Moses ben-Maimon,
called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā
ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam (רמב"ם
- Hebrew acronym for "Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon"),
was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher
and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians
of the Middle Ages. He was born in Córdoba,
Spain on Passover Eve, 1135, and died in Egypt
(or Tiberias) on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204.
He was a rabbi, physician and philosopher in
Morocco and Egypt.
Although his writings on Jewish law and ethics
were met with acclaim and gratitude from most
Jews even as far off as Spain, Iraq and Yemen,
and he rose to be the revered head of the Jewish
community in Egypt, there were also respectful
critics of some of his rulings and other writings
particularly in Spain. Nevertheless, he was
posthumously acknowledged to be one of the foremost
rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish
history, his copious work a cornerstone of Jewish
scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah
still carries canonical authority as a codification
of Talmudic law. In the Yeshiva world he is
known as "haNesher haGadol" (the great
eagle) in recognition of his outstanding status
as a bona fide exponent of the Oral Torah. |
