I once helped a student with an assignment.. i wrote it my style, not much citations but she was frightened to death not to see plenty of them saying: but the professor wants it this way!! I am sure she barely read it..
As my teachers have pointed out, the more Talmud you learn, the more you realize the absolute genius of Maimonides in independently interpreting and organizing the whole corpus.
1. Love the crossover! Two of my fave youtubes. 2. The rambam was a giant of a man. Not only in his days but throughout time. He and rashi are both just beyond understanding how much they did in such hard times.
To any non Hebrew speakers that read this what is written on his cloth on his tomb is “ממשה עד משה לא היה כמשה” meaning “from Moses to Moses their wasn’t anyone like Moses “ basically meaning that he is according to a lot of Jews one of the must important figures in Judaism and the best rabbi to ever lived
the Rambam/Maimonides was a criminal gang thugs muggers and torturers. "Two rabbis plotted to kidnap Jewish husbands, torture them with electric cattle prods and force them to grant their desperate wives religious divorces, the feds charged.."
Fascinating, and here I always thought that it translated as: "There's a million of us just like Moses, Who cuss like Moses; who just don't give a fuck like Moses, Who dress like Moses; walk, talk and act like Moses, Who just might be the next best thing but not quite Moses!"
15 years of Jewish day school, undergrad major in Judaic studies, and 2 years of yeshiva study... I've never had such an in depth biography of Maimonides before. Very well done!
the Rambam/Maimonides was a criminal gang thugs muggers and torturers. "Two rabbis plotted to kidnap Jewish husbands, torture them with electric cattle prods and force them to grant their desperate wives religious divorces, the feds charged.."
This man is a pillar to all Jewish communities, for he saw to modernize and solidify the idea of what it meant to be a good Jew/person. rest in peace you wise man, rest in peace.
Learning about Maimonides is truly amazing. I knew he was an important figure in making Judaism what it is today, but I had no idea how just much we owe to him. Also I love the use of Zelda music!
Amazing episode and that ending was perfect. Obviously given all that’s going on with lockdowns even in the wake of the madness of Purim for you to go to Tiberius may have had some challenges but thank you for your dedication.
@@babaopizza the government had scheduled days for families to celebrate the holiday but heavily restricted. However in several districts in cities like Tel Aviv the night before the restrictions came in there was mass public parties/gatherings in the street
You make the most informative and entertaining videos on Jewish history that I've found on UA-cam. I've learned more about real history from your videos than I ever did from Hebrew school or Jewish day school. Thanks so much, keep up the great work!
I'm a medical student and frum Jew. Rambam has been my hero since I was a child. Thank you for educating the world on his incredible life. From Moses to Moses there were none like Moses.
Wow. Thanks for the video. I lived in Israel and travelled to Tiberias not knowing Maimonides at that time. Early this year I learned the existence of him first from his statue in Cordoba out of unspeakably coincident curiosity, immediately memorized him because he died on the day that I was born, then learned more about him in local museums. I also am delighted to learn that Richard and him had these encounters. As Richard himself is full of anecdotes. Even though irrelevant, I'll just share some anecdotes that I was reminded of during this video :D - Richard and Philippe August were extremely close when they were young, sleeping-on-the-same-bed close, this is also one of the very probable reasons why their subsequent rivalry was that tense. - Richard, as a good Norman, spent far more time outside England than in, and never bothered to learn English. - Jerusalem has been permanently out of Christians' hands since the Khwarazmian takeover in 1244, at that time they plundered the local Armenians, decimated the Christians and drove out the Jews. Oh and they were the mercenaries of the same Ayyubid Egyptians. :) -- This triggered the uneventful 7th Crusade. - And I am a far descendent of a prominent Khwarazmian Sunni muslim, whose family surrendered to Genghis Khan during the 1220 conquer of Bukhara (guess the family was not one of the Bukhara Citadel loyals of the Khwarazmshah -- who were all butchered later), served under various Mongol Khans and eventually became the first provincial governor in the newly conquered Southwest China, brought both Confucianism and Islam to the region.
Imagine being in THAT rule and still He have much bigger things to your name even then that,from Revolutionizing Judiasm to writing Dozens Medical works,to writing work(guide of the perplex)that brought back much of Greek philosophy back to Christianity...
The idea that evil is only an absence of good is found in Augustine's confessions (Book 7). That is where Aquinas definitely got it from. He quoted Augustine the most of all Church Father's.
@@zenodotusofathens2122 I was pointing out a historical error (which I am pretty sure he addresses in his corrections video on this period). I am not making any larger argument.
@@zenodotusofathens2122 I don't think you get it. Augustine was influential in the Church very early on and his understanding of evil would become the traditional Catholic position long before the time of Maimonides or Aquinas. Even if Aquinas didn't get the idea directly from Augustine (which is unlikely since Aquinas quotes him so much), he would have still gotten that understanding from the Catholic Church who got it from Augustine. If he did find it in Maimonides, it would not have been the source of his idea of evil and good, but he would have seen a mere interesting agreement between Maimonides and the Catholic tradition he was raised in and systematized.
What a great presentation! Maimonides, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, with a mention of Ibn Sina!! I envisioned scenes from the Kingdom of Heaven......... you have gained a subscriber.... peace..
One of the best episodes in what has become a great series. You have made jewish history more accessible and exciting to outsiders like me by condensing it in this way. Thanks!
