Some have suggested that what makes a minyan “Maimonidean” is the rigorous exemplification of Maimonides’ halakhic ideals and prescriptions (such as praying with the sunrise).
Others have suggested it is faithful replication of the socio-cultural conditions of the medieval Mediterranean (including the social roles and expectations typical of the period).
On the other hand, we (read: anyone who can get down with the following ideas) would like to suggest that – beyond simply adopting the shorter נוסח התפילות that Rambam recorded in his Mishneh Torah – what makes a minyan “Maimonidean” includes these points:
– Organization around the primary principles of social horizontality (intrinsic non-hierarchy) and fundamental equality before the law (for more on these concepts in Talmudic Judaism, see the work of R. Dr. José Faur z”l), resulting in communal institutions that are meritocratic rather than “aristocratic” and consensus-seeking rather than elitist, and collective loyalty to the system of the Torah as the greatest guarantor of our religious freedoms.
– Qualified adoption of the Mishneh Torah (not as a blind fundamentalist system but as understood in his responsa and by the best of our sages) as a common code in establishing communal norms and the parameters of communal legitimacy, a system meant to be implemented in the real world outside of the ivory tower; based on the understanding that the Mishneh Torah represents the fruits of the research of the greatest scholar in rabbinic history, into the system of settled laws that are actually considered binding upon Jewish communities after the Talmud, and not merely recommended or precedented.
– Recreation of the philosophical atmosphere of Jewish al-Andalus, the socio-intellectual environment that produced Rambam and that he continued in his writings and in his approach to communal leadership; recognizing that achieving positive engagement between philosophy, science, and tradition is no less necessary today than it was in Rambam’s day.
There is more to be said on each of the above points and it can also be argued that this list of core principles is far from exhaustive; the community must develop its vision, together.
But I hope the above serves to clarify some of the basic ideas of what makes a minyan “Maimonidean” in the year 5784, and what we’re trying to achieve with Qongregation Sha’are Shalom