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The Artscroll Rishonim history book, in the section about the Rambam, records a "tradition" that the Rambam, as a young child, received a blessing from the Ri Migash, and that he (the Rambam) later attributed all of his accomplishment in Torah scholarship to that blessing.

Is there a recorded source for this "tradition," preferably within some reasonable time of the Rambam's era (let's say, pre-1350)?

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    I was told by someone who personally knew the author that he was a scholar, and I am going to assume that he didn't just write down what his Rebbe told him in 2nd grade. Please don't dismiss the claim without due research.
    – Y     e     z
    Commented Apr 13, 2015 at 3:41
  • According to Sefaria the Ri Migash was a teacher of Maimon, the Rambam's father. The Rambam was six when the Ri Migash died but Rambam regarded much of what he learned from his father as coming from him.
    – sabbahillel
    Commented Jan 4, 2018 at 13:35

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The Chida in Shem Hagedolim cites this story from the עומר השכחה (c. 1500) where it was the Rif who blessed the young Rambam. The Chida explains that the Rif died well before the Rambam was born and replaces the Rif with the Ri Migash who died when the Rambam was seven years old.

See page 148 on the bottom of left column here http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/vl/shemhagdolim/shemhagdolim08.pdf

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  • @mevaqesh yes..according to Wikipedia Rambam was 6 years old at the time of the Ri Migash death. I was simply quoting the Chida.
    – Yoni
    Commented Apr 14, 2015 at 6:07
  • @Yoni The information you presented here can be made useful once again judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/57377/…
    – user6591
    Commented Apr 17, 2015 at 10:04
  • @user6591...please go for it...I won't have time for a while
    – Yoni
    Commented Apr 17, 2015 at 15:47

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