Questions tagged [rambam]

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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Is there salvation from ignorance?

How is the relationship between people who had open experiences with God or with his manifestations in relation to those who had nothing? Will God treat them differently when it comes to their ...
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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, ...
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The Rambam Titling the Halachos of Pesach "״הלכות חמץ ומצה

I opened up the Yad today on Hilchos Pesach and was taken aback on Rambam's choice of words for the title : "״הלכות חמץ ומצה. Firstly, why is the Rambam putting the Halachos of the seder (...
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What's the difference between a Minhag and a takkanah [duplicate]

What is the difference between a Minhag and Takkanah? I know for example Rav Gershoms takkanah that a man is not allowed to divorce a woman against her own will is a Takkanah what's the difference ...
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Are there accounts detailing personal encounters with the Rambam and referring to his personality?

The Rambam, at least in his writing, is often forthright, reassured and direct. It seems to me that sometimes the Rambam can be construed as disparaging of certain groups of people. For example (...
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Maimonides´ Ontology of Thought

Shalom, I did some background research on the RaMBaM for my BA Thesis and remember that there has been one source that stated something quite platonic that for him having correct abstracted thought of ...
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Perplexing section of Moreh Nevuchim

The Rambam writes in Moreh Nevuchim: Prefatory Remarks/Directions for the Study of this Work (numbering mine): (1) ואני משביע באלהי יתברך כל מי שיקרא מאמרי זה שלא יפרש ממנו אפילו דבר אחד, ולא יבאר ...
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Theological issues to certain brachot

According to Rambam in Mishneh Torah but especially in Moreh Nevuchim, and many other Jewish Philosophers, when the Torah uses any words to describe Hashem, they are just a mashal, i.e. it is just ...
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What if one chos vishalom accidentally kills someone right before techias hameisim?

B"H The Rambam in Hilchos rotzeiach 7:9-12 discuss how one who accidentally kills someone and is exiled to a city of refuge never leaves, until the Kohen Gadol passes away. The question is, what ...
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any groups that only follow Rambam?

Are there any Jewish groups that consider the works of the Rambam as doctrinally relevant? Meaning they elevate his decisions above those of others, such as those of yosef karo?
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What do the Kanfei HaOkets look like?

So from what I understand in the Rambam Sefer Kedusha Hilchot MaAchalot Asurot Halacha 3 it says if you find an animal which you can't check if its kosher by checking it's mouth to see if it chews it'...
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Does Ramban's 8th principle require holding the Masoretic Text to be perfectly preserved? [duplicate]

If Rambam's 8th principle is accepted, is it neccessary to hold that the Masoretic Text is perfectly preserved, and superior to the Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint in all cases where there are ...
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Mitzvah to learn “day and night” - what are the time parameters?

The Rambam writes in Hilchos Talmud Torah: כָּל אִישׁ מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל חַיָּב בְּתַלְמוּד תּוֹרָה בֵּין עָנִי בֵּין עָשִׁיר בֵּין שָׁלֵם בְּגוּפוֹ בֵּין בַּעַל יִסּוּרִין בֵּין בָּחוּר בֵּין שֶׁהָיָה ...
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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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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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Why does Rambam mention cities of refuge in separate halacha than Bilaam etc.?

B"H The Rambam in the beginning of the laws of kings chapter 11 brings the proofs from the Torah for how we know Moshiach. The first proof is a verse from the Torah saying Hashem will "...
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According to Rambam, where do the souls of the righteous dwell in the period between the death of their bodies and the resurrection?

I am an Italian Noahide. If I have understood correctly, Rambam affirms that the resurrection of the dead is reserved only for the righteous, who, after being resurrected, will live a long and joyful ...
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Rambam’s view on sleep applying nowadays?

The Rambam states that when falling asleep, one should start off sleeping on his left side, and then switch to the right eventually, and then just rotate between those two positions for the entire ...
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Children of Israel being crowned with the crown of Torah - Messianic Era

The Rambam in his Hilchos Talmud Torah 3:1 says: The crown of Torah is set aside, waiting, and ready for each Jew, as [implied by Deuteronomy 33:4]: "The Torah which Moses commanded us is the ...
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What is ma'amad sh'loshtan and where in Rambam is it defined?

In Sheluchin veShuttafin 3:7 (also other places in Rambam) ma'amad sh'loshtan is mentioned The only way a person can transfer ownership of a debt is through a ma'amad sh'loshtan - which is a dictate ...
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Looking for a quote from the Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim

I heard in a shiur that the Rambam in his Moreh Nevuchim writes that when one asks you a fundamental question about your religion, you will not be able to give a concise answer due to the fact that ...
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Rambam's example for teshuva

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuva 2:1: For example, a person engaged in illicit sexual relations with a woman. Afterwards, they met in privacy, in the same country, while his love for her and ...
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Apparently contradicting passages of the Mishneh Torah

I would like to have, if possible, a clarification of two passages of the Mishneh Torah in apparent contradiction. In Sefer Nashim, Hilchot Ishut 3,11 Rambam expressly speaks of a lawful consecration ...
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Limud HaRambam by all Yidden

Do non-Lubavitchers learn Rambam (any of the cycles divided by the Rebbe)? I know that when the Rebbe launched the campaign he intended that all Yidden join. How did that come about?
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Rambam and lightning

I have heard that the Rambam paskens that one should make a bracha of ״בורא מאורי האש״ on seeing lightning. I know the Rambam says in hilchos brachos (10:14) that one should make the bracha we’re used ...
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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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Rambam's MT chapters without Biblical founding Mitzvhas

