All the Torah Sh'Baal Peh from One Pasuk

It is a rare treat that an edifice as large as the Torah Sh'Baal Peh can be boiled down to a single pasuk. Parshat Shoftim manages to do just that! It is better than seeing all of the works of Shakespeare in one 90 minute play. (I think that it is fair game to add a little Torah u'Madda to my blog.) It is better than having almost all of the written religious Jewish word on a single CD-ROM. It is even better than having an LCR (gasp!). This is the greatness of Parshat Shoftim according to the Rambam. The pasuk (Devarim 17:11), "על פי התורה אשר יורוך - According to the Torah that he (a Rabbi) teaches you" is actually that amazing. It states that HaShem commands you to listen to the Torah and to the halakhik decisions that a Rabbi tells you. Five little innocent words, yet more powerful than Superman on steroids.

Now before we get too excited, I am a Rabbi and this pasuk certainly does not refer to any halakhik decisions that I would make. In reality, I have always refused to make decisions, and I prefer to make halakhik deliberations. Less dangerous that way. At any rate, this pasuk most likely refers to halakhot that were created and/or enforced by Chazal. According to the Rambam, Chazal and earlier Rabbinical figures were commanded by HaShem to create and/or enforce the halakhot.

WARNING - The continuation of this blog post may present challenges to your emunah. Read on at your own risk!

Most of you probably know that there are 39 אב מלאכות for Hilkhot Shabbat, but how many of them are actually detailed in the Torah? I would say at most five. That means that Chazal described the other 34 מלאכות in the Gemara. However, there is no halakhik difference between a מלאכה which is listed in the Torah and one which is described by Chazal. All of the 39 מלאכות are halakhot d'oraita, they are commandments from HaShem and not from the Rabbis. According to our pasuk from Parshat Shoftim: if Chazal tell you that a halakhah is d'Oraita - then HaShem also commands you to listen to Chazal, even though that mitzvah/halakhah does not appear in the Torah.

One of the lesser-known treasures in the Mishneh Torah is Hilkhot Mamrim. It is located in Sefer Shoftim, which is the last Sefer in the Mishneh Torah. The title Hilkhot Mamrim, refers to the halakhah of a rebellious Rabbi a זקן ממרה, to be discussed at another time.

In the first perek of Hilkhot Mamrim, the Rambam discusses different types of halakhot and mitzvot: d'Oraita, d'Rebanan, Takkanot, and so on. He also states that this pasuk from Parshat Shoftim teaches us that the Great Sannhedrin in Yerushalayim is the essence of the Torah Sh'Baal Peh.

If you have some time this Shabbat, take a look at Hilkhot Mamrim and learn about the origin and development of the Torah Sh'Baal Peh. I am always here in the blogosphere to answer any questions.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rambam Sefer Zemanim (Part 2)

The content of Sefer Zemanim is almost identical to the content of Seder Moed in Shas. The only difference is that Chazal placed Massechet Chagigah at the end of Seder Moed, while Rambam placed Hilkhot Chagigah in Sefer Korbanot. It is interesting to note that many Halakhik seforim (notably the Rif, and the Tur/Shulchan Aruch) only discuss and posken halakhot that are relevant today. They do not discuss the halakhot of the Mikdash and Korbanot because they have no relevance for practical halakhah (הלכה למעשה). The Rambam discusses all 613 mitzvot whether they are observed today or not - thus the fact that the Mishneh Torah poskens halakhot about the Mikdash and the korbanot makes it a unique sefer. However, Rambam dedicated two seforim of the Mishneh Torah to discuss all of the halakhot relating to Korbanot and the Mikdash. Chazal mixed practical halakhot with halakhot about korbanot and the Mikdash in Seder Moed.

For example, the first four perakim of Massechet Pesachim discuss the halakhot of chametz and matzah. The next five perakim are concerned with the details of the Korban Pesach. The final perek discusses the halakhot of the Pesach Seder. One massechet analyzes all of the halakhot of Pesach.

The Rambam places the halakhot of the Korban Pesach in Sefer Korbanot and the rest of the halakhot of Pesach in Sefer Zemanim. Unlike Chazal, the Rambam wanted to place the practical halakhot in a separate section from the halakhot that are not currently observed. Another explanation (דבר אחר): Rambam wanted the mitzvot that applied to all the Jewish people in one section, and the mitzvot that focused on the kohanim in another section. Once you begin to realize the different halakhik structures between the Rambam and Chazal - the perushim are endless.