This train footage makes me depressed, as this winter was the first in several years where I haven´t been able to visit Israel. And its nice to see the grave of Rambam, as it makes me think of my visit there in the summer of 2016, one month before I finally joined the tribe.
The Rambam claim that evil doesn't exist but is simply the absence of good is interesting. It reminds me (although it is of course not comparable) the conclusion of st. Augustine: everything is good, but everything is also corruptible.
Maimonides was kinda guy. Not the working-yourself-to-death part, but the always-learning-always-seeking-to-understand part. Even though his contributions seemed to affect Judaism mostly, overall, I think his work was a contribution to the world. His work would, in small ways and in large ways, affect the lives of countless people, perhaps Jews first, who would affect the rest of the world. Who knows who his work inspired, either directly or indirectly? Thanks, Eagle Man! ^_^
Love your videos.this is the one of the best channels on UA-cam, but I would like to know if you could provide your sources .for example fact that the rambam met Richard Lionheart does not seem to be true
As a Tiberian, when you said "I can't believe I was doing this" I was like NO WAY HES GONNA MAKE THAT JOURNEY... but you did! The mad lad! I hope tho you also went to visit Rabbi Akiba, Rabi Meir 'Baal HaNes' and Yohanan Ben Zakkai's tobs too.
He claimed in his own writing to have been born in 1138. Later authorities misdated his birth and for some reason it stuck. I gotta say, it’s nice to have someone whose actual notes have survived.
Do you have more detail or a source on the problem of evil influence on christianity? As far as I know, the idea of evil as a privation of good (privatio boni) was already present in Augustine and before. I know Rambam influenced Aquinas, but perhaps, where evil is concerned, it was in some other way, or offering a new take on this specific problem. Thanks, and congratulations on the content. Definitely one of the best history channels I know.
I have point out a few mistakes in the video. 1. Maimonides never outright said that opposes the belief in literal resurrection. Belief in resurrection is one of his 13 principles of faith. he wrote one of his famous treatises, the letter of resurrection, in which he defends this belief as part of the jewish tradition. The reason you think he said that is probably the same reason thought at the he said it the time. it his heavily implied in his system of philosophy which emphasizes the salvation on the soul and it possible that he had an esoteric interpertation of this tradition. He just never said it. 2. Mamonides never said that god cannot break the laws of nature. That is a part of arisotelian thought he clearly states in the guide for the preplexed that he differs from. It is central in his philosophy that God created the world and its laws of his free will and therfore is not bound by them, therfore miracles are possible. 3. Saying that maimonides opposed mysticisem is only suprfacially correct. Also limiting the purpose of the guide for the preplexed as treatise that reconciles scientific thought with scripture severly limits the scope of this masterpiece. The guide, by maimonides own words, is meant to explain the work of creation , "maase bereshit", and the work of the chariot, ma'ase merkava. It is in fact a manual to esoteric thinking, and its ultimate goal is to teach the student how to achive prophecy. Maimonides is in fact considered in jewish circles a mystic of the highest caliber. Its just his system of mysticisem emphasizes the human intelect and rational thinking as the means to achieve union with the divine. That's why he rejected many practices and beliefs he deemed irrational.
On number 3, Maimonides himself stated that he opposed the mysticism of his era. However, your point is 100% correct. The problem here is that there is an anachronistic disconnect between what we think of as mysticism and what he understood to be science. All that mystical stuff that he wrote about was considered rational science in his days, so we shouldn't really judge him by our modern standards. I prefer to think that he was sincere in his opposition to mysticism. It's just that a lot of his "science" are mystical thoughts to us today.
@@andrewsuryali8540 I think we have different ideas of the word "mysticisem". I think you are including in the term the psuedo sciences like astrology and talismanic and magical practices that maimonides did oppose. He advocated as spirituality based on knowledge and the use of the intelect, and that coincided to he percieved scientific reality. But to ignore the spiritual component in his work is to miss entirely what maimonides was about. What I mean by mysticsem is the practice of techniques aimed to achieve altered states if conscienceness in order to comuunicate with or attain kowledge of a higher reality. Knowledge and communion with God, to be more specific, who is reality in the absolute. Or in biblical terms, prophecy. Mysticisem In that sense maimonides did not only not oppose but made his life mission and main purpose of the guide to instruct the student in how to achieve it.
@@CanisExMachina "I think you are including in the term the psuedo sciences like astrology and talismanic and magical practices that maimonides did oppose." Yes, that's my point. Maimonides openly stated that he opposed these because to him this was "mysticism" as opposed to "sciences". In this he was heavily influenced by "modernizing" Muslim scholars of his day who were starting to develop rational thought in their own philosophical framework by rejecting what to them was mysticism. They made clear distinction in that time between "sihr" (magic/mystical arts) and "ilm" (rational knowledge/sciences). Talismans = sihr, geomancy = ilm. The problem is that they didn't go far enough. "What I mean by mysticsem is the practice of techniques aimed to achieve altered states if conscienceness in order to comuunicate with or attain kowledge of a higher reality. Knowledfe and communion with God, to be more specific, who is reality in the absolute, or in biblical terms, prophecy. " You're describing the Islamic branch of Neo-Platonism. Today this is considered mysticism, but in Maimonides' era, and especially in the Islamic world, this was considered a rational science (ilm). It's the same kind of "science" as geomancy and alchemy and it's called Ghayyat al-Hakim (the goal/contemplation of the sage). To Maimonides this was not that different from how a modern secular scholar would study earth sciences (descended from geomancy), chemistry (descended from alchemy), and philosophy. The point I'm making is that definitions of mysticism have evolved over the years as science became "harder". Sir Isaac Newton was to himself and to most of Europe a man of the Natural Philosophies (science) but he too engaged in alchemy and his own version of neoplatonist thought exploration. He came up with the understanding of light as a wave because he literally wanted to study light to "see" God. Today we consider this mysticism, but the man himself would have been offended by the label because to him there was nothing mystical about it. Same with how Maimonides treated his explorations of Ghayyat al-Hakim. He would have been offended by the label we now attach to that "science".
