The Mishneh Torah (Hebrew Extinct as a regularly spoken language by the 4th century CE, but survived as a liturgical and literary language; revived in the 1880s: משנה תורה‎, "Repetition of the Torah") subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה "Book of the Strong Hand,") is a code A Code is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the code was enacted, by a process of codification. Though the process and motivations for codification are similar in common law and civil law systems, their usage is different. In a civil law country, of Jewish Judaism is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people. Judaism, originating in the Hebrew Bible and explored in later texts such as the Talmud, is considered by Jews to be the expression of the covenantal relationship God developed with the Children of Israel. According to traditional Rabbinic Judaism, God revealed religious law In some religions, law can be thought of as the ordering principle of reality; knowledge as revealed by a God defining and governing all human affairs. Law, in the religious sense, also includes codes of ethics and morality which are upheld and required by the God. Examples include customary Halakha and Hindu law, and to an extent, Sharia (Islamic (Halakha Halakha — also transliterated Halocho (Ashkenazic Hebrew pronunciation) and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions) authored by Maimonides Moses Maimonides, also known as Rambam, was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher; one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. He was born in Córdoba, Spain on Passover Eve, 1135, and died in Egypt on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204. He worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. With the contemporary Muslim (Rabbi The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. In more recent centuries, the duties of the rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian Minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th century Moshe ben Maimon, also known as RaMBaM or "Rambam"), one of history's foremost rabbis. The Mishneh Torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 (4930-4940), while Maimonides was living in Egypt Egypt (pronounced /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ; Arabic: مصر‎ Miṣr, pronounced [misˤɾ] ( listen); Arabic: مِصْر Miṣr [ˈmisˤɾ]; Egyptian Arabic: مَصْر Maṣr [ˈmɑsˤɾ]; Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, kīmi; Egyptian: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 Kemet), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula, and is regarded as Maimonides' magnum opus. Accordingly, later sources simply refer to the work as "Maimon", "Maimonides" or "RaMBaM", although Maimonides composed other works.

Mishneh Torah consists of fourteen books, subdivided into sections, chapters, and paragraphs. It is the only Medieval The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in-era work that details all of Jewish observance, including those laws that are only applicable when the Holy Temple The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures located on the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Historically, two temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of ancient Jewish worship. According to classical Jewish belief, the Temple acted as the figurative "footstool" of God's is in existence, and remains an important work in Judaism.

Its title is an appellation originally used for the Biblical book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy or Devarim (Hebrew: דְּבָרִים‎, literally "things" or "words") is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fifth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch, and its subtitle, "Book of the Strong Hand," derives from its subdivision into fourteen books: the numerical value fourteen, when represented as the Hebrew letters Yod (10) Dalet (4), forms the word yad ("hand").[1]

Maimonides intended to provide a complete statement of the Oral Law, so that a person who mastered first the Written Torah The term Torah , also known as the Pentateuch (Greek: Πεντάτευχος from πεντα- penta- [five] and τεῦχος teuchos [tool, vessel, book]), refers to the Five Books of Moses—the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts. A "Sefer Torah" (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, "book of Torah") or and then the Mishneh Torah would be in no need of any other book. Contemporary reaction was mixed, with strong and immediate opposition focusing on the absence of sources and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the Talmud The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history. Maimonides responded to these criticisms, and the Mishneh Torah endures as an influential work in Jewish religious thought. According to several authorities,[2] a decision may not be rendered in opposition to a view of Maimonides, even where he apparently militated against the sense of a Talmudic passage, for in such cases the presumption was that the words of the Talmud were incorrectly interpreted. Likewise: "One must follow Maimonides even when the latter opposed his teachers, since he surely knew their views, and if he decided against them he must have disapproved their interpretation."[2]

