Rambam - The Great Commentator Quiz

Answer: Moses

Moses ben Maimon was more commonly referred to as Maimonides in English. In Hebrew, the acronym Rambam stands for Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, essentially meaning the same thing. Similarly, the Arabic version of his name was Abu 'Imran Musa bin Maimun bin 'Ubaidallah al-Qurtabi. This not only implies his lineage, but also gives him a family name.

Rambam was a prominent philosopher and scholar, not just in Jewish circles, but in Islamic and Arab circles, with which he was closely acquainted. Well-travelled, he learned from many people and cultures as he became one of the leading thinkers of his time.

Answer: Cordoba

The Rambam was born in 1138 in the Almoravid-controlled city of Córdoba. This was the time of the height of the Golden Age of Jewish culture in the area under the Almoravid Empire who, while they did not give equal rights to non-Muslim inhabitants, came pretty close to what was considered a fair and open citizenship for the Jews and Christians living in the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, the conditions were far better than in the Christian-controlled north, so many Jews came to live in Córdoba.

However, this Golden Age was going to be short-lived. The less-accommodating Almohad Caliphate took over the city and made life very difficult for all of the non-Muslims.

Answer: Fez

The Almohad Caliphate took over the city of Córdoba around 1148 CE and the dhimmi laws that protected the non-Muslims were gone overnight. This forced the Christians and the Jews to either choose to convert to Islam or face exile and leave the city. Those who chose to stay and not convert were put to death. Maimon, the family head, chose to move his family all over the south of the Iberian peninsula before making Fez, in Morocco, their home base.

It was there that the Rambam wrote his Mishnah (oral Torah) commentary, one that was very definitive and comprehensive.

Answer: Perplexed

"The Guide to the Perplexed" was a late 12th-century treatise that was written by the Rambam. He wrote it in Arabic in transliterated lettering into Hebrew script, since he was living in Egypt at the time. It was originally three letters that the Rambam wrote to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Yehuda ibn Shimon of Ceuta. In these teachings, the Rambam sought to solve the perplexing dichotomy between the Jewish believer and the rational man presented by Aristotle.

This book caught the eye of many thinkers and influenced much of the Western philosophy. It even caught the attention of Pope Honorius IV who published his reaction to it. Many of the reviews were mixed and it was only after years of studying the ideas expressed in it that many of the arguments were accepted, especially by Jewish theologians. In the book, however, the Rambam wrote that "My object in adopting this arrangement is that the truths should be at one time apparent and at another time concealed." He did not want to be the be-all and end-all; however, many agreed that this was "no ordinary book".

Answer: Strong

The "Mishneh Torah" is often considered to be the Rambam's 'magnum opus'. It is a monumental piece of work that was composed around 1175 CE. It has commentary not only on the Tanakh, but the Mishna (oral Torah) as well, and is clear and concise but very deep in its knowledge.

Its alternate name, "Book of the Strong Hand", is often thought to refer to the word for hand - 'yad' which in Hebrew is composed of two letters, yod and daled. In Hebrew numeracy, they add up to 14, which is the number of books the whole composition is broken up into. Amongst Biblical scholars, this is one of the most-cited works, and one of the most researched commentaries.

Answer: Physician

While the Rambam is probably best-known for his Biblical musings, he was also a very sage astronomer as well as a skilled doctor. Having studied medicine in Spain and Morocco, as well as Egypt, he was also self-taught and well-read in the writings of Greek physicians along with ancient Egyptian tomes on medicine. When in Egypt, the Rambam served as the court physician for al-Qadi al-Fadil, the vizier for the Sultan Saladin, and later as the personal physician for the Sultan himself.

The Rambam was so well-known for his medical abilities and the skill to treat the patient holistically as well as medically that when he would return home from his work at royal court, there would be a line waiting for him at his own house and he would treat those who came, to the point of his own exhaustion. It was said that he continued to see patients into Shabbat, the day of rest. It is amazing that in that time, he never ceased to compose his commentaries and philosophies.

Answer: Drowned in the Indian Sea

David ben Maimon was the youngest brother of the Rambam. He fancied himself a trader, and the Rambam supported him financially and spiritually, also having been his teacher and mentor in the ways of the religion. On a journey to Sudan to seek out goods, David ben Maimon sought better offerings after he inspected the wares in the port of 'Aydhab. Instead of waiting, David ben Maimon boarded a ship bound for India in the hopes of bringing back something more exotic. The ship went down along the way and David ben Maimon drowned.

The loss of his brother affected the Rambam greatly. By his own account, he was in a state of depression for a year after hearing the news and was still moved even eight years after the incident. The Rambam also lost a significant part of his wealth and his family's, and David also left behind his widow and a daughter that needed to be cared for.

Answer: False

The Rambam was very scientific in his beliefs and and writings. He authored many medical texts on topics (amongst others) from hemorrhoids to asthma to aphrodisiacs to poisons (in which he was particularly interested). He also wrote at length about the power of logic and science and referenced many great works from Greek and Roman thinkers to Arabic masters of the region and history.

On the subject of astrology, however, the Rambam was unimpressed and even disdainful. The topic of astrology was ridiculed and the study of it was looked down upon. He wrote "that it is not proper for a man to accept as trustworthy anything other than one of these three things":
1) Things that can be proven scientifically or logically.
2) Things that can be perceived through the five senses.
3) Things that one hears from prophets or righteous (honourable) people.

Astrology, according to the Rambam, fit in none of these three categories.

Answer: Thirteen

The Rambam created what he believed were "the fundamental truths of our religion and its very foundations." These were written down pretty early on in the philosophical musings of the Rambam, however, he did not write them down in his later tractates, so historians wonder whether he recanted from them or expected that they were so profound, he did not need to repeat them. In any case, they create the basis for absolute belief (in Judaism).

They are, according to www.chabad.org:

1. Belief in the existence of the Creator, who is perfect in every manner of existence and is the Primary Cause of all that exists.
2. The belief in God's absolute and unparalleled unity.
3. The belief in God's non-corporeality, nor that He will be affected by any physical occurrences, such as movement, or rest, or dwelling.
4. The belief in God's eternity.
5. The imperative to worship God exclusively and no foreign false gods.
6. The belief that God communicates with man through prophecy.
7. The belief in the primacy of the prophecy of Moses our teacher.
8. The belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
9. The belief in the immutability of the Torah.
10. The belief in God's omniscience and providence.
11. The belief in divine reward and retribution.
12. The belief in the arrival of the Messiah and the messianic era.
13. The belief in the resurrection of the dead.

Answer: Tiberias (Israel)

In the early 13th century there were four cities that were considered important to Jewry in the Land of Israel. Jerusalem, Safed, Hebron, and Tiberias were all centers of Jewish thinking in the area of the ancient Holy Land. After he passed away on Devember 12, 1204, the Rambam wished to be buried in Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of the Galilee. After lying briefly in the synagogue in Fustat, his remains were taken to Tiberias and a tomb was erected there.

The tomb itself is a tourist attraction and an important pilgrimage site. The land was bought in 1920 by a Jewish Rabbi and, years later, a metal crown-like structure was raised above the tomb.