Here is the list of halakhot that appear in Sefer Zemanim:

• Hilkhot Shabbat
• Hilkhot Eruvin
• Hilkhot Shevitat Assur - Laws of Yom Kippur
• Hilkhot Shevitat Yom Tov
• Hilkhot Chametz u'Matzah
• Hilkhot Shofar, Sukkah and Lulav
• Hilkhot Shekalim - Laws of Annual Half-Shekel Tithe
• Hilkhot Kiddush HaChodesh - Laws of Declaring Rosh Chodesh
• Hilkhot Ta'aniot
  
• Hilkhot Megillah u'Channukah

Happy learning.

Rambam Sefer Zemanim (Part 1)

I apologize for getting a little off course from my comparison of the organization of the Mishneh Torah to Shas - but now we can resume analyzing the different approaches to organizing the halakhot. And after all, what are a couple of months between friends?

The third sefer of the Mishneh Torah is Sefer Zemanim. We can immediately see that the Rambam has abandoned the halakhik structure of Shas. Chazal placed Massechet Berachot at the beginning of Seder Zeraim - the halakhot of agriculture. Rambam places Sefer Zeraim as the seventh book of the Mishneh Torah. I would suggest that the Rambam wanted to connect the halakhot of agriculture to the halakhot of the Beit HaMikdash which is the eighth sefer of the Mishneh Torah. I will discuss the placement of Sefer Zeraim in a (much) later post.

The Rambam states in his Introduction to the Mishnah Torah (hat tip to Rabbi Josh Weinberger for bringing this to my attention) that the theme of Sefer Ahavah is to enhance the relationship between the Jewish people and HaShem. This same theme could explain why the Rambam placed Sefer Zemanim after Sefer Ahavah - one of the purposes of Shabbat and the Chagim is also to enhance our relationship with HaShem. This them connects the halakhot of Tefillah and Shabbat/Chagim and should not be interrupted by Sefer Zeraim and the halakhot of agriculture.

Are Chazal Organized?

WARNING - This post discusses the halakhot of Brit Milah and is thus biased towards men.

If you have been following the posts discussing the organizational system of the Mishneh Torah, then you may have the following thought going through your head: “Gee that Rambam guy is like hyper-organized. But those Chazal guys, they just seemed to put topics together at random.” And many people learn Gemara with the belief that Chazal do not intend to methodologically organize halakhah, unlike Rambam. This is not to say that according to Chazal the halakhot are completely random, rather that Chazal are not concerned with a systematic organization of halakhah.

I stand before you today and tell you that indeed Chazal do have a system of organization - but it is subtle, if not hidden. Yet with a little bit of extra studying, you can often discover profound philosophical messages based on the organization of the halakhot in Shas.

Massechet Shabbat is a prime example of Chazal’s system of organizing halakhah. I mentioned in a previous post, that Rambam places the halakhot of Brit Milah in Sefer Ahavah. According to Rambam, these halakhot are another example of how to be closer to HaShem. One could say that Brit Milah symbolizes removing a physical barrier between Jewish men and HaShem.

Why would Chazal place the halakhot of Brit Milah in the context of the halakhot of Shabbat? One answer could be that both Brit Milah and Shabbat are designated as an אות by the Chumash and by Chazal. They both signify and symbolize the unique connection between HaShem and the Jewish people. They are physical reminders to us, that we have a special covenantal relationship with HaShem. We can now state that Rambam emphasizes that Brit Milah represents our ability to be closer to HaShem. Whereas Chazal emphasize, that it symbolically represents our unique relationship with HaShem.

There are many other insights, chiddushim and vortlech that can be made regarding the connection between Shabbat and Brit Milah - please feel free to share them with me. Nevertheless, the fact remains that these connections are important and the organization is not random. Chazal deliberately arranged the topics in the Mishnah and the Gemara, and it is our job to discover their wisdom. instead of ignoring it.

Photo Credit: nasa.com

Mishneh Torah - Sefer Ahavah

The next Sefer in the Mishneh Torah is Sefer Ahavah. However, every time I translate the name of this sefer into English, I instantly begin to hum the great 50’s song by The Monotones (possibly one of the all-time worst names for a band). Just as Chazal began Shas with Massechet Berachot, so too Rambam began the formal mitzvah section of the Mishneh Torah with the Halakhot of Prayer. (See this post for an explanation of why Sefer Madda is a quasi-hakdamah to the Mishneh Torah.) Sefer Ahavah contains the following sections of halakhot: (I am not going to explain the eponymous sections.)

