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).
71 questions from the last 365 days
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Why isn't Tefillin stressed more spiritually than physically
The Torah says in Deuteronomy 6:8 "וּקְשַׁרְתָּ֥ם לְא֖וֹת עַל־יָדֶ֑ךָ וְהָי֥וּ לְטֹטָפֹ֖ת בֵּ֥ין עֵינֶֽיךָ׃
" but why is the main emphasis in our culture nowadays about the physical Tefillin?...
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Why should one be immediately replaced if he messed up during the brocho of heretics?
B"H
The Rambam laws of Tefillah chapter 10 halacha 3 writes
ג שְׁלִיחַ צִבּוּר שֶׁטָּעָה וְנִבְהַל וְלֹא יָדַע מֵהֵיכָן יַתְחִיל
וְשָׁהָה שָׁעָה יַעֲמֹד אַחֵר תַּחְתָּיו. וְאִם טָעָה בְּבִרְכַּת
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Is encouraging aliyah to Israel a mitzvah?
Thank God we have a Jewish State. The Rambam notes the importance of living in Israel "even in a city of majority gentiles, and shouldn't live in a city outside of Israel even with a majority of ...
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Does Hashem still consider the past sins of a convert which did Teshuvah? [closed]
Shalom,
As a prospective convert, who learns Moshe Maimonides teachings, I am confused about the language he uses about responsibility for the past actions. Specifically, if a Catholic Christian ...
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Belief in Teshuvah being a prerequisite
Somebody told me that the Rambam says that belief in the idea of Teshuvah is a prerequisite to Teshuvah itself. Can anyone source this?
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The Chazon Ish Suggests that the Rambam Sometimes Omits Laws that Aren't Explicitly Stated in Talmud - yet, per Rambam, his M"T is one-stop-shopping?
Per the Chazon Ish, the Rambam in the Mishna Torah doesn't necessarily include in his code those things that aren't expressly stated in the Talmud. In other words, the Rambam could hold of a certain ...
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Rambam and a non-Jew receiving Prophecy or Ruach Hakodesh?
Can anyone tell which of the Rambam works where he says, a non-Jew can receive Prophecy and Ruach Hakodesh? I may be thinking of the Tanya which is not by Rambam.
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How does Devarim 28:68 jive with the opinion that positive public prophecies are never reversed?
Midrash Tanchuma (cited in Rashi to Yirmiyahu 28:7) and Rambam (hakdamah to peirush hamishnah) are of the opinion that only negative public and positive private prophecies can become undone with the ...
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Will there be Sanhedrin in Messianic Times?
Following my back-and-forth with @RabbiKaii I suddenly realized that the reinstitution of a functioning Sanherdin is not mentioned in Rambam's vision of the Messianic times (Hil. Melachim 11.1 and on)....
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Optional personal requests in prayers according to Rambam
Following "Praying-for-too-many-people".
In my understanding, Rambam had a peculiar and somewhat unorthodox view of God's immutability and inability to be influenced by our Earthly prayers. ...
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The Mitzva to Know Hashem = get to know Him. Diyyuk in Mishneh Torah?
I once heard Rabbi Manis Friedman Shlita prove, from the wording or some other clever diyuk, in the first perek of Mishneh Torah, that the Mitzva of (paraphrased) "knowing that there is a first ...
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Is there Maamar Tekhiyat HaMetim from the Rambam online version in English?
BH
Hi, do they have Maamar Techiyat HaMeitim by the Rambam somewhere online?
This is the Hebrew version https://www.sefaria.org/Iggerot_HaRambam%2C_Maamar_Tekhiyat_HaMetim.1?lang=bi&with=all&...
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What is the source of Rambam's cosmology?
In the Mishneh Torah third section of Yesodei a geocentric world is described with a number of spheres containing stars that revolve around the Earth due to the motion of the spheres that contain them....
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For Rambam, is the explanation of Nach considered Torah shebi’al peh?
Rambam starts off his intro to MT as follows:
כׇּל הַמִּצְוֹת שֶׁנִּתְּנוּ לוֹ לְמֹשֶׁה בְּסִינַי בְּפֵרוּשָׁן נִתְּנוּ. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן וְהַתּוֹרָה וְהַמִּצְוָה. ...
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Rambam's explanation of eclipses
Following "did-chazal-know-what-caused-eclipses".
In MT, Foundations of the Torah.3.1 and Guide for the Perplexed 1.72, Rambam adapts Ptolemaic geocentrism and Aristotelian view of the ...
