History of the Jews, Vol. 3 (of 6)

Maimuni thus, on the one hand, raised the Jewish creed to the height of rational knowledge, and, on the other, set bounds to the free development of thought. Hitherto religious action only was valued as the characteristic of Jewish life. Maimuni now called a halt to free thought, marked the boundary line between belief and heresy, not in the firm province of religious practice, but in the shifting ground of religious belief, and brought the ethereal element of thought under rigid formulæ.

Great as the work of Maimuni in his commentary on the Mishna undoubtedly is, although he applied to it infinite learning, wealth of intellect, and systematic arrangement, yet he did not obtain a reputation corresponding to its merit. The reason of this was that among the Jews of Egypt and the East, to whom the work, being in Arabic, was most of all accessible, there was but the faintest appreciation of scientific treatment. The great work was at first scarcely noticed in the East. His pupils, to whom he gave lectures on the same plan, and who revered him as the incarnation of wisdom, spread his reputation abroad. One of his earliest disciples, Solomon Kohen, who traveled to southern Arabia (Yemen), was full of his praise, and impressed on the congregation there that, in time of need, they should apply to Maimuni for consolation and support.

In Egypt far-reaching changes had crept in, which produced a favorable turn in the fortunes of the Jews of that empire and the neighboring countries. The Fatimide Caliph died, or was deposed, and the great Saladin, the model of royal magnanimity and chivalry in that barbarous age, succeeded to the government (September, 1171). At first the celebrated Ajubide only held the office of Vice-Field-Marshal of Nureddin; gradually he acquired absolute supremacy over Egypt and a part of Palestine, Syria, and even the districts about the Euphrates, and the Caliphate of Bagdad obeyed his rule. His empire became a safe asylum to the oppressed Jews. Saladin was just to the Jews, as indeed towards every one, even his bitterest enemies. Under him the Jews rose to great prosperity and distinction.

At first the fall of the Fatimide Caliphate, and the subjection of the surrounding countries belonging to it, under the Abbasid or Sunnite Caliphs of Bagdad, set loose fanaticism which was felt by the Jewish congregations of Yemen. In that place two Shiites had seized upon the government, and they compelled the Jews to embrace Islam under threat of great suffering. Here also, as in Africa and southern Spain, the Jews outwardly pretended to adopt the Mahometan religion (about 1172). But as the grossest ignorance prevailed among them, there was danger that the unthinking multitude would proceed from pretence to reality, and fall away from Judaism altogether. This fear became real when a Jewish apostate preached to the congregation that Mahomet is mentioned in the Torah, and that Islam was a new, divinely announced revelation, which was intended to supersede Judaism. In addition, at just about this time, there appeared a Jewish enthusiast in Yemen, who proclaimed himself to be the forerunner of the Messiah, endeavored to instil in the Jews the belief that their affliction was the harbinger of the speedy approach of the Messianic empire, and bade them hold themselves in readiness for that event, and divide their property with the poor. This enthusiastic hope, to which many clung as drowning men to a straw, threatened to bring the direst misfortune on the heads of the Yemen Jews. The pious abandoned themselves to despair in the contemplation of these proceedings, altogether lost their heads, and knew not what plan they should adopt. At this point, Jacob Alfayumi, the most learned and most respected man among them, turned to Maimuni, of whom he had heard through his disciples, for counsel and consolation, described to him their sufferings and apprehensions, and begged him to send a reply.

