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SpecialSection By Chaim Rapoport The Magnitude of the of its lucidity and comprehensiveness. woven around the phrases and nuances Mishneh Torah1 In the introduction to the Mishneh of the Mishneh Torah. It is still a most A play on the words in Torah, Maimonides writes that he antici- fertile ground for the sprouting of chid- Deuteronomy 34:10 gave birth to the pated that this work would serve as a dushei Torah (original rabbinic insights) following pun: “From Moses to Moses substitute for all other classical works on and debate. there did not arise one like Moses.” Till Jewish law that were composed after the For some, the Mishneh Torah has this very day virtually no other Torah Bible. This never came to be, at least not served more as a commentary than as a sage, both before or after Maimonides on a universal level. On the other hand, code. Others have also used it as a text (11352-1204), has earned the universal Maimonides may never have envisioned through which even the layman can, via acclaim inherent in this well-known the degree to which his code would daily study, become familiar with all adage3 that has been engraved on the become a focal point of rabbinic study, areas of Torah law.7 Virtually no commu- tombstone traditionally ascribed to albeit not in the manner he had antici- nity8 today has adopted the Mishneh Maimonides.4 Indeed, if taken on a literal pated. Torah as the last word in Jewish law, yet level, namely that Moses Maimonides its relevance even in the so-called disci- rose to the subliminal heights attained by pline of “practical halachah” is unques- Moses the Biblical lawgiver, this adage tionable. Notwithstanding the preemi- WHAT MOSES DID Mishneh Torah, borders on heresy according to nence of Rabbi Yosef Karo’s Shulchan FOR THE WRITTEN LAW, Maimonides, Rab Maimonides’ own standards.5 On the Aruch in matters of practical ruling, pres- 350, folio 274. other hand, the saying should not be dis- MAIMONIDES DID ent-day authorities are often compelled All illustrations in this section missed as mere hyperbole, for, in a sense, FOR THE ORAL TRADITION. to return to the legal formulae in the courtesy of the Library of the Jewish what Moses did for the Written Law, Mishneh Torah in order to make their Theological Seminary. Maimonides did for the Oral Tradition. case. No one before or after Maimonides The fact that the Mishneh Torah, in has even attempted to codify the entire Even those authorities who severely contradistinction to the Shulchan Aruch, gamut of Jewish law and produce a criticized certain aspects of the Mishneh addresses areas of law that are not opera- canon of similar stature. Arguably, Torah acknowledged the importance of tive nowadays, has somewhat paradoxi- The two most influential works of Rambam are the arrived in Egypt, the Karaites were gaining strength over the Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah towers above this work. Moreover, even those rabbis cally made its present-day significance Mishneh Torah and Moreh Nevuchim. Therefore, in commemo- Rabbinates. By the power of Rambam’s intellect and personality, all other post-Talmudic classics in terms who expressed disdain for some of even more substantial. Most of the laws th rating his 800 yahrtzeit (he died on Tevet 20, 4965; December that trend was soon reversed. It was as if he was a Divine emissary Maimonides’ theological doctrines and of ritual impurity, for example, are not of 13, 1204), we thought it appropriate to focus on these two monu- sent to confront the enormous challenges of his time. philosophical works,6 accepted his direct concern today, yet they have enor- mental masterpieces. Rabbi Rapoport is the author of many scholarly Mishneh Torah as a preeminent halachic mous impact on many matters that are of When he passed away, in his seventieth year, in Egypt, both works. His English books include The Messiah But, as we admire Rambam’s literary works, let us not forget code. immediate relevance. These include the Jews and Arabs mourned for three days. In Jerusalem, the mourners Problem: Berger, the Angel and the Scandal his towering figure as leader of his people. At the time, many Jews And today, some 800 years after laws of sukkah, mikvaot and tumat declared a general fast and read from the tochachah. Additionally, of Reckless Indiscrimination (Ilford, 2002) were presented with the choice of forced conversion or death. and Judaism and Homosexuality: An the completion of the Mishneh Torah, it kohanim. Invariably, posekim will turn to they read the haftarah from Samuel, which concluded with the fol- Rambam provided comfort and chizuk, as demonstrated in his Authentic Orthodox View (London, 2004). remains a preeminent canon of halachah. the Mishneh Torah for an authoritative Letter to Yemen and his Letter Concerning Shemad. He