The Rambam, or Maimonides, was a famous 12th century Rabbi, philosopher, and physician. He wrote the Mishneh Torah and the Moreh Nevuchim (Guide to the Perplexed).
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What are Rambam's “עיקרים”?
Rambam, in his Commentary to the Mishna (Sanhedrin 10), enumerates 13 "עיקרים" or "יסודות", which he holds are the core "principles" that every Jew is expected to believe. (Summary in English.)
But ...
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Did the Rambam believe in magic?
If you read through Chapter 11 of the Rambam's laws on Idol Worship, you'll see what seems to be the Rambam forbidding anything that even resembles magic, all while calling such practices foolish and ...
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If Christianity is avodah zarah and Islam is not, why has the Christian world triumphed over the non-Christian, and why do Jews prefer to live among Christians and not Muslims?
The Rambam quite clearly considered Christianity to be avodah zarah. He did not feel the same way about Islam, however, going so far as to condone praying within a mosque, and many Orthodox Jewish ...
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Why didn't the Tur discuss traditional Jewish philosophy?
Of all classical works of Halacha, only the Rambam has a section dedicated "Hilchos Deos". For example, he begins with the most fundamental Jewish belief, the belief in one G-d, that G-d is the ...
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Differences between RaMbaM and RaMbaN's mitzvah count
I know both of the Rambam and Ramban listed all 613 mitzvos, and they differ in some (I think like 16ish?)
What are the ones upon which they differ? If possible please include why they differ in ...
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Moreh Nevuchim: To learn or not to learn?
I have come across many people who believe that it is inappropriate to learn Moreh Nevuchim especially at a younger inexperienced age. However, it seems that many important issues are discussed in the ...
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Which came first the Mishnah Torah or the Pirush HaMishnayos
Which sefer did the Ramabm author first, was it his Mishnah Torah (Yad HaChazaka) or his commentary to Mishnayos?
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How did Rambam eliminate “ben gilo” from the halacha?
The gemara in Elu Metzios (Bava Metzia 30b) says:
אמר מר (אשר) ילכו - זה ביקור חולים. היינו
גמילות חסדים! לא נצרכה אלא לבן גילו
,דאמר מר בן גילו נוטל אחד מששים בחליו
,ואפי' הכי מבעי ליה ...
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The meaning of Tzadik
I am having difficulty in understand the meaning of Tzadik. Maimonides says "One whose merit surpasses his iniquity is a tzadik". I have trouble in understanding this sentence. Can someone explain the ...
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“Hagahos MaimoniYOS”?
Is the correct title for the work abbreviated "ה"מ" "Hagahos Maimoni" or "Hagahos Maimoniyos"?
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What does Maimonides say about geocentrism?
I have read that Maimonides described the universe in a geocentric fashion, but I have not been able to find the specific passages to which they refer.
What does Maimonides say about geocentrism?
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Rambam, Mashiach, and Olam Haba
Could somebody explain to me briefly what the Rambam's opinion is about the sequence of events with Olam HaBa, the Mashiach and Techiyat haMeitim?
It seems that he's saying that when a person dies ...
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Beginning a comprehensive study of Moreh N'vuchim
A friend of mine would like to begin learning Moreh N'vuchim seriously and is unsure of exactly where/with what to start.
What is the best version out there of the book itself?
Are there any ...
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What financial arrangement did Rambam have with his jeweler brother?
I was taught in yeshiva that as a young man, Rambam just studied Torah and was supported by his brother, who was a jewel merchant. Then his brother died at sea, so Rambam became a physician.
Recently ...
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Yemenite shofar not from sheep
I've heard that Yemenite Jews follow the Rambam for halacha generally, and Wikipedia concurs.
The Rambam writes that one must use a sheep's horn as the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Shulchan Aruch is less ...
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What shape were the branches on the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash?
What shape were the branches on the Menorah in the Beit Hamikdash? I have seen the diagram by the Rambam where he depicts it with angular branches.
I am looking for sources in halacha (i.e. sources ...
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Why does the 5th verse of “Yigdal”, not mention prayer as does the 5th principle of faith of the Rambam?
The piyyut, “Yigdal”, seems to put the 13 principles of faith of the Rambam in poetic form.
With number 5, the author of Yigdal seems to have made a slightly different point to the Rambam by leaving ...
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How did Avraham refer to his father the Rambam in writing?
What term did Avraham ben haRambam use when referring to his father in his writings? (Compare to R' Ya'akov ben Asher (the Tur), referring to his father (the Rosh), as Adoni Avi or A"A.) Did he use a ...
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multiple versions for Baruch She'amar
Being that Baruch She'amar fell from the sky (as said in the Baeir Heiteiv Orach Chaim 51:1), how is it that the Rambam (seder tefilos kal hashna) has a different version than what we have in our ...
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Rambam Quote About Books
Where can this quote be found in Rambam: "Do not consider it proof just because it is written in books, for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen."?
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Peirush HaMishnah L'Rambam
Anyone know where I can find Rambam's commentary on Mishnah online? I am especially looking for his commentary to Avos.
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How is knowledge of G-d different from any other knowledge?
The Rambam, in his Morei Nevuchim, says that when it comes to knowledge about G-d, we can only know what G-d is not. I.e. He is not limited in space, or time, He does not have property A, nor does he ...
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Science of the Rishonim on “celestial spheres”
In the writings of the Rishonim, it is not uncommon to see explanations of pesukim or of aggadic concepts using the "celestial spheres" model of the universe. The Rambam in particular uses the idea ...
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Maimonides and Sacrifices as G-d's concession to Mankind
I've been bothered by this contradiction in Rambam: He says in Moreh Nevuchim 3:32 that sacrifices are a concession and that it would not have been good to introduce the truthest most pure form of ...
