed, evoking criticism by Rabbis Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo, and were effectively ignored by much of the Jewish community for the next few centuries. [64] However, these principles have become widely held and are considered to be the cardinal principles of faith for Orthodox Jews. [65] Two poetic restatements of these principles ( Ani Ma'amin and Yigdal ) eventually became canonized in many editions of the Siddur (Jewish prayer book). [66]

The omission of a list of these principles as such within his later works, the Mishneh Torah and The Guide for the Perplexed , has led some to suggest that either he retracted his earlier position, or that these principles are descriptive rather than prescriptive. [67] [68] [69] [70] [71]

Theology

Depiction of Maimonides teaching students about the 'measure of man' in an illuminated manuscript Measure of men.jpg
Depiction of Maimonides teaching students about the 'measure of man' in an illuminated manuscript

Maimonides equated the God of Abraham to what philosophers refer to as the Necessary Being. God is unique in the universe, and the Torah commands that one love and fear God (Deut 10:12) on account of that uniqueness. To Maimonides, this meant that one ought to contemplate God's works and to marvel at the order and wisdom that went into their creation. When one does this, one inevitably comes to love God and to sense how insignificant one is in comparison to God. This is the basis of the Torah. [72]

The principle that inspired his philosophical activity was identical to a fundamental tenet of scholasticism: there can be no contradiction between the truths which God has revealed and the findings of the human mind in science and philosophy. Maimonides primarily relied upon the science of Aristotle and the teachings of the Talmud, commonly claiming to find a basis for the latter in the former. [73]

Maimonides' admiration for the Neoplatonic commentators led him to doctrines which the later Scholastics did not accept. For instance, Maimonides was an adherent of apophatic theology. In this theology, one attempts to describe God through negative attributes. For example, one should not say that God exists in the usual sense of the term; it can be said that God is not non-existent. One should not say that "God is wise"; but it can be said that "God is not ignorant," i.e., in some way, God has some properties of knowledge. One should not say that "God is One," but it can be stated that "there is no multiplicity in God's being." In brief, the attempt is to gain and express knowledge of God by describing what God is not, rather than by describing what God "is." [74]

Maimonides argued adamantly that God is not corporeal. This was central to his thinking about the sin of idolatry. Maimonides insisted that all of the anthropomorphic phrases pertaining to God in sacred texts are to be interpreted metaphorically. [74] A related tenet of Maimonidean theology is the notion that the commandments, especially those pertaining to sacrifices, are intended to help wean the Israelites away from idolatry. [75]

Maimonides also argued that God embodied reason, intellect, science, and nature, and was omnipotent and indescribable. [76] He said that science, the growth of scientific fields, and discovery of the unknown by comprehension of nature was a way to appreciate God. [76]

Character development

Maimonides taught about the developing of one's moral character. Although his life predated the modern concept of a personality, Maimonides believed that each person has an innate disposition along an ethical and emotional spectrum. Although one's disposition is often determined by factors outside of one's control, human beings have free will to choose to behave in ways that build character. [77] He wrote, "One is obligated to conduct his affairs with others in a gentle and pleasing manner." [78] Maimonides advised that those with antisocial character traits should identify those traits and then make a conscious effort to behave in the opposite way. For example, an arrogant person should practice humility. [79] If the circumstances of one's environment are such that it is impossible to behave ethically, one must move to a new location. [80]

Prophecy

Maimonides agreed with "the Philosopher" (Aristotle) that the use of logic is the "right" way of thinking. He claimed that in order to understand how to know God, every human being must, by study, and meditation attain the degree of perfection required to reach the prophetic state. Despite his rationalistic approach, he does not explicitly reject the previous ideas (as portrayed, for example, by Rabbi Yehuda Halevi in his Kuzari ) that in order to become a prophet, God must intervene. Maimonides teaches that prophecy is the highest purpose of the most learned and refined individuals.

The problem of evil

Maimonides wrote on theodicy (the philosophical attempt to reconcile the existence of a God with the existence of evil). He took the premise that an omnipotent and good God exists. [81] [82] [83] [84] In The Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides writes that all the evil that exists within human beings stems from their individual attributes, while all good comes from a universally shared humanity (Guide 3:8). He says that there are people who are guided by higher purpose, and there are those who are guided by physicality and must strive to find the higher purpose with which to guide their actions.

To justify the existence of evil, assuming God is both omnipotent and omnibenevolent, Maimonides postulates that one who created something by causing its opposite not to exist is not the same as creating something that exists; so evil is merely the absence of good. God did not create evil, rather God created good, and evil exists where good is absent (Guide 3:10). Therefore, all good is divine invention, and evil both is not and comes secondarily.

Maimonides contests the common view that evil outweighs good in the world. He says that if one were to examine existence only in terms of humanity, then that person may observe evil to dominate good, but if one looks at the whole of the universe, then he sees good is significantly more common than evil (Guide 3:12). Man, he reasons, is too insignificant a figure in God's myriad works to be their primary characterizing force, and so when people see mostly evil in their lives, they are not taking into account the extent of positive Creation outside of themselves.

Maimonides believes that there are three types of evil in the world: evil caused by nature, evil that people bring upon others, and evil man brings upon himself (Guide 3:12). The first type of evil Maimonides states is the rarest form, but arguably of the most necessary—the balance of life and death in both the human and animal worlds itself, he recognizes, is essential to God's plan. Maimonides writes that the second type of evil is relatively rare, and that humanity brings it upon itself. The third type of evil humans bring upon themselves and is the source of most of the ills of the world. These are the result of people's falling victim to their physical desires. To prevent the majority of evil which stems from harm one does to oneself, one must learn how to respond to one's bodily urges.

