The book addresses provocative questions such as: did the majority of Jews before Maimonides believe that God has a body? Why did Maimonides and many rabbis disparage women? Why did Maimonides extol intelligent non-Jews? Why don t Jews say a prayer before such activities as having sexual relations or giving charity? Why doesn t the Torah condemn the five suicides committed in its pages? Why were Jacob and david passive when their daughters were raped? should rational Jews observe mystical Jewish practices and say mystical prayers? This volume contains surprising facts, such as: not all Jews believe that people have souls. Rabbis know that we do not possess the original Torah text. Rabbis suggest that Moses staff had unusual magical powers.Jewish judges do not adjudicate... Less

James Diamond's new book consists of a series of studies addressing Moses Maimonides' (1138–1204) appropriation of marginal figures—lepers, converts, heretics, and others—normally considered on the fringes of society and religion. Each chapter focuses on a type or character that, in Maimonides' hands, becomes a metaphor for a larger, more substantive theological and philosophical issue. Diamond offers a close reading of key texts, such as the Guide of the Perplexed and the Mishneh Torah, demonstrating the importance of integrating Maimonides' legal and philosophical writings. Convert s, Heretics, and Lepers fills an important void in Jewish studies by focusing on matters of exegesis and hermeneutics as well as philosophical concerns. Diamond's alternative reading of central topics in... Less

Historians of medieval Jewish philosophy have long debated what, if anything, the esoteric message of Moses Maimonides' (1138-1204) philosophical work, The Guide of the Perplexed, was. Apparent self- contradictions in Maimonides' text led scholars to speculate about the dissident if not heretic opinions that the medieval Jewish philosopher secretly held without stating them openly. This study claims that the central enterprise of Maimonidean thought was not the esoteric acceptance or refusal of religious dogmas but developing a consistent argument to prove God's existence. This task was far more difficult (and interesting) than it is usually assumed in secondary literature. Maimonides' proofs for God's existence are seemingly not consistent with his argumentation to prove the creation of... Less

An examination of the remarkable penetrating mind of Moses Maimonides and to his rational eye-opening thoughts on many subjects. It includes ideas that are not incorporated in the usual books about this great philosopher because they are so different than the traditional thinking of the vast majority of people. It contrasts the notions of other Jewish thinkers, somewhat rational and others not rational at all.The reader will be surprised, if not shocked, to learn that a host of beliefs that are prevalent among the Jewish masses have no rational basis. This does not suggest that Judaism itself is irrational and absurd. Just the opposite. But many Jews have opted to believe the unreasonable and illogical conventional ideas what Maimonides would label non-Jewish sabian notions because they... Less

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Explores the unacknowledged psychological element in Maimonides' work, one which prefigures the latter insights of Freud.

Many books on Maimonides have been written and still more will appear. Few present Maimonides, as Menachem Kellner does, against the actual religious background that informed his many innovative and influential choices. Kellner not only analyzes the thought of the great religious thinker but contextualizes it in terms of what he calls the 'proto- kabbalistic' Judaism that preceded him. Kellner shows how the Judaism that Maimonides knew had come to conceptualize the world as an enchanted universe, governed by occult affinities. He shows why Maimonides rejected this and how he went about doing it. Kellner argues that Maimonides' attempted reformation failed, the clearest proof of that being the success of the kabbalistic counter- reformation which his writings provoked. Kellner shows how... Less

English text of Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed, Mishneh Torah and others with intro and notes by Isadore Twersky

Many books on Maimonides have been written and still more will appear. Few present Maimonides, as Menachem Kellner does, against the actual religious background that informed his many innovative and influential choices. Kellner not only analyzes the thought of the great religious thinker but contextualizes it in terms of what he calls the 'proto- kabbalistic' Judaism that preceded him. Kellner shows how the Judaism that Maimonides knew had come to conceptualize the world as an enchanted universe, governed by occult affinities. He shows why Maimonides rejected this and how he went about doing it. Kellner argues that Maimonides' attempted reformation failed, the clearest proof of that being the success of the kabbalistic counter- reformation which his writings provoked. Kellner shows how... Less

MIN HARAMBAM LSHEMUEL IBN TIBBON. This book offers an account of a key event in Jewish intellectual history that is also an important chapter in the history of Western philosophy: the dissemination of Maimonides chief philosophical work, the Guide of the Perplexed, through Samuel ibn Tibbon at the beginning of the 13th century in Southern France. Whereas Maimonides interpreted Judaism as a philosophical religion, Ibn Tibbon turned this interpretation into the foundation of Jewish philosophy up to Spinoza, making it into a systematic justification for studying Greco-Arabic philosophy and science in a religious setting. If Maimonides work was the gate through which philosophy became an important component of Jewish culture, Ibn Tibbon built the hinge without which this gate would have... Less