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Is there a list of all the sources Rav Moshe Ben Maimon takes his halachot from in the Yad Chazakah (Mishneh Torah)? [duplicate]
I am learning the Yad Chazakah (also known as the Mishneh Torah). I want to study the sources each halakha is taken from and attempt to get in the mind of Rav Moshe Ben Maimon and see if I can ...
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Is there an English translation of Rambam's perush hamishnah?
I am aware of individual masechtos that have been rendered into English however I am unaware of any systematic translation effort of Maimonides' entire commentary on the mishnah.
Does it exist?
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Reconciling Maimonides' Interpretation of Theodicy in the Book of Job: Eliphaz vs. Elihu
A question has been on my mind, and I would appreciate your opinion.
While studying chapter 23 of the third book of the Moreh Nevukhim, Rambam (Maimonides) seems to acknowledge the traditional view of ...
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Rambam's endorsement of the Aleppo Codex
The wiki article on the Aleppo Codex (here) suggests that the Rambam endorsed its text: "[Rambam] described it as a text trusted by all Jewish scholars". However, following some of the ...
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On the Rambam's view on funding Torah scholars
Maimonides rejected the notion that Jews must help financially other Jews to study Torah:
All this is wrong. There is not a single word, either in the Torah or in what the Sages said, to lend ...
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Sefer of Talmudic Laws that were omitted by the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch
Not to be confused with the following question, which deals with the obligation to follow laws that are mentioned in the Talmud but are not mentioned in the [Rambam and] Shulchan Aruch.
If a law is in ...
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Where does Rambam say: "The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision"?
BH
Hi according to https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/maimonides-quotes
Rambam said the quote “The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.”
Where does he say this though?
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Rambam’s source for crown of Priesthood
In Mishnei Torah Hilchot Talmud Torah chapter 3 Halacha 1 the Rambam writes:
בִּשְׁלשָׁה כְּתָרִים נִכְתְּרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל. כֶּתֶר תּוֹרָה וְכֶתֶר
כְּהֻנָּה וְכֶתֶר מַלְכוּת. כֶּתֶר כְּהֻנָּה זָכָה ...
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Can someone please translate the Rambam's commentary on Perkei Avot 1:6
ומה טוב מאמר אריסטוטלוס האהוב אחד הוא והאוהבים ג' מינים אוהב תועלת אוהב מנוחה ואוהב מעלה אמנם אוהב תועלת כאהבת שני השותפים ואהבת המלך ומחנהו ואמנם אוהב מנוחה הוא ב' מינים אוהב הנאה ואוהב בטחון אמנם ...
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Per the Rambam, why does the borrower who repaid interest not receive lashes?
The Rambam (מלוה ולוה 4:1) explains why, despite when borrowing and lending with interest one transgresses a לאו, one does not receive lashes -
אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהַמַּלְוֶה וְהַלּוֶֹה עוֹבְרִין עַל ...
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Rambam: Thou Shalt Not Be an Idiot
According to this article:
I think racism violates some important meta-principles of the Torah,
particularly the thinking of Maimonides, for whom there is a 614th
commandment, Thou Shalt Not Be an ...
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What kind of marriages was the Rambam thinking of?
Mishnah Torah, Hilchot Biah, 12:1 speaks of “derech ishut” and 12:14 speaks of “derech chatnut.” How does the halacha understand these terms? Sources appreciated.
Note: The translation by Rabbi ...
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Does the Torah contain a reference to atheism, or not?
B"H
Do the verses in Tehillim: "the fool says in his heart there is no G-d (אלוקים)" (Tehillim 14:1, 53:2) refer to one who denies the Creator entirely, or only one who denies the "...
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Where is the Rambam buried? [closed]
I've heard different reports as to where Maimonides is buried. Where is his Kever located? I've seen videos saying that he's buried outside of Israel.
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Is it possible to know the exact number of seconds since the creation of the universe?
B"H
In Rambam hilchos kiddush hachodesh 6:8 he gives a "beginning time" to calculate the day of the week in any time afterwards that the moon will appear. He later says that we're not ...
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What are the laws of workers
BH
Hi I know that there are certain laws of avadim (slaves) for example how a Jew should be merciful, etc, when having avadim, although now that slavery is highly not accepted around most areas of the ...
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Rambam and Minhagim
Going through Mishneh Torah, it is clear that Rambam brings down relatively few minhagim (especially as compared to the Tur and Shulchan Aruch etc). What determines whether or not Rambam will codify a ...
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What is the source for "in the place where baalei teshuva stands, complete tzadikim are not ABLE to stand"?
