Questions tagged [mishneh-torah]
Questions about Rambam's magnum opus also know as Yad HaChazaka.
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Praise of Mishneh Torah amongst the Rishonim
The Mishneh Torah is often described as one of the cornerstones of Jewish literature. The Rambam, in his introduction to this magnum opus, describes his book as being written:
כֻּלָּן בְּלָשׁוֹן ...
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Why did Rambam order Mishnah Torah in this particular structure?
The 14 books and contained chapters and Halachos of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah don't seem to have any particular order based on the Mitzvos, Mishnah or Gemara.
Why did the Rambam order his books and ...
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Which opinion of the Rambam is followed, the Mishneh Torah or the Responsum?
If there is a contradiction between something the Rambam wrote in the Mishneh Torah and his responsum letters, which is considered his final ruling? Is there a general rule or is it a case by case?
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How many halachot are detailed in the Mishneh Torah? [closed]
How many halachot are detailed in the Mishneh Torah?
To clarify, I am interested in the counting of the author's (i.e. if the Mishneh Torah details two rules under one halacha that counts as one and ...
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How do most Rabbis justify teaching Torah to conversion candidates?
According to the Rambam (Shoftim ~ Melachim uMilchamot ~ Chapter 10 ~ Halacha 9), a non-Jew who studies Torah is obligated to die and a non-Jew should only study his Seven mitzvot. I reason that it ...
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How can the Rambam say that Kiddushin is a Mitzvah, against the Gemara?
The Rambam in Hilchos Ishus 1:1 makes the following statement:
כֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּתְּנָה תּוֹרָה נִצְטַוּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁאִם יִרְצֶה הָאִישׁ לִשָּׂא אִשָּׁה יִקְנֶה אוֹתָהּ תְּחִלָּה בִּפְנֵי עֵדִים ...
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Sources used by Maimonides in Mishneh Torah-Avodat Kochavim 1:1
In Mishneh Torah-Avodat Kochavim 1:1 Rambam states:
"During the times of Enosh, mankind made a great mistake, and the wise men of that generation gave thoughtless counsel. Enosh himself was one ...
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Why does the Mishneh Torah detail how to free a slave if it is forbidden?
Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Avadim 5:1-3 details how a Canaanite slave is freed (with money or a document). However, 9:6 states that one may not free a Canaanite slave (though if one does, the slave is free)...
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Rambam's Hilchot Melachim 9: 2 on making, by the Gentiles, of human statues for decorative purposes [duplicate]
I'm an Italian Noahide
The prohibition against worship of false gods is an integral part of the Noahide Laws .
Rambam says in Melachim uMilchamot 9: 2 (English translation by Rabbi E. Touger):
"...
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Maggid Mishnah on relying on approximations for π and √2
In a previous discussion, it was stated:
The Maggid Mishnah in Hilchos Shabbos (17:26) says that one may rely on π=3, but he says in Hilchos Eiruvin (3:2) that one may not rely on √2=1.4.
I can't ...
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Sources for the Rambam's hierarchy of angels
Traditional meforshim of Yechezkel 1 (for example, the Malbim) explain that the three often-mentioned classes of angels (ofanim, chayos and seraphim) correspond to the notions of the 3 lower worlds (...
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Was the Rambam successful?
The Rambam is said to have written the Mishneh Torah to replace the study of the Talmud (although what he really said was that he intended it to be a compendium of all the rulings of the Talmud so ...
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Is there a practical difference between different ways of food becoming obligated in ma'aser?
The Rambam (Ma'aser 3:3), apparently based on the Yerushalmi (Ma'asrot 4:1), lists six things that make food fixed (קבע) in the obligation for ma'aser: bringing it into a courtyard, buying/selling, ...
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On which precise halachic source did Rambam claim that the pilegesh is forbidden to all Jewish men except the kings of Israel?
I’m an Italian noahide.
This question covers my exclusively intellectual curiosity, being an halachic case that does not concern the Gentiles but only the Jews.
We read in Mishneh Torah -Melachim ...
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Why does Rambam change the list of items in Keilim 29:2 that combine for tumah and hazayah?
In the mishnah Keilim 29:2, we see a list of items and an indication of how many can be attached to each other and still be considered joined with regards to tumah and hazayah (sprinkling for ...
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Contradiction in Maimonides?
Maimonides felt that G-d is transcendent, that G-d has no body and is one, though we cannot attribute any description to G-d. At best, we can say what G-d is not. Thus it is impossible to describe G-d ...
