Maimonides

Lore & Background

Maimonides studied Torah under his father, Maimon ben Joseph, a dayyan, and at an early age developed an interest in contemporary science and philosophy, reading ancient Greek philosophy via Arabic translations. After the Almohad conquest of Córdoba in 1148, his family chose exile rather than conversion to Islam, moving about southern Spain and North Africa before settling in Fez. During this time, he composed his acclaimed commentary on the Mishnah during 1166–1168. He later sojourned to the Holy Land, visiting Jerusalem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and by 1168 settled in Fustat in Fatimid Caliphate-controlled Egypt. There, he helped ransom Jews taken captive during the Christian siege of Bilbeis, and after the death of his brother David in a shipwreck, he assumed the vocation of physician, eventually becoming court physician to Saladin and the Ayyubid dynasty.

Reader's Guide

Maimonides is recognized as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors, and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority in Judaism as a codification of halakha, as do his thirteen principles of faith. Most contemporary Jews as far as Iraq and Yemen acclaimed his writings on halakha and Jewish ethics, though he had many loud critics, particularly in Spain. His era is considered by many to mark the end of the Jewish Golden Age in Spain, owing to the ubiquitous persecution of his family and the Sephardic Jewish community, though others assert that it lasted until the Christian Reconquista concluded in the 15th century. Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides features very prominently in the history of Islamic science. Influenced by Aristotle, al-Farabi, ibn Sina, and his contemporary ibn Rushd, his work as a polymath contributed to the Islamic Golden Age and was regarded highly in many parts of the Muslim world. His medical writings described many conditions and emphasized moderation and a healthy lifestyle, becoming influential for generations of physicians.

Did You Know?

• Maimonides' Arabic name was Abū ʿImrān Mūsā bin Maimūn bin ʿUbaydallāh al-Qurṭubī.
• He is sometimes known as 'The Great Eagle' (Hebrew: הנשר הגדול).
• His brother David drowned at sea between 1169 and 1177, causing Maimonides to fall ill with grief for about a year.
• He was appointed personal physician to Saladin of the Ayyubid Sultanate.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"[…] one should accept the truth from whatever source it proceeds." — Maimonides "Foreword to The Eight Chapters Of Maimonides On Ethics, translated by Joseph I. Gorfinkle, Ph.D. Columbia University Press, New York (1912). Page 35-36." — Maimonides "Variant: You must accept the truth from whatever source it comes." — Maimonides "It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death." — Maimonides