Masterpieces of Hebew Literature: Selections from 2000 Years of Jewish Creativity

MAIMONIDES: Introduction

Maimonides Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204), known also as Rambam and Maimonides, was born in Cordova, Spain, where he continued in the path of secular and Jewish studies traditional to the Jews of Spain. In 1148 the fanatic Almohades, a Muslim sect that sought to destroy every other religion, came from North Africa to Spain, conquered Cordova and razed the synagogues . Maimonides' family, along with many other Jews of Cordova, preferred exile to conversion or martyrdom. Between 1148 and 1160 Maimonides studied philosophy and science; with the aid of his father, a dayan (rabbinic judge) and author, Maimonides began to master the Talmud. After a brief visit to Palestine, then under Christian domination , in 1185 the family settled in Fostat, Egypt—a land that had a large Jewish population, its own nagid or national Jewish leader, and just treatment and freedom under the Caliph Saladin. Like many of his literary forbears, Maimonides was a physician, and in time became court physician to the Caliph's Vizier. Maimonides' first major work (written in /\rabic) was the Commentary on the Mishnah (1168). Herein Maimonides appended his famous thirteen principles of the Jewish faith, perhaps the closest formulation of a creed in Judaism. These principles were poetically condensed by Daniel ben Judah in 1404 (two centuries after Maimonides' death) in the famous hymn Y igdal, which appears at the beginning of every Siddur (see Siddur,p. 133) The Commentary on the Mishnah made Maimonides world famous. Four years after the publication of this work, the Jewish community of Yemen turned to him with a crucial question 291 292 MASTERPIECES OF HEBREW LITERATURE of national survival. Many Yemenite Jews were being forced to convert; others were falling under the influence of a false Messiah . The leader of Yemenite Jewry, then, turned to Maimonides for counsel and encouragement. Maimonides' reply, the Epistle to Yemen (1172), is a lengthy responsum to the community . The letter, circulated among the various congregations, gave hope and determination to a beset Jewry. Such was their gratitude that they made the exceptional gesture of including Maimonides' name in the Kaddish: "May salvation come in our days and in the days of our teacher Moses." (Another instance of a living person included in the prayers of Israel may be found in "The Installation of an Exilarch," page 156) From 1170 to 1180, Maimonides worked on his fourteenvolume code, the Mishne Torah, a logically arranged Hebrew compilation of new and existing laws (covering both Talmuds, the Midrash, and Gaonic decisions) that embraced the religious, ritual, ethical and social aspects of Jewish life. The first section, the "Book of Knowledge," tells of man's fundamental duty of recognizing God as the universal Creator, and discusses the holidays, proper care of the body, the study of Torah, and repentance. The work was almost universally acclaimed; still, there were critics who blamed Maimonides for setting forth new legal decisions , and for including his opinions without reference to any former rabbinic authorities (this Maimonides sought to correct in a projected revised edition, but he never had enough time for this task). Others accused him of intending to supplant the Talmud with his own work—for in his introduction he had asserted that his book would enable a reader to know the law on any subject without having to consult any other text. But despite these criticisms, Maimonides' Mishne Torah was widely circulated and soon became a classic of Hebrew literature. Other works by Maimonides include the famed Guide to the Perplexed (written in Arabic), which sought to reconcile philosophy with religion and influenced later Christian and Muslim thinkers and theologians; and many responsa, like the one to Obadiah the proselyte, which reveals his erudition and humanity. A general picture of Maimonides' life as doctor, rabbi and leader is vividly presented in his letter to one of his translators, Samuel ibn Tibbon. MISHNE TORAH—BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE LAWS CONCERNING THE STUDY OF THE TORAH Chapter I. 1. Women, slaves and the young (under the age of puberty) are exempt from the obligation of studying Torah. But it is a duty of the father to teach his young son Torah; as it is said, "And ye shall teach them, to your children, talking of them" [Deut. 11:19]. A woman is under no obligation to teach her son, since only one whose duty it is to learn has a duty to teach. 2. Just as it...