Skepticism of astrology

Maimonides answered an inquiry concerning astrology, addressed to him from Marseille. [85] He responded that man should believe only what can be supported either by rational proof, by the evidence of the senses, or by trustworthy authority. He affirms that he had studied astrology, and that it does not deserve to be described as a science. He ridicules the concept that the fate of a man could be dependent upon the constellations; he argues that such a theory would rob life of purpose, and would make man a slave of destiny. [86]

True beliefs versus necessary beliefs

In The Guide for the Perplexed Book III, Chapter 28, [87] Maimonides draws a distinction between "true beliefs," which were beliefs about God that produced intellectual perfection, and "necessary beliefs," which were conducive to improving social order. Maimonides places anthropomorphic personification statements about God in the latter class. He uses as an example the notion that God becomes "angry" with people who do wrong. In the view of Maimonides (taken from Avicenna), God does not become angry with people, as God has no human passions; but it is important for them to believe God does, so that they desist from doing wrong.

Righteousness and charity

Maimonides conceived of an eight-level hierarchy of tzedakah, where the highest form is to give a gift, loan, or partnership that will result in the recipient becoming self-sufficient instead of living upon others. In his view, the lowest form of tzedakah is to give begrudgingly. [88] The eight levels are: [89]

  1. Giving begrudgingly
  2. Giving less than you should, but giving it cheerfully
  3. Giving after being asked
  4. Giving before being asked
  5. Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows your identity
  6. Giving when you know the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know your identity
  7. Giving when neither party knows the other's identity
  8. Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant

Eschatology

The Messianic era

Perhaps one of Maimonides' most highly acclaimed and renowned writings is his treatise on the Messianic era, written originally in Judeo-Arabic and which he elaborates on in great detail in his Commentary on the Mishnah (Introduction to the 10th chapter of tractate Sanhedrin, also known as Pereḳ Ḥeleḳ).

Resurrection

Religious Jews believed in immortality in a spiritual sense, and most believed that the future would include a messianic era and a resurrection of the dead. This is the subject of Jewish eschatology. Maimonides wrote much on this topic, but in most cases he wrote about the immortality of the soul for people of perfected intellect; his writings were usually not about the resurrection of dead bodies. Rabbis of his day were critical of this aspect of this thought, and there was controversy over his true views. [k]

Eventually, Maimonides felt pressured to write a treatise on the subject, known as "The Treatise on Resurrection." In it, he wrote that those who claimed that he believed the verses of the Hebrew Bible referring to the resurrection were only allegorical were spreading falsehoods. Maimonides asserts that belief in resurrection is a fundamental truth of Judaism about which there is no disagreement. [90]

While his position on the World to Come (non-corporeal eternal life as described above) may be seen as being in contradiction with his position on bodily resurrection, Maimonides resolved them with a then unique solution: Maimonides believed that the resurrection was not permanent or general. In his view, God never violates the laws of nature. Rather, divine interaction is by way of angels, whom Maimonides often regards to be metaphors for the laws of nature, the principles by which the physical universe operates, or Platonic eternal forms. [l] Thus, if a unique event actually occurs, even if it is perceived as a miracle, it is not a violation of the world's order. [91]

In this view, any dead who are resurrected must eventually die again. In his discussion of the 13 principles of faith, the first five deal with knowledge of God, the next four deal with prophecy and the Torah, while the last four deal with reward, punishment and the ultimate redemption. In this discussion Maimonides says nothing of a universal resurrection. All he says it is that whatever resurrection does take place, it will occur at an indeterminate time before the world to come, which he repeatedly states will be purely spiritual.

The World to Come

Maimonides distinguishes two kinds of intelligence in man, the one material in the sense of being dependent on, and influenced by, the body, and the other immaterial, that is, independent of the bodily organism. The latter is a direct emanation from the universal active intellect; this is his interpretation of the noûs poietikós of Aristotelian philosophy. It is acquired as the result of the efforts of the soul to attain a correct knowledge of the absolute, pure intelligence of God.[ citation needed ]

The knowledge of God is a form of knowledge which develops in us the immaterial intelligence, and thus confers on man an immaterial, spiritual nature. This confers on the soul that perfection in which human happiness consists, and endows the soul with immortality. One who has attained a correct knowledge of God has reached a condition of existence, which renders him immune from all the accidents of fortune, from all the allurements of sin, and from death itself. Man is in a position to work out his own salvation and his immortality.[ citation needed ]

Baruch Spinoza's doctrine of immortality was strikingly similar. However, Spinoza teaches that the way to attain the knowledge which confers immortality is the progress from sense-knowledge through scientific knowledge to philosophical intuition of all things sub specie æternitatis, while Maimonides holds that the road to perfection and immortality is the path of duty as described in the Torah and the rabbinic understanding of the oral law.[ citation needed ]

Maimonides describes the world to come as the stage after a person lives their life in this world as well as the final state of existence after the Messianic Era. Some time after the resurrection of the dead, souls will live forever without bodies. They will enjoy the radiance of the Divine Presence without the need for food, drink or sexual pleasures. [92]

Maimonides and Kabbalah

Maimonides was not known as a supporter of Kabbalah, although a strong intellectual type of mysticism has been discerned in his philosophy. [93] In The Guide for the Perplexed, Maimonides declares his intention to conceal from the average reader his explanations of Sod [m] esoteric meanings of Torah. The nature of these "secrets" is debated. Religious Jewish rationalists, and the mainstream academic view, read Maimonides' Aristotelianism as a mutually-exclusive alternative metaphysics to Kabbalah. [94] Some academics hold that Maimonides' project fought against the Proto-Kabbalah of his time. [95]

Maimonides employed rationalism to defend Judaism rather than limit inquiry of Sod only to rationalism. His rationalism, if not taken as an opposition, [n] also assisted the Kabbalists, purifying their transmitted teaching from mistaken corporeal interpretations that could have been made from Hekhalot literature, [o] though Kabbalists held that their theosophy alone allowed human access to Divine mysteries. [96]

Influence and legacy

The title page of The Guide for the Perplexed Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides.jpg
The title page of The Guide for the Perplexed

Maimonides' Mishneh Torah is considered by Jews even today as one of the chief authoritative codifications of Jewish law and ethics. It is exceptional for its logical construction, concise and clear expression and extraordinary learning, so that it became a standard against which other later codifications were often measured. [97] It is still closely studied in rabbinic yeshivot (seminaries). The first to compile a comprehensive lexicon containing an alphabetically arranged list of difficult words found in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah was Tanḥum ha-Yerushalmi (1220–1291). [98] A popular medieval saying that also served as his epitaph states, "From Mosheh [of the Torah] to Mosheh [Maimonides] there was none like Mosheh." It chiefly referred to his rabbinic writings.

