Maimonides - Research Paper Example

Maimonides This essay will purely focus on the personality “Maimonides”. His life, work, philosophies and religious perspective about the existence of God will be discussed briefly. This essay aims to provide with a helpful understanding of the personality in a simple and theoretical way. “Moses Ben Maimon” is largely known to English audience as “Maimonides” and Hebrew audience as “Rambam”, which is Hebrew acronym for “Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon” and in Arabic Literature known as “Abu Imran Musa ben MaimunIbnAbd Allah” (Jacobs &Broyde). He was regarded as one of the popular Jewish Philosophical figures from the medieval ages. He was also a great “Torah” (name given by the Jews to the first five books of Bible) scholar and a well-known physician. Mimonides was born in Cordova, Spain on Passover eve (a unique fast day in Judiasm) in 1135 and died in Egypt (Tiberias) on 20th Tevet (fourth month of Hebrew calendar), December 12, 1204.Besides Maimonides, Cordova was also the birthplace of Avveros (Davidson 7-9). His father “Maimon”, was the direct descendent of the King David. Maimon served as a judge in the city’s Rabbinical Court. His mother passed away soon after his birth (Mangel). Maimonides was born during the age which is considered by many scholars as the end of the golden period of Jewish culture in the IberismPennisula after passage of first few years of Moorish rule. Muslim rule was established in Cordova and it stood and served as one of the greatest intellectual centers of the world at that point of time (Stroumsa 65). However as reported by Jacobs and Broyde, the situation took a turn and the events became worse when the Almohads invaded in 1148. They offered the local non-Muslims to choose either between Islam or else exile. Otherwise, they will be executed if they would not follow any one of the given alternatives. The family of Maimonides had to leave Cordova forcefully and after wandering here and there for so many years, they at last get settled in Fez, Morroco in 1160. In Morroco, they were unknown to the local authorities which supported them to pass as Muslims.There Maimonides studied at the University of Al-Karaouine.At that time, he started to work on his first religious master piece, “Commentary on Mishnah”. However, this dual life was increasingly threatening as the Maimonides’ popularity was growing steadily and the higher authorities were investigating regarding the religious disposition of this highly intellectual and gifted young man. The ongoing inquiry had caused him to be charged with the crime of having reverted from Islam due to the evidenceprovided by an informer. But, due to the intervention of a Muslim friend, he remained successful in escaping the situation. However, these circumstances caused his family once again to leave Fez in 1165 and spent life in search of some shelter. Afterwards, they started their journey and went to Acre, to Jerusalem, and then to Fustat (Cairo), where they settled themselves in 1166 (Jacobs &Broyde). In Egypt, Maimonides had to face a number of misfortunes right in the starting years. Jacobs and Broyde had mentioned in their article that his father, Maimon had died during that period too. After the demise of his father, his brother “David”had taken the responsibility of supporting the family by trading of precious stones. His financial support had provided Maimonides with the comfort of continuing and devoting himself to study Torah and author his first scholarly work on the Mishnah which started in 1166 and finished in 1168. This work of Maimonides was established as a seminal work in the Jewish Law. But it was not the end of losses for Maimonides, as his brother got perished in the sea in 1171. With his brother, his own fortune along with the large sums of other traders that had been entrusted upon David, were also lost with him. That event had affected the health of Maimonides and he remained sick for a long time span. After recovering his grievances and compelling to start a work for his living, Maimonides chose to adopt the medical profession to support himself and his brother’s family. After several years of medical practice, he succeeded in establishing himself as an authority in medical profession. According to the biographical article of Jacobs and Broyde, Maimonides’ expertise in medical field led him to get appointed as a private physician to Saladin’s Al-Kadi al-Fadil al-Baisami. He later recommended him to the royal family and awarded him with the honor of several distinctions. According to an Arabic historian Al-Kitti, Maimonides had refused to accept a similar position being offered to him by “the King of the Franks in Ascalon” (Richard I of England). Maimonides adopted the simple practice of treating and trying to the diseases with the help of prescribed diet before any kind of drug administration within his professional career. He had also addressed his students to know the depth and true nature of this sacred profession and emphasized on revealing only those facts that have a reliable foundation and can be supported by either argument or authority. He advised them to work hard like him as this profession involves hectic duties through the description of his own professional experience. Maimonides was a genius and produced a vast range of works. He was an intellectual