Mishneh Torah

The Mishneh Torah (Hebrew: ‫תוֹר ָה‬

ּ ‫משְׁנ ֵה‬
ִ , "Repetition of the Torah"), subtitled
Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (‫" ספר יד החזקה‬Book of the Strong Hand"), is a code of
Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi 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, 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 Mishneh Torah
paragraphs. It is the only Medieval-era work that details all of Jewish observance,
including those laws that are only applicable when the Holy Temple is in existence,
and remains an important work in Judaism.

Its title is an appellation originally used for the Biblical book of Deuteronomy, 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 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.
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
[2]
their views, and if he decided against them he must have disapproved their interpretation."

Contents
Origin, sources, and language
Language and style
The books and sections
Contemporary reaction
Critics and criticism
Maimonides' response
Yonah of Gerona
Influence
Decisors
Printed editions and textual accuracy
Codes and commentators
Present day
Study
Practice
Ethnology
 English translations
See also
References
External links

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 and the rest of Tanakh, both
Talmuds, Tosefta, and the halachic Midrashim, principally Sifra and Sifre. 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.

Later sources include the responsa (teshuvot) of the Geonim. 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 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 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 in the style of the Mishnah. As he states in the preface, Maimonides was reluctant to write
in Talmudic Aramaic, since it was not widely known.[3] His previous works had been written inArabic.

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 and other Jewish principles of faith

2. De'ot: general proper behavior
3. Talmud Torah: see Torah study
4. Avodah Zarah: the prohibition againstidolatry and foreign worship
5. Teshuvah: the law and philosophy ofrepentance
2. Ahavah (Love): the precepts which must be observed at all times if the love due to God is to be remembered
continually (prayer, tefillin).

1. Kri'at Shema
2. Tefilah and Birkat Kohanim
3. Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah
4. Tzitzit
5. Berachot
6. Milah
 7. Order of Prayers
3. Zemanim (Times):

1. Shabbat
2. Eruvin, a Rabbinic device that facilitates Sabbath observance
3. Shevitat `Asor: laws of Yom Kippur, except for the Temple service (see Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, below)
4. Yom Tov: prohibitions on majorJewish holidays that are different from the prohibitions of Sabbath
5. Hametz u-Matza: see Passover
6. Shofar ve-Lulav ve-Sukkah: see Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot
7. Shekalim
8. Kiddush Hachodesh
9. Taaniyot
10. Hanukah u-Megillah: see Hanukkah and Purim
4. Nashim (Women):

1. Ishut: laws of marriage, including kiddushin and the ketubah

2. Geirushin: laws of divorce
3. Yibum va-Chalitzah: laws of levirate marriage
4. Na'arah Betulah: the law of a man who seduces or rapes an unmarried woman
5. Sotah laws concerning a woman suspected of infidelity
5. Kedushah (Holiness)

1. Issurei Biah: forbidden sexual relations, includingniddah, 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 (seekashrut)
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 theTemple in Jerusalem[4]

1. Hilchot Bet HaBechirah: Laws of (God's) chosen house H ( ebrew: ‫הבְ ּחִיר ָה‬ַ ‫הל ְכּוֹת בֵּית‬
ִ )
2. Hilchot K'lei HaMikdash: Laws of the temple utensils and those who serve withinHebrew: ( ׁ‫ְדש‬ ָּ ‫מק‬ ַ ‫הל ְכּוֹת כ ְ ּל ִי‬
ִּ ‫ה‬ ִ
‫)והעובדים בו‬
3. Hilchot Bi'at HaMikdash: Laws of entry to the sanctuary H( ebrew: ׁ‫ְדש‬ ָּ ‫מק‬
ִּ ‫ה‬ַ ‫הל ְכּוֹת בִּיאַת‬
ִ )
4. Hilchot Issurei HaMizbe'ach: Laws of (entities) prohibited to be offered on the altar (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת איסורי מזבח‬ ִ )
5. Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot: Laws of the sacrificial procedures H ( ebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מעשה הקרבנות‬ ִ )
6. Hilchot Temidim uMusafim: Laws of continual and additional offerings (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת תמידין ומוספין‬ ִ )
7. Hilchot Pesule HaMukdashim: Laws of consecrated entities that have been disqualifiedHebrew: ( ‫הל ְכּוֹת פסולי‬ ִ
‫)המוקדשין‬
8. Hilchot Avodat Yom HaKippurim : Laws of the Yom Kippur service (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת עבודת יום הכיפורים‬ ִ )
9. Hilchot Me'ilah: Laws of the misappropriation (of consecrated property).Hebrew: ( ‫הל ְכּוֹת מעילה‬
ִ )
9. Korbanot[5] (Offerings): laws for offerings in the Temple, excepting those of the whole community

