Maimonides(1135 — 1204)

Written in Judeo-Arabic, this systematic commentary on the Mishnah made Jewish oral law accessible to a wide audience. It contains the famous Thirteen Principles of Faith, a summary of the doctrinal foundations of Judaism.

A fourteen-volume legal code written in clear Hebrew, covering the entirety of Jewish law in a systematic manner. A masterpiece of rabbinic codification, it remains to this day a fundamental reference in halakhic law.

A major philosophical work written in Judeo-Arabic, it reconciles Aristotelian philosophy (as transmitted by Averroes and Al-Farabi) with Jewish theology. Translated into Hebrew and then into Latin, the book profoundly influenced Thomas Aquinas and the entire medieval scholastic tradition.

A pastoral letter addressed to the Jewish communities of Yemen facing persecution and dangerous messianic movements. It bears witness to Maimonides' moral authority and his international reach.

A response to accusations from those who charged him with neglecting the dogma of bodily resurrection in his Guide. Maimonides clarifies his thinking and defends the compatibility between philosophical reason and traditional faith.

One of his ten medical treatises, written at the request of an Ayyubid prince suffering from respiratory difficulties. He advocates a holistic approach combining healthy lifestyle habits, proper diet, and natural remedies.

An ethical treatise integrated into his Commentary on the Mishnah, inspired by Aristotelian moral philosophy. Maimonides sets out his doctrine of the golden mean and the conditions for the perfection of the human soul.

The object of this treatise is to enlighten a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our Law, whose soul is upright, and whose intelligence has been sharpened by the philosophical sciences.

I saw the need to compose a work gathering all the oral laws, the ordinances, the customs and the decrees instituted from Moses to the compilation of the Talmud, so that all men might know them clearly.

Know, my brethren, that the great and terrible trial you are enduring has no equivalent in the history of Israel since the time of the Dispersion. Be steadfast and courageous for the name of God.

Change of air is the simplest and most effective remedy for diseases of the lungs. If you wish to heal, flee the smoky cities and their miasmas, and seek the pure air of the heights.

When you were with me, I had decided not to expound these questions to you orally, for fear that they might fall into the hands of unworthy persons. It is now that you are far away that I write you this book.

Maimonides' birthplace, Córdoba was in the 12th century one of the greatest intellectual centers of the Mediterranean world, where Jewish, Arab, and Christian cultures coexisted. The Almohad conquest of 1148 brought this golden age to an end and forced his family into exile.

Maimonides' family spent several years in Fez, then a major intellectual metropolis of the Maghreb. It was there that the young Maimonides deepened his knowledge of medicine, astronomy, and Arabo-Greek philosophy.

Maimonides settled permanently in Fustat around 1166 and spent the rest of his life there. It was in this cosmopolitan city, the economic and intellectual capital of Fatimid and then Ayyubid Egypt, that he wrote nearly all of his major works.

According to tradition, Maimonides' body was transported from Egypt to Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, to be buried there. His tomb has since been a major pilgrimage site for Jews from around the world.

Maimonides passed through Alexandria when settling in Egypt and was well acquainted with this city, heir to the great Hellenistic intellectual tradition. His writings reflect a thorough knowledge of Greek texts preserved in the Alexandrian libraries.