Code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides
Not to be confused with the
Book of Deuteronomy
, which was known as
Mishneh Torah
until the late Middle Ages, or with the
Mishnah
, the first major book of Rabbinic literature.
The
Mishneh Torah
(
Hebrew
:
???????? ??????
,
lit.
'repetition of the Torah'), also known as
Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka
(
??? ?? ?????
, 'book of the strong hand'), is a
code
of
Rabbinic Jewish
religious law
(
halakha
) authored by
Maimonides
(Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The
Mishneh Torah
was compiled between 1170 and 1180
CE
(4930 and 4940
AM
), while Maimonides was living in
Egypt
, and is regarded as Maimonides'
magnum opus
. Accordingly, later sources simply refer to the work as "
Maimon
", "
Maimonides
", or "
RaMBaM
", although Maimonides composed other works.
Mishneh Torah
consists of fourteen books, subdivided into sections, chapters, and paragraphs. It is the only
medieval
-era work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws that are only applicable when the
Temple in Jerusalem
is in existence, and remains an important work in Judaism.
Its title is an appellation originally used for the Biblical book of
Deuteronomy
, and its moniker, "Book of the Strong Hand", derives from its subdivision into fourteen books: the numerical value fourteen, when
represented
as the Hebrew letters
Yodh
(10) and
Dalet
(4), forms the word
yad
('hand').
Maimonides intended to provide a complete statement of the
Oral Law
, so that a person who mastered first the
Written Torah
and then the
Mishneh Torah
would be in no need of any other book. Contemporary reaction was mixed, with a strong and immediate opposition which focused on the absence of sources and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the
Talmud
. Maimonides responded to these criticisms, and the
Mishneh Torah
endures as an influential work in Jewish religious thought. According to several authorities,
[1]
a decision may not be rendered in opposition to a view of Maimonides, even where he apparently militated against the sense of a Talmudic passage, for in such cases the presumption was that the words of the Talmud were incorrectly interpreted. Likewise: "One must follow Maimonides, even when the latter opposed his teachers, since he surely knew their views, and if he decided against them, he must have disapproved their interpretation."
[1]
The
Mishneh Torah
was later adapted for an
Ashkenazi
audience by
Meir HaKohen
in the form of the
Haggahot Maimuniyyot
. The work consists of supplemental notes to the
Mishneh Torah
with the objective of implanting contemporary
Sephardic
thought in
Germany
and
France
, while juxtaposing it to contemporary
Ashkenazi
halakhic customs.
[2]
Sources
[
edit
]
Maimonides sought brevity and clarity in his
Mishneh Torah
and, as in his
Commentary on the Mishnah
, he refrained from detailing his sources, considering it sufficient to name his sources in the preface. He drew upon the
Torah
and the rest of
Tanakh
, both
Talmuds
,
Tosefta
, and the
halachic Midrashim
, principally
Sifra
and
Sifre
.
Later sources include the
responsa
(
teshuvot
) of the
Geonim
. The maxims and decisions of the Geonim are frequently presented with the introductory phrase "The Geonim have decided" or "There is a regulation of the Geonim", while the opinions of
Isaac Alfasi
and Alfasi's pupil Joseph ibn Migash are prefaced by the words "my teachers have decided" (although there is no direct source confirming ibn Migash as Maimonides' teacher). According to Maimonides, the Geonim were considered "unintelligible in our days, and there are but few who are able to comprehend them". There were even times when Maimonides disagreed with what was being taught in the name of the Geonim.
A number of laws appear to have no source in any of the works mentioned; it is thought that Maimonides deduced them through independent interpretations of the Bible or that they are based on versions of previous Talmudic texts no longer in our hands. Maimonides himself states a few times in his work that he possessed what he considered to be more accurate texts of the Talmud than what most people possessed at his time. The latter has been confirmed to a certain extent by versions of the Talmud preserved by the
Yemenite Jews
as to the reason for what previously were thought to be rulings without any source.
[
citation needed
]
Language and style
[
edit
]
The
Mishneh Torah
is written in
Hebrew
, as the
Mishnah
had been. As he states in the preface,
Maimonides
was reluctant to write in
Talmudic Aramaic
, since it was not widely known.
[3]
His previous works had been written in
Judeo-Arabic
.