1. Hilchot Korban Pesach(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת קרבן פסח‬

ִ )
2. Hilchot Chagigah (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת חגיגה‬
ִ )
 3. Hilchot Bechorot (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת בכורות‬ ִ )
4. Hilchot Shegagot (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת שגגות‬ ִ )
5. Hilchot Mechussarey Kapparah(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מחוסרי כפרה‬
ִ )
6. Hilchot Temurah (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת תמורה‬ ִ )
10. Sefer Taharah (Hebrew: ‫ ;ספר טהרה‬Cleanness: the rules ofritual purity)

1. Hilchot Tumat Met (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת טומאת מת‬

ִ )
2. Hilchot Para Aduma (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת פרה אדומה‬ ִ )
3. Hilchot Tumat Zara’at (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת טומאת צרעת‬ ִ )
4. Hilchot Metamei Mischkaw u-Moschaw(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מטמאי משכב ומושב‬
ִ )
5. Hilchot She’ar Avot haTumot (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת שאר אבות הטומאות‬
ִ )
6. Hilchot Tumat Ochalin (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת טומאת אוכלין‬ ִ )
7. Hilchot Kelim (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת כלים‬
ִ )
8. Hilchot Mikvaot (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מקואות‬
ִ )
11. Sefer Nezikim (also Sefer Nezikin; Hebrew: ‫ ;ספר נזיקין‬Injuries: criminal and tort law)

1. Hilchot Nizqei Mamon (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת נזקי ממון‬

ִ )
2. Hilchot Geneivah (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת גניבה‬
ִ )
3. Hilchot Gezeilah vAvidah (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת גזילה ואבידה‬
ִ )
4. Hilchot Hovel uMaziq (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת חובל ומזיק‬ִ )
5. Hilchot Rotzeah uShmirat Nefesh(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת רוצח ושמירת נפש‬
ִ )
12. Sefer Kinyan (Hebrew: ‫ ;ספר קנין‬Acquisition: laws of the marketplace)

1. Hilchot Mechirah (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מכירה‬ִ )

2. Hilchot Zechiyah uMatanah(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת זכייה ומתנה‬ ִ )
3. Hilchot Sh’chenim (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת שכנים‬ ִ )
4. Hilchot Shluhin v’Shutafin(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת שלוחין ושותפין‬
ִ )
5. Hilchot ‘Avadim (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת עבדים‬
ִ )
13. Sefer Mishpatim (Hebrew: ‫ ;ספר משפטים‬Rights: civil law)

1. Hilchot Schirut (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת שכירות‬ִ )

2. Hilchot Sheilah uPiqadon(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת שאלה ופקדון‬ ִ )
3. Hilchot Malveh v’Loveh(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מלוה ולוח‬ ִ )
4. Hilchot To’en v’Nit’an (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת טוען ונטען‬
ִ )
5. Hilchot Nahalot (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת נחלות‬ִ )
14. Sefer Shoftim (Hebrew: ‫ ;ספר שופטים‬Judges: the laws relating legislators, theSanhedrin, the king, and the judges —
it also addresses the Noahide Laws and those pertaining toMessianic times)