Maimuni accordingly sent a letter of consolation, in Arabic, to the congregation of Yemen, directed personally to his correspondent, but having reference to all the members (Iggeret Teman). In spite of its small compass, it contains valuable matter, and bears witness to the writer's lofty soul and spiritual refinement. He sought in it to elevate the sufferers to the height of spiritual consciousness, on which suffering for religion's sake loses its sting, and darkness appears as the inevitable antecedent of the break of day. He expressed himself on the relation of Judaism to Christianity and Islam with an acuteness and precision which reflect his profound conviction. It was certainly sad to reflect, remarks the sage of Cairo, that there should have occurred cruel persecutions of the Jews in two opposite directions; in the West by the Almohades, and in the East by the Mahometans of Yemen. Nevertheless they were not unexpected, for the prophets had announced them quite distinctly. "Because God has specially distinguished us, sons of Israel, through His grace, and has appointed us the upholders of the true religion and the true creed, the nations hate us, not only on our own account, but on account of the divinity which lives in our midst, in order to thwart in some measure the divine will." Since the revelation on Sinai there had never been a time when Judaism and its professors had not been exposed to sufferings and persecutions. The nations had manifested their hate in three different forms; either with the sword, like Amalek, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Titus, and Hadrian, in order utterly to root out from the earth the nation that possessed the truth; or with the false tricks of sophistical persuasion, like the Persians, Greeks, and Romans, with a view to refute and falsify the doctrines of Judaism; or finally under the mask of revelation, as it were, in the garb of Judaism, in order to juggle it out of existence. The principle inimical to Judaism had at length discovered that it was unable to annihilate the upholders of God's religion, or to tear it out of their hearts; and now it hoped to destroy them by a crafty device. It pretended also to have received a revelation acknowledging that on Sinai to have been authorized for a time, but declared that it now had no further validity. This hostile principle, which sought the banishment of the divine from earth, attempted to substitute a stuffed figure for a godly child, and falsify Judaism. The new revelations of Nazareth and Mecca, compared with Judaism, were like well-executed statues of a man, compared with a real man full of life and energy. All this bitter enmity of the nations of the earth against Israel and its divine religion had been foreseen by the prophets, especially by Daniel, who at the same time foretold the victory of Judaism over superstition. "And now, brethren," so Maimuni addressed the congregation of Yemen in his letter, "consider well these truths, and do not let yourselves be discouraged by the superabundance of your woe. Its purpose is to test you, and to show that the posterity of Jacob, the descendants of those who received the Law on Sinai, are in possession of the true Law." Furthermore, he pointed out that it was wrong to calculate the Messianic period, as the Yemen enthusiast thought he had succeeded in doing; for it can never be exactly determined, it having been purposely concealed as a deep secret by the prophets.

Lastly, Maimuni exhorted Jacob Alfayumi to circulate his letter among the congregations of Yemen, that it might strengthen them in their faith, but to take great precautions when reading it that no traitor might be given the opportunity of making it the pretext for an accusation. He himself, said Maimuni, wrote in anxiety as to the evil consequences which might ensue for him; but he considered that he who wished to work for the general good must not be deterred by apprehensions of danger. This interesting letter of consolation, which was written with much warmth, made so favorable an impression on the Jews of southern Arabia, that they, far from growing indifferent to their religion, were strengthened in it, and were moved to take an energetic share in all the events affecting the welfare of the whole body of Jews. In later times, when Maimuni attained greater importance, he found the means of putting a stop to the political oppression and bigoted persecution suffered by the Jews. For this the congregation of Yemen clove to him with enthusiastic love and veneration. They included his name in their daily prayer, a demonstration of honor which had been accorded only to the Exilarchs at their zenith.

Maimuni's greatness only gradually obtained acknowledgment. As early as the year 1175, he was looked upon as an authority in the determination of rabbinical laws; and religious-legal questions were addressed to him from all parts, a circumstance from which we may infer the universal recognition of his authority. Maimuni appears to have been officially recognized in 1177 as rabbi of Cairo, on account of his profound knowledge of the Talmud, his character, and his fame. He, with nine colleagues, formed an ecclesiastical board. His office he regarded as a holy priesthood, and exercised it with characteristic conscientiousness and circumspection. Where he perceived any abuses, he placed himself boldly in the breach. Although Maimuni worked hard in eliminating from the rabbinical world all Karaite customs which had crept in, he, nevertheless, always showed great tolerance toward the followers of Anan. Being asked how Rabbanites should behave towards Karaites, he replied that as long as they kept within the bounds of decency, and did not scoff at the Talmud, they were to be treated respectfully, and to be approached with friendliness, humility, and in a pacific spirit. Rabbanites might visit them in their houses, bury their dead, comfort their mourners, and initiate their children into the covenant of Abraham. The Talmud enjoins that we must observe a friendly demeanor towards heathens and idolaters, how much more so towards those who spring from the seed of Jacob, and acknowledge only one God. By virtue of his office, Maimuni tried hard to secure decorum in the synagogue, and also to remove many long-continued abuses. He noticed, for instance, that when the congregation had finished saying the silent prayer, thinking that they had performed their duty, they did not listen to its audible repetition by the reader, but chatted with one another, and generally behaved in an unbecoming manner. The Mahometans mocked at them, and with justice too, for they were accustomed to conduct their own divine service with concentrated devotion. Maimuni, who always felt deeply mortified when Judaism was exposed to ridicule, was anxious to put a stop to such offensive behavior in the synagogues, and with this motive abrogated the silent prayer altogether, without considering that it is expressly prescribed by the Talmud. Sincere prayer was to him of higher importance than mere mechanical fulfilment of precept. This practice, instituted by Maimuni, according to which the reader alone said the chief prayer, was followed, not only in the whole of Egypt, but even in several congregations of Palestine, in Damascus, and Haleb, and was continued among the native congregations for three centuries.

