Moses Maimonides

A Jewish philosopher and physician. Maimonides (1135-1204) was born in Cordoba, Spain, as the first son of Rabbi Maimon ben Joseph, a highly respected, eighth-generation dayyan — a judge of the rabbinical court.

Maimonides made important contributions to the development of Judaism, and is considered by many to be the greatest Jewish philosopher. He wrote the Mishneh Torah, fourteen book on Jewish law and written in Hebrew. He formulated the Thirteen Articles of Faith, and wrote the Moreh Nevakhim, the Guide for the Perplexed (in Arabic, ca. 1190), in which he sought to harmonize faith and reason. In this work he discussed the nature of God, free will, and the dilemma of good and evil; a work that greatly influenced Christian philosophers Saint Thomas of Aquinas and Saint Albertus Magus.

❧