The
Mishneh Torah
virtually never cites sources or arguments, and confines itself to stating the final decision on the law to be followed in each situation. There is no discussion of Talmudic interpretation or methodology, and the sequence of chapters follows the factual subject matter of the laws rather than the intellectual principle involved. Maimonides was criticized for not including sources by his contemporaries. Maimonides later regretted not adding sources but ultimately did not have time to update his work.
[4]
[5]
Contents
[
edit
]
The books and sections
[
edit
]
- HaMadda
(Knowledge)
- Yesodei ha-Torah
(
lit.
‘Foundations of the Torah’): belief in
God
, and other
Jewish principles of faith
- De'ot
: general proper behavior
- Talmud Torah
:
Torah study
- Avodah Zarah
: the prohibition against
idolatry
and foreign worship
- Teshuvah
: the law and philosophy of
repentance
- Ahavah
(Love [of God])
- Kri'at Shema
: recitation of
the Shema
- Tefilah
and
Birkat Kohanim
:
prayer
and the
priestly blessing
- Tefillin
,
Mezuzah
, and
Sefer Torah
- Tzitzit
- Berachot
: blessings
- Milah
: circumcision
- Seder Tefilot
: order of prayers
- Zemanim
(Times)
- Shabbat
:
Sabbath
- Eruvin
: a type of Rabbinic device that allows Jews to carry outdoors and walk longer distances on the Sabbath, as well as cook on holidays.
- Shevitat `Asor
: laws of
Yom Kippur
, except for the Temple service (see
Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim
, below)
- Yom Tov
: prohibitions on major
Jewish holidays
that are different from the prohibitions of Sabbath
- Hametz u-Matza
:
chametz
and
matzah
(i. e.,
Passover
)
- Shofar ve-Lulav ve-Sukkah
:
Shofar
(i. e.,
Rosh Hashanah
) and
palm frond
and
Sukkah
(i. e.,
Sukkot
)
- Shekalim
: money collected for the Temple in Jerusalem when it stood
- Kiddush HaChodesh
: sanctification of the month
- Taaniyot
: fasts
- Hanukah u-Megillah
:
Hanukkah
and the
Scroll of Esther
(i. e.,
Purim
)
- Nashim
(Women):
- Ishut
: laws of
marriage
, including
kiddushin
and the
ketubah
- Geirushin
: laws of
divorce
- Yibum va-Chalitzah
: laws of
levirate marriage
- Na'arah Betulah
: the law of a man who seduces or rapes an unmarried woman
- Sotah
: laws concerning a woman suspected of infidelity
- Kedushah
(Holiness)
- Issurei Biah
: forbidden sexual relations, including
niddah
,
incest
, and
adultery
. Since
intermarriage
with non-Jews is forbidden, the laws of conversion to Judaism are also included.
- Ma'akhalot Assurot
: laws of forbidden foods (see
kashrut
)
- Shechitah
: laws of ritual slaughter
- Hafla'ah
(Separation):
- Shevuot
: laws of oaths (to refrain from doing an action)
- Nedarim
: laws of vows (to do an action)
- Nezirot
: laws of
Nazirites
- Erachin
: laws of donations to the temple
- Zera'im
(Seeds)
- Kilayim
: laws of forbidden mixtures
- Aniyim
: laws of obligatory gifts to the poor
- Terumot
: laws of obligatory gifts to the priests
- Maaser
: laws of tithes
- Sheini
: laws of secondary tithes
- Bikurim
: laws of first fruit offerings
- Shemittah
: laws of the sabbatical year
- Avodah
(Divine Service):
- Bet HaBechirah
: laws of God's chosen house
- K'lei HaMikdash
: laws of the temple utensils and those who serve within
- Bi'at HaMikdash
: laws of entry to the sanctuary
- Issurei HaMizbe'ach
: laws of entities prohibited to be offered on the altar
- Ma'aseh HaKorbanot
: laws of the sacrificial procedures
- Temidim uMusafim
: laws of continual and additional offerings
- Pesule HaMukdashim
: laws of consecrated entities that have been disqualified
- Avodat Yom HaKippurim
: laws of the Yom Kippur service
- Me'ilah
: laws of the misappropriation of consecrated property
- Korbanot
(Offerings)
- Korban Pesach
: the Passover offering
- Chagigah
: the festival offering
- Bechorot
: laws regarding first-born children
- Shegagot
: Offerings for Unintentional Transgressions
- Mechussarey Kapparah
: Offerings for Those with Incomplete Atonement
- Temurah
: Substitution
- Taharah
(
Ritual Purity
)
- Tumat Met
: defilement by coming into contact with death
- Para Aduma
: the
red heifer
- Tumat Zara’at
: defilement by
tzara'at
- Metamei Mischkaw u-Moschaw
tangential defilement
- She'ar Avot haTumot
other sources of defilment
- Tumat Ochalin
: defilement of foods
- Kelim
: vessels
- Mikvaot
: laws regarding the
mikvah
- Sefer Nezikim