However, Maimonides was also one of the most influential figures in medieval Jewish philosophy. His adaptation of Aristotelian thought to Biblical faith deeply impressed later Jewish thinkers, and had an unexpected immediate historical impact. [99] Some more acculturated Jews in the century that followed his death, particularly in Spain, sought to apply Maimonides' Aristotelianism in ways that undercut traditionalist belief and observance, giving rise to an intellectual controversy in Spanish and southern French Jewish circles. [100] The intensity of debate spurred Catholic Church interventions against "heresy" and a general confiscation of rabbinic texts.

In reaction, the more radical interpretations of Maimonides were defeated. At least amongst Ashkenazi Jews, there was a tendency to ignore his specifically philosophical writings and to stress instead the rabbinic and halakhic writings. These writings often included considerable philosophical chapters or discussions in support of halakhic observance; David Hartman observes that Maimonides clearly expressed "the traditional support for a philosophical understanding of God both in the Aggadah of Talmud and in the behavior of the hasid [the pious Jew]." [101] Maimonidean thought continues to influence traditionally observant Jews. [102] [103]

The most rigorous medieval critique of Maimonides is Hasdai Crescas' Or Adonai . Crescas bucked the eclectic trend, by demolishing the certainty of the Aristotelian world-view, not only in religious matters but also in the most basic areas of medieval science (such as physics and geometry). Crescas' critique provoked a number of 15th-century scholars to write defenses of Maimonides.

Because of his path-finding synthesis of Aristotle and Biblical faith, Maimonides had an influence on Christian theologian Thomas Aquinas who refers to Maimonides in several of his works, including the Commentary on the Sentences . [104]

Maimonides' combined abilities in the fields of theology, philosophy and medicine make his work attractive today as a source during discussions of evolving norms in these fields, particularly medicine. An example is the modern citation of his method of determining death of the body in the controversy regarding declaration of death to permit organ donation for transplantation. [105]

Maimonides and the Modernists

Plaque of Maimonides at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa Maimonides, at Rambam Medical Center (square).jpg
Plaque of Maimonides at Rambam Medical Center, Haifa

Maimonides remains one of the most widely debated Jewish thinkers among modern scholars. He has been adopted as a symbol and an intellectual hero by almost all major movements in modern Judaism, and has proven important to philosophers such as Leo Strauss; and his views on the importance of humility have been taken up by modern humanist philosophers. In academia, particularly within the area of Jewish Studies, the teaching of Maimonides has been dominated by traditional scholars, generally Orthodox, who place a very strong emphasis on Maimonides as a rationalist; one result is that certain sides of Maimonides' thought, including his opposition to anthropocentrism, have been obviated.[ citation needed ] There are movements in some postmodern circles to claim Maimonides for other purposes, as within the discourse of ecotheology. [106] Maimonides' reconciliation of the philosophical and the traditional has given his legacy an extremely diverse and dynamic quality.

Tributes and memorials

Maimonides used to be on the 1 ILS banknote. Israel 1 Sheqel 1986 Obverse & Reverse.jpg
Maimonides used to be on the 1 ILS banknote.

Maimonides has been memorialized in numerous ways. For example, one of the Learning Communities at the Tufts University School of Medicine bears his name. There is also Maimonides School in Brookline, Massachusetts, Maimonides Academy School in Los Angeles, California, Lycée Maïmonide in Casablanca, the Brauser Maimonides Academy in Hollywood, Florida, [107] and Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. Beit Harambam Congregation, a Sephardi synagogue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is named after him. [108]

Issued from 8 May 1986 to 1995, [109] the Series A of the Israeli New Shekel featured an illustration of Maimonides on the obverse and the place of his burial in Tiberias on the reverse on its 1-shekel bill. [110]

In 2004, conferences were held at Yale University, Florida International University, Penn State, and Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel, which is named after him. To commemorate the 800th anniversary of his death, Harvard University issued a memorial volume. [111] In 1953, the Israel Postal Authority issued a postage stamp of Maimonides, pictured.

In March 2008, during the Euromed Conference of Ministers of Tourism, The Tourism Ministries of Israel, Morocco and Spain agreed to work together on a joint project that will trace the footsteps of the Rambam and thus boost religious tourism in the cities of Córdoba, Fez and Tiberias. [112]

Between December 2018 and January 2019 the Israel Museum held a special exhibit dedicated to the writings of Maimonides. [113]

Burial place

Burial marker at the tomb of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon in Tiberias Tomb marker of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon.jpg
Burial marker at the tomb of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon in Tiberias