• Hilkhot Kriat Shema
  
• Hilkhot Tefillah and Birchat Kohanim - Laws of the Amidah
  
• Hilkhot Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah
  
• Hilkhot Tzitzit
  
• Hilkhot Berachot
  
• Hilkhot Milah - Laws of Brit Milah
  
• Seder HaTefillah - Description of prayer liturgy (נוסח התפילה)
  

First of all, let’s talk about the name Sefer Ahavah. There are other seforim in the Mishneh Torah where Rambam uses the same names that Chazal used, for example: Nashim, Nezikin and Tehorah. Certainly, it is significant that he chose not to use the name Berachot for this sefer. Also, it is a name which does not easily explain the topic of the sefer. Rambam could have called it Sefer Tefillah because it mainly contains the laws of prayer. However, Rambam decided to include the laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah and the laws of Brit Milah which are not at all connected to prayer. Why would Rambam have decided to group these laws with the obvious laws of prayer?

The laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah appear in Massechet Menachot - obviously! The laws of Brit Milah appear in Massechet Shabbat. On the surface, both of these groups of laws do not seem to be connected to the Massechtot where they appear.

Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah appear at the end of the 3rd perek of Menachot, seemingly because they are included in a long list of mitzvoth that are: מעכב זה את זה. This is a situation where missing a part of the mitzvah (like one of the two paragraphs of the mezuzah scroll) prevents you from being able to perform the mitzvah. In other words, if you have a mezuzah that has only one paragraph, then that mezuzah is not kosher. But there does not appear to be a philosophical or halakhik connection between the laws of the minchah korban and the laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah. Similarly, the laws of Brit Milah appear in the 19th perek of Massechet Shabbat, where the Mishnah discusses whether or not you can carry the items needed for a Brit Milah on Shabbat when there is no Eruv. Again there is no obvious connection between the halakhot of Menachot and Shabbat and the halakhot of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah and Brit Milah.

Here goes my grand unifying theory of Sefer Ahavah - these are mitzvot which easily enable you to express your love to HaShem. Our quest begins with the last perek of Hilkhot Teshuvah, which presents the idea that the love that a person should feel towards HaShem is comparable to the love that is described in Shir HaShirim. To worship HaShem with love is one of the highest levels of doing mitzvoth. This idea is a natural connection to the grand unifying theory of Sefer Ahavah: after you have learned about the goal of your Avodat HaShem, here are some mitzvot to get you started - the laws of prayer. And certainly it is obvious that the laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah, Sefer Torah and even tzitztit can be considered to be a subsection of the laws of prayer. Similarly, the laws of Kedushat Beit HaKnesset which appear in the 4th perek of Massechet Megillah are placed towards the end of Hilkhot Tefillah. Brit Milah could represent removing a physical barrier that exists between HaShem and men. Thus all of these laws emphasize how we can easily express our love of HaShem, and enhance our experience of loving HaShem.

I plan to discuss why Chazal chose to place the halakhot of Brit Milah in Massechet Shabbat in a separate post. (In ten years when I get a chance to learn the 3rd perek of Menachot I can also write a post about why the laws of Tefillin, Mezuzah and Sefer Torah are located there. I’ll keep you posted - pun intended.) 

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Sefer Madda Addendum

A few additional words that I wanted to mention about Sefer Madda. Sefer Madda can be described as the halakhik prerequisites to being able to do mitzvot. You should be able to accomplish the following concepts before you can properly perform a specific mitzvah. (Similar to Derech Eretz Kadma L’Torah. Click here for my rant on origin of this Rabbinic aphorism.)

• Believe in HaShem - Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah
  
• Be physically and psychologically able to do mitzvoth - Hilkhot Deot
  
• Learn how to do the halakhot - Hilkhot Talmud Torah
  
• Avoid idolatry - Hilkhot Avodah Zarah
  
• Repent for aveirot or mistakes: Hilkhot Teshuvah
  

I would like to describe two reasons that prove that Sefer Madda is genuinely distinct from the rest of the Mishneh Torah. Firstly, there is a good vocalized (menukad) edition of the whole Mishneh Torah by Mosad HaRav Kook called Rambam L’Am. The ONLY volume of the Mishneh Torah that you can buy individually is Sefer Madda. If you want any other volume of the Rambam L’Am you must buy the entire set. (Unless you get lucky in a used-seforim shop.)