, also known as
Sefer Nezikin
(
torts
)
- Nizqei Mamon
: property damage
- Geneivah
: theft
- Gezeilah v'Avidah
: robbery and lost property
- Hovel uMaziq
: one who injures another
- Rotzeah uShmirat Nefesh
: murderers and life preservation
- Sefer Kinyan
(Acquisition)
- Mechirah
sale
- Zechiyah uMatanah
: ownerless property and gifts
- Sh’chenim
: neighbors
- Shluhin v’Shutafin
: agents and partners
- ‘Avadim
: slaves
- Sefer Mishpatim
(Civil Laws)
- Schirut
rent
- Sheilah uPiqadon
borrowing and deposits
- Malveh v'Loveh
lenders and borrowers
- To'en v'Nit'an
plaintiff and reception
- Nahalot
inheritance
- Sefer Shoftim
(Judges)
- Sanhedrin
- Edut
: testimony
- Mamrim:
heretics
- Evel
: mourning
- Melachim uMilhamoteyhem
: kings and wars
Notable laws
[
edit
]
Mishneh Torah contains a widely quoted list of eight levels of charitable donation, where the first level is most preferable, and the eighth the least (see
Tzedakah
).
[6]
Contemporary reaction
[
edit
]
Critics and criticism
[
edit
]
The
Mishneh Torah
was strongly opposed almost as soon as it appeared. Major sources of contention were the absence of sources and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the
Talmud
. Some criticisms appear to have been less rational in nature. Indeed, Maimonides quotes the Talmud in stating that one should study the Talmud for a third of one's study time.
[7]
The most sincere but influential opponent, whose comments are printed parallel to virtually all editions of the
Mishneh Torah
, was Rabbi
Abraham ben David of Posquieres
(Raavad III, France, 12th century).
Many critics were especially bitter against the new methods which he had employed, and the very peculiarities which he had regarded as merits in his work failed to please his opponents because they were innovations. Thus they reproached him because he departed from the Talmudic order and introduced a division and arrangement of his own, and because he dared to sometimes decide according to the
Tosefta
and the Jerusalem Talmud as against the Babylonian Talmud.
Especially sharp was the blame heaped upon Maimonides because he neglected to cite his sources; this was considered an evidence of his superciliousness, since it made it difficult, if not absolutely impossible, for scholars to verify his statements, and compelled them to follow his decisions absolutely. Yet, despite all this, Maimonides remained certain that in the future the
Mishneh Torah
would find great influence and acceptance. This is boldly expressed in a letter to his student Rabbi
Yoseph ben ha-rav Yehudah
:
And all that I've described to you regarding those who won't accept it [the
Mishneh Torah
] properly, that is uniquely in my generation. However, in future generations, when jealousy and the lust for power will disappear, all of Israel will subsist [lit. "we be satiated"] on it alone, and will abandon all else besides it without a doubt ? except for those who seek something to be involved with all their lives, even though it doesn't achieve a purpose.
Maimonides' response
[
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]
Maimonides defended himself. He had not composed this work for glory; he desired only to supply the necessary, but lacking, code, for there was danger lest pupils, weary of the difficult study, might go astray in decisions of practical importance.
[8]
He noted that it had never been his intention to abolish Talmudic studies altogether, nor had he ever said that there was no need of the "Halakot" of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi, for he himself had lectured to his pupils on the Gemara and, at their request, upon Alfasi's work.
[9]
However, he did state that for the masses, there was no need for Talmud study, as the
Mishne Torah
, along with the written Torah, would suffice.
[10]
He also stated that in-depth study of Talmudic discussions was "a waste of time", for the sole purpose of study was to know how to practice the law.
[11]
He said that his omission of his sources was due solely to his desire for brevity, although he regretted that he had not written a supplementary work citing his authorities for those
halakot
whose sources were not evident from the context. He would, however, should circumstances permit, atone for this error, however toilsome it might be to write such a supplement.