He is buried in HaRambam compound in Tiberias. Other notable rabbis also buried in HaRambam compound / complex are:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־מַיְמוֹן, romanized: Mōše ben-Maymōn; Arabic: موسى بن ميمون, romanized: Mūsā bin Maymūn
  2. ↑ Ancient Greek: Μωυσής Μαϊμωνίδης, romanized: Mōusḗs Maïmōnídēs; Latin: Moses Maimonides
  3. ↑ /ˌrɑːmˈbɑːm/ , for Rabbēnu Mōše ben Maymōn, "Our Rabbi Moses, son of Maimon"
  4. ↑ The date of 1138 of the Common Era is the date of birth given by Maimonides himself, in the very last chapter and comment made by Maimonides in his Commentary of the Mishnah, [5] and where he writes: "I began to write this composition when I was twenty-three years old, and I completed it in Egypt while I was aged thirty, which year is the 1,479th year of the Seleucid era (1168 CE)."
  5. 1 2 He usually left off "the Spaniard" and he sometimes added זצ"ל, short for "[let] mention of the righteous one bring a blessing." At the end of his commentary to the Mishna he gives a fuller lineage: אני משה ברבי מימון הדיין ברבי יוסף החכם ברבי יצחק הדיין ברבי יוסף הדיין ברבי עובדיהו הדיין ברבי שלמה הרב ברבי עובדיהו הדיין זכר קדושים לברכה, "I am Moshe son of Rabbi Maimon the Judge, son of Rabbi Joseph the Wise, son of Rabbi Isaac the Judge, son of Rabbi Joseph the Judge, son of Rabbi Obadiah the Judge, son of Rabbi Solomon the Teacher, son of Rabbi Obadiah the Judge; [let] mention of the holy ones bring a blessing."
  6. ↑ Medieval Jews named Moses received the Arabic nickname abu Imran, in which the word abu has been inverted from its original sense of "father" to reference the biblical Moses' father Amram. Similarly, Jews named Isaac were known as abu Ibrahim, meaning: "son of Abraham". For more on the Jewish system of biblical nicknames, see Kunya.
  7. ↑ Ubaydallah is to be treated as Maimonides' surname; his grandfather was named Joseph. It is not always included in either Arabic or Hebrew versions of Maimonides' name. Various Hebrew manuscripts render ben Ovadyahu and ben Eved-Elohim ("descended/son of Obadiah"), but also Eved-Elohim, implying only "Moses son of Maimon, the servant of God" (cf. Josh. 1:13–15) and Latin versions follow, rendering servus dei. See: Bar-Sela A, Hoff HE, Faris E, Maimonides M (1964). "Moses Maimonides' Two Treatises on the Regimen of Health: Fi Tadbir al-Sihhah and Maqalah fi Bayan Ba'd al-A'rad wa-al-Jawab 'anha". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 54 (4). JSTOR: 3. doi:10.2307/1005935. ISSN   0065-9746. JSTOR   1005935.
  8. ↑ Seder HaDoroth (year 4927) quotes Maimonides as saying that he began writing his commentary on the Mishna when he was 23 years old, and published it when he was 30. Because of the dispute about the date of Maimonides' birth, it is not clear which year the work was published.
  9. ↑ The "India Trade" (a term devised by the Arabist S.D. Goitein) was a highly lucrative business venture in which Jewish merchants from Egypt, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East imported and exported goods ranging from pepper to brass from various ports along the Malabar Coast between the 11th–13th centuries. For more info, see the "India Traders" chapter in Goitein, Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders, 1973 or Goitein, India Traders of the Middle Ages, 2008.
  10. ↑ Such views of his works are found in almost all scholarly studies of the man and his significance. See, for example, the "Introduction" sub-chapter by Howard Kreisel to his overview article "Moses Maimonides", in History of Jewish Philosophy, edited by Daniel H. Frank and Oliver Leaman, Second Edition (New York and London: Routledge, 2003), pp. 245–246.
  11. ↑ According to Maimonides, certain Jews in Yemen had sent to him a letter in the year 1189, evidently irritated as to why he had not mentioned the physical resurrection of the dead in his Hil. Teshuvah, chapter 8, and how that some persons in Yemen had begun to instruct, based on Maimonides' teaching, that when the body dies it will disintegrate and the soul will never return to such bodies after death. Maimonides denied that he ever insinuated such things, and reiterated that the body would indeed resurrect, but that the "world to come" was something different in nature. See: Maimonides' Ma'amar Teḥayyath Hamethim (Treatise on the Resurrection of the Dead), published in Book of Letters and Responsa (ספר אגרות ותשובות), Jerusalem 1978, p. 9 (Hebrew).
  12. ↑ This view is not always consistent throughout Maimonides' work; in Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah, chapters 2–4, Maimonides describes angels that are actually created beings.
  13. ↑ "Within [the Torah] there is also another part which is called 'hidden' (mutsnaʿ), and this [concerns] the secrets (sodot) which the human intellect cannot attain, like the meanings of the statutes (ḥukim) and other hidden secrets. They can neither be attained through the intellect nor through sheer volition, but they are revealed before Him who created [the Torah]". (Rabbi Abraham ben Asher, The Or ha-Sekhel)
  14. ↑ Contemporary academic views in the study of Jewish mysticism, hold that 12–13th century Kabbalists wrote down and systemised their transmitted oral doctrines in oppositional response to Maimonidean rationalism. See e.g. Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives
  15. ↑ The first comprehensive systemiser of Kabbalah, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, for example, was influenced by Maimonides. One example is his instruction to undercut any conception of a Kabbalistic idea after grasping it in the mind. One's intellect runs to God in learning the idea, then returns in qualified rejection of false spatial/temporal conceptions of the idea's truth, as the human mind can only think in material references. Cited in Louis Jacobs, The Jewish Religion: A Companion, Oxford University Press, 1995, entry on Cordovero.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish principles of faith</span>

Judaism does not centralize authority in any single individual or group. The formulation of principles of faith that are universally recognized by all branches of Judaism remains undefined. There is no central authority in Judaism in existence today - although the Sanhedrin, the supreme Jewish religious court, would fulfill this role if it were re-established. Instead, Judaism's principles of faith remain debated by the rabbis based on their understanding of the sacred writings, laws, and traditions, which collectively shape its theological and ethical framework. The most accepted version in extent is the opinion of Maimonides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rabbinic literature</span> Jewish literature attributed to rabbis

Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writings. It aligns with the Hebrew term Sifrut Chazal, which translates to “literature [of our] sages” and generally pertains only to the sages (Chazal) from the Talmudic period. This more specific sense of "Rabbinic literature"—referring to the Talmud, Midrashim, and related writings, but hardly ever to later texts—is how the term is generally intended when used in contemporary academic writing. The terms mefareshim and parshanim almost always refer to later, post-Talmudic writers of rabbinic glosses on Biblical and Talmudic texts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nachmanides</span> 13th century Catalonian rabbi and scholar

Moses ben Nachman, commonly known as Nachmanides, and also referred to by the acronym Ramban and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta, was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator. He was raised, studied, and lived for most of his life in Girona, Catalonia. He is also considered to be an important figure in the re-establishment of the Jewish community in Jerusalem following its destruction by the Crusaders in 1099.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish philosophy</span> Philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism

Jewish philosophy includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or in relation to the religion of Judaism. Until modern Haskalah and Jewish emancipation, Jewish philosophy was preoccupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism, thus organizing emergent ideas that are not necessarily Jewish into a uniquely Jewish scholastic framework and world-view. With their acceptance into modern society, Jews with secular educations embraced or developed entirely new philosophies to meet the demands of the world in which they now found themselves.