@@andrewsuryali8540 I agree with you that maimonides a very rational and science oriented approach to life's questions including religion, spirituality and theology. He wanted a relegion based on reason and proven facts not imagination. It would be very interesting to see how he would tackle the same questions he deals with in the guide with the vastly different science and cosmology. But my point was that the video presents him as a sort of proto secular philosopher/scientist and dosen't acknowledge how much of deeply spiritual person he was. His entire life's work was to bring true illumination to those who could recieve his teachings. His intelect based philosophy sometimes obscures this side of him, but we must remeber that the peak of intellectual achievement and the aim of all sciences in his eyes was knowledge of God. IThat wouldn't have changed even if he lived in our era. I know this a secular history channel but you can't just ignore the parts of history you don't appreciate. It does injustice to maimonides, who's ideals are misrepresened, and to us, who don't get the full picture.
The one great blemish on Maimonides otherwise sterling record is that he was the first person to suggest that non-whites like Asians ('Mongols') and sub-Saharan blacks were not true descendant of Adam but rather 'mud peoples' raised from the earth, not made in God's image, and therefore not quite human. This tautology persists in some circles to this day (The Christian Identity Movement in the US) and for centuries was used by Europeans, especially White Americans, as a rationale for slavery, imperialism, and genocide of 'primitive' native populations.
As Muslim, I was surprised that some of Maimonides thought was similar to Muhammad Abduh (19th century Egyptian). I was surprised that this video mentioned Ibn Sina.
"Within a decade, the Mishneh Torah was accepted by the Jews of India and China." Hold up, What!? When's the video on Jews in India and China in the 1100s dropping?
He already made a video about Judaism in India, and said in the last corrections video that he has plans for other similar videos in the future but not any time soon unless someone wants to collab on the topic (like how the India video was a part of a collab of history channels about the history of India). Though I agree, the communities I'm probably most interested in hearing more about are Ethiopian and Chinese Jews.
This also explains why when I took philosophy in college, I was confused to discover this was stuff I learned when I was 11 in Mishna and even more confused about which came first😂
I’ve never been to Tiberias, but I’ve heard that the Rambam’s grave is a pilgrimage site. More than one Rambamist (people who follow the Rambam’s word to the tee) has told me that if the Rambam knew that his grave had become a pilgrimage site, he’d be very upset. He said in his Yad Chazakah that praying at a grave is considered idolatry, so he’d consider those who go to his grave to pray to be idolators.
Hi Sam. Good biography. I even learned new things I was not aware regarding Maimonides' life. A couple pointers: the Resh is not pronounced Ghresh in either Classic, Sephardic or Must'arabi pronunciations of Hebrew. It more closely resembles the way Spanish people do it, but you may stick to the Anglo American way. I recommend getting hands on anything written by Hakhám José Faur if you want to learn how we Sephardim read Maimónides traditionally. I see you like to bring little known subjects regarding Jewish history. Anyway, may you have a Sabá dulce y mejorado (sweet and rewarding Shabbat).
Ugh, that is one gaudy grave (is it actually a grave?). Out of curiosity, was he not required to be buried in accordance with Jewish law or is it that the law was different back then?
The 17 laws you show, out of the 613, we traditional Muslims, from the time of Maimonides, follow them to the core in our daily lives. To sanctify God's name. We memorize and contemplate on His, Almighty is He, 99 names. They unjust and violent cults, claiming to be Muslim, and catching national headlines these days, while defaming Islam, have nothing to do with God's ways. Our jurisprudence is just as vast and elaborate as that of Judaism.
Do you have a source that the Rambam met King Richard the Lionheart? I ask because because I’ve seen sources (I don’t know how reliable they are) explicitly say that the two never met.
Your map of Yemen is very good, but one point to mention is that Yemen was not genuine Shia country or Zaydi/Ismaili Shia country. Yemen was mostly Sunni throughout Islamic history ruled by shia dynasties from Zaydis and Ismailis. The coast you pointed out including Jizan, Hodeida, Taizz, Aden, and Mukalla etc were always Sunni Shafii with Sufism the main form of expression to this day. The coast is densly populated. The hill tracts were also Sunni including Ibb and western areas of Dhamar and Amran next to the coast, and these areas are densly populated. Only the deep mountains with lesser population were Zaydi Shia country, a thin tract of land your pointed out. Also, the huge mountanous Asir province was mostly Sunni, while Najran and Jawf were Ismaili Shia under the Hamdanids, a remnant of the Fatimids but with a Sunni minority, and that you pointed out on the map. Southern reaches of Hamdanid territory were Sunni. The vast Hadramaut, under the Zurayids, was the seat of Sunni Shafiis in Yemen, home to the Sadaat. Zurayids ruled an entirely Sunni population and area. Zabid, south of Hodeida, was the seat of Hanafi Sunnism in Yemen.