[9]
Raavad was forced to acknowledge that the work of Maimonides was a magnificent contribution,
[12]
nor did he hesitate to praise him and approve his views in many passages, citing and commenting upon the sources.
Later works (e. g.,
Yosef Karo
's
Kesef Mishne
) set out to find sources for Maimonides' decisions, and to resolve any disputes between him and the Raavad.
Yonah of Gerona
[
edit
]
Special mention should be made of
Yonah of Gerona
, a cousin of
Nachmanides
(Ramban) who was initially a member of the vocal opponents of the "Yad". He was involved in the burning of a number of copies of the
Sefer ha-Madda
in the 1240s. Regret followed, when he saw the
Talmud
being burnt in Paris in 1244, which he interpreted as a sign from Heaven that he had been mistaken. He set out to the
Land of Israel
, to ask forgiveness on Maimonides' grave in presence of ten witnesses, but failed to continue to his destination. He composed a classic work on penitence (titled
Shaarei Teshuva
, "The Gates of Repentance") during his soul-searching.
Influence
[
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]
Thus the work of Maimonides, notwithstanding the sharp attacks upon it, soon won general recognition as an authority of the first importance for ritual decisions. According to several authorities,
[13]
a decision may not be rendered in opposition to a view of Maimonides, even though the latter apparently militated against the sense of a Talmudic passage, for in such cases the presumption was that the words of the Talmud were incorrectly interpreted. Likewise: "One must follow Maimonides even when the latter opposed his teachers, since he surely knew their views, and if he decided against them he must have disapproved their interpretation".
[1]
Even when later authorities, like
Asher ben Jehiel
(the
Rosh
), decided against Maimonides, it became a rule of the
Oriental Jews
to follow the latter, although the European Jews, especially the Ashkenazim, preferred the opinions of the Rosh in such cases. But the hope which Maimonides expressed, that in time to come his work and his alone would be accepted, has been only half fulfilled. His
Mishneh Torah
is indeed still very popular, but there has been no cessation in the study of other works.
Ironically, while Maimonides refrained from citing sources out of concern for brevity (or perhaps because he designed his work to be used without studying the Talmud or other sources first), the result has often been the opposite of what he intended. Various commentaries have been written which seek to supply the lacking source documentation, and, indeed, today, the
Mishneh Torah
is sometimes used as a sort of an index to aid in locating Talmudic passages. In cases where Maimonides' sources, or interpretation thereof, is questionable, the lack of clarity has at times led to lengthy analyses and debates ? quite the opposite of the brevity he sought to attain. On the other hand, this only became an issue for students and scholars who studied the
Mishneh Torah'
s sources. According to Maimonides himself, deducing law from the sources had already become a precarious proposition (for a number of reasons) ? even in his own times. This necessarily relates to different subjects ? like the influence of the exile, language skills, lack of time, censorship, and alternate versions of the Talmud.
Printed editions and textual accuracy
[
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]
Over time many textual errors and distortions have appeared in the various editions of Maimonides'
Mishneh Torah
. These inaccuracies are in the text of rulings, in the drawings made by Maimonides, as well as in the division (and thus the numbering) of rulings.
There are various reasons for these inaccuracies. Some are due to errors in the copying of manuscripts (before the age of printing) or mistakes by typesetters of later editions. Others are due to conscious attempts to "correct" the text, and yet others to Christian censorship (in countries under its control). In addition, Maimonides himself frequently edited the text of his own autograph copy, such that manuscripts copied from his own book did not preserve his later corrections. Thus, the received version may not be the text that Maimonides intended us to read.
Often the distortions in existing versions prompted questions on the "Mishne Torah" which were solved in many creative and different ways by the scholars throughout the generations; many of these questions don’t arise in the first place if the version is corrected based upon reliable manuscripts.
In order to determine the exact version, scholars use reliable early manuscripts (some of them containing Maimonides' own signature), which are free of both Christian censorship and the changes of later readers who tried to "correct" the text on their own, without manuscript evidence. Since the middle of the 20th century there have been five scientific printings of the book:
- Rabbi
Shabsai Frankel
's edition includes critical editions of the "classical" commentators on
Mishneh Torah
as well as the book itself. However, the actual text of
Mishneh Torah
in this edition is based heavily on the printed editions, rather than the early manuscripts, whose variant readings are relegated to marginal notes and an apparatus at the end of each volume.