B"H
The Rambam in hilchos teshuva 7:4 says:
אָמְרוּ חֲכָמִים מָקוֹם שֶׁבַּעֲלֵי תְּשׁוּבָה עוֹמְדִין אֵין
צַדִּיקִים גְּמוּרִין יְכוֹלִין לַעֲמֹד בּוֹ. כְּלוֹמַר מַעֲלָתָן
גְּדוֹלָה מִמַּעֲלַת ...
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Where does the Rebbe write that Rambam was a mekubal
BH
I heard the Rebbi mi Lubavich (Rebbi) said Rambam was a mekubal. Where does he say this?
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Where to find a PRINTED edition of משנה תורה with Yemenite punctuation?
I am familiar with the well-regarded מפעל edition according to כתבי יד תימנים, but it nevertheless uses standard נקוד,
for example:
שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר rather than שֶׁנֶּאֱמָר, and
לְפִיכָךְ rather than ...
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Why doesn't the Rambam disqualify Yushkuh as Moshiach because he's not descended from King David?
B"H
The Rambam writes:
4 If a king will arise from the House of David who diligently
contemplates the Torah and observes its mitzvot as prescribed by the
Written Law and the Oral Law as David, ...
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Does Rambam Rule that the Moshiach ben Yosef Concept Does Not Exist?
I'm currently in a discussion with a non-smicha guy who's publicly teaching these claims that the Rambam Absolutely and Halachically rejects the entire concept of the Messiah son of Yosef just because ...
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Why is a doubtful eruv of bein hashamashos and nightfall ok, if b"hs itself is a doubtful status?
B"H
In the Rambam, hilchos Eiruvin chapter 1 halacha 21, it's said that the Eiruvin chatzeirus food has to be able to be eaten during the entire being hashamashos --twilight time; however, if it ...
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Rambam contradiction
Rambam in Hilchot Issurei Biah 22:18 says that there’s nothing more hard for most of the nation to keep than the Arayot commandments. Around that same area, he also quotes a Gemara that says that “...
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Jews crying when getting Arayot mitzvah
Rambam in Hilchot Issurei Biah writes that when the Jews got the commandments regarding all the forbidden relationships, they cried. Where does he get this from?
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Is the order of the Torah part of the principles of faith?
According to my understanding of Rambam's 8th of his 13 principles of faith it is necessary to believe that the Torah as we currently have it is exactly what was told to Moshe by God. From what I ...
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How can "Lo Sasur" be used as a primary source for the power of rabbinic legislation?
The context of "Lo Sasur" is that when the law isn't clear the kohanim (and the shofet) at the mikdash are the final authority. See Devarim 17:8-11
(ח) כִּי יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ דָבָר ...
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Deeper meanings for closed and open passages in the torah
B"H
The Rambam in the laws of Sefer Torah chapter 8 halacha 4 lists all of the "open" and "closed" passages in the Torah.
Are there any commentaries anywhere that discuss any ...
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Where in the works of Maimonides does he address how to deal with apparent contradictions between halakha and empirical facts?
Maimonides’ view is that halakha is teleological (see for example Guide III, 27,31) e.g. some laws are to promote societal wellbeing, correct moral beliefs, etc. Where in his works does he deal with ...
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Where in his works does Maimonides address how to understand אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים and the nature of makhloket more broadly (besides intro to PhM)?
Given what Maimonides says in his introduction to his Commentary on the Mishnah (Perush ha-Mishnayot) it seems like he is not a pluralist when it comes to truth in a makhloket (halakhic debate). He ...
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What kinds of statues does the Rambam mean we shouldn't put our mouths on?
B"H
In hilchos avodas kochavim chapter 3 halacha 8 the Rambam says:
8 A person should not place his mouth over the mouths of statues which
serve as fountains that are located before false ...
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What is the "necessary existence", and what makes it "necessary"?
B"H
Often times regarding the first halacha of Yesodei Hatorah chapter 1, I hear from different people that the Rambam is discussing the concept of G-d as a "necessary existence" as ...
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Would the Exodus generation not have entered Canaan/spent years in the desert irrespective of sin?
R Avraham ibn Ezra and Rambam both posit that the Israelite slaves that left Egypt were not upto the task of war and needed to die out and be replaced with more courageous progeny (ibn Ezra) and/or ...
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According to Rambam, does rape fall within the Noahide prohibition against theft or not?
I am an Italian Noahide.
In Mishneh Torah-Hilchot Melachim 9:9, Rambam says (English translation by Tav Eliyahu Touger):
"A Noahide is liable for violating the prohibition against theft whether ...
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Does God care about individual animals?
Rambam writes in all his major Jewish works (PH, MT and MN) that if God cared about individual animals He wouldn't allow us to slaughter them for food.
He writes that the pesukim that reflect divine ...
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