Also, as a Catholic, I would have no problem upholding his thirteen principles, though I would of course understand points 6, 12, and 13 differently than their author, on account of praying to saints and adoring God alone, and the belief that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah, though that He will come again at the end of time, and is indeed with us here on earth physically through the Eucharist. I also believe in the physical resurrection of the dead at the end of time.
These saints are the liars who say that they do the miracles of the prophets, they said that all the sons of Adam sin, but these saints said we do not sin
It is absolutely false that Rambam denied a bodily resurrection in the messianic age. He wrote a whole letter that is easily available affirming he did believe it and that it was separate from the spiritual afterlife in עולם הבא. Whether Rambam's doctrine is really compatible with Talmudic beliefs is open to question, and so is whether he actually believed in (all of) it, but what you say is just false. Your description of Rambam's codification of Talmudic law is not totally false, but ignores previous codes, namely the הלכות גדולות and הלכות ה רי"ף which could be (and can be) relatively easily learned and used for looking things up. Rambam was not an "empiricist", he was an anti-empiricist "rationalist" and believed in a relatively dogmatic version of the medieval Aristotelian-Neoplatonist synthesis in spite of increasing empirical evidence that parts of it were false.
the Rambam/Maimonides was a criminal gang thugs muggers and torturers. "Two rabbis plotted to kidnap Jewish husbands, torture them with electric cattle prods and force them to grant their desperate wives religious divorces, the feds charged.."
the greatest Sephardi Jewish thinkers - Hillel Rambam and Rashi - also in spite of the popular opinion - Kabbalah is not mysticism but a scientific aspect of the Torah - and all living things
Maimonodes did influence Aquinas, but not in making him adopt the privation of the good (or privatio bono) respomse to tge problem of evil. That Aquinas probably pulled from St. Augustine (the most influential theologian of Western Christianity who lived during the fall of the Western Roman Empire) who in turn got it from pagan Neo-Platonists. Maimonodes may have been the first one to adopt that line of thought into Judaism, but it had been around since at least 300ish
3:31 => Heavily influenced by "Attributes of God" and "Attributes of Prophets" aqaids of Islam. By the way, were these matters really absent in Judaism until Maimonides? Wow! And the third principle sounds like it contradicts the antropomorphic God belief of Judaism. Am I wrong?
"Going to England was about as appealing to Maimonides as it was to Richard."
Give this man an award omg.
There’s nothing like knowing one of the greatest works in Jewish history would probably have gotten an F for not including citations
Source: dude trust me
I literally laughed out loud at my computer screen reading this 😂
I once helped a student with an assignment.. i wrote it my style, not much citations but she was frightened to death not to see plenty of them saying: but the professor wants it this way!! I am sure she barely read it..
“Duke of Aquitaine… and also King of England.” Said with about as much enthusiasm Richard had for the latter title lmao
Great video! I'm always blown away by how prolific and productive people like Rambam were. I mean, did the poor guy ever sleep?
Maimonides had progressed passed the need for sleep.
As my teachers have pointed out, the more Talmud you learn, the more you realize the absolute genius of Maimonides in independently interpreting and organizing the whole corpus.
1. Love the crossover! Two of my fave youtubes.
2. The rambam was a giant of a man. Not only in his days but throughout time. He and rashi are both just beyond understanding how much they did in such hard times.
He has a letter describing his daily schedule, he did not sleep much.
oh its you. hello! i love your work its great.
To any non Hebrew speakers that read this what is written on his cloth on his tomb is “ממשה עד משה לא היה כמשה” meaning “from Moses to Moses their wasn’t anyone like Moses “ basically meaning that he is according to a lot of Jews one of the must important figures in Judaism and the best rabbi to ever lived
the Rambam/Maimonides was a criminal gang thugs muggers and torturers. "Two rabbis plotted to kidnap Jewish husbands, torture them with electric cattle prods and force them to grant their desperate wives religious divorces, the feds charged.."
@@termination9353 Electric cattle prods 900 years ago huh.
@@pesachnestlebaum So they used other forms of torture back then. Point is he resorted to evil torture contrary to Torah law.
Fascinating, and here I always thought that it translated as: "There's a million of us just like Moses,
Who cuss like Moses; who just don't give a fuck like Moses,
Who dress like Moses; walk, talk and act like Moses,
Who just might be the next best thing but not quite Moses!"
@@termination9353 Lmao thats the New York Divorce Coercion Gang
15 years of Jewish day school, undergrad major in Judaic studies, and 2 years of yeshiva study... I've never had such an in depth biography of Maimonides before. Very well done!
Right!?
Professor Henry Abramson is my favorite Jewish Historian.
the Rambam/Maimonides was a criminal gang thugs muggers and torturers. "Two rabbis plotted to kidnap Jewish husbands, torture them with electric cattle prods and force them to grant their desperate wives religious divorces, the feds charged.."
@@termination9353 He was a greater man than a planet filled with billions of you combined.
@@SludgeMan90 You don't even know me.
Yemeni jew here, the letter of the Rambam has had a huge impact on Yemeni Jewry. To this day he is considered our only teacher.
This man is a pillar to all Jewish communities, for he saw to modernize and solidify the idea of what it meant to be a good Jew/person. rest in peace you wise man, rest in peace.
