The Mishneh Torah (), also known as Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (), 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 ('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,"Yad Mal'akhi", rule 26 and 27, p. 186 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." 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.
Sources
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.
Language and style 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.Preface to the Mishneh Torah 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.Goldenberg, Robert. "Talmud." Back to the Sources: Reading the Classic Jewish Texts, edited by Barry W. Holtz, Simon & Schuster, 1984, pp. 129-175
Contents The books and sections
HaMadda (Knowledge) Yesodei ha-Torah ( '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 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 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) 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 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 Sefer Shoftim (Judges) Sanhedrin Edut: testimony Mamrim: heretics Evel: mourning Melachim uMilhamoteyhem: kings and wars
Notable laws 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).Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot matanot aniyim ("Laws about Giving to Poor People"), Chapter 10:7–14
Contemporary reaction
Contemporary criticism 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.Yad, Hilkhot Talmud Torah 1:11
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:
Maimonides' response
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.Letter to Rabbi Jonathan of Lunel, in which he thanks the latter for certain corrections; Responsa of Maimonides, 49