In the midst of his energetic activity in communal affairs, practising as a physician, and devoting himself to the constant study of philosophy and science, Maimuni completed his second great work (8 Kislev – 7 November, 1180), his epoch-making "Mishne-Torah," or Religious Code. If, as he states, he labored at it continuously for ten successive years, the time stands in no relation to the magnitude of the performance. It is impossible to give the uninitiated an idea of this gigantic work, in which he collected the most remote things from the vast mine of the Talmud, extracting the fine metal from the dross, classifying all details under their appropriate heads, showing how the Talmud was based on the Bible, bringing its details under general rules, combining apparently unconnected parts into one organized whole, and cementing it into a work of art. He justly laid special emphasis, in the Mishne-Torah, on the necessity of skilful grouping, the difficulties of which can be estimated only by a specialist deeply versed in the subject. The Talmud resembles a Dædalian maze, in which one can scarcely find his way even with Ariadne's thread, but Maimuni designed a well-contrived ground-plan, with wings, halls, apartments, chambers, and closets, through which a stranger might easily pass without a guide, and thereby obtain a survey of all that is contained in the Talmud. Only a mind accustomed to think clearly and systematically, and filled with the genius of order, could have planned and built a structure like this.

Apart from the technical excellences, and the incomparably well proportioned architecture, the work had, as far as the contents are concerned, a most important influence on the development of Jewish history. All the various lines which his predecessors had partially traced out on the ground of Judaism, Maimuni united in the greatest harmony. Nothing therein is given undue prominence, and nothing is neglected. The philosophical, the ethical and the ceremonial sides, and, so to speak, the emotional side of Judaism which the aspiration for a Messianic period of redemption expresses, are treated in this work as of equal worth and prominence. Maimuni united the divergent roads on which Judaism had been led, and made them meet together in one point. He worked out to final perfection all the efforts which, since Saadiah had tried to give a philosophical basis to Judaism, and to make clear its import, had been embodied in writing. His work was the necessary center of gravity of the tremendous intellectual structure of three centuries.