Secondly, Sefer Madda was quite controversial in the halcyon days of the Middle Ages - back when hygiene was poor and book burning was de rigueur. Not only did copies of the Moreh Nevuchim go up in flames, but so did copies of Sefer Madda. Ramban agreed that most of Sefer Madda was heretical and therefore deserved to be burned. (Presumably because of Rambam’s liberal use of Greek philosophy.) However, Ramban stated that Hilkhot Teshuvah was such a great work of machshavah that it prevented them from burning the rest of Sefer Madda. Ramban did not suggest burning the entire Mishneh Torah, rather only Sefer Madda was problematic. Hence, I assert that Sefer Madda can be considered to be separate from the rest of the Mishneh Torah.

We will continue with the second book of the Mishneh Torah, Sefer Ahavah. Yet, in many ways it is appropriate for it to be considered as the first book, since Sefer Madda is a preface to the Mishneh Torah. In reality there is a preface to the Mishneh Torah called the Sefer haMitzvot, but does anyone actually learn it from cover to cover?

Photo Credits: http://www.kinakokids.com/letterboxes/bright-idea.html

Did Rambam Fake the Moon Landing?

Since we just discussed Sefer Madda, I thought that it would be appropriate to mention a great anecdote invloving: Rambam, R. Yaakov Kaminetsky, and Buzz Aldren (as can be seen in the photograph).

Rambam states in Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah 2:4 that not only was the moon never made of green cheese, it is not even made of earthly matter.

כל מה שברא הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו, נחלק לשלושה חלקים:  מהם ברואים שהם מחוברים מגולם וצורה--והם נהווים ונפסדים תמיד, כמו גופות האדם והבהמה והצמחים והמתכות.  ומהם ברואים שהם מחוברים מגולם וצורה, אבל אינם משתנים מגוף לגוף ומצורה לצורה כמו הראשונים, אלא צורתם קבועה בגולמם לעולם, ואינם משתנים כמו אלו--והם הגלגלים והכוכבים שבהן, ואין גולמם כשאר גלמים ולא צורתם כשאר צורות

Everything that God created in His world can be placed in one of three classifications. Firstly, there are those creations, such as the bodies of men and animals, plants and the molten images, which have a shape and form which always exist and can be spoiled. Secondly, there are those creations which have a shape and form which does not vary from body to body or in appearance, like those in the first category do, but their shape is fixed by their form and can never change. These are the spheres and the stars contained therein. Their form and shape are like none other. Translation taken from Jonathan’s Little Corner.

It is clear from this halakhah that Rambam believed that the planets and the moon were made of a different type of matter than the Earth is made of. (You can also read Perek 3 for a more in-depth description of the metaphysical nature of the planets.) Thus, according to Rambam, it would be impossible for a moon landing to happen. So what would be the halakhik outcome of the first moon landing on Parshat Chazon - July 16, 1969?

R. Nosson Kaminetsky told the following story about his father, R. Yaakov Kaminetsky, and the moon landing. (It is a great lecture and well worth listening to if you haven’t already. Here is the link to Of Bans, Earthquakes and Tsunamis, ) When they were broadcasting the moon landing on TV, R. Yaakov went to a neighbor’s house to watch the moon landing. He wanted to see whether or not Rambam was correct about the moon being different from the Earth. After seeing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldron on the moon, he concluded that the in fact Rambam was mistaken. In this instance his halakhah followed Aristotle and did not follow Chazal.

However, the story is not over - apparently there are a number of Jews who do not feel comfortable with the idea that Rambam could have been incorrect. They had discovered the small but persistent group of conspiracy theorists in America, who believe that the moon landing was a fraud. The proof for the forgery is that the flag (shown above) is standing straight and is not sagging. How could the flag stand straight on the moon with no atmosphere! It must be a fake. The answer to the conspiracy is that the flag is held up by a rod, because it would be disgraceful to have the American flag sagging at this historic moment. If you look closely at the picture, it seems obvious that indeed there is a rod holding up the flag.

To me, it is frustrating that some people’s belief in the Mesorah and Emunath Chachamim is so rigid, that they need to believe in a conspiracy theory. I would hope that most of the Gedolim would agree with R. Yaakov that the Rambam is incorrect. Back over here in Modern Orthodox land, I use this story as chizzuk for one of the strengths of MO versus Charedi Orthodoxy.

One final footnote to this story, one of my Rebbeim at Yeshiva told me another story about R. Yaakov and the moon landing. Apparently in the first version of the Emet l’Yaakov (R. Yaakov’s perush on the Chumash) he described watching the moon landing on TV. In the second edition of the sefer, there was a blank space where that description used to be. Finally in later editions there were no hints to the idea that R. Yaakov had watched the moon landing. Now my question is: which is the bigger danger - watching television, or stating that Rambam made a mistake?