Contents

Origin, sources, and language

Maimonides sought brevity and clarity in his Mishneh Torah and, as in his Commentary on the Mishnah, he refrained from detailing his sources, considering it sufficient to name his sources in the preface. He drew upon the Torah The term Torah , also known as the Pentateuch (Greek: Πεντάτευχος from πεντα- penta- [five] and τεῦχος teuchos [tool, vessel, book]), refers to the Five Books of Moses—the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts. A "Sefer Torah" (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, "book of Torah") or and the rest of Tanakh The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah ("Teaching", also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im ("Prophets&, both Talmuds The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism, in the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history, Tosefta The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah, and the halachic Midrashim, principally Sifra Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" (Ḳid. 33a; Sanh. 103b; Cant. R. vi. 8), and in two passages also "Sifra and Sifre Sifre refers to either of two works of Midrash halakhah, or classical Jewish legal Biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devarim (Deuteronomy). Some believe that he preferred rulings in certain Midrash collections to rulings in the Talmud, which would have been a rare opinion at the time.[citation needed]

Later sources include the responsa Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them (teshuvot) of the Geonim Geonim were the presidents of the two great rabbinical colleges of Sura and Pumbedita, in Babylonia, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta (Exilarch) who wielded secular authority over the Jews in Islamic lands. The maxims and decisions of the Geonim are frequently presented with the introductory phrase "The Geonim have decided" or "There is a regulation of the Geonim", while the opinions of Isaac Alfasi Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi ha-Cohen (Hebrew: ר יצחק אלפסי) - also known as the Alfasi or by his Hebrew acronym Rif (Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi), was a Talmudist and posek (decisor in matters of halakha - Jewish law). He is best known for his work of halakha, the legal code Sefer Ha-halachot, considered the first fundamental work in halakhic and Alfasi's pupil Joseph ibn Migash are prefaced by the words "my teachers have decided" (although there is no direct source confirming ibn Migash as Maimonides' teacher). According to Maimonides, the Geonim were considered "unintelligible in our days, and there are but few who are able to comprehend them." There were even times when Maimonides disagreed with what was being taught in the name of the Geonim.

A number of laws appear to have no source in any of the works mentioned; it is thought that Maimonides deduced them through independent interpretations of the Bible or that they are based on versions of previous Talmudic texts no longer in our hands. Maimonides himself states a few times in his work that he possessed what he considered to be more accurate texts of the Talmud than what most people possessed at his time. The latter has been confirmed to a certain extent by versions of the Talmud preserved by the Yemenite Jews Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen (תֵּימָן, Standard Teman Tiberian Têmān; "far south"), on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula. Virtually the entire Jewish population emigrated from Yemen between June 1949 and September 1950 in what was deemed Operation Magic Carpet. Most now as to the reason for what previously were thought to be rulings without any source.

Language and style

The Mishneh Torah is written in Hebrew Extinct as a regularly spoken language by the 4th century CE, but survived as a liturgical and literary language; revived in the 1880s in the style of the Mishnah The Mishnah or Mishna (Hebrew: משנה, "repetition", from the verb shanah שנה, or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah" and the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c. 220 CE by Judah haNasi. As he states in the preface, Maimonides Moses Maimonides, also known as Rambam, was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher; one of the greatest Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. He was born in Córdoba, Spain on Passover Eve, 1135, and died in Egypt on 20th Tevet, December 12, 1204. He worked as a rabbi, physician and philosopher in Morocco and Egypt. With the contemporary Muslim was reluctant to write in Talmudic Aramaic Jewish Babylonian Aramaic is the form of Middle Aramaic employed by Jewish writers in Babylonia between the 4th century and the 11th century CE. It is most commonly identified with the language of the Babylonian Talmud and of post-Talmudic (Geonic) literature, which are the most important cultural products of Babylonian Jewry. The most important, since it was not widely known.[3] His previous works had been written in Arabic Arabic (العربية al-ʿarabīyah, ( Arabic pronunciation ) or عربي ʿarabi) is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. Arabic has more speakers than any other language in the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million.

The Mishneh Torah never cites sources or arguments, and confines itself to stating the final decision on the law to be followed in each situation. There is no discussion of Talmudic interpretation or methodology, and the sequence of chapters follows the factual subject matter of the laws rather than the intellectual principle involved.