Written in 1199 at the request of al-Qadi al-Fadil, the famous counselor and secretary to Saladin, On Poisons and the Protection against Lethal Drugs is distinguished rabbi Moses Maimonides’ guide to emergency first aid and readily available antidotes. This treatise— assembled from the existing medical literature as well as Maimonides’ own practice—proved highly influential amongst scholars and laypersons in both Jewish and non-Jewish circles alike. Although On Poisons survives in several Arabic and Judeo-Arabic manuscripts, this is the first finished critical edition of the Arabic. The volume also includes critical editions of the medieval Hebrew and Latin translations and a glossary of material medica and technical terms. It will be essential for the shelves of scholars interested in... Less

Maimonides, one of the most celebrated rabbis in the history of Judaism, was a prolific author of influential Arabic philosophical and medical treatises as well as two of the most important works on Jewish law. Medical Aphorisms is the best-known and most comprehensive of his medical works, and Gerrit Bos offers here a masterful English translation with detailed annotations. Medi cal Aphorisms consists of approximately 1,500 maxims compiled by Maimonides from the treatises of Galen, the renowned ancient Greek physician. Maimonides arranges the aphorisms into twenty-five treatises, organizing them by traditional medieval subspecialties such as gynecology, hygiene, and diet. He also includes a section examining unusual cases from Galen and offers a critical analysis of Galen’s theories. The... Less

Pages: 308, Hardcover, Ktav Pub Inc

Providing an excellent overview of the latest thinking in Maimonides studies, this book uses a novel philosophical approach to examine whether Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed contains a naturalistic doctrine of salvation after death. The author examines the apparent tensions and contradictions in the Guide and explains them in terms of a modern philosophical interpretation rather than as evidence of some esoteric meaning hidden in the text.

El libro del asma es una obra realizada por encargo de un noble que padecía esta enfermedad. Pero en éste, al igual que en otros tratados médicos, Maimónides no se limita a este padecimiento, sino que desvela su concepción de la medicina, en general, y de

Moses Maimonides (1135--1204) is recognized both as a leading Jewish thinker and as one of the most radical philosophers of the Islamic world. The study reveals the significance of Maimonides to contemporary philosophical and theological problems.

Rabbi Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides; 1288-1344), one of medieval Judaism's most original thinkers, wrote about such diverse subjects as astronomy, mathematics, Bible commentary, philosophical theology, technical philosophy, logic, Halakhah, and even satire. In his view, however, all these subjects were united as part of the Torah. Influenced profoundly by Maimonides, Gersonides nevertheless exercised greater rigor Maimonides in interpreting the Torah in light of contemporary science, more conservative in his understanding of the nature of the Torah's commandments, and more optimistic about the possibility of wide-spread philosophical enlightenment. Gersonides was a witness to several crucial historical events, such as the expulsion of French Jewry of 1306 and the Babylonian... Less

Maimonides, one of the most celebrated rabbis in the history of Judaism, was a prolific author of influential Arabic philosophical and medical treatises as well as two of the most important works on Jewish law. Presented here as a companion to the English translation and Arabic text of the first volume, On Asthma, Volume Two offers Gerrit Bos’s critical editions of all three surviving medieval Hebrew translations of Maimonides’ work: one allegedly prepared by the fourteenth- century physician Samuel Benveniste, who served Don Manuel, brother of King Pedro IV of Aragon; a second by Joshua Shatibi from Játiva (Xátiva) between the years 1379 and 1390, for the referendary Ferná n Díaz of Toledo at the court of King Juan II of Castile; and a third by an anonymous translator, perhaps in the... Less

Official Film of the "Maimonides 800th Anniversary Festival" - Tiberias, Israel. Rambam, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, was born in Cordova Spain, early in the 12th century. Facing the terror of the fanatic Muslim Almohads, he and his family fled Cordova. For seven years they lived in the mountains and caves of Spain. During that time, his remarkable Torah and Talmudic knowledge increased. His love of Torah combined with his avid study of healing and natural medicine, the sciences, mathematics, astronomy - as well as the works of the classical philosophers, began to shape the destiny of his life. The legacy he left behind is astounding. He wrote "Perush Ha-Mishnayot" - his commentary on the Mishnah, which included "the Thirteen Principles of Faith", before he was 30. He also penned "Mishna... Less

Pages: 141, Paperback, Behrman House

Moshe ben Maimon, or Moses Maimonides (1135-1204), remains one of the most celebrated rabbis in this history of Judaism; his numerous writings include philosophical and medical treatises in Arabic, two of history's most important works on Jewish law, and, most notably, efforts to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with biblical teaching. The Complete Medical Works, edited by Gerrit Bos of the Martin-Buber-Insti tut fur Judaistik at the University of Cologne, collects the entirety of Maimonides's medical writings. Notwithstanding its title, On Asthma is in fact a complete regimen of health, designed for the needs of a high-ranking patient whose identity is not stated. In true Galenic fashion, Maimonides stresses that a healthy lifestyle and diet are the most important preventative measures... Less

