Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon; Rambam)

(1135-1204)

   North African philosopher and halakhist. He is commonly referred to by the name Maimonides, though his given Hebrew name was Moses ben Maimon; the name Rambam is derived from the title Rabbi Moses ben Maimon. He was born in Cordoba, but left the city with his family in 1148 when it was captured by the Almohades. After years of wandering, they settled in Fez. During this perid he wrote treatises on the Jewish calendar, logic and halakhah. In 1168 he completed his commentary on the Mishnah; from 1170 to 1180 he worked on the Mishneh Torah (also known as Yad Hazakah), a compilation of the halakah. In 1190 he completed his philosophical study, the Guide for the Perplexed which evoked a controversy that lasted for a century; the work was accused by some of excessive rationalism, which might lead to heresy, while others supported Maimonides' views. He also wrote medical studies and became physician to the Sultan of Egypt. Maimonides exercised a profound influence on Jewish scholarship: his codification of Jewish law remained a standard guide to halakhah and he is perceived as the principal Jewish philos-opher of the Middle Ages.