Nachmanides

Lore & Background

Nachmanides was born in Girona in 1194, where he grew up and studied. He was a descendant of Isaac ben Reuben of Barcelona and cousin of Jonah Gerondi. His teachers in Talmud included Judah ben Yakar and Nathan ben Meïr of Trinquetaille, and he is said to have been instructed in Kabbalah by Azriel of Gerona. He studied medicine according to the responsa of Shlomo ibn Aderet. During his teens he gained a reputation as a learned Jewish scholar, and at age 16 began his writings on Jewish law. His work Milhamot Hashem defended Alfasi's decisions against criticisms by Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona.

Reader's Guide

Nachmanides is significant for his conservative approach to Jewish law and his unbounded respect for earlier authorities, including the rabbis of the Mishnah, Talmud, and Geonim. He opposed the allegorization of biblical narratives and the downplaying of miracles, reacting against the rapid acceptance of Greco-Arabic philosophy among Spanish and Provençal Jews. In the Maimonidean controversy around 1238, he sought to reconcile the opposing parties, proposing a compromise that maintained a ban on public study of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed while revoking the ban against Maimonides' Code of Jewish Law. His work Torat ha-Adam discusses death, mourning, and resurrection, and he held that divine revelation is the best guide for understanding reward and punishment, the soul, and the afterlife. He is also considered an important figure in the re-establishment of the Jewish community in Jerusalem after its destruction by Crusaders.

Did You Know?

• Nachmanides is also known by the Catalan name Bonastruc ça Porta, meaning 'Mazel Tov near the Gate.'
• He was a descendant of Isaac ben Reuben of Barcelona and cousin of Jonah Gerondi.
• The book Iggeret ha-Kodesh, commonly attributed to Nachmanides, is now thought by modern scholarship to be by a different author.
• He proposed a compromise in the Maimonidean controversy that was rejected by both parties.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Erring, I wandered in the wilderness,In passion's grave nigh sinking, powerless;Now deeply I repent, in sore distress,That I kept not the statutes of the King!" — Nachmanides "The whole Torah is the Name of the Almighty." — Nachmanides