<i>Mishneh Torah</i> Code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides

The Mishneh Torah, also known as Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka, is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (halakha) authored by Maimonides. The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE, while Maimonides was living in Egypt, and is regarded as Maimonides' magnum opus. Accordingly, later sources simply refer to the work as "Maimon", "Maimonides", or "RaMBaM", although Maimonides composed other works.

The Dardaim or Dor Daim, are adherents of the Dor Deah movement in Orthodox Judaism. That movement took its name in 1912 in Yemen under Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, and had its own network of synagogues and schools, although, in actuality, the movement existed long before that name had been coined for it. According to ethnographer and historian, Shelomo Dov Goitein, author and historiographer, Hayyim Habshush had been a member of this movement before it had been given the name Dor Deah, writing, “...He and his friends, partly under European influence, but driven mainly by developments among the Yemenite Jews themselves, formed a group who ardently opposed all those forces of mysticism, superstition and fatalism which were then so prevalent in the country and strove for exact knowledge and independent thought, and the application of both to life.” It was only some years later, when Rabbi Yihya Qafih became the headmaster of the new Jewish school in Sana'a built by the Ottoman Turks and where he wanted to introduce a new curriculum in the school whereby boys would also learn arithmetic and the rudiments of the Arabic and Turkish languages that Rabbi Yihya Yitzhak Halevi gave to Rabbi Qafih's movement the name Daradʻah, a word which is an Arabic broken plural made-up of the Hebrew words Dör Deʻoh, and which means "Generation of Knowledge."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medieval Hebrew</span> Literary and liturgical language that existed between the 4th and 18th century

Medieval Hebrew was a literary and liturgical language that existed between the 4th and 19th century. It was not commonly used as a spoken language, but mainly in written form by rabbis, scholars and poets. Medieval Hebrew had many features distinguishing it from older forms of Hebrew. These affected grammar, syntax, sentence structure, and also included a wide variety of new lexical items, which were either based on older forms or borrowed from other languages, especially Aramaic, Koine Greek and Latin.

<i>The Guide for the Perplexed</i> Philosophical work by Maimonides (c. 1190 CE)

The Guide for the Perplexed is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text.

Abraham ben David, also known by the abbreviation RABaDRavad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, an important commentator on the Talmud, Sefer Halachot of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and Mishne Torah of Maimonides, and is regarded as a father of Kabbalah and one of the key links in the chain of Jewish mystics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Maimonides</span>

Abraham Maimonides was the son of Maimonides and succeeded his father as nagid of the Egyptian Jewish community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shlach</span> Annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading

Shlach, Shelach, Sh'lah, Shlach Lecha, or Sh'lah L'kha is the 37th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the Book of Numbers. Its name comes from the first distinctive words in the parashah, in Numbers 13:2. Shelach is the sixth and lecha is the seventh word in the parashah. The parashah tells the story of the twelve spies sent to assess the promised land, commandments about offerings, the story of the Sabbath violator, and the commandment of the fringes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korach (parashah)</span> Portion of the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading

Korach or Korah is the 38th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fifth in the Book of Numbers. It tells of Korach's failed attempt to overthrow Moses.

Meir ben Todros HaLevi Abulafia, also known as the Ramah, was a major Sephardic Talmudist and Halachic authority in medieval Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vayelech</span>

Vayelech, Vayeilech, VaYelech, Va-yelech, Vayelekh, Wayyelekh, Wayyelakh, or Va-yelekh is the 52nd weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the Book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 31:1–30. In the parashah, Moses told the Israelites to be strong and courageous, as God and Joshua would soon lead them into the Promised Land. Moses commanded the Israelites to read the law to all the people every seven years. God told Moses that his death was approaching, that the people would break the covenant, and that God would thus hide God's face from them, so Moses should therefore write a song to serve as a witness for God against them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosef Qafih</span> Yemenite-Israeli rabbi, scholar and translator (1917–2000)

Yosef Qafiḥ, widely known as Rabbi Yosef Kapach, was a Yemenite-Israeli authority on Jewish religious law (halakha), a dayan of the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Israel, and one of the foremost leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community in Israel, where he was sought after by non-Yemenites as well. He is widely known for his editions and translations of the works of Maimonides, Saadia Gaon, and other early rabbinic authorities (Rishonim), particularly his restoration of the Mishneh Torah from old Yemenite manuscripts and his accompanying commentary culled from close to 300 additional commentators and with original insights. He was the grandson of Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, a prominent Yemenite leader and founder of the Dor Deah movement in Yemen. Qafih was the recipient of many awards, as well as an Honorary Doctorate from Bar-Ilan University.

<i>Sifrei Kodesh</i> Collective term for all Jewish religious literature

Sifrei Kodesh, commonly referred to as sefarim, or in its singular form, sefer, are books of Jewish religious literature and are viewed by religious Jews as sacred. These are generally works of Torah literature, i.e. Tanakh and all works that expound on it, including the Mishnah, Midrash, Talmud, and all works of Musar, Hasidism, Kabbalah, or machshavah. Historically, sifrei kodesh were generally written in Hebrew with some in Judeo-Aramaic or Arabic, although in recent years, thousands of titles in other languages, most notably English, were published. An alternative spelling for 'sefarim' is seforim.