personality and was successful in answering hundreds of questions related to varying fields addressed to him from differentparts of the world. He had also administered the affairs of the community of Cairo, in which, soon after his arrival, he became popular and ranked as aleading person, and becoming its recognized official head by 1177 (Jacobs &Broyde). Maimonides had produced a number of writings within the time span of 1158-1190. His first ever philosophical work was the “Treatise on the Art of Logic” (Seeskin).As reported by Jacobs and Broyde, besides Maimonides’ initial written work, he also had written a well-known commentary on the Mishnah entitled "Kitab al-Siraj," a book related to theteachings, "Kitab al-Fara'i?," the code Mishneh Torah (named by Maimonides' admirers as "Yad ha-?aza?ah"), and the philosophical work "Dalalat al-?a'irin" ("MorehNebukim"). The first three works are of major concern and were followed by the supplementary articles.However, the other works were also of immense significance as they served and helped not only the rational development of Judaism, but also the history of philosophy of the Medieval time. Jacobs and Broydehave also mentioned in their article “Moses Ben Maimon”, the object of the work last mentioned is explained by Maimonides in the following terms: "I have composed this work neither for the common people, nor for beginners, nor for those who occupy themselves only with the Law as it is handed down without concerning themselves with its principles. The design of this work is rather to promote the true understanding of the real spirit of the Law, to guide those religious persons who, adhering to the Torah, have studied philosophy and are embarrassed by the contradictions between the teachings of philosophy and the literal sense of the Torah." According to Seeskin, Maimonides emphasized that all of Jewish law focus at two things: the improvement of the body and the improvement of the soul. The former is in every case a means to the latter. The improvement of soul is brought about by gaining correct views and opinions and eventually knowledge regarding everything which all humans are able to know. When the soul gets able to acquire more knowledge, the more it becomes enable to fulfill the commandment (Deuteronomy 6:5) to love God. The biggest hindrance in the way of loving God is the firm belief that the only way to remain obedient to Bible is to interpret it literally. The literal interpretation of it leads to a material conception of God. And Maimonides considered that material conceptas similar to idolatry. Maimonides’ work known as “Guide” considered as a controversial work of his for a long time and also got banned within several Rabbinic circles. His acclaimed rejection of the literal interpretation had raised the question in the minds of various readers of whether Maimonides' reading of the Torah trulyresembles to what the prophets understood or represents a philosophical reconstruction that owes more to Aristotle and Al-Farabi than it does to Moses. It also had given rise to the doubts about the real meaning and interpretation of the Torah thatare they too controversial to be taught only to the intellectual beings and the average worshipper should be restricted to it; in short the question of esotericism (Seeskin). Maimonides' had produced his last two works known as the “Treatise on Resurrection”, published in 1191, and the “Letter on Astrology”, published in 1195 (Halkin& Hartman 211-81). The first one was written to answer the charge that while he may admit belief in bodily rebirth, Maimonides did not really mean it. The charge has also attributed the merit to Maimonides' concept that whatever he presented about afterlife is purely intellectual. He has defended himself by stating that the importance does not lie in whether and how resurrection will occur but whether it is in any way possible for it to occur. As for the second one, once one accepts belief in creation, the possibility of bodily resurrection follows immediately. The “Letter on Astrology” was written at a time when many people hold a belief that the heavenly bodies have a great influence over human events and life. He argues that there this belief has no scientific foundation and people should stop connecting the various events in their life to this belief even if the sacred literature supports it by any means (Seeskin). Maimonides’ views were totally in declination to the historical beliefs as they presents a challenge to the modern reader. Maimonides’ arguments seemed to have a solid basis and he was guided by the need to systematize. He had given 613 original commandments and argued that all are means to the fulfillment of the first two, which he interpreted as belief in the existence of God and rejection of idolatry (Maimonides MT 1). These two initial commandments merge together to make what is known as “monotheism”. From Maimonides' perspective, monotheism does not wholly comprised of these two initial beliefs but has a lot more in itself to become a divine and true worshipper of one and only God.However, to satisfy the first two commandments, one must be a firm believer in a timeless, changeless, immaterial deity (the Creator) who is one in each and every aspect and has no match in this created universe. Any person who fails to recognize and accept such a deity is renderedas being an idolater