This channel is the definition of underrated!
Learning about Maimonides is truly amazing. I knew he was an important figure in making Judaism what it is today, but I had no idea how just much we owe to him. Also I love the use of Zelda music!
Maimonides was the goat 🐐
Amazing episode and that ending was perfect. Obviously given all that’s going on with lockdowns even in the wake of the madness of Purim for you to go to Tiberius may have had some challenges but thank you for your dedication.
What happened at Purim ?
@@babaopizza the government had scheduled days for families to celebrate the holiday but heavily restricted. However in several districts in cities like Tel Aviv the night before the restrictions came in there was mass public parties/gatherings in the street
I filmed this before any of that.
@@SamAronow fair enough 🙂 Still doesn’t take away that it’s an brilliant video. Awesome job and keep up the good work
@@SamAronow Apperciated as a Tiberian
Thank you for this video.
I had heard of Maimonides, but didn't know what he had actually done. Great video.
You make the most informative and entertaining videos on Jewish history that I've found on UA-cam. I've learned more about real history from your videos than I ever did from Hebrew school or Jewish day school. Thanks so much, keep up the great work!
I have been waiting for a video on Maimonides since the beginning of the series. It has far exceeded my expectations. Thank you sir!
You absolutely blow me away!!! I just adore your content
“I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
I love this series. Thank you so much for these videos.
I'm a medical student and frum Jew. Rambam has been my hero since I was a child. Thank you for educating the world on his incredible life. From Moses to Moses there were none like Moses.
My hero as a kid was Mickey Mantle. Rambam could never hit a home run let alone more than 500
Wow. Thanks for the video. I lived in Israel and travelled to Tiberias not knowing Maimonides at that time. Early this year I learned the existence of him first from his statue in Cordoba out of unspeakably coincident curiosity, immediately memorized him because he died on the day that I was born, then learned more about him in local museums.
I also am delighted to learn that Richard and him had these encounters. As Richard himself is full of anecdotes.
Even though irrelevant, I'll just share some anecdotes that I was reminded of during this video :D
- Richard and Philippe August were extremely close when they were young, sleeping-on-the-same-bed close, this is also one of the very probable reasons why their subsequent rivalry was that tense.
- Richard, as a good Norman, spent far more time outside England than in, and never bothered to learn English.
- Jerusalem has been permanently out of Christians' hands since the Khwarazmian takeover in 1244, at that time they plundered the local Armenians, decimated the Christians and drove out the Jews. Oh and they were the mercenaries of the same Ayyubid Egyptians. :) -- This triggered the uneventful 7th Crusade.
- And I am a far descendent of a prominent Khwarazmian Sunni muslim, whose family surrendered to Genghis Khan during the 1220 conquer of Bukhara (guess the family was not one of the Bukhara Citadel loyals of the Khwarazmshah -- who were all butchered later), served under various Mongol Khans and eventually became the first provincial governor in the newly conquered Southwest China, brought both Confucianism and Islam to the region.
The music was fantastic this episode!
Thank you for making these amazing videos. Shabbat Shalom
שמואל מדהים כמה אתה משקיע !
Imagine being Saladin's personal doctor. This guy definitely succeeded in life. ❤
Imagine being in THAT rule and still He have much bigger things to your name even then that,from Revolutionizing Judiasm to writing Dozens Medical works,to writing work(guide of the perplex)that brought back much of Greek philosophy back to Christianity...
The idea that evil is only an absence of good is found in Augustine's confessions (Book 7). That is where Aquinas definitely got it from. He quoted Augustine the most of all Church Father's.
And St. Augustine got many ideas from the Tanach. Your point?
@@zenodotusofathens2122 I was pointing out a historical error (which I am pretty sure he addresses in his corrections video on this period). I am not making any larger argument.
@@realmless4193 Sure. More appropriately you have an hypothesis.
@@zenodotusofathens2122 I don't think you get it. Augustine was influential in the Church very early on and his understanding of evil would become the traditional Catholic position long before the time of Maimonides or Aquinas. Even if Aquinas didn't get the idea directly from Augustine (which is unlikely since Aquinas quotes him so much), he would have still gotten that understanding from the Catholic Church who got it from Augustine. If he did find it in Maimonides, it would not have been the source of his idea of evil and good, but he would have seen a mere interesting agreement between Maimonides and the Catholic tradition he was raised in and systematized.
As an ex Christian who read Confessions, thank you for pointing that out, I felt gaslit for a second lmao
What a great presentation! Maimonides, Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, with a mention of Ibn Sina!! I envisioned scenes from the Kingdom of Heaven......... you have gained a subscriber.... peace..
an amazing episode with a perfect ending!
I love how you honored him by visiting his grave memorial. I read some of his writings in Medieval philosophy and I still have the book.
One of the best episodes in what has become a great series. You have made jewish history more accessible and exciting to outsiders like me by condensing it in this way. Thanks!
Excellent video. Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video. Truly a must see video for everyone.
Thanks for the extra legwork, it was very moving to be shown his grave 😊🙏
Great video! Its amazing that you can tell us such things so easily! Thanks!
How does one person make such wonderful, exciting, and fascinating stuff? Well done Sam. You have a bright future ahead of you! Thanks!
Putting the information in this formate really helped me contextually my experience with Jewish and Greek philosophy.