helped lowing verse: “The glory of Israel has been exiled, for the ark of the The author wishes to thank Professor Hardly a day goes by on which we do statement in such areas. raise the enormous sums necessary for pidyon shevuyim. When he Lord was taken from us” (1:4:22). Menachem Kellner for his valuable comments not witness the ever-increasing growth of Moreover, the Mishneh Torah fills a on an earlier draft of this essay. commentary and super-commentary gap in many areas of law that are of 38 JEWISH ACTION Spring 5765/2005 Spring 5765/2005 JEWISH ACTION 39 direct import today. The laws of repen- the Mishneh Torah; primary amongst to Israel some thirty years ago. Rabbi edition have been published. Kafich and Frankel editions of the or worn away and appeared as a vav.15 Be tance, for example, are not dealt with in them are the Kafich edition and the Frankel brought with him a plan for an Both the Frankel and Kafich edi- Mishneh Torah provide an important that as it may, bibliographic evidence the Shulchan Aruch, and consequently Frankel edition. (Rabbi Nachum ambitious project, namely, to produce a tions seek to assist the student in his pur- service for students. seems conclusive toward reading ela, even the Mishneh Torah remains the most Rabinovitch, dean of Yeshivat Darkei new edition of the Mishneh Torah that suit of the correct reading of any given Kafich and Frankel in though all printed editions of our text authoritative work in this area. Likewise, Moshe in Israel, has also published a would be unencumbered by the many passage. 16 Operation: Two Examples contain velo. laws in the Shulchan Aruch that relate to number of volumes of Yad Peshutah, a printing mistakes found in the standard The Frankel Rambam does this in A. In a well-known passage in the The difference between velo the status of a heretic would remain commentary on the Mishneh Torah. editions. The Frankel edition includes three ways. Some amendments have been Mishneh Torah (Hilchot Melachim 8:11), mechachmeihem and ela mechachmeihem obscure were it not for the formulations Space does not allow me to deal with the important commentaries that are not made to the body of the text itself. Maimonides writes: has enormous philosophical and halachic in the Mishneh Torah. The debates that uniqueness of his contribution here.) available in the standard editions, in Others have been provided as alternative Everyone who accepts the seven com- implications. The question as to whether have raged over the height of the requi- The Kafich edition is the work of addition to mekorot vetziyunim (sources readings in a special critical apparatus on mandments [of Noach] and is careful to do or not Maimonides rejected the notion site partition (mechitzah) between men one man, a Yemenite scholar named and references) and Sefer Hamafteach the margin of the text called shinuyei them is [one] of the chassidei umot hao- of natural law is, to a degree, dependent and women in the synagogue,9 the Rabbi Yosef Kafich nuschaot (variant readings). Others still lam [righteous persons of the nations of the on which reading is correct: velo or ela. appointment of a woman as the presi- (1917-2000),12 who have been relegated to a more extensive, world] and has a share in the world to The halachic status of Gentiles who do dent of a religious institution10 and the made aliyah in 1943 self-contained, critical work called Yalkut come. This is so if he accepts them and does not believe in the Revelation at Sinai, but and who dedicated legitimacy of the belief in a “resurrected Shinuyei Nuschaot (a collection of variant them because God commanded them in the who nevertheless observe the Noahide himself to translating Messiah,” have all revolved around for- readings), published at the end of each Torah and made them known to us, Code out of moral conviction, is, in part, mulations in the Mishneh Torah; the and explicating the volume. contingent upon the velo/ela debate. Shulchan Aruch does not offer directives works of medieval Rabbi Kafich’s edition presents the In former times, the reading ela Torah giants such as in these areas. text based on Yemenite manuscripts, mechachmeihem would have been avail- Maimonides and VIRTUALLY ALL TEXTS THAT which he considers to be the most accu- able only to researchers. However, in the Textual Challenges and Rav Sa’adiah Gaon WE HAVE INHERITED FROM rate. He cites an old tradition that relates Kafich and Frankel editions, this reading Contemporary (ca. 1000). He was a that during Maimonides’ lifetime, ANTIQUITY SUFFER FROM AN has been standardized and the old read- Contributions prolific writer, and Yemenite Jews sent expert scribes to ACCUMULATION OF SCRIBAL ing, velo mechachmeihem, relegated to the Virtually all texts that we have his unique talent in Egypt to copy the Mishneh Torah from ERRORS, COPYISTS’ MISTAKES marginal notes.