The books and sections

  1. HaMadda' (Knowledge):
    1. Yesodei ha-Torah: Belief in God God is the English name given to the singular omnipotent being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism and other Jewish principles of faith Although Jews and religious leaders share a core of monotheistic principles, Judaism has no formal statement of principles of faith such as a creed that is recognized or accepted by all
    2. De'ot: general proper behavior
    3. Talmud Torah: see Torah study Torah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts. Ideally within Judaism it is done for the purpose of the mitzvah of Torah study itself
    4. Avodah Zarah: the prohibition against idolatry Idolatry is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a monotheistic God. It is considered a major sin in the Abrahamic religions whereas in religions where such activity is not considered a sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent. Which images, ideas, and objects, constitute idolatry,
    5. Teshuvah: the law and philosophy of repentance Repentance is choosing to turn to God. In religious contexts it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law. It typically includes an admission of guilt, a promise or resolve not to repeat the offense; an attempt to make restitution for the wrong, or in some way to reverse the
  2. Ahavah (Love): the precepts which must be observed at all times if the love due to God is to be remembered continually (prayer Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional connection to a God, deity or spirit, through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal, tefillin Tefillin , (Hebrew: תפילין‎), pronounced /ˈtfɪlɨn/ in Askhenazic Hebrew and English, [tfiˈlin] in Israeli Hebrew, also called phylacteries (pronounced /fɪˈlæktəriz/, from Ancient Greek phylacterion, form of phylássein, φυλάσσειν meaning "to guard, protect"), are a set of small cubic leather boxes painted black,).
  3. Zemanim (Times):
    1. Shabbat Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from week to week and from place to place, depending on the time of sunset at
    2. Eruvin, a Rabbinic device that facilitates Sabbath observance
    3. Yom Tov: prohibitions on major Jewish holidays A Jewish holiday or festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as a holy or secular commemoration of an important event in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov (Yiddish: yontif) or chag ("festival") or ta'anit ("fast") that are different from the prohibitions of Sabbath
    4. Shevitat `Asor: laws of Yom Kippur Yom Kippur , also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day of the year for religious Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in, except for the Temple service (see Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, below)
    5. Hametz u-Matza: see Passover Celebrates the Exodus, the freedom from slavery of the Children of Israel from ancient Egypt that followed the Ten Plagues
    6. Shofar ve-Lulav ve-Sukkah: see Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish holiday commonly referred to as the "Jewish New Year." It is observed on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, as ordained in the Torah, in Leviticus 23:24. Rosh Hashanah is the first of the High Holidays or Yamim Noraim ("Days of Awe"), or Asseret Yemei Teshuva (Ten Days and Sukkot Sukkot is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three biblically-mandated Shalosh regalim on which Jews made pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem
    7. Hanukah u-Megillah: see Hanukkah Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE, Hanukkah is observed for eight nights, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at and Purim Purim (Hebrew: פורים Pûrîm "lots", related to Akkadian pūru) is a festival that commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people living throughout the ancient Persian Empire from a plot by Haman the Agagite to annihilate them, as recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Esther). According to the story, Haman cast lots
  4. Nashim (Women):
    1. Ishut: laws of marriage Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found. Such a union, often formalized via a wedding ceremony, may also be called, including kiddushin Nashim ("Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. Of the six orders of the Mishna, it is the second shortest and the ketubah A ketubah is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride
    2. Geirushin: laws of divorce Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, cancelling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties. In most countries divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process. In Canada, Saskatchewan allows married persons to "become the spouse of a
    3. Yibum va-Chalitzah: laws of levirate marriage Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obligated to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obligated to marry her deceased husband's brother. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage, i.e. that outside the clan, was forbidden. It is or
    4. Na'arah Betulah: the law of a man who seduces or rapes an unmarried woman
    5. Sotah Nashim ("Women" or "Wives") is the third order of the Mishnah (also of the Tosefta and Talmud), containing the laws related to women and family life. Of the six orders of the Mishna, it is the second shortest laws concerning a woman suspected of infidelity
  5. Kedushah (Holiness)
    1. Issurei Biah: forbidden sexual relations, including niddah Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman while she is menstruating, or who has menstruated without yet completing the associated ritual requirements. Literally, niddah means separation, and generally refers to separation from ritual impurity; The term is overwhelmingly used in Judaism to refer to the rules of Jewish law concerning menstruation, incest and adultery. Since intermarriage with non-Jews is forbidden, the laws of conversion to Judaism are also included.
    2. Ma'akhalot Assurot: laws of forbidden foods (see kashrut)
    3. Shechitah: laws of ritual slaughter
  6. Hafla'ah (Separation): laws of vows and oaths
    1. Shevuot: Laws of vows (to refrain from doing an action)
    2. Nedarim: Laws of oaths (to do an action)
    3. Nezirot: Laws of Nazirites
    4. Erachin: Laws of donations to the temple
  7. Zera'im (Seeds): agricultural laws
    1. Kilayim: Laws of forbidden mixtures
    2. Aniyim: Laws of obligatory gifts to the poor
    3. Terumot: Laws of obligatory gifts to the priests
    4. Maaser: Laws of tithes
    5. Sheini: Laws of secondary tithes
    6. Bikurim: Laws of first fruit offerings
    7. Shemittah: Laws of the sabbatical year
  8. Avodah (Divine Service): the laws of the Temple in Jerusalem
  9. Korbanot (Offerings): laws for offerings in the Temple, excepting those of the whole community
  10. Tohorah (Cleanness): the rules of ritual purity
  11. Nezikin (Injuries): criminal and tort law
  12. Kinyan (Acquisition): laws of the marketplace
  13. Mishpatim (Rights): civil law
  14. Shofetim (Judges): the laws relating legislators, the Sanhedrin, the king, and the judges. It also addresses the Noahide Laws and those pertaining to messianic times.