This authoritative biography of Moses Maimonides, one of the most influential minds in all of human history, illuminates his life as a philosopher, physician, and lawgiver. A biography on a grand scale, it brilliantly explicates one man’s life against the background of the social, religious, and political issues of his time.Maimonides was born in Córdoba, in Muslim-ruled Spain, in 1138 and died in Cairo in 1204. He lived in an Arab-Islamic environment from his early years in Spain and North Africa to his later years in Egypt, where he was immersed in its culture and society. His life, career, and writings are the highest expression of the intertwined worlds of Judaism and Islam. Maimonides lived in tumultuous times, at the peak of the Reconquista in Spain and the Crusades in Palestine... Less

Shows to what extent and in what fashion Jews are bound to accept the opinions and the pronouncements of religious authorities. Moses Maimonides, medieval Judaism's leading legist and philosopher, and a figure of central importance for contemporary Jewish self- understanding, held a view of Judaism which maintained the authority of the Talmudic rabbis in matters of Jewish law while allowing for free and open inquiry in matters of science and philosophy. Maimonides affirmed, not the superiority of the "moderns" (the scholars of his and subsequent generations) over the "ancients" (the Tannaim and Amoraim, the Rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud) but the inherent equality of the two. The equality presented here is not equality of halakhic authority, but equality of ability, of essential human... Less

Much of the writing of and about the twelfth-century rabbi, philosopher, and theologian Moses Maimonides is addressed to an elite audience of philosophers and intellectuals. Here, Ralph Lerner's exploration of Maimonides' popular writings reveals that the education of the common man was one of the great teacher's chief concerns.Lerner describes the brilliant and sometimes wily ways in which Maimonides sought to break through the despair and superstition that gripped the Jewish people's minds, without sacrificing the dignity and core of his message. These writings— presented here in uncommonly accurate, mostly new translations— also reveal that Maimonides was willing to risk the scorn of his contemporaries to enlighten both his own and future generations. By addressing the writings of... Less

A thorough and accessible introduction to Maimonides, arguably one of the most important Jewish philosophers of all time. This work incorporates material from Maimonides’ philosophical, legal, and medical works, providing a synoptic picture of Maimonides’ philosophical range.Maimonides was, and remains, one of the most influential and important Jewish legalists, who devoted himself to a reconceptualizati on of the entirety of Jewish lawOffers both an intellectual biography and an exploration of the most important philosophical works in Maimonides’ corpusPersuasivel y argues that Maimonides did see himself as engaged in philosophical dialogueMaimonide s’ philosophy is presented in a way that is accessible to readers with little background in either Jewish or medieval philosophySeconda ry... Less

This authoritative biography of Moses Maimonides, one of the most influential minds in all of human history, illuminates his life as a philosopher, physician, and lawgiver. A biography on a grand scale, it brilliantly explicates one man’s life against the background of the social, religious, and political issues of his time.Maimonides was born in Córdoba, in Muslim-ruled Spain, in 1138 and died in Cairo in 1204. He lived in an Arab-Islamic environment from his early years in Spain and North Africa to his later years in Egypt, where he was immersed in its culture and society. His life, career, and writings are the highest expression of the intertwined worlds of Judaism and Islam. Maimonides lived in tumultuous times, at the peak of the Reconquista in Spain and the Crusades in Palestine... Less

More than 800 years after his death, the figure of Moses Maimonides— rabbi, philosopher, doctor, and communal leader—continues to fascinate. Studies in Maimonides and His Interpreters unites the traditional rabbinic approach and the modern academic perspective to forge a new understanding of this iconic teacher. This groundbreaking work by Marc B. Shapiro, which includes an essay on Maimonides’ approach to superstition in rabbinic literature and features three previously unpublished letters by Rabbi Joseph Kafih, will be essential reading for scholars and students of Jewish studies.

A challenging look at two great Jewish philosophers, and what their thinking means to our understanding of God, truth, revelation and reason. Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) is Jewish history's greatest exponent of a rational, philosophically sound Judaism. He strove to reconcile the teachings of the Bible and rabbinic tradition with the principles of Aristotelian philosophy, arguing that religion and philosophy ultimately must arrive at the same truth. Baruch Spinoza (1632-77) is Jewish history's most illustrious "heretic." He believed that truth could be attained through reason alone, and that philosophy and religion were separate domains that could not be reconciled. His critique of the Bible and its teachings caused an intellectual and spiritual upheaval whose effects are still felt... Less

Here is an accessible introduction to the life and wisdom of the famous twelfth-century philosopher- physician Moses Maimonides, whose prolific writings on medical and religious issues, commentaries on Jewish texts, and writings on Jewish ethics and law profoundly influenced Judaism. The Wisdom of Maimonides includes a biography; a section of selected teachings drawn from Maimonides' major works The Guide for the Perplexed and the Mishneh Torah, as well as his other writings; and tales about Maimonides' colorful life as a court physician and rabbinic leader.