Maimonides: The Revered & Controversial Sephardic Rabbi | The Jewish Story | Unpacked

Every day, tens of thousands of students study the Mishneh Torah, The Guide for the Perplexed, and dozens of medical works written by Rambam, also known as Maimonides, one of the most famous Jewish scholars of all time.

Born in 1138 in Muslim-ruled Spain, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon excelled in Torah study. Life for Sephardic Jews flourished in many ways under Islamic rule. However, after the Almohad Caliphate conquered Cordoba, his family, like many Spanish Jews, was forced to flee Spain. After moving throughout North Africa, they settled in Egypt in 1168. After the death of his brother, Maimonides chose to become a doctor to support his family.

He made great contributions to the medical field, but even greater ones to religion. Following in the footsteps of Rabbi Saadia Gaon, the Rambam’s unique mind explored Jewish theology alongside Islamic and Greek philosophy. Although he is revered as one of the most brilliant Jewish minds today, Maimonides was not free from critique. However,this didn’t stop him from creating some of the most read Jewish texts in history.

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:28 Jewish life under Muslim rule
00:51 Rambam's youth
01:18 The Almohad and misfortune
02:23 Rambam's contributions to medical science
02:40 Rambam's contributions to religion
02:54 The Mishnah Torah
03:16 Criticisms of the Mishnah Torah
03:52 Criticisms of the Guide for the Perplexed
04:06 Rambam's other works
04:23 Rambam's religious and medical legacy
04:38 How did Rambam manage it all?
05:04 Outro

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Co-Executive Producers:
Melinda Goldrich
Shmuel Katz

Gold Level:
Goldrich Family Foundation
Morrie Silverman & Lori Komisar
Melanie & Martin Glatt

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Image and footage credits:
Yaakov Saar/Israeli GPO

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About The Jewish Story: Understand three thousand years of Jewish history in these short videos based on the book Letters to Auntie Fori: The 5,000-Year History of the Jewish People and Their Faith by the renowned historian Sir Martin Gilbert. Learn the Jewish story from the ancient Israelites of the Bible to Hellenization, the Jews of the Middle Ages to modern day, and more.

About Unpacked: We provide nuanced insights by unpacking all things Jewish. People are complex and complicated — yet we’re constantly being pushed to oversimplify our world. At Unpacked we know that being complex makes us more interesting. Because of this, we break the world down with nuance and insight to drive your curiosity and challenge your thinking.

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