1. Hilchot Sanhedrin (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת סנהדרין והעונשין המסורים להם‬

ִ )
2. Hilchot ‘Edut (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת עדות‬ִ )
3. Hilchot Mamrim (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת ממרים‬ ִ )
4. Hilchot Evel (Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת אבל‬ִ )
5. Hilchot Melachim uMilhamoteyhem(Hebrew: ‫הל ְכּוֹת מלכים ומלחמותיהם‬ ִ )

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 T almud for a third of one's study time.[6]
almud in stating that one should study the T

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 Judeo-Arabic 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 altogether, 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). However, he did state that for the masses there was no need for Talmud study as the Mishne Torah along with
the written Torah would suffice (Introduction to the Mishne Torah). He also stated that in-depth study of Talmudic discussions was "a
waste of time" for the sole purpose of study was to know how to practice the law (Letter to Joseph ben Judah).

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 supp
lement (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.

Yonah of Gerona
Special mention should be made of Yonah of Gerona, a cousin of Nachmanides (Ramban) who was initially a member of the vocal
opponents of the "Yad". He was involved in the burning of a number of copies of the Sefer ha-Madda in the 1240s. Regret followed,
when he saw the Talmud being burnt in Paris in 1244, which he interpreted as a sign from Heaven that he had been mistaken. He set
out to the Land of Israel, to ask forgiveness on the Rambam's grave in presence of ten witnesses, composing a classic work on
penitence (titled Shaarei Teshuva, "The Gates of Repentance") during his soul-searching.

Influence

Decisors
Thus the work of Maimonides, notwithstanding the sharp attacks upon it, soon won general recognition as an authority of the first
importance for ritual decisions. According to several authorities ("Yad Mal'akhi" rule 26, pg 186), a decision may not be rendered in
opposition to a view of Maimonides, even though the latter 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]

Even when later authorities, like Asher ben Jehiel (the Rosh), decided against Maimonides, it became a rule of the Oriental Jews to
follow the latter, although the European Jews, especially the Ashkenazim, preferred the opinions of the Rosh in such cases. But the
hope which Maimonides expressed, that in time to come his work and his alone would be accepted, has been only half fulfilled. His
"Mishneh Torah" is indeed still very popular, but there has been no cessation in the study of other works.

Ironically, while Maimonides refrained from citing sources out of concern for brevity (or perhaps because he designed his work to be
used without studying the Talmud or other sources first), the result has often been the opposite of what he intended. Various
commentaries have been written which seek to supply the lacking source documentation, and indeed today the Mishneh Torah is
sometimes used as a sort of an index to aid in locating Talmudic passages. In cases where Maimonides' sources or interpretation
thereof is questionable, the lack of clarity has at times led to lengthy analyses and debates – quite the opposite of the brevity he
sought to attain. On the other hand, this only became an issue for students and scholars who studied the Mishneh Torah's sources.
According to Maimonides himself, deducing law from the sources had already become a precarious proposition (for a number of
reasons) – even in his own times. This necessarily relates to different subjects – like the influence of the exile, language skills, lack of
time, censorship and alternate versions of the T
almud.

Printed editions and textual accuracy

Over time many textual errors and distortions have appeared in the various editions of Maimonides' "Mishneh Torah". These
inaccuracies are in the text of rulings, in the drawings made by the Rambam, as well as in the division (and thus the numbering) of
rulings.

There are various reasons for these inaccuracies. Some are due to errors in the copying of manuscripts (before the age of printing) or
mistakes by typesetters of later editions. Others are due to conscious attempts to "correct" the text, and yet others to Christian
censorship (in countries under its control). In addition, Maimonides himself frequently edited the text of his own autograph copy,
such that manuscripts copied from his own book did not preserve his later corrections. Thus the received version may not be the text
that Maimonides intended us to read.

