Maimonides: Life and Thought

Maimonides, also known in Hebrew as Rambam, was a great Jewish philosopher and physician. Born in Andalusia, Spain, in 1138, he was forced to flee after the intolerant Almohad dynasty gained power. After years of wandering in North Africa, he finally reached Egypt in 1166, where he became a leader of the Egyptian Jewish community until his death in 1204. Many commentators have written about Maimonides’s contributions, especially about his work on Jewish law. This new book adds the ideas of author Halbertal, a philosopher who teaches at Hebrew University and New York University, to scholarly understanding of Maimonides. His work, originally in Hebrew, is difficult to follow. Readers need to be well-versed in Jewish philosophy and the writings of Maimonides to comprehend Halbertal’s analysis. Many others, some cited in a lengthy bibliography organized by chapters, have written clearer analyses of Maimonides’s contributions. This is a book that will be useful only for those who are well-versed in Jewish philosophy and especially in the books written by Maimonides. (Dec.)