MAIMONIDES (Mosheh ben Maimon). - Rabbi, philosopher, known by the abbreviation Rambam (R.M.
B.M.), b. on the eve of the Jewish Passover (30 March) 1135 at Cordova, d. in Egypt on 13 Dec. 1204. His father, a disciple of the Talmudic school of Jishāq al-Fāsī, was a member of the rabbinical court. It was a period of flourishing spiritual life in Andalusia and Castile, with men such as Ibn 'Ezrā' (v.) and Judah Halevi (v.). The young M. acquired much knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic literature; but when he was 14 the fanatical Almohads occupied the city and the Jews had to go into exile or convert to Islam (year 1148). A wanderer, M. occupied himself with Arabic philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and the natural sciences, and especially with medicine. From Arabic sources he learned Aristotelian philosophy.
Around 1160 he moved with his family to North Africa and settled at Fez. Here too many Jews had to adopt, at least pro forma, the Islamic creed. A fanatic then circulated a writing in which it was said that a verbal adherence to Islam, even for one who continued to practice Judaism, meant complete apostasy. In fear that such a writing might turn verbal adhesions into real ones, M. set against it his Letter on Apostasy, in which he maintained that what was involved was not embracing the rites of Islam, but pronouncing, as a temporary measure, the formula of faith in Muhammad; apostasy, on the other hand, means the spontaneous renunciation of one's own convictions.
Very soon M. and his family had to take refuge in Palestine (spring of 1165). After a dangerous journey, they reached Acre. From here they went to Jerusalem, then to Hebron. From Palestine they moved to Egypt, where they dwelt at Alexandria and then in old Cairo (al-Fustāt). After the death of his brother David, M. devoted himself to the practice of medicine. From 1170 to 1180 he was physician to the Egyptian sultan Saladin and to his vizier. At the same time he was head of the Israelite community of Cairo, and very soon he was recognized as nāghidh ("prince") among his Egyptian coreligionists. From many communities of the East requests for responsa came to him, to which legal value was attributed. In 1168 he completed, after 10 years of work, his extensive commentary on the Miñāh (v.), written in Arabic. This work was repeatedly translated into Hebrew. The purpose of the work is to make the Miñāh intelligible, independently of the discussion of the Gōmārā' (v.). From the commentary it is evident that dogmatics and ethics are close to his heart. In the last chapter of the commentary on the treatise Sanhedhrin he speaks of the immortality of the soul, and also presents his 13 articles of faith: 1) existence of God the creator, 2) absolute unity of God, 3) his incorporeality and 4) immutability, 5) his eternity and supratemporality, 6) the duty to serve only God, 7) veracity of biblical prophecy and in particular of the Mosaic revelation, 8) inerrancy of the Tōrāh, 9) its immutability, 10) omniscience of God, 11) justice of rewards, 12) coming of the Messiah, 13) resurrection of the dead. In the introduction to the treatise 'Abōth, M. treats of the soul and of morality.
At Cairo M. gathered into a code entitled Miñāh Tōrāh ("Second Law") all the laws, dogmas and ritual prescriptions. The code is written in a very lucid Hebrew, so as to facilitate religious practice: it is a compendium of oral teaching, as contained in the vast Talmudic literature. The work, completed in 1180, is divided into 14 books; 14 in Hebrew numerical value corresponds to jādh ("hand"), and therefore the second title of the work is Jādh ha-bāzāqāh ("Strong Hand"). Ch. 1 ("Book of Knowledge") is a philosophical exposition of Jewish dogmatics; the exposition is rationalistic in character: messianism means for M. human brotherhood.
M. wrote in Arabic a treatise on the 613 rabbinic precepts, distinguishing sharply between biblical and Talmudic prescriptions; M.'s Code was much discussed.
The principal philosophical work of M., which Gilson defines as "a true summa of Jewish scholastic theology," is Mōrāh nākhākhim, "The Guide of the Perplexed" (v. GIUDAISMO). M. is also the author of various medical writings in the Arabic language.
Bibliography7 works
Eugenio Zolli