It may almost be said that Maimuni created a new Talmud. The old elements are certainly there; we know their source, their occurrence, and their original application, but under his treatment, grouping, and elaboration they assume a new shape. The rust is removed, the confusing non-essential matter is taken out, and everything appears newly cast, polished, fresh, and original. The Mishna, the groundwork of the Talmud, begins with the question, "At what time is the Shema to be said in the evening?" and concludes with a discussion as to what things are unclean according to Levitical law. Maimuni, on the other hand, thus commences his Talmudical Code, "The foundation and pillar of all wisdom is to recognize that there is an original Being, who called all creatures into existence," and ends with the words, "The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." This work breathes the spirit of true wisdom, calm reflection, and deep morality. Maimuni, so to speak, talmudized Philosophy, and philosophized the Talmud. He admitted philosophy into his religious Code, and conceded it a place of equal importance with the Halacha. From the time of Philo till Abraham Ibn-Daud, philosophy had always been treated as something secondary, which had nothing to do with practical Judaism, as it is daily and hourly practised. Maimuni, on the other hand, introduced it into the holiest place in Judaism, and as it were gave Aristotle a place next to the doctors of the Law. A great portion of the first book of his work (Sepher Madda) is of a philosophical character. The object of his work was to simplify the knowledge of the whole of Judaism, both Biblical and Talmudical, which in his judgment were of equal value. He wanted to clear up the diffuseness and obscurity, which arise from Talmudical idiom, the discussions, the incomplete explanations of the Geonim, and render the study of the Talmud so difficult; to illumine chaos, and put confusion into order. The rabbi who had to determine questions of a religious or legal character, the pious man who desired to discharge his religious duty of knowing the Law, the student who desired to obtain knowledge of the Talmud, had no more need to struggle through the thorny underbrush of Halachic discussions, but in addition to Holy Writ had simply to refer to the Code of the Mishne-Torah, in order to acquire complete information. He hinted rather broadly that his work was intended to render the Talmud less necessary, if not to supersede it. For this reason he wrote it in the neo-Hebrew language (Mishna idiom), which was easily understood, so as to make it accessible to all people, and thus spread the knowledge of the Law, and the principles of Judaism generally. It is true that he came into collision with the views of his rabbinical contemporaries, who expected the Talmud to be treated with the same respect as the Holy Scriptures, wherein no word is superfluous, and which, therefore, must be studied in the original text.

In consistently carrying out his principle that all details should be brought under comprehensive heads, and that nothing should be admitted without conclusive grounds, Maimuni could not help deviating occasionally in his decisions from the Talmudical method of determining the case, and striking out into a path peculiar to himself. In one particular point he stepped beyond the bounds of the Talmud. The Talmud treats as Biblical many decisions which were inferred from verses of Scripture by an application of the accepted rules of interpretation. Maimuni, however, advanced the principle that only those laws were Biblical which the Talmud distinctly claimed to be so without recording any difference of opinion on the subject.

In this bold view Maimuni was manifestly influenced by the objection of the Karaites against the Oral Law. Without being himself clearly aware of it, he conceded that a genuine tradition could not be amenable to differences of opinion, and must never, during its transmission from generation to generation, be exposed to doubt.

Although Maimuni's theory, consistently followed out, is calculated to undermine Talmudical Judaism, that Judaism, nevertheless, was in practice held by him in such estimation that he regarded nothing to be of higher importance. The Talmudical sages were, in his eyes, authorities who occupied a position only a step lower than the prophets. He regarded them as ideals, to emulate whom would lead to a virtuous, religious, and perfect life. The legal decisions proceeding from them, whether mandatory or prohibitory, could be abrogated only under circumstances specified in the Talmud itself. In practice, accordingly, it made no difference whether a law was Biblical or rabbinical; both were to be observed with equal conscientiousness.

Maimuni, through his religious Code, gave rabbinical Judaism a strong hold, and on the other hand he helped to ossify it. Much in the Talmud that was still unsettled and open to explanation he crystallized into unchangeable law. As he introduced into Judaism articles of belief, which were to limit thought by thought, so by his codified determinations of the laws, he robbed it of its mobility. Without considering the condition of the times in which the Talmudical decisions had arisen, he laid them down as binding for all times and circumstances. In this respect he was much stricter than the Tossafist school, who took the sting out of a too burdensome law by proving after elaborate examination that it was not applicable to changed circumstances and times. If Maimuni's Code had acquired absolute supremacy, as it at first seemed likely to do, and had dislodged the Talmud from the schools, from the hands of the religious authorities, and from the Jewish courts of law, Talmudical Judaism would have succumbed to petrifaction, notwithstanding the rich thought and the scientific treatment which Maimuni bestowed on it.