[14]
All the volumes have been published.
- Rabbi
Yosef Qafih
's edition
[15]
is based mainly on Yemenite manuscripts, and includes an extensive commentary by Qafih that surveys the discussions of the classical commentaries on
Mishneh Torah
and includes verbatim citation of previous commentaries in their entirety along with Qafih's comments.
- The
Yad Peshutah
edition by Rabbi
Nahum Rabinovitch
, Rosh Yeshivat
Yeshivat Birkat Moshe
in
Ma'ale Adumim
. This edition is based on a number of manuscripts (different ones are used for the different books, according to their reliability) and includes an original commentary on the
Mishneh Torah
.
- The Exact Mishneh Torah
edition by Rabbi Yitzchak Shelat, also of
Yeshivat Birkat Moshe
, has no commentary. It compares the printed versions to the fixed version. So far, four volumes have been printed; the publisher expects to print two new volumes each year.
- A one-volume edition (1000 pages), published by
Yeshivat Or Vishua
and now in its third edition, reflects all the editions based on reliable manuscripts, accompanied by surrounding indexes but with no commentary. The text was checked again, based mainly on Qafih's edition. It gives variant readings from the other leading editions only in cases where the changes are meaningful. "The Mishne Torah Project" of the yeshiva also plans to publish a multi-volume pocket edition including vowel diacritics and cross-references to other passages and to Maimonides' other works. The pocket version of
Sefer Ha-Madda
(The Book of Knowledge) is already in print.
Codes and commentators
[
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]
Mishneh Torah
itself has been the subject of a number of commentaries, the most notable being
Magid Mishne
by
Vidal de Toulouse
,
Migdal Oz
by
Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon
Kesef Mishne
by
Yosef Karo
,
Mishne la-Melech
by
Judah Rosanes
,
Lechem Mishne
by
Abraham de Boton
,
Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz)
and
Haggahot Maimuniyyot
by
Meir HaKohen
(which details
Ashkenazi
customs). Most commentators aim to resolve criticisms of the Raavad, and to trace Maimonides' sources to the text of the
Talmud
,
Midrash
and
Geonim
.
Later codes of Jewish law, such as
Arba'ah Turim
by Rabbi
Jacob ben Asher
and
Shulchan Aruch
by Rabbi
Yosef Karo
, draw heavily on Maimonides' work, and in both, whole sections are often quoted verbatim.
Also there were many attempts down to the present time to force those who follow the rulings of Maimonides to change to the Shulchan Aruch or some other latter work of Minhag/Halakha. In response to this Karo wrote:
Who is he whose heart conspires to approach forcing congregations who practice according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to go by any one of the early or latter-day Torah authorities?! ... Is it not a case of a fortiori, that regarding the School of Shammai?that the halakhah does not go according to them?they [the Talmudic Sages] said ‘if [one practices] like the School of Shammai [he may do so, but] according to their leniencies and their stringencies’: The RaMBaM, is the greatest of all the Torah authorities, and all the communities of the Land of Israel and the Arab-controlled lands and the West [North Africa] practice according to his word, and accepted him upon themselves as their Chief Rabbi. Whoever practices according to him with his leniencies and his stringencies, why coerce them to budge from him? And all the more so if also their fathers and forefathers practiced accordingly: for their children are not to turn right or left from the RaMBaM of blessed memory. And even if communities that practice according to the Rosh or other authorities like him became the majority, they cannot coerce the minority of congregations practicing according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to practice like they do. And there is no issue here concerning the prohibition against having two courts in the same city [‘lo tithgodedu’], since every congregation should practice according to its original custom…
Present day
[
edit
]
Study
[
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]
The in-depth study of
Mishneh Torah
underwent a revival in
Lithuanian
Judaism in the late 19th century. The Lithuanians did not use it as a source book on practical
halakha
, as they followed the Ashkenazi authorities such as
Moses Isserles
and the
Aruch ha-Shulchan
.
Instead, they used it as a guide to Talmudic interpretation and methodology. Given the fact that the
Mishneh Torah
entirely omits these topics, this reading seems paradoxical and against the grain. Their method was to compare the Talmudic source material with Maimonides' final decision, in order to reconstruct the rules of interpretation that must have been used to get from one to the other.
