Gil

The Mishne Torah overall reflects Rambam’s relatively objective interpretation of Talmudic law. Where he records his own opinion, he makes it clear; and even the nuances of his application of the accepted rules of interpretation (interwoven with explicit and implicit Geonic guidance) can be discerned in comparison to the original sugiyoth themselves (often hinging on a particular keyword). So MT’s sometimes negative description of women as a class and their roles within the Talmudic society overall reflects the perceptions and prejudices of the classical era, and not necessarily those of Rambam himself. (And certainly, we should learn and practice accordingly – we’re under no obligation to adopt the same perceptions and prejudices.)

But what about the actual women of Rambam’s life? What about his mother, his sister, his first wife, or his second? How did he feel about them, their intellectual abilities, their relationship with Torah? What lessons did he learn from them, if any? How did they figure into his world of Torah?

The mind rebels against the thought of a man as intelligent and wise as Rambam retreating into a dim misogyny that admits of no female philosophers.

But when it comes to these primary figures in his life, we have less than silence, we mostly don’t even have names.

I’m raced as White by American cultural standards. My rabbi is raced as Black.

In reality, that pesky intruder into social fantasies, neither of us is either White or Black.

Not just because both of us are Jewish by birth and American cultural standards have nothing to do with our traditional culture.

But because race is a pure abstraction without a real physical correlate, a social construct created explicitly for the purpose of exploiting (African) human beings and violating their human rights for monetary gain – a mental virus that systemically infects entire countries to this day and (violently) disrupts the lives of (hundreds of) millions of people.

Due to the toxic influences of this long Exile, many Jewish people have become vulnerable to infection by this mental virus. We must all guard ourselves against it, and return to the world and words of our sages – the physicians of souls – for regular inoculation (first ensuring of course that the physicians to whom we turn are not themselves infected).

But during such a pandemic we must always remain vigilant, especially with our language, the main vector of this disease.

חוֹלֵי הַגּוּף טוֹעֲמִים הַמַּר מָתוֹק וּמָתוֹק מַר. וְיֵשׁ מִן הַחוֹלִים מִי שֶׁמִּתְאַוְּה וְתָאֵב לְמַאֲכָלוֹת שֶׁאֵינָן רְאוּיִין לַאֲכִילָה כְּגוֹן הֶעָפָר וְהַפֶּחָם וְשׂוֹנֵא הַמַּאֲכָלוֹת הַטּוֹבִים כְּגוֹן הַפַּת וְהַבָּשָׂר הַכּל לְפִי רֹב הַחלִי. כָּךְ בְּנֵי אָדָם שֶׁנַּפְשׁוֹתֵיהֶם חוֹלוֹת מִתְאַוִּים וְאוֹהֲבִים הַדֵּעוֹת הָרָעוֹת וְשׂוֹנְאִים הַדֶּרֶךְ הַטּוֹבָה וּמִתְעַצְּלִים לָלֶכֶת בָּהּ וְהִיא כְּבֵדָה עֲלֵיהֶם לִמְאֹד לְפִי חָלְיָם. וְכֵן יְשַׁעְיָהוּ אוֹמֵר בַּאֲנָשִׁים הַלָּלוּ (ישעיה ה כ) “הוֹי הָאֹמְרִים לָרַע טוֹב וְלַטּוֹב רָע שָׂמִים חשֶׁךְ לְאוֹר וְאוֹר לְחשֶׁךְ שָׂמִים מַר לְמָתוֹק וּמָתוֹק לְמָר”. וַעֲלֵיהֶם נֶאֱמַר (משלי ב יג) “הַעֹזְבִים אָרְחוֹת ישֶׁר לָלֶכֶת בְּדַרְכֵי חשֶׁךְ”. וּמַה הִיא תַּקָּנַת חוֹלֵי הַנְּפָשׁוֹת. יֵלְכוּ אֵצֶל הַחֲכָמִים שֶׁהֵן רוֹפְאֵי הַנְּפָשׁוֹת וִירַפְּאוּ חָלְיָם בַּדֵּעוֹת שֶׁמְּלַמְּדִין אוֹתָם עַד שֶׁיַּחֲזִירוּם לַדֶּרֶךְ הַטּוֹבָה. וְהַמַּכִּירִים בַּדֵּעוֹת הָרָעוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶם וְאֵינָם הוֹלְכִים אֵצֶל הַחֲכָמִים לְרַפֵּא אוֹתָם עֲלֵיהֶם אָמַר שְׁלֹמֹה (משלי א ז) “חָכְמָה וּמוּסָר אֱוִילִים בָּזוּ”:

Unconventional advice: For beginners looking to learn Mishne Torah in order to understand how to practically observe the law, reading the book straight through from the beginning can be a mistake, especially for the modern reader.

As fundamental as philosophy is to the Maimonidean system – and I don’t mean to undermine that centrality in any way, it really is important to understand certain basic ideas about the Creator and the creation – a reader looking for practical guidance can easily get distracted and confused by the Aristotelian cosmology and theological details (much of which I think is better learned from a teacher, in a seminar setting, and/or with an experienced study partner).

Instead, I suggest reading the Introduction, to get an overview of the Maimonidean-Talmudic halakhic system, and then contemplating the following points before moving on to actually start studying the second book:

– The Creator exists in a way that is essential, and completely different from all created things, certainly with no physicality or dependency on anything created; but nevertheless establishes communication with created beings via prophecy, at which Moshe rabbenu surpassed all others

– It is possible for a created being to self-regulate and seek self-perfection, and this is the path of wisdom

– Continually learning, teaching, and studying Torah, which is wisdom and law communicated by the Creator to the creation via Moshe rabbenu, is a fundamental obligation of the nation of Israel

– Worshipping or deifying any created entity – any entity other than the Creator – is tantamount to rejecting all of the above

– The choices of created beings have consequences and yet it is always possible for a created being to reconsider their choices, and furthermore to learn to serve the Creator not just in order to avoid negative consequences, but out of love for the Creator itself, Law-maker of the kosmos

…and now you’re ready for the Book of Love, starting with when and how to recite the Shema’ properly.