However, as soon as the Jews obtained possession of Maimuni's Code, which was accessible to them by reason of its simple language and arrangement, they began to see clearly its high importance. In Spain, it was said, every one copied it for himself; the Jewish mind was absorbed in it, young and old gathered together in order to master its contents. There were now many doctors of the Law who could pass an original opinion on any controversial point of law, and check the decision of the judge. And as in Spain, so it was in all countries, even in the East, where the study of the Talmud was more energetically pursued. The reverence for the great master increased every day, especially when it became known that his private life corresponded to the ideal which he had delineated of a Jewish sage. His people lavished on him the most enthusiastic of praises. "The only one of his time," "The banner of the rabbis," "The enlightener of the eyes of Israel," were modest titles. It required all Maimuni's moral force not to be overpowered by the incense burned before him. Maimuni's name rang from Spain to India, and from the sources of the Euphrates and the Tigris to southern Arabia, and eclipsed all contemporary celebrities. The most learned men subordinated themselves to his judgment, and solicited his instruction in the most humble manner; he was regarded as chief authority for the whole Jewish world, which revered him as its noblest representative.

He did not escape the attack of petty opponents, who were jealous of his towering greatness, insignificant rabbis, who, being superficially familiar with the text of the Talmud, thought themselves in possession of all wisdom, and were unpleasantly awakened from their dream by Maimuni's work. In Cairo itself some Talmudists would not deign to bestow a glance on the Code, lest it might be said that they had learnt something out of it. Others argued that the College of Bagdad was the only seat of Talmudical knowledge, and that he who had not studied in this school could not be recognized as thoroughly initiated, and, consequently, Maimuni's decisions did not deserve unconditional acceptance. Such little minds persuaded themselves that it lay in their power to compose a like or even a better work on all the laws of Judaism. The head of this petty opposition was Samuel ben Ali, of Bagdad, who, on his richly embellished Gaonate throne, surrounded by his slaves armed with scourges, would not acknowledge any one his equal, much less his superior. Maimonides opposed a contemptuous silence to detractors of this class. However, he also had honorable adversaries, who feeling that Maimuni's conception of Talmudical Judaism was not flesh of their flesh, scented heresy in the Code, and perceived danger therein to the practice of the religion. But wherein the strange and inconsistent elements lay only the more learned understood; the simple, on the other hand, lit upon secondary and quite unessential points, and excited themselves about them, as if the fundamental principles of the religion were in danger.

Thus, in Alexandria, after the publication of Maimuni's work, there broke out against it a popular insurrection, because it was taught therein that bathing before prayer, which the Eastern Jews had adopted from their Mahometan neighbors, was not essential. Members of the congregation combined, and threatened to lay information against it before the Mahometan authorities, on the ground that those who had adopted Maimuni's Code as law wished to introduce innovations into the religion.

It was only after a residence in Egypt of more than twenty years that Maimuni obtained an appointment as physician at the court of Saladin; up to that time he had acquired only a slight practice. He was not Saladin's physician in ordinary, for the Sultan, on account of the constant wars with the adherents of Nureddin and with the Christians, could not visit his capital for a long time. But the favor of the noble vizir, the wise and mighty Alfadhel, who was also a great promoter of learning, and of whom a contemporary said, "he was entirely head and heart," was of as much value as the distinguished recognition of the sovereign. Alfadhel caused Maimuni to be placed on the list of physicians, settled upon him a yearly salary, and loaded him with favors. Inspired by his example, the great men of the country who lived in Cairo likewise bestowed upon him their patronage, so that Maimuni's time was so fully occupied that he was obliged to neglect his studies. Maimuni was indebted for his elevation more to his medical learning than to his skill as a physician; for he pursued this profession as a learned science, and prescribed no recipe for whose efficacy he could not cite the judgment of medical authorities. He treated the facts of scientific medicine in the same spirit as he had treated the Talmud. In this manner he elaborated the writings of Galen, the medical oracle in the Middle Ages; he abridged and arranged them, without permitting himself to deviate from the original in the slightest particular. The same character is borne also by his medical aphorisms, which are nothing further than extracts from and classifications of older theories. In spite of his almost absolute lack of originality in the province of medicine, Maimuni nevertheless enjoyed a wide reputation as a medical author. The celebrated Mahometan physician and theologian, Abdel-latif, of Bagdad, who enjoyed the favor of Saladin in a high degree, confessed that his wish to visit Cairo was prompted by the desire to make the acquaintance of three men, among whom was Musa ben Maimun. The poet and kadhi, Alsaid Ibn-Sina Almulk, sang of Maimuni's greatness as a physician in ecstatic verse: