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h religious law authored by maimonides not to be confused with the book of deuteronomy which was also known as mishneh torah until the late middle ages or with the mishnah the first major book of rabbinic literature mishneh torah מִשְׁנֵה תוֹרָה maimonides artist s conceptual drawing information religion judaism author maimonides language hebrew period 1170 1180 ce chapters fourteen books 1 000 chapters mishneh torah at hebrew wikisource the mishneh torah hebrew מִשְׁנֵה תוֹרָה lit repetition of the torah also known as sefer yad ha hazaka ספר יד החזקה book of the strong hand is a code of rabbinic jewish religious law halakha authored by maimonides rabbi moshe ben maimon rambam the mishneh torah was compiled between 1170 and 1180 ce 4930 and 4940 am 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 paragraphs it is the only medieval era work that details all of jewish observance including those laws that are only applicable when the temple in jerusalem 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 moniker book of the strong hand derives from its subdivision into fourteen books the numerical value fourteen when represented as the hebrew letters yodh 10 and dalet 4 forms the word yad hand 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 a strong and immediate opposition which focused 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 1 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 1 the mishneh torah was later adapted for an ashkenazi audience by meir hakohen in the form of the haggahot maimuniyyot the work consists of supplemental notes to the mishneh torah with the objective of implanting contemporary sephardic thought in germany and france while juxtaposing it to contemporary ashkenazi halakhic customs 2 sources edit a page of a medieval jerusalem talmud manuscript from the cairo geniza 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 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 3 language and style edit the mishneh torah is written in hebrew as the mishnah had been as he states in the preface maimonides was reluctant to write in talmudic aramaic since it was not widely known 4 his previous works had been written in judeo arabic the mishneh torah virtually 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 maimonides was criticized for not including sources by his contemporaries maimonides later regretted not adding sources but ultimately did not have time to update his work 5 6 contents edit the books and sections edit a torah scroll hamadda knowledge yesodei ha torah lit foundations of the torah belief in god and other jewish principles of faith de ot general proper behavior talmud torah torah study avodah zarah the prohibition against idolatry and foreign worship teshuvah the law and philosophy of repentance the single scroll of the arm tefillin ahavah love of god kri at shema recitation of the shema tefilah and birkat kohanim prayer and the priestly blessing tefillin mezuzah and sefer torah tzitzit berachot blessings milah circumcision seder tefilot order of prayers a sukkah booth zemanim times shabbat sabbath eruvin a type of rabbinic device that allows jews to carry outdoors and walk longer distances on the sabbath as well as cook on holidays shevitat asor laws of yom kippur except for the temple service see avodat yom ha kippurim below yom tov prohibitions on major jewish holidays that are different from the prohibitions of sabbath hametz u matza chametz and matzah i e passover shofar ve lulav ve sukkah shofar i e rosh hashanah and palm frond and sukkah i e sukkot shekalim money collected for the temple in jerusalem when it stood kiddush hachodesh sanctification of the month taaniyot fasts hanukah u megillah hanukkah and the scroll of esther i e purim a ketubah nashim women ishut laws of marriage including kiddushin and the ketubah geirushin laws of divorce yibum va chalitzah laws of levirate marriage na arah betulah the law of a man who seduces or rapes an unmarried woman sotah laws concerning a woman suspected of infidelity kedushah holiness issurei biah forbidden sexual relations including niddah incest and adultery since intermarriage with non jews is forbidden the laws of conversion to judaism are also included ma akhalot assurot laws of forbidden foods see kashrut shechitah laws of ritual slaughter hafla ah separation shevuot person focused promise or commitment nedarim object focused dedication or prohibition nezirot laws of nazirites erachin laws of donations to the temple zera im seeds kilayim laws of forbidden mixtures aniyim laws of obligatory gifts to the poor terumot laws of obligatory gifts to the priests maaser laws of tithes sheini laws of secondary tithes bikurim laws of first fruit offerings shemittah laws of the sabbatical year herod s temple as imagined in the holyland model of jerusalem avodah divine service bet habechirah laws of god s chosen house k lei hamikdash laws of the temple utensils and those who serve within bi at hamikdash laws of entry to the sanctuary issurei hamizbe ach laws of entities prohibited to be offered on the altar ma aseh hakorbanot laws of the sacrificial procedures temidim umusafim laws of continual and additional offerings pesule hamukdashim laws of consecrated entities that have been disqualified avodat yom hakippurim laws of the yom kippur service me ilah laws of the misappropriation of consecrated property korbanot offerings korban pesach the passover offering chagigah the festival offering bechorot laws regarding first born children shegagot offerings for unintentional transgressions mechussarey kapparah offerings for those with incomplete atonement temurah substitution taharah ritual purity tumat met defilement by coming into contact with death para aduma the red heifer tumat zara at defilement by tzara at metamei mischkaw u moschaw tangential defilement she ar avot hatumot other sources of defilment tumat ochalin defilement of foods kelim vessels mikvaot laws regarding the mikvah sefer nezikim also known as sefer nezikin torts nizqei mamon property damage geneivah theft gezeilah v avidah robbery and lost property hovel umaziq one who injures another rotzeah ushmirat nefesh murderers and life preservation sefer kinyan acquisition mechirah sale zechiyah umatanah ownerless property and gifts sh chenim neighbors shluhin v shutafin agents and partners avadim slaves sefer mishpatim civil laws schirut rent sheilah upiqadon borrowing and deposits malveh v loveh lenders and borrowers to en v nit an plaintiff and reception nahalot inheritance artist s imagination of the sanhedrin from an 1883 encyclopedia sefer shoftim judges sanhedrin edut testimony mamrim heretics evel mourning melachim umilhamoteyhem kings and wars notable laws edit mishneh torah contains a widely quoted list of eight levels of charitable donation where the first level is most preferable and the eighth the least see tzedakah 7 contemporary reaction edit contemporary criticism edit 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 8 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 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 edit sefer ahavah illuminated manuscript ca 1351 spain or southern france 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 9 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 10 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 11 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 12 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 10 raavad was forced to acknowledge that the work of maimonides was a magnificent contribution 13 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 edit title page from sefer shaarei teshuvah 1960 pocket edition by yonah gerondi d 1263 first published in 1505 yonah of gerona was 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 maimonides grave in presence of ten witnesses but failed to continue to his destination he composed a classic work on penitence titled shaarei teshuva the gates of repentance during his soul searching 14 influence edit 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 15 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 1 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 su...
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