Moses Maimonides, known in Hebrew literature
by the acronym RaMBaM, was born in Córdoba,
Spain, to Rabbi Maimon ben Joseph, a judge of the
rabbinical court, and a mother (name unknown)
who died at his birth. He became a Talmudic
scholar and philosopher, studying and writing
books as he wandered throughout Andalusia.
In 1160,Maimonides and his family fled Spain
to evade the Muslim Almohades, who were invading
Spain and persecuting Jewish communities.
They traveled to several different countries, going
first to Morocco, where they still had to hide their
Jewish origins. After an abortive attempt to move
to Israel, they settled in Egypt, first in Alexandria
and then in Fustat, close to Cairo, where Maimonides
started studying medicine. He was eventually
able to gain a position as chief physician at
the court of Saladin. He also became a respected
citizen and served as the leader of the Cairo Jewish
community.
Many fantastical myths and legends have grown
up around Maimonides over the years, which is
ironic since the philosopher himself was very skeptical
of all superstition, magic, and myth. He was,
philosophically speaking, a religious rationalist.He
did not take seriously the ideas, common in his
day, of witchcraft, astrology,mysticism and speaking
in tongues. Nonetheless, the stories surrounding
him include accounts of his miraculous birth
and death, tales of mysterious circumstances surrounding
his travels and burial, and tales of his
raising people from the dead.
Despite his obligations as chief physician and
leader of the Cairo Jewish community, Maimonides
continued with his scholarship and produced
a large body of written work on the TALMUD,
Jewish law, medicine, and philosophy. He was the
first person ever to codify Jewish law systematically,
the product of which is the Mishnah Torah
(1180). In one section of this work, Maimonides
defines repentance:“Repentance involves forsaking
sins and removing such thoughts from one’s way
of thinking and resolving firmly never to do it
again. . . .”Another of his works, The Guide to the
Perplexed, is regarded as one of the great philosophical
works on Judaism. Maimonides based
his interpretation of Jewish law on ARISTOTLE’s
philosophy, and his work influenced such later
writers as Benedict Spinoza and Saint Thomas
Aquinas.
In his time,Maimonides was a hero throughout
the Jewish world. Upon his death, Egyptian Jews
mourned for three days. The credo of Judaism that
he formulated, expressed in 13 articles of faith, was
reworked into the Yigdal prayer, which is included
in most Jewish prayer books. Today Maimonides is
regarded as one of the foremost Jewish philosophers
of all time, and his work is still widely read
and respected.
English Versions of Works by Maimonides
Codex Maimuni: Moses Maimonides’ Code of Law: The
Illuminated Pages of the Kaufmann Mishneh Torah.
Budapest: Corniva, 1984.
The Guide to the Perplexed,Vols. One and Two. Translated
by Shlomo Pines. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1974.
Rambam, Readings in the Philosophy of Moses Maimonides.
Translated by Lenn E. Goodman. Los
Angeles: Gee Tee Bee, 1985.
Works about Maimonides
Davidson, Herbert A. Moses Maimonides: The Man
and His Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2004.
Robinson, Ira and Lawrence Kaplan. The Thought of
Moses Maimonides: Philosophical and Legal Studies.
(Studies in the History of Philosophy,Vol. 17).
Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1991.
Rosner, Fred and Samuel S. Kottek, editors. Moses
Maimonides: Physician, Scientist, and Philosopher.
Northvale, N.J.: Jason Aronson, 1993.
Twersky, Isadore. Introduction to the Code of Maimonides
(Mishneh Torah). New Haven,Conn.:Yale
University Press, 1982.