The guide for the perplexed
 |
| Moses Maimonides |
The first edition of the English Translation of Maimonides' Dalalat al-Hairin" being exhausted without having fully supplied the demand, I prepared a second, revised edition of the Translation. In the new edition the three volumes of the first edition have been reduced to one volume by the elimination of the notes; besides Hebrew words and phrases have been eliminated or transliterated. By these changes, the translator sought to produce a cheap edition in order to bring the work of Maimonides within the reach of all students of Theology and Jewish Literature.
Excerpt:
Before the sun of Eli had set the sun of Samuel had risen." Before the voice of the prophets had ceased to guide the people, the Interpreters of the Law, the Doctors of the Talmud, had commenced their labors, and before the Academies of Sura and of Pumbadita were closed, centers of Jewish thought and learning were already flourishing in the far West. The circum- stances which led to the transference of the headquarters of Jewish learning from the East to the West in the tenth century are thus narrated in the Sefer ha-kabbalah of Rabbi Abraham ben David: "
After the death of Hezekiah, the head of the Academy and Prince of the Exile, the academies were closed and no new Geonim was appointed. But long before that time Heaven had willed that there should be a discontinuance of the pecuniary gifts which used to be sent from Palestine, North Africa, and Europe. Heaven had also decreed that a ship sailing from Bari should be captured by Ibn Romahis, commander of the naval forces of Abd-er- Rahman al-Nasr. Four distinguished Rabbis were thus made prisoners — Rabbi Hushiel, father of Rabbi Hananel, Rabbi Moses, father of Rabbi Hanok', Rabbi Shemarjahu, son of Rabbi Elhanan, and a fourth whose name has not been recorded. They were engaged in a mission to collect subsidies in aid of the Academy in Sura.
The captor sold them as slaves; Rabbi Hushiel was carried to Kairouan, R. Shemarjahu was left in Alexandria, and R. Moses was brought to Cordova. These slaves were ransomed by their brethren and were soon placed in important positions. When Rabbi Moses was brought to Cordova, it was supposed that he was uneducated. In that city, there was a synagogue known at that time by the name of Keneset ha-midrash, and Rabbi Nathan, renowned for his great piety, was the head of the congregation.
The members of the community used to hold meetings at which the Talmud was read and discussed. One day when Rabbi Nathan was expounding the Talmud and was unable to give a satisfactory explanation of the passage under discussion. Rabbi Moses promptly removed the difficulty and at the same time answered several questions which were submitted to him. Thereupon R. Nathan thus addressed the assembly: — 'I am no longer your leader; that stranger in sackcloth shall henceforth be my teacher, and you shall appoint him to be your chief.'
The admiral, on hearing of the high attainments of his prisoner, desired to revoke the sale, but the king would not permit this retraction, being pleased to learn that his Jewish subjects were no longer dependent for their religious instruction on the schools in the East." Henceforth the schools in the West asserted their independence and even surpassed the parent institutions. The Caliphs, mostly opulent, gave every encouragement to philosophy and poetry; and, being generally liberal in sentiment, they entertained kindly feelings towards their Jewish subjects.
- Author: Moses Maimonides
- Translator: M. Friedländer,
- Publication date: 1910
- Publisher London: G. Routledge & Sons, Ltd.; New York: E.P. Dutton & Co.
Download 23.6 MB - PDF ebook