This train footage makes me depressed, as this winter was the first in several years where I haven´t been able to visit Israel.
And its nice to see the grave of Rambam, as it makes me think of my visit there in the summer of 2016, one month before I finally joined the tribe.
Sam’s jewish history videos are a part of what makes me a happy jew
Jewish history is very interesting. Will you talk about the Jewish Group? Like Yemeni Jews and Bukharian Jews
Always ecstatic over these episodes
Holy crap, the number of epic name drops in this video is incredible.
The Rambam claim that evil doesn't exist but is simply the absence of good is interesting. It reminds me (although it is of course not comparable) the conclusion of st. Augustine: everything is good, but everything is also corruptible.
Loving the callback jokes, reminds me of all I have learned.
I love your maps!
That is one of the best biographies of this topic I have seen
This is a really well-done series. Great summary of the history and cool art style. Destined to get millions of views.
Maimonides was kinda guy. Not the working-yourself-to-death part, but the always-learning-always-seeking-to-understand part. Even though his contributions seemed to affect Judaism mostly, overall, I think his work was a contribution to the world. His work would, in small ways and in large ways, affect the lives of countless people, perhaps Jews first, who would affect the rest of the world. Who knows who his work inspired, either directly or indirectly? Thanks, Eagle Man! ^_^
Appreciate the effort
Brilliant coverage.
Great video! Keep up the great work!
0:57 Ignominious Reign? Robin of Locksley, Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian and their colleagues would not agree ;)))))))))
I’m ashamed to ever feel busy
Love your videos.this is the one of the best channels on UA-cam, but I would like to know if you could provide your sources .for example fact that the rambam met Richard Lionheart does not seem to be true
Great episode
Always the highlight of my fortnight
As a Tiberian, when you said "I can't believe I was doing this" I was like NO WAY HES GONNA MAKE THAT JOURNEY... but you did! The mad lad! I hope tho you also went to visit Rabbi Akiba, Rabi Meir 'Baal HaNes' and Yohanan Ben Zakkai's tobs too.
im truly amazed how accurate the maps your showing in the videos
Epic soundtrack! 🎶Truly a man of culture.
As a Catholic with an undergrad degree in St Thomas Aquinas, definitely sending this one around.
why the dates are different on his tomb? (you wrote he lived 66 years but on his tomb it says 70)
He claimed in his own writing to have been born in 1138. Later authorities misdated his birth and for some reason it stuck. I gotta say, it’s nice to have someone whose actual notes have survived.
The way maimonides speaks in his letters reminds me of paul of tarsus
It reminds me of my grandmother.
@@SamAronow lol. Btw love ur chanel sam
This maybe the official story, but it's not the full story, which is far more complex and weirder.
I do enjoy your channel. Thank you for your work
I have to admit, I had never thought much about Maimun, the guy who after all gave Maimonides his most well-recognized name
Really like the ending, nice touch
Do you have more detail or a source on the problem of evil influence on christianity? As far as I know, the idea of evil as a privation of good (privatio boni) was already present in Augustine and before. I know Rambam influenced Aquinas, but perhaps, where evil is concerned, it was in some other way, or offering a new take on this specific problem.
Thanks, and congratulations on the content. Definitely one of the best history channels I know.
Great stuff!!...not only about Jewish history but also about that of the Islam and Christianity.
Great content loved it
I have point out a few mistakes in the video.
1. Maimonides never outright said that opposes the belief in literal resurrection. Belief in resurrection is one of his 13 principles of faith. he wrote one of his famous treatises, the letter of resurrection, in which he defends this belief as part of the jewish tradition. The reason you think he said that is probably the same reason thought at the he said it the time. it his heavily implied in his system of philosophy which emphasizes the salvation on the soul and it possible that he had an esoteric interpertation of this tradition. He just never said it.
2. Mamonides never said that god cannot break the laws of nature. That is a part of arisotelian thought he clearly states in the guide for the preplexed that he differs from. It is central in his philosophy that God created the world and its laws of his free will and therfore is not bound by them, therfore miracles are possible.
3. Saying that maimonides opposed mysticisem is only suprfacially correct. Also limiting the purpose of the guide for the preplexed as treatise that reconciles scientific thought with scripture severly limits the scope of this masterpiece. The guide, by maimonides own words, is meant to explain the work of creation , "maase bereshit", and the work of the chariot, ma'ase merkava. It is in fact a manual to esoteric thinking, and its ultimate goal is to teach the student how to achive prophecy. Maimonides is in fact considered in jewish circles a mystic of the highest caliber. Its just his system of mysticisem emphasizes the human intelect and rational thinking as the means to achieve union with the divine. That's why he rejected many practices and beliefs he deemed irrational.
On number 3, Maimonides himself stated that he opposed the mysticism of his era. However, your point is 100% correct. The problem here is that there is an anachronistic disconnect between what we think of as mysticism and what he understood to be science. All that mystical stuff that he wrote about was considered rational science in his days, so we shouldn't really judge him by our modern standards. I prefer to think that he was sincere in his opposition to mysticism. It's just that a lot of his "science" are mystical thoughts to us today.
