Was written in Hebrew and was intended to encourage the average Jew to access the body of Jewish law more easily. * The Mishnah Torah (the second Torah or repetition of the Torah) organised the complex and confusingly arranged Talmud into logical order that was accessible to the non Talmudic scholar . E.g. the everyday law. * Maimonides intention was to compose a book that would guide Jews on how to behave (‘halacha’ –proper practice) in all situations , without having to waste large amounts of time searching through the Talmud . * The Mishnah Torah covered 3 main areas for Jews
1. The book of knowledge (sefer haMada) covers issues of belief , study of Torah , repentance.
2. Thirteen books detail Jewish ritual and civil laws such as blessings, circumcision, holy days, relationships, between males and females , dietary law and ethics.
3. Notion of the Messiah – discusses the time when the messiah would come. (what will happen when messiah comes) * Mishneh Torah = “repetition of the torah”) subtitled sefer yad haHazaka (“book of the strong hand) is a code of Jewish religious law (halakha)
* Known as the Raman * Born in Cordoba , Spain but moved later moved to fez in Morocco as Muslims toke over the city and started persecuting the Jews. * In 1165 Maimonides but soon after steeled in Fustat , in Egypt . * He became head of the Egyptian Jewish community and his fame spread . * Began writing at 16 . * He began his Kitab al Siraj , an Arabic commentary on the Talmud when he was 23 and finished it 10 years later. * This contains the bold essay , thirteen attributes of faith – a list of Jewish beliefs , emulating the credos of Islam and Christianity. * Next he wrote the mishneh torah , an