Often the distortions in existing versions prompted questions on the "Mishne Torah" which were solved in many creative and
different ways by the scholars throughout the generations; many of these questions don’t arise in the first place if the version is
corrected based upon reliable manuscripts.

In order to determine the exact version, scholars use reliable early manuscripts (some of them containing Maimonides' own
signature), which are free of both Christian censorship and the changes of later readers who tried to "correct" the text on their own,
without manuscript evidence. Since the middle of the 20th century there have been five scientific printings of the book:

Rabbi Shabsai Frankel's edition includes critical editions of the "classical" commentators onMishneh Torah as well
as the book itself. However, the actual text of Mishneh Torah in this edition is based heavily on the printed editions,
rather than the early manuscripts, whose variant readings are relegated to marginal notes and an apparatus at the
end of each volume. All the volumes have been published.
Rabbi Yosef Qafih's edition is based mainly on Yemenite manuscripts, and includes an extensive commentary by
Rabbi Qafih that surveys the discussions of the classical commentaries on Mishneh Torah and includes verbatim
citation of previous commentaries in their entirety.
The Yad Peshutah edition by Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch, Rosh Yeshivat Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in Ma'ale Adumim.
This edition is based on a number of manuscripts (dif ferent ones are used for the different books, according to their
reliability) and includes an original commentary on theMishneh Torah. About half the volumes have been printed at
this point.
"The Exact Mishneh Torah" edition by RabbiYitzchak Shelat, also ofYeshivat Birkat Moshe has no commentary. It
compares the printed versions to the fixed version. So far , four volumes have been printed; the publisher expects to
 print two new volumes each year.
A one-volume edition (1000 pages), published byYeshivat Or Vishua and now in its third edition, reflects all the
editions based on reliable manuscripts, accompanied by surrounding indexes but with no commentary . The text was
checked again, based mainly on Rabbi Y osef Qafih's edition. It gives variant readings from the other leading editions
only in cases where the changes are meaningful. "The Mishne orah T Project" of the yeshiva also plans to publish a
multi-volume pocket edition including vowel diacritics and cross-references to other passages and to Maimonides'
other works. The pocket version ofSefer Ha-Madda (The Book of Knowledge) is already in print.

Codes and commentators

Mishneh Torah itself has been the subject of a number of commentaries, the most notable of which being Magid Mishné by Vidal de
Toulouse, Kesef Mishné by Yosef Karo, Mishné la-Melech, Lechem Mishné, Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz) and Hagahot Maimoni
(which details Ashkenazi customs). Most commentators aim to resolve criticisms of the Raavad, and to trace Maimonides' sources to
the text of the Talmud, Midrash and Geonim.

Later codes of Jewish law, e.g. Arba'ah Turim by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher and Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yosef Karo, draw heavily on
Maimonides' work, and in both whole sections are often quoted verbatim.

Also there were many attempts down to the present time to force those who follow the rulings of the Rambam to change to the
Shulchan Aruch or some other latter work of Minhag/Halakha. In response to this Rabbiosef
Y Karo wrote:

Who is he whose heart conspires to approach forcing congregations who practice according to the RaMBaM of
blessed memory, to go by any one of the early or latter-day Torah authorities?! ... Is it not a case of a fortiori, that
regarding the School of Shammai—that the halakhah does not go according to them—they [the Talmudic Sages] said
‘if [one practices] like the School of Shammai [he may do so, but] according to their leniencies and their
stringencies’: The RaMBaM, is the greatest of all the Torah authorities, and all the communities of the Land of Israel
and the Arab-controlled lands and the West [North Africa] practice according to his word, and accepted him upon
themselves as their Chief Rabbi. Whoever practices according to him with his leniencies and his stringencies, why
coerce them to budge from him? And all the more so if also their fathers and forefathers practiced accordingly: for
their children are not to turn right or left from the RaMBaM of blessed memory. And even if communities that
practice according to the Rosh or other authorities like him became the majority, they cannot coerce the minority of
congregations practicing according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to practice like they do. And there is no issue
here concerning the prohibition against having two courts in the same city [‘lo tithgodedu’], since every congregation
should practice according to its original custom…