@@andrewsuryali8540 I think we have different ideas of the word "mysticisem". I think you are including in the term the psuedo sciences like astrology and talismanic and magical practices that maimonides did oppose. He advocated as spirituality based on knowledge and the use of the intelect, and that coincided to he percieved scientific reality. But to ignore the spiritual component in his work is to miss entirely what maimonides was about. What I mean by mysticsem is the practice of techniques aimed to achieve altered states if conscienceness in order to comuunicate with or attain kowledge of a higher reality. Knowledge and communion with God, to be more specific, who is reality in the absolute. Or in biblical terms, prophecy. Mysticisem In that sense maimonides did not only not oppose but made his life mission and main purpose of the guide to instruct the student in how to achieve it.
@@CanisExMachina "I think you are including in the term the psuedo sciences like astrology and talismanic and magical practices that maimonides did oppose."
Yes, that's my point. Maimonides openly stated that he opposed these because to him this was "mysticism" as opposed to "sciences". In this he was heavily influenced by "modernizing" Muslim scholars of his day who were starting to develop rational thought in their own philosophical framework by rejecting what to them was mysticism. They made clear distinction in that time between "sihr" (magic/mystical arts) and "ilm" (rational knowledge/sciences). Talismans = sihr, geomancy = ilm. The problem is that they didn't go far enough.
"What I mean by mysticsem is the practice of techniques aimed to achieve altered states if conscienceness in order to comuunicate with or attain kowledge of a higher reality. Knowledfe and communion with God, to be more specific, who is reality in the absolute, or in biblical terms, prophecy. "
You're describing the Islamic branch of Neo-Platonism. Today this is considered mysticism, but in Maimonides' era, and especially in the Islamic world, this was considered a rational science (ilm). It's the same kind of "science" as geomancy and alchemy and it's called Ghayyat al-Hakim (the goal/contemplation of the sage). To Maimonides this was not that different from how a modern secular scholar would study earth sciences (descended from geomancy), chemistry (descended from alchemy), and philosophy.
The point I'm making is that definitions of mysticism have evolved over the years as science became "harder". Sir Isaac Newton was to himself and to most of Europe a man of the Natural Philosophies (science) but he too engaged in alchemy and his own version of neoplatonist thought exploration. He came up with the understanding of light as a wave because he literally wanted to study light to "see" God. Today we consider this mysticism, but the man himself would have been offended by the label because to him there was nothing mystical about it. Same with how Maimonides treated his explorations of Ghayyat al-Hakim. He would have been offended by the label we now attach to that "science".
@@andrewsuryali8540 I agree with you that maimonides a very rational and science oriented approach to life's questions including religion, spirituality and theology. He wanted a relegion based on reason and proven facts not imagination. It would be very interesting to see how he would tackle the same questions he deals with in the guide with the vastly different science and cosmology. But my point was that the video presents him as a sort of proto secular philosopher/scientist and dosen't acknowledge how much of deeply spiritual person he was. His entire life's work was to bring true illumination to those who could recieve his teachings. His intelect based philosophy sometimes obscures this side of him, but we must remeber that the peak of intellectual achievement and the aim of all sciences in his eyes was knowledge of God. IThat wouldn't have changed even if he lived in our era.
I know this a secular history channel but you can't just ignore the parts of history you don't appreciate. It does injustice to maimonides, who's ideals are misrepresened, and to us, who don't get the full picture.
The one great blemish on Maimonides otherwise sterling record is that he was the first person to suggest that non-whites like Asians ('Mongols') and sub-Saharan blacks were not true descendant of Adam but rather 'mud peoples' raised from the earth, not made in God's image, and therefore not quite human. This tautology persists in some circles to this day (The Christian Identity Movement in the US) and for centuries was used by Europeans, especially White Americans, as a rationale for slavery, imperialism, and genocide of 'primitive' native populations.
As Muslim, I was surprised that some of Maimonides thought was similar to Muhammad Abduh (19th century Egyptian). I was surprised that this video mentioned Ibn Sina.
Technically it's "the great vulture", but "the great eagle" sounds better
@@dovbarleib3256 Perses (פרס) and vulture (נשר) are two different animals in Hebrew. And Eagle (עיט) is a whole other thing.
I didn't know that!
What a guy!
"Within a decade, the Mishneh Torah was accepted by the Jews of India and China." Hold up, What!?
When's the video on Jews in India and China in the 1100s dropping?
He already made a video about Judaism in India, and said in the last corrections video that he has plans for other similar videos in the future but not any time soon unless someone wants to collab on the topic (like how the India video was a part of a collab of history channels about the history of India).
Though I agree, the communities I'm probably most interested in hearing more about are Ethiopian and Chinese Jews.
This also explains why when I took philosophy in college, I was confused to discover this was stuff I learned when I was 11 in Mishna and even more confused about which came first😂
From Moshe to Moshe, there was none like Moshe.
Absolutely brilliant, thanks so much ☺️
He was brilliant!
Excellent!! Thank you.
There is a place in sardinia called Maimoi from Maimonide
I’ve never been to Tiberias, but I’ve heard that the Rambam’s grave is a pilgrimage site. More than one Rambamist (people who follow the Rambam’s word to the tee) has told me that if the Rambam knew that his grave had become a pilgrimage site, he’d be very upset. He said in his Yad Chazakah that praying at a grave is considered idolatry, so he’d consider those who go to his grave to pray to be idolators.