Mishneh Torah - Sefer Madda

I mentioned in the previous post that we are going to analyze the halakhik organization of the Mishneh Torah versus Shas. For example, Shas begins with Massechet Berachot and there is no mention of any of those halakhot in Sefer Madda. One possible explanation is that Rambam organized the Mishneh Torah with introductions and general concepts at the beginning of the book, with specific details explained later. Wheras, anyone who has learned Gemara knows that Chazal start with specific details and do not always discuss the general principles.

The first book of Mishneh Torah is Sefer Madda and it contains the following five sections of halalkhot:

• Hilkhot Yesodei HaTorah - Fundamental beliefs of the Torah
  
• Hilkhot Deot - Proper personality and character traits
  
• Hilkhot Talmud Torah - Laws of learning and teaching Torah
  
• Hilkhot Avodah Zarah and Chukkot HaGoyim - Laws of idolatry and forbidden non-Jewish practices
  
• Hilkhot Teshuvah - Laws of repentance
  

I am going to briefly discuss Hilkhot Avodah Zarah and Hilkhot Teshuvah. (Would that I had more time to do an analysis of all the sections!) Hilkhot Avodah Zarah discusses similar halakhot to Massechet Avodah Zarah which is found in Seder Nezikin in Shas. One possible explanation for Chazal’s organization is that Massechet Avodah Zarah discusses items that must be destroyed because they were used as part of an idolatrous ceremony. There is a connection between the Seder Nezikin topic of laws of damages, and Massechet Avodah Zarah’s items that must be destroyed. Nevertheless, Rambam’s organization seems to make more sense: first list the halakhot of emunah, then describe the issurim of idolatry.

Hilkhot Teshuvah is my favorite section in the Mishneh Torah. It is one of the classic Rabbinic works on the concept of repentance, and contains Rambam’s description of how to have the ideal relationship with HaShem. The final perek explains that this relationship is like being love sick for HaShem just like the love that is described in Shir HaShirim (or a high-school crush). The main halakhik sections of Hilkhot Teshuvah can be found in Massechet Yoma, and specifically in the final Perek which discusses the halakhot that we observe on the day of Yom Kippur. The rest of the Massechet discusses the special korbanot that were done on Yom Kippur, which Rambam places with the other halakhot of communal korbanot. Chazal organized all of the halakhot of the chagim together: both for the regular individual (like the halakhot of fasting) and for the Mikdash (like the halakhot of the Yom Kippur Avodah).

In summary, we discussed two examples of different ways to organize all of the halakhot. The halakhot of Avodah Zarah were grouped by Chazal as a part of the laws of damages. Whereas Rambam placed them in Sefer Madda, to contrast the halakhot of Emunah and learning Torah, with idolatry. The halakhot of Teshuvah were primarily grouped by Chazal in Massechet Yoma as part of the laws of Yom Kippur. Whereas Rambam placed them as the final section of Sefer Madda. I leave it to you to draw your own philosophical conclusions about why Rambam placed Hilkhot Teshuva in Sefer Madda - but you can be sure that he put them there on purpose.

Photo Credit - webshots.com New Jersey Courthouse

CAT (Commonly Ambiguous Terms) - Mishneh Torah (Part II)

Another part of the gadlut of the Mishneh Torah (go read Part I if you are confused) is the literary structure. That is to say, appreciating how Rambam ordered the topics of the halakhot. In general, we give the Mishneh Torah the same textual status as the Mishnayot - there is not one word that is accidentally out of place. Not only does this status apply to the individual halakhot, but it also applies to the overall structure of the Mishneh Torah as a whole. Rambam thoughtfully and purposefully organized the 613 mitzvot into 14 books of the Mishneh Torah.

When I posted about Shas, I explained that Chazal organized the 613 mitzvot into 6 Sedarim (sections). Clearly Rambam made a significant break from Chazal’s organizational system when he wrote the Mishneh Torah. A brief analysis of how Rambam and Chazal organized the halakhot should be informative and hopefully entertaining (in a nerdy way).

Being a former teacher I am addicted to charts, and I made a special one for all of you. This chart has three columns:

• Column 1 lists the name of each book of the Mishneh Torah
  
• Column 2 lists the main topics of each book of the Mishneh Torah
  
• Column 3 lists where the main topics can be found in Shas
  

In the following weeks to come I will dedicate one post to each of the books of the Mishneh Torah. That post will analyze some of the organizational differences between Rambam and Chazal. I hope that these posts will discuss not only a philosophy of halakhah, but also a methodology for learning philosophy of halakhah.