Present day

Study
The in-depth study of Mishneh Torah underwent a revival in Lithuanian Judaism in the late 19th century. The Lithuanians did not use
it as a source book on practical halakha, as they followed the Ashkenazi authorities such as Moses Isserles and the Aruch ha-
Shulchan. Instead they used it as a guide to Talmudic interpretation and methodology. Given the fact that the Mishneh Torah entirely
omits these topics, this reading seems paradoxical and against the grain. Their method was to compare the Talmudic source material
with Maimonides' final decision, in order to reconstruct the rules of interpretation that must have been used to get from one to the
other.

Prominent recent authorities who have written commentaries on the work include Rabbis Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (Ohr Somayach),
Chaim Soloveitchik (Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim), Yitzchok Isaac Krasilschikov (Tevunah), Isser Zalman Meltzer (Even HaEzel)
and, more recently, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Hadran al HaRambam), Elazar Shach (Avi Ezri)
and Rabbi Yosef Kapach. See also: List of commentaries on Mishneh Torah
Today, thousands of Orthodox Jews, particularly Chabad Hasidim, participate in one of the annual study cycles of Mishneh Torah
(one or three chapters a day), innovated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in the spring of 1984.
Parallel to the three-chapters-a-day cycle, there is a daily study of the Sefer Hamitzvot "Book of the Commandments", also authored
by Maimonides.

A popular commentary, ‫( רמבם לעם‬Rambam La'Am), was produced in 1971 by Rabbi Shaul Tanchum Rubinstein (published by
Mossad Harav Kook). This 20 volume set is widely used in daily Rambam study
.

Mishneh Torah is often one of the first post-Talmudic sources consulted when investigating a question of Jewish law. Likewise, many
scholarly speeches (e.g. the traditional Rabbi's speech on the Shabbat preceding Pesach and Yom Kippur) often revolve around a
reconciliation between two passages in Maimonides' work.

Practice
As for halakha l'maaseh (practical application of Jewish law), although the majority of Jews keep Jewish law according to various
other Rabbinic codes organized around the Shulchan Aruch, an increasing number of Yemenite Jews, as well as various other
individuals, are being attracted to the Mishneh Torah as their choice code of Jewish law by which to live. They may consider it a
return to the original ways of their ancestors.

One individual who contributed to this phenomenon was Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, the founder of the Dor Daim movement in Yemen.
The Mishneh Torah had always been a leading authority in the Baladi (local, traditionalist) Yemenite community – as a matter of
local custom. Scholarly work in this vein has been continued by his grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ (also spelled Gafah, Qafahh or
Kapach). Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ is credited with the publication of an almost encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah,
including his own insights, set to a text of the Misheh Torah based upon the authoritative hand-written manuscripts preserved by the
Yemenite Jewish community. The introduction to his edition of the Mishneh T
orah is well known in itself as a defense for the keeping
of halakha according to the Mishneh Torah.[7]

During his lifetime Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ was a leading figure in the Baladi Yemenite community as a whole, as well as the Dor Daim
or strict "Rambamists". After Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ died, Rabbi Rasson Arusi has largely filled his place as the leading public
representative of the Baladi and Rambamist communities.

Rabbi Rasson Arusi is founder of 'Halikhoth Ahm Yisroel' and Makhon Mishnath haRambam, and head of the marriage department
of the Rabbinate of Israel, as well as chief rabbi of city of Kiryat Ono in Israel. Rav Arusi and the organization Makhon Mishnath
haRambam have published several books filled with commentary on various parts and aspects of the Mishneh Torah as well as topics
related to the Yemenite Jewish community. Besides the works of Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ and Rabbi Rasson Arusi, there are a number of
other commentaries to the Mishneh Torah written by leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community.