Hi Sam. Good biography. I even learned new things I was not aware regarding Maimonides' life. A couple pointers: the Resh is not pronounced Ghresh in either Classic, Sephardic or Must'arabi pronunciations of Hebrew. It more closely resembles the way Spanish people do it, but you may stick to the Anglo American way. I recommend getting hands on anything written by Hakhám José Faur if you want to learn how we Sephardim read Maimónides traditionally. I see you like to bring little known subjects regarding Jewish history. Anyway, may you have a Sabá dulce y mejorado (sweet and rewarding Shabbat).
Thanks! I pronounce it the modern Israeli way because that's just how I learned to speak Hebrew, so it's instinctive.
Gotta be proud of my ancestors ... Greetings from Egypt :)
Amazing history and near legendary figure.
Ugh, that is one gaudy grave (is it actually a grave?). Out of curiosity, was he not required to be buried in accordance with Jewish law or is it that the law was different back then?
7:46 thats ice cube
The 17 laws you show, out of the 613, we traditional Muslims, from the time of Maimonides, follow them to the core in our daily lives. To sanctify God's name. We memorize and contemplate on His, Almighty is He, 99 names. They unjust and violent cults, claiming to be Muslim, and catching national headlines these days, while defaming Islam, have nothing to do with God's ways. Our jurisprudence is just as vast and elaborate as that of Judaism.
I agree with you, but unfortunately the violent and antisemitic Muslims have the upper hand right now.
Do you have a source that the Rambam met King Richard the Lionheart? I ask because because I’ve seen sources (I don’t know how reliable they are) explicitly say that the two never met.
www.jstor.org/stable/23614676#metadata_info_tab_contents
@@SamAronow thank you!
YES FINALY WOOOO
Looking at Judaism through a different lens of philosophy keeps Judaism, and just shows it through a new lens.
Your map of Yemen is very good, but one point to mention is that Yemen was not genuine Shia country or Zaydi/Ismaili Shia country. Yemen was mostly Sunni throughout Islamic history ruled by shia dynasties from Zaydis and Ismailis. The coast you pointed out including Jizan, Hodeida, Taizz, Aden, and Mukalla etc were always Sunni Shafii with Sufism the main form of expression to this day. The coast is densly populated. The hill tracts were also Sunni including Ibb and western areas of Dhamar and Amran next to the coast, and these areas are densly populated. Only the deep mountains with lesser population were Zaydi Shia country, a thin tract of land your pointed out. Also, the huge mountanous Asir province was mostly Sunni, while Najran and Jawf were Ismaili Shia under the Hamdanids, a remnant of the Fatimids but with a Sunni minority, and that you pointed out on the map. Southern reaches of Hamdanid territory were Sunni. The vast Hadramaut, under the Zurayids, was the seat of Sunni Shafiis in Yemen, home to the Sadaat. Zurayids ruled an entirely Sunni population and area. Zabid, south of Hodeida, was the seat of Hanafi Sunnism in Yemen.
Is Maimonides related to Leach?
I heard Maimonides was influenced by the great Muslim Persian scholar Al Ghazali
Also, as a Catholic, I would have no problem upholding his thirteen principles, though I would of course understand points 6, 12, and 13 differently than their author, on account of praying to saints and adoring God alone, and the belief that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah, though that He will come again at the end of time, and is indeed with us here on earth physically through the Eucharist. I also believe in the physical resurrection of the dead at the end of time.
These saints are the liars who say that they do the miracles of the prophets, they said that all the sons of Adam sin, but these saints said we do not sin
It is absolutely false that Rambam denied a bodily resurrection in the messianic age. He wrote a whole letter that is easily available affirming he did believe it and that it was separate from the spiritual afterlife in עולם הבא. Whether Rambam's doctrine is really compatible with Talmudic beliefs is open to question, and so is whether he actually believed in (all of) it, but what you say is just false.
Your description of Rambam's codification of Talmudic law is not totally false, but ignores previous codes, namely the הלכות גדולות and הלכות ה רי"ף which could be (and can be) relatively easily learned and used for looking things up.
Rambam was not an "empiricist", he was an anti-empiricist "rationalist" and believed in a relatively dogmatic version of the medieval Aristotelian-Neoplatonist synthesis in spite of increasing empirical evidence that parts of it were false.
the Rambam/Maimonides was a criminal gang thugs muggers and torturers. "Two rabbis plotted to kidnap Jewish husbands, torture them with electric cattle prods and force them to grant their desperate wives religious divorces, the feds charged.."
He was a great man.
Great stuff!
the greatest Sephardi Jewish thinkers - Hillel Rambam and Rashi - also in spite of the popular opinion - Kabbalah is not mysticism but a scientific aspect of the Torah - and all living things
Where are you getting these incredibly historically accurate portraits of historical Jewish celebrities from!?
Maimonodes did influence Aquinas, but not in making him adopt the privation of the good (or privatio bono) respomse to tge problem of evil. That Aquinas probably pulled from St. Augustine (the most influential theologian of Western Christianity who lived during the fall of the Western Roman Empire) who in turn got it from pagan Neo-Platonists. Maimonodes may have been the first one to adopt that line of thought into Judaism, but it had been around since at least 300ish
Love the episode and series though
04:30 ?
where is the letter? to Nagid.
3:31 => Heavily influenced by "Attributes of God" and "Attributes of Prophets" aqaids of Islam. By the way, were these matters really absent in Judaism until Maimonides? Wow! And the third principle sounds like it contradicts the antropomorphic God belief of Judaism. Am I wrong?
God is an anthropomorphic figure? Have you seen him? Even the angels do not know his appearance