Epikoros is a Jewish term figuratively meaning "a heretic", cited in the Mishnah, that refers to an individual who does not have a share in the World to Come:

All of Israel have a part in the World to Come. But the following have no part in the World to Come: One who says that the resurrection of the dead is not biblical, or that the Torah is not from Heaven, or the Epicurean.

All of the Jewish people have a share in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “And your people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land forever; the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, for My name to be glorified”. And these [are the exceptions,] the people who have no share in the World-to-Come [...] One who says: There is no resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah, and one who says: The Torah did not originate from Heaven, and an epikoros[.]

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Judaism:

In Jewish literature, the golden mean is primarily associated with the philosopher Rambam, and was influenced by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. In Mishneh Torah, Rambam attributes the method to the first scholars (Chazal) and to Abraham. Similar concepts exist in the Rabbinic literature, Tosefta, the Yerushalmi, and Musar literature. Rabbi Yitzhak Arama also finds references in the Bible.

The Maimonidean Controversy is the series of ongoing disputes between so-called “philosophers” and “traditionalists”. The principal part of the controversy took place in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but the questions raised have remained unresolved until today. The debates initially centered around Maimonides’ writings after they had been made accessible to French rabbinic scholars by translation to Medieval Hebrew from medieval Judeo-Arabic and stood in direct relation to Maimonides’ project of mediating Jewish tradition and Greco-Islamic philosophy, scientia sacra, and science. However, characters within the controversy can often not be ascribed to one camp ; these are simplified and polemic categories, used in the literature contemporary to the controversy itself.