Ethnology
Scholars specializing in the study of the history and subculture of Judaism in premodern China (Sino-Judaica) have noted this work
has surprising similarities with the liturgy of the Kaifeng Jews, descendants of Persian Merchants who settled in the Middle Kingdom
during the early Song Dynasty.[8] Beyond scriptural similarities, Michael Pollak comments the Jews' Pentateuch was divided into 53
sections according to the Persian style.[9] He also points out:

There is no proof, to be sure, that Kaifeng Jewry ever had direct access to the works of "the Great Eagle," but it would
have had ample time and opportunity to acquire or become acquainted with them well before its reservoir of Jewish
learning began to run out. Nor do the Maimonidean leanings of the kehillah contradict the historical evidence that has
the Jews arriving in Kaifeng no later than 1126, the year in which the Sung fled the city--and nine years before
Maimonides was born. In 1163, when the kehillah built the first of its synagogues, Maimonides was only twenty-eight
years old, so that it is highly unlikely that even his earliest authoritative teachings could by then have reached China
 [...] The compliance of their descendants with certain uniquely Maimonidean interpretations implies that the channels
of communication between the kehillah and extra-Chinese Jewish centers were still open several generations after its
establishment.[10]

The work was being used by the Jews of India during Maimonides' lifetime. In response to a letter from the Rabbis of Lunel, France
requesting him to translate his Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic to Hebrew, Maimonides applauded their piety in light of what he
viewed as the general stagnation of religiosity throughout the rest of the Jewish world. However, he commented: "Only lately some
well-to-do men came forward and purchased three copies of my code [the Mishneh Torah] which they distributed through
messengers...Thus the horizon of these Jews was widened and the religious life in all communities as far as India revived."[11]
Further support for the Mishneh Torah circulating in India comes in the form of a letter sent from Safed, Israel to Italy in 1535. In it
David del Rossi claimed that a Tripolitan Jewish merchant had told him the India town of Shingly (Cranganore) had a large Jewish
population who dabbled in yearly pepper trade with the Portuguese. As far as their religious life, he wrote they: "only recognize the
Code of Maimonides and possessed no other authority or rTaditional law."[12]

English translations
The first known English translation of the Mishneh Torah was made in 1832 by Herman Hedwig Bernard, professor of Hebrew at
Cambridge University. Bernard's work is entitled "The Main Principles of the Creed and Ethics of the Jews Exhibited in Selections
from the Yad Hachazakah of Maimonides, with A Literal English Translation, Copious Illustrations from the Talmud, &c.". Bernard's
work includes a glossary of words and concepts which appear in the Mishnehorah.
T

In 1944, Philip Birnbaum published an excerpted translation published as "Maimonides' Mishneh orah:
T Yad Hazakah".[13]

The Yale Judaica series edition of the Mishneh Torah was started in 1949 and is almost complete, barring "the Book of Knowledge":

Introduction, Isadore Twersky (1982) ISBN 0-300-02846-6

Book 2, The Book of Love, Menachem Kellner (2004)ISBN 0-300-10348-4
Book 3, The Book of Seasons, Solomon Gandz and Hyman Klein (1961) ISBN 0-300-00322-6
Book 3, Treatise 8, The Sanctification of the New Moon, Solomon Gandz, Julian Obrmann, Otto Neugebauer (1956)
ISBN 0-300-00476-1
Book 4, The Book of Women, Isaac Klein (1972) ISBN 0-300-01438-4 / ISBN 978-0-300-01438-9
Book 5, The Book of Holiness, Leon Nemoy , Louis I. Rabinowitz, and Philip Grossman (1965)ISBN 0-300-00846-5
Book 6, The Book of Asseverations, B. D. Klein (1962)ISBN 0-300-00633-0
Book 7, The Book of Agriculture, Isaac Klein (1979)ISBN 0-300-02223-9
Book 8, The Book of Temple Service, Mendell Lewittes (1957) ISBN 0-300-00497-4
Book 9, The Book of Offerings, Herbert Dan, (1950) ISBN 0-300-00398-6
Book 10, The Book of Cleanness, Herbert Dan, (1954)ISBN 0-300-00397-8
Book 11, The Book of Torts, Hyman Klein (1954) ISBN 0-300-00632-2
Book 12, The Book of Acquisitions, Isaac Klein (1951)ISBN 0-300-00631-4
Book 13, The Book of Civil Laws,Jacob J. Rabinowitz (1949) ISBN 0-300-00845-7
Book 14, The Book of Judges, Abraham M. Hershman (1949)ISBN 0-300-00548-2
In 1981 Feldheim Publishers published an edition of the first two books based on the Oxford manuscript, with the translation of
.[14]
Moses Hyamson. As the translation was made from the traditional printed texts, it does not always match the Hebrew