Book of Mishneh Torah	Topics of Book of Mishneh Torah	Where the Topics are Found in Shas
מדע	Pre-requisite to halakhah: Knowing HaShem, Talmud Torah, Avodah Zarah, Teshuvah	Massechtot Kiddushin,  Avodah Zarah, and Yoma
אהבה	Shemah, Tefillah, Berachot, Tefillin	Massechtot Berachot, Menachot
זמנים	Shabbat, Chagim	Seder Moed
נשים	Marriage, Divorce	Seder Nashim (except Nedarim and Nazir)
קדושה	Forbidden Relationships, Niddah, Kashrut	Massechtot Yevamot, Kidushin, Niddah and Chullin
הפלאה	Shavuot and Nedarim	Massechtot Shavuot, Nedarim, Nazir and Arachin
זרעים	Laws of Agriculture	Seder Zeraim (except Berachot)
עבודה	Laws of the Beit HaMikdash and Communal Korbanot	Massechtot Zevachim, Menachot, Middot, Tamid, and Meilah
קרבנות	Laws of Individual Korbanot	Massechtot Pesachim, Chagigah, Bechorot, Temurah, Kritot and Horiyot
טהרה	Laws of Tumah and Taharah	Seder Taharot (except Niddah)
נזיקין	Laws of Damages and Murder	Massechtot Bava Kama, Sanhedrin and Makkot
קניין	Laws of Ownership and Slavery	Massechtot Bava Metziah and Kiddushin
משפטים	Laws of Renting, Borrowing Objects and Money, Inheritance	Massechtot Bava Metziah, Bava Batra and Shevuot
שופטים	Laws of Sanhedrin, Testimony, Mourning and Kings	Massechtot Sanhedrin, Horiyot, Shavuot, and Moed Katan

CAT (Commonly Ambiguous Terms) - Mishneh Torah (Part I)

I am currently reading, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, and it is a wonderful book. However, when he discusses Albert Einstein (Chapter 8) and his General Theory of Relativity (of E=MC² fame) - he quotes C.P. Snow. Mr. Snow made the following observation about Einstein’s theory: 

‘Without it (the General Theory of Relativity),’ wrote Snow in 1979, ‘it is likely that we should still be waiting for the theory today.’

In other words: if Einstein had not discovered this theory, no one else would have.

I have no idea how anyone can make this type of statement. There are plenty of examples of similar ideas and theories having been discovered by different people all the time. It is a little like the Top 100 People in the History of the World - how do you actually decide who is number 5 and who is number 50? I honestly find these types lists and exaggerated statements to be a source of significant irritation.

Nevertheless, I am going to be a hypocrite and go against everything I just said! Rambam’s Mishneh Torah is one of the greatest works of Rabbinic literature from the period of the Rishonim. And I am pretty sure that this is not an exaggeration.

The Mishneh Torah is a law code, which attempts to posken every halakhah from the Gemara. It is a milestone in the history of the development of psak halakhah because it is the first law code since the Gemara that attempted to claim to be a book of authoritative psak halakhah for all of the Jewish people. (The earliest law code is the בעל הלכות גדולות (BeHaG), but it was not meant to be as authoritative over all the Jewish people.)

However, the reason that I am awed by the gadlut of the Mishneh Torah is because of its modern literary flexibility. In simpler words, it is amazing how the Mishneh Torah becomes a subject for almost all of the types of Torah learning.

o        Halakhah - A bit obvious, I guess.

o        Gemara - Thanks to R. Chaim and the Briskers, Rambam is just as much a part of learning Gemara as Rashi and Tosafot. (maybe more, gasp!)

o        Machshava - Certainly Sefer Madda was actually written as much a work of Machshava as Halakhah. There are also many other pieces throughout the Mishneh Torah which have become cornerstones of Machshava.

o        Parshanut - This is a little bit of a stretch, but even the Ramban will quote the Mishneh Torah from time to time.

Alas, I was recently convinced that the Rambam is not a kabbalist and thus the Mishneh Torah has nothing to add to Kabbalah. (I have not even looked at the cover of Menachem Kellner’s book on this subject. Also, you do not have to go much farther than the first chapter of the Tanya to see that he quotes Rambam. So maybe some of you out there in the blogosphere will disagree with me.)

As you can see from the title of this post - there is still more to come concerning Rambam. Stay tuned!

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