Contemporary reaction

Critics and criticism

The Mishneh Torah was strongly opposed almost as soon as it appeared. Major sources of contention were the absence of sources and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the Talmud. Some criticisms appear to have been less rational in nature. Indeed, Maimonides quotes the Talmud in stating that one should study the Talmud for a third of one's study time.[4]

The most sincere but influential opponent, whose comments are printed parallel to virtually all editions of the Mishneh Torah, was Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (Raavad III, France, 12th century).

Many critics were especially bitter against the new methods which he had employed, and the very peculiarities which he had regarded as merits in his work failed to please his opponents because they were innovations. Thus they reproached him because he wrote in Hebrew instead of in the customary Talmudic idiom, because he departed from the Talmudic order and introduced a division and arrangement of his own, and because he dared to sometimes decide according to the Tosefta and the Jerusalem Talmud as against the Babylonian Talmud.

Especially sharp was the blame heaped upon Maimonides because he neglected to cite his sources; this was considered an evidence of his superciliousness, since it made it difficult, if not absolutely impossible, for scholars to verify his statements, and compelled them to follow his decisions absolutely. Yet despite all this, Maimonides remained certain that in the future the Mishneh Torah would find great influence and acceptance. This is boldly expressed in a letter to his student Rabbi Yoseph ben ha-rav Yehudah:

"And all that I've described to you regarding those who won't accept it [the Mishneh Torah] properly, that is uniquely in my generation. However, in future generations, when jealousy and the lust for power will disappear, all of Israel will subsist [lit. "we be satiated"] on it alone, and will abandon all else besides it without a doubt, --except for those who seek something to be involved with all their lives, even though it doesn't achieve a purpose."

Maimonides' response

Maimonides defended himself. He had not composed this work for glory; he desired only to supply the necessary but lacking code, for there was danger lest pupils, weary of the difficult study, might go astray in decisions of practical importance (Letter to Rabbi Jonathan of Lunel, in which he thanks the latter for certain corrections; Responsa of Maimonides, 49).

He noted that it had never been his intention to abolish Talmudic studies, nor had he ever said that there was no need of the "Halakot" of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi, for he himself had lectured to his pupils on the Gemara and, at their request, upon Alfasi's work (Responsa, No. 140).

He said that his omission of his sources was due solely to his desire for brevity, although he regretted that he had not written a supplementary work citing his authorities for those halakot whose sources were not evident from the context. He would, however, should circumstances permit, atone for this error, however toilsome it might be to write such a supplement (Responsa, No. 140).

Raavad was forced to acknowledge that the work of Maimonides was a magnificent contribution (note on Kilayim 6:2), nor did he hesitate to praise him and approve his views in many passages, citing and commenting upon the sources.

Later works (e.g. Yosef Karo's "Kesef Mishné") set out to find sources for Maimonides' decisions, and to resolve any disputes between him and the Raavad.

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