It thus remains an integral part of the
Yeshiva
curriculum.
As regards Talmud study, it is one of the primary works referenced in analyzing the Talmudic text from a legal point of view, as mentioned.
It is also a primary text referenced in understanding the
Halakha
as presented in the
Arba'ah Turim
and
Shulchan Aruch
; and
Mishneh Torah
is thus one of the first post-Talmudic sources consulted when investigating a question of Jewish law.
See
Yeshiva § Talmud study
;
Yeshiva § Jewish law
;
Halakha § Codes of Jewish law
.
Prominent recent authorities who have written commentaries on the work include Rabbis
Meir Simcha of Dvinsk
(
Ohr Somayach
),
Chaim Soloveitchik
(
Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim
),
Yitzchok Isaac Krasilschikov
(
Tevunah
),
Isser Zalman Meltzer
(
Even HaEzel
), and, more recently, the
Lubavitcher Rebbe
,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
(
Hadran al HaRambam
),
Elazar Shach
(
Avi Ezri
),
Nahum Rabinovitch
(
Yad Peshuta
), and Rabbi
Yosef Kapach
. See also:
List of commentaries on Mishneh Torah
Many scholarly speeches (e. g., the traditional Rabbi's speech on the
Shabbat
preceding
Pesach
and
Yom Kippur
) often revolve around a reconciliation between two passages in Maimonides' work.
Rav Soloveitchik's
work
Al haTeshuvah
discussing
repentance
in the light of Rambam's work, is widely studied and referenced (in Modern Orthodox communities) in the days leading up to
Rosh Hashanah
and
Yom Kippur
.
Today, thousands of
Orthodox Jews
, particularly
Chabad
Hasidim
, participate in one of the
annual study cycles of
Mishneh Torah
(one or three chapters a day), innovated by the
Lubavitcher Rebbe
,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
, in the spring of 1984. Parallel to the three- or one-chapter(s)-a-day cycle, there is a daily study of the
Sefer Hamitzvot
"Book of the Commandments", also authored by
Maimonides
.
A popular commentary,
Rambam La'Am
('Rambam for the Nation'), was produced in 1971 by Rabbi
Shmuel Tanchum Rubinstein
[
he
]
(published by
Mossad Harav Kook
).
[16]
[
non-primary source needed
]
This 20 volume set is widely used in daily Rambam study, in the Israeli Chabad and
Religious Zionist
communities.
Adin Steinsaltz
produced a similarly positioned commentary, published by
Koren
in 2017.
[17]
[
non-primary source needed
]
Practice
[
edit
]
As for
halakha l'maaseh
(practical application of Jewish law), although the majority of Jews keep Jewish law according to various other Rabbinic codes organized around the
Shulchan Aruch
, an increasing number of
Yemenite Jews
, as well as various other individuals, are being attracted to the
Mishneh Torah
as their choice code of Jewish law by which to live. They may consider it a return to the original ways of their ancestors.
One individual who contributed to this phenomenon was Rabbi
Yi?yah Qafi?
, the founder of the
Dor Daim
movement in Yemen. The
Mishneh Torah
had always been a leading authority in the
Baladi
(local, traditionalist) Yemenite community ? as a matter of local custom. Scholarly work in this vein was continued by his grandson, Rabbi
Yosef Qafi?
(also spelled Gafah, Qafahh or Kapach). Yosef Qafi? is credited with the publication of an almost encyclopedic commentary to the entire
Mishneh Torah
, including his own insights, set to a text of the
Mishneh Torah
based upon the authoritative, hand-written manuscripts preserved by the
Yemenite Jewish
community. The introduction to his edition of the
Mishneh Torah
is well known in itself as a defense for the keeping of halakha according to the
Mishneh Torah
.
[18]
During his lifetime, Yosef Qafi? was a leading figure in the
Baladi Yemenite
community as a whole, as well as the
Dor Daim
or strict "Rambamists". After Qafi? died, Rabbi Rasson Arusi has largely filled his place as the leading public representative of the Baladi and Rambamist communities.
Rabbi Rasson Arusi is founder of 'Halikhoth Ahm Yisroel' and Makhon Mishnath haRambam, and head of the marriage department of the Rabbinate of Israel, as well as chief rabbi of city of
Kiryat Ono
in Israel. Arusi and the organization Makhon Mishnath haRambam have published several books filled with commentary on various parts and aspects of the
Mishneh Torah
as well as topics related to the Yemenite Jewish community. Besides the works of Qafi? and Arusi, there are a number of other commentaries to the
Mishneh Torah
written by leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community.
