Who is Maimonides?
Maimonides, whose full name was Moses ben Maimon, was a rabbi from Spain who lived between approximately 1135 and 1204 CE. He was also known as the RaMBaM, or the Rambam, the acronym of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon. His work has remained extraordinarily important and influential among Jews and non-Jews alike. Maimonides’ primary achievements in writing were the Mishneh Torah, The Commentary on the Mishnah, The Book of Commandments, and The Guide for the Perplexed. All but the Mishneh Torah are written in Arabic. Maimonides’ Commentary on the Mishnah is now considered to be a fundamental text to Orthodox Jews. It establishes the idea that God exists. In it Maimonides also says that God should also be viewed as spiritual, bodiless and eternal, and should be the sole subject of worship. Further, Maimonides argues that God revealed his wisdom through prophets, with Moshe, or Moses, being the first and most important prophet. Maimonides also reinforces the notion that the Torah is God’s law and t