References

  1. ↑ Schwartz Y (31 July 2011). "The Maimonides Portrait: An Appraisal of One of the World's Most Famous Pictures". Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal . 2 (3): e0052. doi:10.5041/RMMJ.10052. ISSN   2076-9172. PMC   3678793 . PMID   23908810.
  2. ↑ "Moses Maimonides | Biography, Philosophy, & Teachings". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Hebrew Date Converter – 14th of Nisan, 4895". Hebcal Jewish Calendar. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  4. ↑ "Hebrew Date Converter – 14th of Nisan, 4898". Hebcal Jewish Calendar. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  5. ↑ Commentary of the Mishnah, Maimonides (1967), s.v. Uktzin 3:12 (end)
  6. ↑ Joel E. Kramer, "Moses Maimonides: An Intellectual Portrait", p. 47 note 1. In Kenneth Seeskin, ed. (September 2005). The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-52578-7.
  7. ↑ 1138 in Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker, Princeton University Press, 2009, p. 8
  8. ↑ Sherwin B. Nuland (2008), Maimonides, Random House LLC, p. 38
  9. ↑ Marder M (11 November 2014). The Philosopher's Plant: An Intellectual Herbarium. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 97. ISBN   978-0-231-53813-8. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  10. ↑ Kraemer 2008, p. 12.
  11. ↑ Joel L. Kraemer, Maimonides:The Life and World of One of Civilization's Greatest Minds, Crown Publishing Group 2008 ISBN   978-0-385-52851-1 p.486 n.6.
  12. ↑ "Iggerot HaRambam, Iggeret Teiman". sefaria.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  13. ↑ Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker, Princeton University Press, 2009, p.65
  14. 1 2 1954 Encyclopedia Americana, vol. 18, p. 140.
  15. ↑ Touri A, Benaboud M, Boujibar El-Khatib N, Lakhdar K, Mezzine M (2010). Andalusian Morocco: A Discovery in Living Art (2 ed.). Ministry of Cultural Affairs of the Kingdom of Morocco & Museum With No Frontiers. ISBN   978-3-902782-31-1.
  16. ↑ Y. K. Stillman, ed. (1984). "Libās". Encyclopaedia of Islam . Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). Brill Academic Publishers. p. 744. ISBN   978-90-04-09419-2.
  17. ↑ See for example: Solomon Zeitlin, "MAIMONIDES", The American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 37, pp 65 – 66. Archived 25 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  18. ↑ Davidson, p. 28.
  19. 1 2 Goitein, S.D. Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders, Princeton University Press, 1973 ( ISBN   0-691-05212-3), p. 208
  20. ↑ Loewenberg M (October–November 2012). "No Jew had been permitted to enter the holy city which has become a Christian bastion since the Crusaders conquered it in 1096". Jewish Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  21. ↑ Cohen, Mark R. Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt. Princeton University Press, 2005 ( ISBN   0-691-09272-9), pp. 115–116
  22. ↑ Goitein, Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders, p. 207
  23. ↑ Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, p. 115
  24. ↑ Baron SW (1952). A Social and Religious History of the Jews: High Middle Ages, 500–1200. Columbia University Press. p. 215. ISBN   978-0-231-08843-5. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  25. ↑ Rustow M (1 October 2010). "Sar Shalom ben Moses ha-Levi". Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Archived from the original on 18 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  26. 1 2 3 Julia Bess Frank (1981). "Moses Maimonides: rabbi or medicine". The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 54 (1): 79–88. PMC   2595894 . PMID   7018097.
  27. ↑ Schmierer-Lee M (12 October 2022). "Q&A Wednesday: Maimonides, hiding in plain sight, with José Martínez Delgado". lib.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 Fred Rosner (2002). "The Life of Moses Maimonides, a Prominent Medieval Physician" (PDF). Einstein Quart J Biol Med. 19 (3): 125–128. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  29. ↑ Gesundheit B, Or R, Gamliel C, Rosner F, Steinberg A (April 2008). "Treatment of depression by Maimonides (1138–1204): Rabbi, Physician, and Philosopher" (PDF). Am J Psychiatry. 165 (4): 425–428. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.07101575. PMID   18381913. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2009.
  30. ↑ Abraham Heschel, Maimonides (New York: Farrar Straus, 1982), Chapter 15, "Meditation on God," pp. 157–162, and also pp. 178–180, 184–185, 204, etc. Isadore Twersky, editor, A Maimonides Reader (New York: Behrman House, 1972), commences his "Introduction" with the following remarks, p. 1: "Maimonides' biography immediately suggests a profound paradox. A philosopher by temperament and ideology, a zealous devotee of the contemplative life who eloquently portrayed and yearned for the serenity of solitude and the spiritual exuberance of meditation, he nevertheless led a relentlessly active life that regularly brought him to the brink of exhaustion."
  31. ↑ Responsa Pe'er HaDor, 143.
  32. ↑ Click to see full English translation of Maimonides' "Epistle to Yemen"
  33. ↑ The comment on the effect of his "incessant travail" on his health is by Salo Baron, "Moses Maimonides", in Great Jewish Personalities in Ancient and Medieval Time, edited by Simon Noveck (B'nai B'rith Department of Adult Jewish Education, 1959), p. 227, where Baron also quotes from Maimonides' letter to Ibn Tibbon regarding his daily regime.
  34. ↑ Shalshelet haQabbalah (Venice, 1587) f. 33b, MS Guenzberg 652 f. 76a.
  35. ↑ "Maimonides". he.chabad.org (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  36. ↑ אגרות הרמב"ם מהדורת שילת
  37. ↑ Sarah E. Karesh, Mitchell M. Hurvitz (2005). Encyclopedia of Judaism. Facts on File. p. 305. ISBN   978-0-8160-5457-2. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  38. ↑ H. J. Zimmels (1997). Ashkenazim and Sephardim: Their Relations, Differences, and Problems as Reflected in the Rabbinical Responsa (Revised ed.). Ktav Publishing House. p. 283. ISBN   978-0-88125-491-4. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  39. ↑ Siegelbaum, Chana Bracha (2010) Women at the crossroads : a woman's perspective on the weekly Torah portion Archived 12 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Gush Etzion: Midreshet B'erot Bat Ayin. ISBN   9781936068098 page 199
  40. ↑ Last section of Maimonides' Introduction to Mishneh Torah
  41. ↑ Karo J. Questions & Responsa Avqat Rokhelאבקת רוכל (in Hebrew). responsum # 32. Retrieved 31 August 2023. (first printed in Saloniki 1791)
  42. ↑ Moses Maimonides, The Commandments, Neg. Comm. 290, at 269–71 (Charles B. Chavel trans., 1967).
  43. ↑ Kehot Publication Society, Chabad.org.
  44. ↑ Sarah Stroumsa, Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker, Princeton University Press 2011 ISBN   978-0-691-15252-3 p.25
  45. 1 2 "The Guide to the Perplexed". World Digital Library. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2013.
  46. ↑ Published here; see discussion here.
  47. ↑ Maimonides (1963), Introduction, p. XIV
  48. ↑ Maimonides (1963), Preface, p. VI
  49. ↑ Maimonides (1963), Preface, p. VII
  50. ↑ Volume 5 translated by Barzel (foreword by Rosner).
  51. ↑ Title page, TOC.
  52. ↑ "כתבים רפואיים – ג (פירוש לפרקי אבוקראט) / משה בן מימון (רמב"ם) / ת"ש-תש"ב – אוצר החכמה". Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  53. ↑ Maimonides. Medical Aphorisms (Treatises 1–5 6–9 10–15 16–21 22–25), Brigham Young University, Provo – Utah
  54. ↑ "כתבים רפואיים – ב (פרקי משה ברפואה) / משה בן מימון (רמב"ם) / ת"ש-תש"ב – אוצר החכמה". Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  55. ↑ "כתבים רפואיים – ד (ברפואת הטחורים) / משה בן מימון (רמב"ם) / ת"ש-תש"ב – אוצר החכמה". Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  56. ↑ Title page, TOC.
  57. ↑ "כתבים רפואיים – א (הנהגת הבריאות) / משה בן מימון (רמב"ם) / ת"ש-תש"ב – אוצר החכמה". Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  58. ↑ Title page, TOC.
  59. ↑ "Oath and Prayer of Maimonides". Library.dal.ca. Archived from the original on 29 June 2008. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  60. ↑ Abraham Heschel, Maimonides. New York: Farrar Straus, 1982 p. 22 ("at sixteen")