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Do objects of idolatry contaminate?
Rambam in Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 7:9 speaking about idolatrous objects says that "everything it mingled with and its identity lost" is forbidden property.
Is Rambam ...
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Why learn either Rambam or Shas?
Why learn either Rambam or Shas being that we don't pasken straight from a Gemara nor do we Ashkenazim from the Rambam? And being that the Rambam says in his introduction that his work (Yad Chazakah) ...
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Recommendation for edition of Mishne Torah with sources
I am learning Rambam's Mishne Torah following the Chabad's perek-a-day rhythm. I find it fascinating. I learn in Hebrew, and use two texts
the new Koren's Mishne Torah from R Steinsaltz. It is very ...
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Did Rambam say that God closes the gate of Teshuvah?
R' Yossi Mizrachi mentions in a YouTube video that the Rambam (Maimonides) writes in Hilchos Teshuvah:
The biggest punishment to a Jew is God closing the gate of teshuvah (repentance) in his face.
...
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Where to Find Original Manuscripts Of Mishne Torah
I have a couple versions of books from Mishne Torah: some of them are from Mishne Torah HaRav Kook edition, and the other book I have is Mishne Torah Hashalem Edition and it says there that it is ...
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Hebrew Dictionary for Mishneh Torah
I’m looking for a dictionary which contains words that one would find in The Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, not Biblical Hebrew. Any suggestions would be helpful.
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Where can I get the Mishnah Torah in English in plain text, open source?
I want to upload and maintain various texts in English in plain text format for wikisource: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Portal:Judaism
In particular, I am looking for the Mishnah Torah in English. ...
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Idols made by robots/machines
Maimonides says in Avodat Kochavim, Chapter Eight:
It is permitted to derive benefit from anything that has not been manipulated by man or that was not made by man, even though it was worshiped [as a ...
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Was Moses really angry or pretending?
The Rambam said in his Mishneh Torah that it's sometimes useful to act angry:
If one desires to instill reverence in his children and his household, or in public if he is the head of a community, and ...
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Rav Yosef Karo's Kesef Mishneh: is there online an English translation?
Do you know of online an English translation of Rav Yosef Karo's Kesef Mishneh? Unless I'm mistaken, it is a fundamental work to better understand the Mishneh Torah.
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Source for this Rambam quote?
I am looking for a source for the quote below. I assume it is the Mishneh Torah but have no basis for such belief.
The quote (roughly translated by a non-Jewish “quotes” website) is:
One should see ...
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Responsum of Maimonides Regarding Translating Mishne Torah
The Maimonides Reader (p. 478) quotes Rambam's responsum to Ibn Gabir regarding translating the MT (also referenced here). He responds to a request from this Arabic speaker who was able to learn ...
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Learning to read Mishneh Torah
I have taken a number of classes covering Hebrew grammar and basic vocabulary and my proficiency level is basic but sufficient to navigate the Siddur, and with a dictionary (looking up many words) I ...
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Resources for learning the shorshei mitzvos of the Rambam
The Rambam lays down 14 principles, which he terms shorshei mitzvos, to determine which mitzvos are part of the 613. Besides the commentaries in the standard Mishne Torah, are there any other books ...
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Is there a halachic difference between the "tzadikei" ("righteous") and the "chasidei" ("pious") umot ha Olam?
I am an Italian Noahide.
Rambam, in his Mishneh Torah, says that the "pious among the Nations" ("chasidei umot ha Olam") have part in the World to Come (Hilchot Teshuvah 3:5; ...
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No atonement for adultery without punishment?
If I understand correctly, proper teshuva for sins between man and G-d removes punishment (Hilchot Teshuvah 2:9):
Neither repentance nor the Day of Atonement atone for any save for
sins committed ...
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To whom is it not a mitzvah to give tzedakah?
I seem to recall a Rambam that says that if someone can work and chooses not to, there is no mitzvah to support such a person. But I can't find it. Am I mis-remembering?
EDIT: Is there something on ...
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What is the halachic source that allows the king of Israel to acquire a pilegesh through yichud alone?
In Mishneh Torah-The Laws of Kings 4:4 Rambam says:
(The king of Israel) may take wives and pilagshim from the entire territory of Eretz Yisrael. The term 'wives' implies women who were married with ...