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Who is the author of the Pirush on the first four chapters of Rambam's Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah?
The first four chapters of Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah have a lengthy commentary that is titled simply "פירוש". In standard editions of the Rambam, it wraps around the text, facing the "כסף משנה" (see ...
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What is the source for Rambam's “physician's oath”?
A physician friend pointed out to me the Rambam's "physician's oath" (it doesn't look like an oath per se, but that's what it's called), which begins (in English):
The eternal providence has ...
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Which Moshiach are we waiting for?
The Rambam lists waiting for Moshiach as one of the 13 principles of faith. We have a tradition that there will be two Moshiachs, Ben Yosef and Ben David, which one was the Rambam referring to?
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Why don't we just follow the shittah of Moshe Rabeinu?
My question can apply to virtually all mitzvos where there is a disagreement in the standard way to fulfill them.
If one reads the hakdama (introduction) to the Rambam's peirush mishnayos (commentary ...
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ישמע את האמת ממי שאמרה
Rambam says ישמע את האמת ממי שאמרה (Accept the truth from whomever says it) in Shmoneh Perakim. Does anyone know what he said in the original Judeo Arabic?
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Rambam's method for calculating the conjunction of the moon (and sun)
I think I'm missing something basic here...
The Rambam, in Hilchot Kiddush Hachodesh (6:3) says that the interval between one conjunction to the next is is 29 full days, 12 hours of the 30th day, and ...
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Is there a Rambam hidush in current halakhic practice?
The Kesef Mishneh and others have labored in citing all the sources of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah. I remember once learning that very rarely the Rambam states a halakhah that no one can find a source ...
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Hebrew of the Mishneh Torah
In what type of Hebrew did Rambam write the Mishneh Torah?
I just started to learn Biblical Hebrew and when I have learned basics I will start to read Pentateuch in Hebrew with some help The next ...
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Maimonides and the Allegory of the Cave
Does Maimonides ever refer to the Allegory of the Cave from Plato's The Republic?
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Who authored the 13 Ani Maamin's?
The Rambam in his Hakdama to his Pirush on Perek Chelek in Mesechtas Sanhedrin mentions the points of belief a Jew must have. To the best of my knowledge these are the basis of the well-known ...
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Question regarding ונביא גדול הוא קרוב ממשה רבנו in Rambam's Hilkhos Teshuva
Here is some text from Rambam's Hilkhos Teshuva:
לפי שבאותן הימים תרבה הדעה והחכמה והאמת...מפני שאותו המלך שיעמוד מזרע דויד בעל חכמה יהיה יתר משלמה ונביא גדול הוא קרוב ממשה רבנו ולפיכך ילמד כל העם ...
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Which Rabbinic source claimed that the Rambam “killed” the demons?
I've heard many times that the Rambam "killed" the demons rather than simply denying that they ever existed. Which Rabbinic source claims as much? Because the Rambam himself seems to have said that ...
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What do we know about the Yemenites adding (deleting?) Maimonides from their prayers in the 1100s?
I've always heard that the Yemenite Jews of the late 1100s were so grateful for the theological support they were given by Maimonides' writings (Rambam's Igeret Teiman), that where their kaddish ...
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Who says the Tefillah of ר' נחוניה בן הקנה?
The Mishnah at the top of Ber. 28b says that ר' נחוניה בן הקנה used to say a short prayer before learning that he not cause harm in his learning, and afterwards to give thanks for the opportunity to ...
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English translation of Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim (Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed) on the Internet?
Is there an English translation on the Internet of Rambam's philosophic treatise on Jewish philosophy, Moreh Nevuchim?
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What does “Comp.” at the end of a posuk's translation mean?
I.e. 201 results for Comp. here: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Guide_for_the_Perplexed_(Friedlander)/Part_III/Chapters#CHAPTER_XLVI
I assume it means "end of verse" or something?
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“Ramba”m“ or ”The Ramba“m”?
I often hear the Hebrew abbreviation for Maimonides appended to a definite article but don't quite understand why it should be there when the unabbreviated name would (I think) never warrant such an ...
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Does Rambam include the Oral Torah in his eighth principle?
When Rambam says that a principle of faith is that the entire Torah that we now have is that which was given to Moshe, does he include both written and oral Torah, or only the written Torah?
If the ...
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What's the significance of “a loved Mitzvah”?
The Rambam In Hilchos Chanukah (4:12) says:
מצות נר חנוכה, מצוה חביבה היא עד מאוד
(Loose translation) The commandment of the lights of Chanukah is a
commandment that is very much adored.
...
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Bicurim from something planted in a pot
The Rambam writes the following
הגדל בעציץ אע"פ שהוא נקוב והגדל בספינה אינו מביא ממנו כל עיקר שנאמר
בארצם. אבל מביא מן הגדל בגג או בחורבה
— essentially saying that bicurim is not brought from ...
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Maimonides on Circumcision
These are not questions about circumcision. They are about what Maimonides said about the practice.
I would to know if the following things do, or do not, in fact represent things Maimonides said ...
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Was Rambam affected by Islam?
Was Rambam's philosophy affected in any way by Islamic culture or religion? If so, could that influence have influenced his interpretation of halacha?
This question is inspired by an ongoing ...
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Rambam in the Original Judeo Arabic
Any one know where I can find any of Rambam's works in the original Judeo-Arabic (preferably online and not a manuscript but an easily readable text)?
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Why did the Egyptian “astrologers” tell Pharaoh that a savior would be born?
רש"י suggests that Pharaoh's astrologers told him that they had a vision that a savior would be born on a certain day (שמות א:כב & שמות א:טז). Assuming the “astrologers” had no real power of ...