no matter how many other commandments he/she may fulfill or how passionatelythat individual may fulfill them. And under such a situation, if anyone holding a false description of God worships him then it will be treated similarly of not worshipping God at all.This principal is the similar and does not change at all since God first spoke to Adam (Seeskin). Maimonides had faced a serious problem in leading the people out of captivity. He knew that if he would only offer the philosophical proofs again and again then people become disinterested in his work as they did with the former philosophers. So he thought of offering the proofs with the blueprint for a social order that would help the people remember their history and the basic principles on which it is founded. That is the main reason for designing the other 611 commandments in addition to the first two, to create an environment in which people will have the time, health, and mental facility needed to grasp the truth of monotheism (Seeskin). According to Maimonides as mentioned by Seeskin, Judaism is based on a particular philosophy. Maimonides takes this to show them that even before Plato and Aristotle introduced science and philosophy to the Greeks, their heads had introduced it to Israel. For the people who doubt and question that why Jews have no explicit record of their philosophy, Maimonides replied that any record of such teaching was totally destroyed when Israel went into exile and suffered harassment. That had lead Maimonides to think that there is only one tradition worth preserving: the one which affirms the truth. He makes this point in the Introduction to the “Guide” when he says that what Jewish tradition taught under the guise of “Ma'asehBereishit” (the account of the beginning) is what Greeks thinkers taught as physics. While what Jewish tradition taught under the guise of “Ma'asehMerkavah” (the account of [Ezekiel's] chariot) is what Greek thinkers taught under the guise of metaphysics. All this shows that the Jewish tradition has always been philosophical since its beginning. The main problem lies in the fact that these subjects are so complex to be understood by an average worshipper and must be expressed through the simple notations that the educated few will interpret at one level and the average worshipper at another (Seeskin). Seeskin has mentioned that looking at that time’s situation, Maimonides got to conclude that the tradition of learning that had been initiated in Israel has been lost by them once again. People have now become used to pray to a material God and justify their actions on the basis of literal interpretation. They were in dire need to have someone to reverse this situation and reintroduce Jews to the teachings of their own tradition. Looking at the whole critically, it can be interpreted that such truths are Jewish only in the sense that Jews were the first one to discover them. From an ethnic and firm point of view, they are no more remained Jewish. Maimonides concept of progress was totally different from the average material human beings.Although he regarded mastery of science and philosophy as an important and essential part of human survival and progress, yet he did not view them as cumulative. Rather, he aimed to take the average being into new territory to reacquaint them with the territory that Moses and the patriarchs had already staked out. The universal truths never change. Human progress does not dependent upon the material criteria, instead it is measured by the degree to which they are identified and understood. Thisclearly defines that the primary function of the Messiah will be to teach these truths and help create conditions in which more people are able to reflect on them (Seeskin). According to Telushkin’s text extracted from Jewish Virtual Library, Maimonides was one among the few Jewish thinkers whose teachings not only attracted the Jewish readers but also have a remarkable influence over the non-­Jewish world. Much of his philosophical writings in the “Guide” were about God and other theological issues of general, not exclusively Jewish, interest. Maimonides had died on December 13, 1204, and was buried in Tiberias. It has been said thatMaimonides’ dead body was placed upon a donkey and the animal set loose to reach anywhere by itself. The donkey then wandered and wandered until it finally reached and stopped in Tiberias, and that is the site where the great Maimonides was buried (Rosner 126). Works Cited 1. Davidson 2005, pp. 7–9, 18. 2. Halkin& Hartman. English translation and commentary on the “Treatise on Resurrection”. 1985. Pp.211-81. 3. Jacobs, Joseph &Broyde, Isaac. “Moses Ben Maimon”, Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906). The Executive Committee of the Editorial Board and Jacob ZallelLauterbach.09 Dec. 2011. . 4. Maimonides (MT 1, Principles of the Torah, 1.1–7) 5. Mangel, Nissen. “The Rambam: A Biography”, Kehot Publication Society, Brooklyn, NY, 1985. 6. Rosner, Fred. “The Life of Moses Maimonides, A Prominent Medieval Physician”. Einstein Quarterly Journal. Biol. Med. Ed. 19, 2002, pp.125-128. 7. Seeskin, Kenneth, "Maimonides", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2010 Edition). Edward N. Zalta (ed.).Retreived on 09 Dec. 2011. . 8.  Teushkin, Joseph. “Maimonides/Rambam”. Jewish Literacy. William Morrow and Co., New York, 1991. 09 Dec. 2011 Read More