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Clarifications on Mishneh Torah (Ishut 10:16)
הַמְאָרֵס אֶת בִּתּוֹ קְטַנָּה וּתְבָעָהּ הַבַּעַל לְנִשּׂוּאִין. בֵּין הִיא בֵּין אָבִיהָ יְכוֹלִין לְעַכֵּב שֶׁלֹּא תִּנָּשֵׂא עַד שֶׁתַּגְדִּיל וְתֵעָשֶׂה נַעֲרָה וְאִם רָצָה לְכָנְסָהּ כּוֹנֵס. ...
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Where is the Hasagat Haraavad on Internet?
Rambam Shabbat 4.1-2 about the Din of Hatmana.
The Rishonim cite an Hasaga of the Raavad, but it's not in the Sifre Rambam.
I found it here
ראב"ד
א"א מעולם לא נראו ולא נשמעו תהפוכות כאלה ...
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Is there a list of important sugyos in the mishneh Torah [closed]
I heard Rav Lichtenstein made a list of important sugyos in the mishneh Torah to learn. Does anyone have it or something similar?
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Is adultery a sin between man and G-d or between man and man?
As we know, there are two types of sins: sins between man and man, and sins between man and G-d.
I used to think that adultery is a sin between man and man. However, reading Mishneh Torah, I ...
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Parnassah and Marriage: Rambam vs. The Lubavitcher Rebbe
Reading Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Human Dispositions 5:11, we stumble upon the following opinion:
The way of sensible people: A man should first select a permanent vocation out of which to derive a ...
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Numbering of Halachot in Mishneh Thora
Shalom
I am a Noahide studying publications concerning the Noahide covenant.
I have noticed that references to the Mishneh Torah by the Rambam always come with two different numbers for the Halacha, ...
user32507
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"Censorship" via not translating verses from the Torah - Rambam
In hilchot Tefillah (12:12) in the Mishneh Torah, the Rambam outlines certain passages in the Torah that a metargem is not allowed to translate in public. Seemingly, in the time of the Rambam, a ...
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Two commentaries on the ir ha-nidachat
The Chabad translation of Mishneh Torah includes an editor's note to Hilchot Avodat Kochavim 4 saying:
There is a unique dimension to the laws of an עיר הנדחת that is not
found in regard to any of ...
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Rambam Hilchot Melachim 10:9 Translation
I would like to share with you two different English translations of the same passage(s) from the above Halacha:
עַכּוּ''ם שֶׁעָסַק בַּתּוֹרָה חַיָּב מִיתָה. (...) וְאִם עָסַק בַּתּוֹרָה אוֹ שָׁבַת ...
user25706
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Righteous men in the Ir ha-nidachat
Rambam, in Hilchot Avodah Zarah 4:6, dealing with the subverted city, covers several scenarios:
If a minority of the city consists of idol-worshippers, they’re stoned and that’s it.
If a majority of ...
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Can a yeshiva be holier than Beis Hamikdosh?
Rambam in his Mishneh Torah (Prayer and the Priestly Blessing 11:14) states that a hall of study is holier than a synagogue.
This raises an interesting question if a hall of study can be holier than ...
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What is the point of confessing before the meal on Erev Yom Kippur according to the Rambam?
The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 2:7) writes that the reason why one should recite the Vidui on Erev Yom Kippur before the meal is that he might choke (heaven forbid) during the meal.
The question is: if ...
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Why does Rambam hil. Shiggagos 2:5 bring examples?
B"H
Rambam, in the book of Karbanos, laws of Shiggagos, chapter 2 law 5 says:
"5
If one inadvertently committed one transgression, but there are two persons involved and he is unaware of the ...
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Article of R. Dr. Twersky on Mishne Torah
Is R. Dr. Yitzchak Twersky's article: "Some Non-Halakhic Aspects of the Mishneh Torah," published in: Jewish Medieval and Renaissance Studies, ed. A. Altmann (Cambridge, 1967), pp. 95-118, available ...
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The twelve months not necessarily be observed? [closed]
According to various rabbinic sources, after an engagement twelve months (one year) must follow for effective coexistence (Nisuin): Talmud, mKetubot 5,2; 57b; mNedarin 10.5 but also Mishneh Torah, ...
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Ambiguity in the Rambam: Who Is Pursuing Whom?
The following has already been translated, but upon closer examination, something seems amiss:
אֲבָל יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּא עַל הַכּוּתִית ... כֵּיוָן שֶׁבָּא עַל הַכּוּתִית בְּזָדוֹן הֲרֵי זוֹ נֶהֱרֶגֶת ...
user18041