Ethnology
[
edit
]
Scholars specializing in the study of the history and subculture of Judaism in premodern China (Sino-Judaica) have noted this work has surprising similarities with the liturgy of the
Kaifeng Jews
, descendants of Persian Merchants who settled in the Middle Kingdom during the early
Song Dynasty
.
[19]
Beyond scriptural similarities, Michael Pollak comments the Jews' Pentateuch was divided into 53 sections according to the Persian style.
[20]
He also points out:
There is no proof, to be sure, that Kaifeng Jewry ever had direct access to the works of "the Great Eagle", but it would have had ample time and opportunity to acquire or become acquainted with them well before its reservoir of Jewish learning began to run out. Nor do the Maimonidean leanings of the
kehillah
contradict the historical evidence that has the Jews arriving in
Kaifeng
no later than 1126, the year in which
the Sung fled the city
--and nine years before Maimonides was born. In 1163, when the
kehillah
built the first of its synagogues, Maimonides was only twenty-eight years old, so that it is highly unlikely that even his earliest authoritative teachings could by then have reached China [...] The compliance of their descendants with certain uniquely Maimonidean interpretations implies that the channels of communication between the
kehillah
and extra-Chinese Jewish centers were still open several generations after its establishment.
[21]
The work was being used by the
Jews of India
during Maimonides' lifetime. In response to a letter from the Rabbis of
Lunel
, France requesting him to translate his
Guide of the Perplexed
from Arabic to Hebrew, Maimonides applauded their piety in light of what he viewed as the general stagnation of religiosity throughout the rest of the Jewish world. However, he commented: "Only lately some well-to-do men came forward and purchased three copies of my code [the
Mishneh Torah
] which they distributed through messengers... Thus, the horizon of these Jews was widened, and the religious life in all communities as far as India revived."
[22]
Further support for the
Mishneh Torah
circulating in India comes in the form of a letter sent from
Safed
, Israel, to Italy in 1535. In it, David del Rossi claimed that a Tripolitan Jewish merchant had told him the India town of Shingly (
Cranganore
) had a large Jewish population who dabbled in yearly pepper trade with the Portuguese. As far as their religious life, he wrote they: "only recognize the Code of Maimonides and possessed no other authority or Traditional law."
[23]
Translations
[
edit
]
The first known English translation of the
Mishneh Torah
was made in 1832 by
Herman Hedwig Bernard
, professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University. Bernard's work is titled
The Main Principles of the Creed and Ethics of the Jews Exhibited in Selections from the Yad Hachazakah of Maimonides, with A Literal English Translation, Copious Illustrations from the Talmud, &c.
. Bernard's work includes a glossary of words and concepts which appear in the
Mishneh Torah
.
[
citation needed
]
The 1888 work
Dat Vadin
by Rabbi Moses Frankel, published in Odessa, is a
Russian language
summary of the
Mishneh Torah
.
[24]
In 1944,
Philip Birnbaum
published an excerpted translation published as
Maimonides' Mishneh Torah: Yad Hazakah
.
[25]
The Yale Judaica Series edition of the
Mishneh Torah
was started in 1949 and is almost complete, except "the Book of Knowledge", which is in progress:
- Introduction, Isadore Twersky (1982)
ISBN
0-300-02846-6
- Book 2,
The Book of Love
, Menachem Kellner (2004)
ISBN
0-300-10348-4
- Book 3,
The Book of Seasons
, Solomon Gandz and Hyman Klein (1961)
ISBN
0-300-00322-6
- Book 3,
Treatise 8, The Sanctification of the New Moon
, Solomon Gandz, Julian Obermann, Otto Neugebauer (1956)
ISBN
0-300-00476-1
- Book 4,
The Book of Women
, Isaac Klein (1972)
ISBN
0-300-01438-4
/
ISBN
978-0-300-01438-9
- Book 5,
The Book of Holiness
, Leon Nemoy, Louis I. Rabinowitz, and Philip Grossman (1965)
ISBN
0-300-00846-5
- Book 6,
The Book of Asseverations
, B. D. Klein (1962)
ISBN
0-300-00633-0
- Book 7,
The Book of Agriculture
, Isaac Klein (1979)
ISBN
0-300-02223-9
- Book 8,
The Book of Temple Service
, Mendell Lewittes (1957)
ISBN
0-300-00497-4
- Book 9,
The Book of Offerings
, Herbert Danby, (1950)
ISBN
0-300-00398-6
- Book 10,
The Book of Cleanness
, Herbert Danby, (1954)
ISBN
0-300-00397-8
- Book 11,
The Book of Torts
, Hyman Klein (1954)
ISBN
0-300-00632-2
- Book 12,
The Book of Acquisitions
, Isaac Klein (1951)
ISBN
0-300-00631-4
- Book 13,
The Book of Civil Laws
,
Jacob J. Rabinowitz
(1949)
ISBN
0-300-00845-7
- Book 14,
The Book of Judges
, Abraham M. Hershman (1949)
ISBN
0-300-00548-2
In 1981
Feldheim Publishers
published an edition of the first two books based on the Oxford manuscript, with the translation of
Moses Hyamson
. As the translation was made from the traditional printed texts, it does not always match the Hebrew.
