“The outstanding medieval Jewish philosopherMaimonides (Moses ben Maimon; or Rambam, from the initials of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon), 1135-1204, was physician to the Sultan Saladin and communal leader of Egyptian Jewry, as well as an important figure in the codification of Jewish law. His formulation of the basic principles of Judaism in a series of…
Tag: Rambam
Mishneh Torah
Structure of the 14 Books Mechon Mamre’s translation I have seen fit to divide this work into fourteen books: RaMBaM’s Complete Restatement of the Oral Law. Book 1 I include in it all the commandments that are the basic principles of the religion of Moshe [Moses] Our Teacher, which one needs to know at the outset–such as…
Mishneh Torah
בְּשֵׁם ה’, אֵל עוֹלָם (בראשית כא,לג) In the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God (Genesis 21,33) THE COMPLETE RESTATEMENT OF THE ORAL LAW (Mishneh Torah) The Law as it should actually be practiced by all in our day by the Master Teacher Moshe son of Maimon (also known as RaMBaM or Maimonides) in Hebrew…
Mishneh Torah
Positive Commandments א מִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹנָה מִמִּצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה, לֵידַע שֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁם אֱלוֹהַּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר “אָנֹכִי ה’ אֱלֹהֶיךָ” (שמות כ,ב; דברים ה,ו). 1 The first of the positive commandments is to know that there exists God, as it is written “I am the LORD, thy God” (Exodus 20,2; Deuteronomy 5,6). ב לְיַחֲדוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר “ה’ אֱלֹהֵינוּ, ה’ אֶחָד” (דברים ו,ד). 2 …
Mishneh Torah
Negative Commandments 1 The first of the negative commandments is not to entertain the thought that there is any god but the LORD, as it is written “thou shalt have no other gods” (Exodus 20,2; Deuteronomy 5,6). 2 Not to make a graven image, neither to make oneself nor to have made for oneself by…
What does the word “leimor” mean?
“Va’eschanan el Hashem b’eis ha’hi leimor.” What does the word “leimor” mean in this context? Ramban writes in Shmos 6:20 that the word “leimor” means to articulate clearly, as opposed to “amira m’supekes.” “Vayidaber Hashem el Moshe leimor” means (according to Ramban) that Hashem gave Moshe some message and charged him with the task of…
Mishneh Torah RaMBaM
THE COMPLETE RESTATEMENT
OF THE ORAL LAW
(Mishneh Torah)
The Law as it should actually be practiced by all in our day
by the Master Teacher Moshe son of Maimon
(also known as RaMBaM or Maimonides)
in Hebrew according to the Yemenite manuscripts
and English as prepared by the staff of Mechon Mamre
Copyright © 2011
by Mechon Mamre,
12 Hayyim Vital St,
Jerusalem, Israel.
Korbanos A question of approach
Rambam, Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed) 3:32The Torah’s sacrifices replaced the idolatrous practices of the ancients in which Jewish people had been steeped But the well-known custom which was common then, and the general mode of worship in which the Israelites were brought up consisted of sacrificing animals…It was in accordance with the wisdom…
Dual Standards
Maimonides on Life Dual Standards Chapter 5, Law 7(a) <“The Torah scholar should not scream and cry out when he speaks — as animals. He should not raise his voice excessively. Rather, his speech should be gentle with all people (lit., ‘all creations’). When he speaks gently, he should be careful that he not distance…
Maimonides, Laws of De’os
The Way of the Wise Chapter 5, Law 1(a) “Just as a wise man is distinct in his wisdom and his character traits, and he stands apart from others regarding them, so too he must be distinct in his deeds, in his eating, in his drinking, in his marital relations, in his going to the…
Well Clarified In 70 languages
Hashem has Moshe make an unusual demand of the people: “2 It shall be on the day that you cross the Jordan to the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you, you shall set up great stones and you shall cover them with plaster. 3 You shall write on them all the words of this…
Tefillin and Mezuzot
Checking Tefillin and Mezuzot During the Month of Elul The month of Elul is meant as a time of self-introspection for the entire Jewish nation. It is therefore customary to pay attention to which Tefillin and Mezuzot need checking and to have them checked at this time. The Rambam writes: “If one writes Tefillin by…
Yeshua Centered Judaism 