IIRC, The 14 books of MT are all based on Rambam's systematization of the 613 Mitzvos. Most chapters start with the list of the founding Mitzvos from which the rest of the Halochos follow. For example,...
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Question on this Rambam

"If, by contrast, a Jewish male enters into relations with a gentile woman, when he does so intentionally, she should be executed. She is executed because she caused a Jew to be involved in an ...
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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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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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Non-Jewish G-dly Souls

Can the contrasting views of non-Jewish soul from Maimonides and from Kabbalah be reconciled? Maimonides is quite explicit that all human beings have the potential for a G-dly soul, which is manifest ...
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Maimonides mentioning Esav

I am trying to find a source where Maimonides allegedly says that there are no parts of the Torah that are any holier than the other. That the passages transmitting the Ten Commandments are just as ...
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Where are the "many times" (פעמים רבות) referred to by Maimonides in his commentary on Mishnah Sotah 3:4? Which statement of בן עזאי?

The Mishnah Sotah 3:4 states: אֵינָהּ מַסְפֶּקֶת לִשְׁתּוֹת עַד שֶׁפָּנֶיהָ מוֹרִיקוֹת וְעֵינֶיהָ בּוֹלְטוֹת וְהִיא מִתְמַלֵּאת גִּידִין, וְהֵם אוֹמְרִים הוֹצִיאוּהָ הוֹצִיאוּהָ, שֶׁלֹּא תְטַמֵּא ...
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Rape perpetrated by an adult male towards a girl under three years of age: halachic framework

In his Mishneh Torah -Issurei Biah 1:13, Rambam states that if a male copulates with a girl under the age of three,also the male,even if he was an adult, is exempt from liability, for the act is not ...
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Rambam and R' Yehuda Halevi

Is there any evidence that Rambam was familiar with the writings of R' Yehuda Halevi? The more concrete the better.
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What's the Halachic status of the Moshiach and "presumed to be the Moshiach"?

"If a king should arise from the House of David who is versed in Torah and engages in Commandments, ... and he enjoins all of Israel to follow in its ways and encourages them to repair its ...
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Rambam's Mishneh Torah - Is a female pure after relations with a minor/gentile/animal?

In Rambam's Mishneh Torah, She'ar Avot haTum'ah, 5:19, it is written: "גְּדוֹלָה שֶׁשָּׁכַב אוֹתָהּ קָטָן פָּחוֹת מִבֶּן תֵּשַׁע [אוֹ עַכּוּ''ם אוֹ בְּהֵמָה] הֲרֵי זוֹ טְהוֹרָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר [(...
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Number of times Rosh, Rif, Rambam are quoted in Shulchan Aruch

It is known that the author of the Beis Yosef and Shulchan Aruch based his codes on the rulings of the Rosh, Rif and Rambam, and ruled according to the majority of the three. I was wondering to what ...
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Rav Kapach's commentary on the eighth chapter of Rambam's Mishneh Torah-Hilchot Teshuvah

I am an Italian ben Noach. In the discussion Does Rambam hold of eternal punishment? I have read, in the user Alex's message, that according to Rav Kapah Rambam, in the eighth chapter of the Hilchot ...
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Source for Rambam sourcing his writings

Partially related. I have heard a number of times over the years that everything the Rambam wrote was based on some source that he had before him, and therefore when he writes something that we don't ...
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The rite of the Red Heiffer and commentary by Moses Ben Maimon

The rite of the Red Heifer (Numbers 19:2-10) seems to me to be magic. Is my understanding incorrect? Does Moses Ben Maimon have a comment on this topic? Thank you
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Tzafenas Paneach and the conversion of Rus

I heard in a shiur once that Rus' and her sister Orpa's conversion to Judaism was pending. Meaning, when they married Na'ami's sons, they converted. However, since they converted for marriage, it was ...
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Where did Maimonides learn specific Issurey Biah from?

In the Mishnneh Torah, Issurei Biah 1:13 there is a law that does not punish a man who has had forbidden sexual relations with a girl who is under three years of age: "כָּל אִשָּׁה אֲסוּרָה ...
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Contemporary views on the Rambam's diet guide

People say that some of Rambam's laws on health are inaccurate in today's era, because of the body change throughout the generations, and that today some foods are good while they used to be bad and ...
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Betrothal without witnesses? [duplicate]

According to rabbis Walter Jacob and Moshe Zemer (1932-211), engagement through sexual intercourse did not require witnesses, it was sufficient a declaration of the will to marry the woman: "...
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Is this quote really from the Rambam?

Some non-Jewish sources on the internet (eg here) attribute the following quote to the Rambam: Teach thy tongue to say, “I do not know,” and thou shalt progress Does anyone have a source for this?
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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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How do we know the Rambam is so exact?

There are many yeshiva systems and darchei halimud (most famously Brisk) who analyze the Rambam "k'chut hasa'arah" - that is to say, exacting to the point that if the Rambam uses one word, ...
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Scan Mishneh Torah

I'm looking a scan (photo) of paper (Mishneh Torah, Sefer Nashim, Ishut 3,11) translated by the rabbi Rabbi Eliyahu Touger. Can someone please send me this page? I need it for a translation comparison-...
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Did Rambam ever refer to the 13 Principles in his other works?

Rambam lists the 13 Principles as the beliefs which measure one's merits for the world to come, and he writes it as an elaboration of the Mishnaic statement: "All of the Jewish people, have a ...
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