  61. ↑ Davidson, pp. 313 ff.
  62. ↑ "באור מלאכת ההגיון / משה בן מימון (רמב"ם) / תשנ"ז – אוצר החכמה". Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  63. ↑ Jonathan Klawans,Purity, Sacrifice, and the Temple: Symbolism and Supersessionism in the Study of Ancient Judaism, Oxford University Press, 2009 ISBN   978-0-195-39584-6 p.8.
  64. ↑ Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought, Menachem Kellner
  65. ↑ See, for example: Marc B. Shapiro. The Limits of Orthodox Theology: Maimonides' Thirteen Principles Reappraised. Littman Library of Jewish Civilization (2011). pp. 1–14.
  66. ↑ e.g. "Siddur Edot HaMizrach 2C, Additions for Shacharit: Thirteen Principles of Faith". sefaria.org. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  67. ↑ Landau RR (1884). Sefer Degel Mahaneh Reuven (in Hebrew). Chernovitsi. OCLC   233297464. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  68. ↑ Brown J (2008). "Rabbi Reuven Landau and the Jewish Reaction to Copernican Thought in Nineteenth Century Europe". The Torah U-Madda Journal. 15 (2008). Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University: 112–142. JSTOR   40914730. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  69. ↑ Shapiro MB (1993). "Maimonides' Thirteen Principles: The Last Word in Jewish Theology?". The Torah U-Madda Journal. 4 (1993). Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University: 187–242. JSTOR   40914883. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  70. ↑ Levy DB. "Book Review: New Heavens and a New Earth: The Jewish Reception of Copernican Thought". touroscholar.touro.edu. 8(1) (2015). Journal of Jewish Identities: 218–220. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
  71. ↑ Brown J (2013). New Heavens and a New Earth: The Jewish Reception of Copernican Thought. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199754793.001.0001. ISBN   978-0-19-975479-3.
  72. ↑ Kraemer, 326-8
  73. ↑ Kraemer, 66
  74. 1 2 Robinson, George. "Maimonides' Conception of God/" Archived 1 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine My Jewish Learning. 30 April 2018.
  75. ↑ Reuven Chaim Klein, "Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices Archived 2021-10-29 at the Wayback Machine ", Religions 12(5), 363.
  76. 1 2 Falcon T, Blatner D (2019). Judaism for Dummies (2nd ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. pp. 25, 27, 30–31. ISBN   978-1-119-64307-4. OCLC   1120116712.
  77. ↑ Telushkin, 29
  78. ↑ Commentary on The Ethics of the Fathers 1:15. Qtd. in Telushkin, 115
  79. ↑ Kraemer, 332-4
  80. ↑ MT De'ot 6:1
  81. ↑ Moses Maimonides (2007). The Guide to the Perplexed. BN Publishers.
  82. ↑ Joseph Jacobs. "Moses Ben Maimon". Jewish Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 23 May 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  83. ↑ Shlomo Pines (2006). "Maimonides (1135–1204)". Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 5: 647–654.
  84. ↑ Isadore Twersky (2005). "Maimonides, Moses". Encyclopedia of Religion. 8: 5613–5618.
  85. ↑ Joel E. Kramer, "Moses Maimonides: An Intellectual Portrait," p. 45. In Kenneth Seeskin, ed. (September 2005). The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-52578-7.
  86. ↑ Rudavsky T (March 2010). Maimonidies. Singapore: Wiley-Blackwell. p. 10. ISBN   978-1-4051-4898-6.
  87. ↑ "Guide for the Perplexed, on". Sacred-texts.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  88. ↑ "Maimonides' Eight Levels of Charity" . Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  89. ↑ "Maimonides Eight Degrees of Tzedakah" (PDF). Jewish Teen Funders Network. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  90. ↑ Kraemer, 422
  91. ↑ Commentary on the Mishna, Avot 5:6
  92. ↑ "Mishneh Torah, Repentance 9:1". sefaria.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  93. ↑ Abraham Heschel, Maimonides (New York: Farrar Straus, 1982), Chapter 15, "Meditation on God," pp. 157–162.
  94. ↑ Such as the first (religious) criticism of Kabbalah, Ari Nohem, by Leon Modena from 1639. In it, Modena urges a return to Maimonidean Aristotelianism. The Scandal of Kabbalah: Leon Modena, Jewish Mysticism, Early Modern Venice, Yaacob Dweck, Princeton University Press, 2011.
  95. ↑ Menachem Kellner, Maimonides' Confrontation With Mysticism, Littman Library, 2006
  96. ↑ Norman Lamm, The Religious Thought of Hasidism: Text and Commentary, Ktav Pub, 1999: Introduction to chapter on Faith/Reason has historical overview of religious reasons for opposition to Jewish philosophy, including the Ontological reason, one Medieval Kabbalist holding that "we begin where they end".
  97. ↑ Isidore Twersky, Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah), Yale Judaica Series, vol. XII (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1980), passim, and especially Chapter VII, "Epilogue," pp. 515–38.
  98. ↑ Reif SC (1994). Jesus Pelaez del Rosal (ed.). "Review of 'Sobre la Vida y Obra de Maimonides'". Journal of Semitic Studies . 39 (1): 124. doi:10.1093/jss/XXXIX.1.123.
  99. ↑ This is covered in all histories of the Jews. E.g., including such a brief overview as Cecil Roth, A History of the Jews, Revised Edition (New York: Schocken, 1970), pp. 175–179.
  100. ↑ D.J. Silver, Maimonidean Criticism and the Maimonidean Controversy, 1180–1240 (Leiden: Brill, 1965), is still the most detailed account.
  101. ↑ David Hartman, Maimonides: Torah and Philosophic Quest (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1976), p. 98.
  102. ↑ On the extensive philosophical aspects of Maimonides' halakhic works, see in particular Isidore Twersky's Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah), Yale Judaica Series, vol. XII (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1980). Twersky devotes a major portion of this authoritative study to the philosophical aspects of the Mishneh Torah itself.
  103. ↑ The Maimunist or Maimonidean controversy is covered in all histories of Jewish philosophy and general histories of the Jews. For an overview, with bibliographic references, see Idit Dobbs-Weinstein, "The Maimonidean Controversy," in History of Jewish Philosophy, Second Edition, edited by Daniel H. Frank and Oliver Leaman (London and New York: Routledge, 2003), pp. 331–349. Also see Colette Sirat, A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 205–272.
  104. ↑ Mercedes Rubio (2006). "Aquinas and Maimonides on the Divine Names". Aquinas and Maimonides on the possibility of the knowledge of god . Springer-Verlag. pp. 11, 65–126, 211, 218. doi:10.1007/1-4020-4747-9_2. ISBN   978-1-4020-4720-6.
  105. ↑ Vivian McAlister, Maimonides's cooling period and organ retrieval (Canadian Journal of Surgery 2004; 47: 8 – 9)
  106. ↑ "NeoHasid.org | Rambam and Gaia". neohasid.org. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  107. ↑ David Morris. "Major Grant Awarded to Maimonides". Florida Jewish Journal. Archived from the original on 30 July 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  108. ↑ Eisner J (1 June 2000). "Fear meets fellowship". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. 25. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020– via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  109. ↑ "1 Israeli New Shekel (Rabbi Moses Maimonides) – exchange yours". Leftover Currency.
  110. ↑ Linzmayer O (2012). "Israel". The Banknote Book. San Francisco, CA: BanknoteNews.com. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  111. ↑ "Harvard University Press: Maimonides after 800 Years : Essays on Maimonides and his Influence by Jay M. Harris". Hup.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on 19 May 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  112. ↑ Shelly Paz (8 May 2008) Tourism Ministry plans joint project with Morocco, Spain. The Jerusalem Post
  113. ↑ "Maimonides". The Israel Museum. Jerusalem. 2 October 2018. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 11 July 2019.

    Bibliography

    Further reading

    About Maimonides
    Maimonides' works
    Texts by Maimonides
    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.