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From (and About) the Rambam
Copyright © 1996 Rambam Remedies
The Rambam on the Body
A person should aim to maintain physical health and vigor, in order that his soul may be upright, in a condition to know G-d.
Since it is impossible to understand or have knowledge of the Creator when one is sick, it is obligatory upon man to avoid things which are detrimental to the body and to acclimatize himself to those things that heal and fortify it."
The duty of visiting the sick applies to everybody. Even an eminent person must visit one who is of minor importance. The visits should be made several times a day. The more often one visits the sick, the more praise he deserves, provided that he does not weary the patient. Whoever visits a patient is as though he took away part of his illness and lightened his pain.
No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means.
Medications contained within foods that also have therapeutic powers are preferable to drugs that also have nutritional value. Guard against using pure drugs until the circumstances force you to; then prepare them. Be careful to improve them by adding thereto some materials that have nutritional value.
In order to strengthen the vital power, the physician should tell stories which make the heart swell, that distract the mind and cause patients and their families to laugh. One should select as attendants and caretakers those who can cheer up the patient. This is a must in every illness.
The Rambam on the Spirit
One must not show himself cruel by not accepting an apology; he should be easily pacified and provoked with difficulty. When an offender asks his forgiveness, he should forgive wholeheartedly and with a willing spirit. Even if he has caused him much trouble wrongfully, he must not avenge himself, he must not bear a grudge.
It is a well-known assertion of philosophers that the soul can be healthy or diseased, just as the body is either healthy or diseased. These illnesses of the soul and their cure which are alluded to by philosophers undoubtedly refer to the opinions and morals of people. Therefore, I consider untrue opinions and bad morals, with all their different varieties, as types of human illness. Among these human illnesses, there is one disease which is so common that I think that no one can escape it, except a rare individual, even during long periods of time. This disease can be of greater or lesser (severity) just as other physical and spiritual illnesses. The illness to which I refer consists of the fact that every individual person considers himself more perfect than he really is, and desires and lusts that all that enters his mind should possess perfection, without effort and fatigue.
If a man will always carefully discriminate with regard to his actions, directing them to the medium course, he will reach the highest degree of perfection possible to a human being, thereby approaching G-d and sharing in His happiness.
The eternal providence has appointed me to watch over the life and health of Thy creatures. May the love for my art actuate me at all time; may neither avarice nor miserliness, nor thirst for glory or for a great reputation engage my mind; for the enemies of truth and philanthropy could easily deceive me and make me forgetful of my lofty aim of doing good to Thy children. May I never see in the patient anything but a fellow creature in pain. Grant me the strength, time and opportunity always to correct what I have acquired, always to extend its domain; for knowledge is immense and the spirit of man can extend indefinitely to enrich itself daily with new requirements. Today he can discover his errors of yesterday and tomorrow he can obtain a new light on what he thinks himself sure of today. Oh, God, Thou has appointed me to watch over the life and death of Thy creatures; here am I ready for my vocation and now I turn unto my calling.
More....
The Rambam on medical ethics.
The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center of Touro College
publishes many articles dealing with Jewish medical ethics, where teachings
of the Rambam are discussed. One intriguing article deals with the issue of
whether euthanasia is permissible under Jewish law. Another site to keep an eye on for such subjects is the Institute for Jewish Medical Ethics.
The Rambam on religious matters.
Here are sources for in-depth study of the Rambam's two great religious works: the "
Mishneh Torah", his codification of Jewish Law, and "A Guide for the Perplexed", his treatise on the philosophical principles of the Torah.
Maimonides' view of Judaism maintained the authority of the Talmudic rabbis in matters of Jewish law while allowing for free and open inquiry in matters of science and philosophy, according to Menachem Kellner in his "Maimonides on the 'Decline of the Generations' and the Nature of Rabbinic Authority" (State University of New York Press). Re the modern Jewish dilemma, the University of Pennsylvania publishes a nifty table (Reformers: no pun intended), pointing out the stark contrast between Maimonides Thirteen Principles of traditional Jewish faith and the Pittsburgh Platform, which was set down at the historic 1885 conference of Reform Jewish leaders.
Finding the Rambam.
Over 140,000 fragments of Hebrew and Jewish literature and documents, covering every aspect of life in the Mediterranean area a thousand years ago, were rescued from the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo and currently reside in various institutions of higher learning. Among the documents are many original Maimonides manuscripts. See the Cambridge University Library: Genizah Research Unit and the Jewish Theological Seminary Library, Special Collections: Maimonides Fragment.
For those with the time to enjoy it, the Melton Research Center for Jewish Education of the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York offers a course on the important religious issues discussed by Maimonides and his contemporaries. In addition, hundreds of courses relevant to the Rambam are offered at universities around the world. Many of their course descriptions are published on the web. You can check them out with your favorite search engine.
If you hurry, you can sign up for a Spanish Jewish Heritage Tour, being offered during October by Nob Hill Travel of San Francisco. The trip will include a visit to Cordoba, the birthplace of Maimonides.
Links reviewed 01 oct 98