Moznaim Publishing Corporation has published an annotated English translation of the Mishneh Torah by Rabbi Eliyahu Touger.
This edition is available online on chabad.org [15]

In November 2006 Rabbi Mayer Alter Horowitz of the Boston Hasidic dynasty announced that "The Nesher Hagodol Legacy"
T [16]
Foundation had begun a translation "Perush HaMeir" elucidating and explaining the Mishnehorah.

See also
List of commentaries on Mishneh Torah
 List of commentaries on Mishneh Torah
Hebrew translations of all of Maimonides' Jewish works (as opposed to, e.g., medical) by
Rabbi Yosef Kapach:
Rambam
Shulchan Aruch

References
1. See: Gematriya
2. "Yad Mal'akhi", rule 26 and 27, p. 186
3. Preface to the Mishneh Torah
4. http://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/6911060
5. http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6459/jewish/Sefer-Korbanot.htm
6. Yad, Hilkhot Talmud Torah 1:11
7. http://www.chayas.com/reintro.htm
8. Leslie, Donald. The Survival of the Chinese Jews; The Jewish Community of Kaifeng.ʻoung
T pao, 10. Leiden: Brill,
1972, p. 157
9. Pollak, Michael. Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries: The Jewish Experience in the Chinese Empire.
The Jewish
Publication Society of America, 1980, p. 413
10. Pollak, Mandarins, Jews, and Missionaries,pp. 297–298
11. Twersky, Isadore. A Maimonides Reader. Behrman House. Inc., 1972, pp. 481–482
12. Katz, Nathan and Ellen S. Goldberg.The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India
. University of South
Carolina Press, p. 40
13. Birnbaum, Philip (1944).Maimonides' Mishneh Torah: Yad Hazakah. Hebrew Pub Co. ISBN 0884824373.
14. Hyamson, Moses (1981).The book of adoration (according to the Bodleian (Oxford) codex)(New, corr. ed.).
Jerusalem: Feldheim. ISBN 0873060865.
15. Touger, Eliyahu; Maimonides."Mishneh Torah" (http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/682956/jewish/Mishneh
-Torah.htm). Chabad.org.
16. Horowitz, Mayer Alter Halevi, Rabbi (2006). "English Edition of the Rambam: with Perush HaMeir".
The Nesher
Hagodol Legacy Foundation Publications. 1 (1): 32 pages.

External links
Moznaim Publishing – Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah for the iPhone and iPad– full text in Hebrew; includes list ofMitzvot and the corroborative glosses
and the animadversions of the Ra’avad.
Mishneh Torah – full text in English, chabad.org/library(in English)
Daily Rambam Study – audio classes and text(English/Hebrew)
Full text; MTR version (Hebrew)
Full text (MTR version) with Hebrew/English translator
Rambam's Introduction(English)
Maimonides Resource Page– links to translations and resources
Overview of topics from www.torah.org
Structure of the 14 Books of Mishneh T orah
An online Spanish translation of the Mishneh oTrah

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mishneh_T

orah&oldid=817398882"

This page was last edited on 28 December 2017, at 04:03.

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.