[26]
Moznaim Publishing Corporation has published an annotated English translation of the
Mishneh Torah
by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger. This edition is available online on chabad.org
[27]
In November 2006
Mayer Alter Horowitz
of the
Boston Hasidic dynasty
announced that The Nesher Hagodol Legacy Foundation had begun a translation "Perush HaMeir" elucidating and explaining the
Mishneh Torah
.
[28]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Yad Mal'akhi", rule 26 and 27, p. 186
- ^
Grossman, Maxine (2011).
The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
. Oxford University Press. p. 311.
ISBN
978-0-19-973004-9
.
- ^
Preface to the
Mishneh Torah
- ^
Berlin, Adele; Grossman, Maxine (2011).
The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0-19-973004-9
. Retrieved
1 August
2021
.
- ^
Goldenberg, Robert. "Talmud."
Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts
, edited by Barry W. Holtz, Simon & Schuster, 1984, pp. 129-175
- ^
Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot matanot aniyim ("Laws about Giving to Poor People"), Chapter 10:7?14
- ^
Yad
, Hilkhot Talmud Torah 1:11
- ^
Letter to Rabbi Jonathan of Lunel, in which he thanks the latter for certain corrections; Responsa of Maimonides, 49
- ^
a
b
Responsa, No. 140
- ^
Introduction to the
Mishne Torah
- ^
Letter to Joseph ben Judah
- ^
note on Kilayim 6:2
- ^
"Yad Malakhi" rule 26, pg 186
- ^
Editorial tendencies of this edition have been highlighted and criticized by Rabbi Aharon Qafih (?????? vol. 2, 2008,
p. 7-12
).
- ^
Freely viewable
on the publisher's website
.
- ^
???? ???
- ^
"?? ???? ???? ????"?"
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-02-06
. Retrieved
2006-09-17
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
Leslie, Donald. The Survival of the Chinese Jews; The Jewish Community of Kaifeng. T?oung pao, 10. Leiden: Brill, 1972, p. 157
- ^
Pollak, Michael.
Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries: The Jewish Experience in the Chinese Empire
. The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1980, p. 413
- ^
Pollak,
Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries
, pp. 297?298
- ^
Twersky, Isadore.
A Maimonides Reader
. Behrman House. Inc., 1972, pp. 481?482
- ^
Katz, Nathan and Ellen S. Goldberg.
The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India
. University of South Carolina Press, p. 40
- ^
?????, ???.
"?? ????"
.
www.hebrewbooks.org
. Retrieved
29 January
2020
.
- ^
Birnbaum, Philip (1944).
Maimonides' Mishneh Torah: Yad Hazakah
. Hebrew Pub Co.
ISBN
0884824373
.
- ^
Hyamson, Moses (1981).
The book of adoration (according to the Bodleian (Oxford) codex)
(New, corr. ed.). Jerusalem: Feldheim.
ISBN
0873060865
.
- ^
Touger, Eliyahu; Maimonides.
"Mishneh Torah"
. Chabad.org.
- ^
Horowitz, Mayer Alter Halevi, Rabbi (2006). "English Edition of the Rambam: with Perush HaMeir".
The Nesher Hagodol Legacy Foundation Publications
.
1
(1): 32 pages.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
External links
[
edit
]
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
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