The Jewish advance. (Chicago, Ill.) 1878-1881, 1880-12-24
MainOnideS.

of all the galaxy Of genius that adorn-
ed the Jewish literature of the Middle
ages, Maimonides alone has attained to
something more than local fame. Not
only is he known to all Jews Chiefly un-
der the abbreviated name of 'Rambam'O,
but his name has been current among
all Christian students of theology ever
since his death (1204). The great
scholastics refer with great respect to
r.. Moyses ex Egypto', and adopted
his views Of prophecy. His Moreh was
early translated into Latin, and two diff
ferent versions were printed in the six
teenth and seventeenth centuries, and
from the latter of the two, by Buxtorf,
Leibnitz conceived high idea of Mai
monides' philosophic powers. Even at
the present day, some clergymen with
just enough of learning to misquote are
fond of referring to the commentaries
of Maimonides on the Bible which exist
only in their imagination. What are the
causes Of this Widespread reputa ION.
They are not far to seek. Maimol aes
has had more influence on Jews rhal
any single man ever had on any oth.r
nation. A Justinian may fix the lsws
Of his nation, or an Aquinas may Baf.
mine the principles of 2 religious isa,to,
but Maimonides alone has been both the
Justinian and Aqunas of his race. lie
ran ks as the highest authority boeh IA
faith and practice, in law and doctuae
This is his unique position in tn bs-
tory of Judaism. Very soon afte7 the
completion of the Talmud, the need s-
came felt OF some systematic accom-
the legal decisions embedded II rs
pages. Besides it's legal enact
ments, the Talmud contai
mass of stories and legenus,
and moral aphorisms which have no
binding force as law, and it becomes
necessary to separate the Halacha or
Law from the llagada or historical ele-
ment This was attempted in various
forms, the "Sheelthoth', or questions
and answers arranged in connection
with the Pentateuch, the 'Hahachoth
Gedoloth,", or 613 precepts, and in
more complete form by r. Isaac Alfasi
(known as the "Rif). But ali these
were completely thrown into the shade
Mishna Torah', which arranged the
laws in logical order, and expounded
them IN clear and classic Hebrew He
had prepared himself for this by his
Commentary on the Mishna, which oc-
cupied him from the age Of % till he was
30, and then, after pause Of five years,
devoted ten years of his life Q170--
1850 to the compilation of his greater
work, also known as the "Yad Hacha-
zaka" or Strong Hand" The Mishna
Torah had remained the Corpus Juris
Judatci, and the "Shulchan Aruch"
which rules the Jewish observances of
to-day q } is in the main founded on it.
Thus the work of Maimonides in law
guides Jewish practice in all lands at
the present day {! }. This in itself
would appear to be enough work for
a lifetime But his restless ac-
tivity sought for new fields to
conquer, and he devoted the remand
er of his life to the study of philosophy
and theology. He had already given
proofs of his capacity for speculation
in the Introductory book Of the "Yad
Hachazaka" on knowledge. This deals
with the nature Of God, nature and man
in brief but mastery outline. From his
commentary on the Mishna we obtain
the Thirteen Principles of Judaism
given IN all the prayer books, OF. which
the llglal Is but a yersitication. His
masterpiece in these lines however, is
ms Moreh Nebuchim' or Guide to
the Perplexed between the claims of
faith and reason. In this, as we'll as in
his legal labors, he was not without pre-
decessors; he comes after long bead
roll of ancient Jewish thinkers from
Saadja downwards But the 'Moreh"
surpassed all previous works in infu-
ence, and if it did not so completely
eclipse them, as his legal masterpiece