Maimonides Exhibition: Autographs and other documents
| These web pages are based
on an exhibition of Maimonides' autograph manuscripts
and related contemporary documents. The exhibition
was displayed in the North Front corridor of
Cambridge University Library during May and June
2004
Maimonides' philosophical work |
Cambridge University Library T-S 10Ka4.1 |
| Maimonides' philosophical
work Dalalat al-Ha'irin (in Hebrew, More
ha-Nevukhim), the 'Guide for the Perplexed', is
one of the two books, the other being the Mishneh
Torah, on which Maimonides' lasting fame rests.
This is an early draft of the work (which was
probably completed by 1190), complete with the
author's corrections, additions and deletions. It is
in the - at times almost illegible - hand that
Maimonides habitually employed in his drafts. more |
| Maimonides' halakhic
work
|
Cambridge University Library T-S F3.11 |
| On display here are two leaves from Maimonides' commentary to tractate Shabbat of the Mishnah. The Mishnah commentary was one of his earliest halakhic works and one which he tinkered with throughout his later life; for this reason, it often differs markedly from the standard published edition, and the autographs provide intriguing glimpses of the evolution of his ideas over the course of his intellectual career. |
Cambridge University Library T-S F17.7 |
| Unique autograph fragments of
Maimonides' work on the Palestinian Talmud, Hilkhot ha-Yerushalmi, have been preserved
in the Cairo Genizah. The work was never published by
Maimonides and was only known through his mention of
it in another of his works. Thanks to our knowledge
of Maimonides' handwriting, a few precious fragments
of this long-lost work have now been identified. more |
Cambridge University Library T-S 10K8.1 |
| Autograph draft of the Mishneh
Torah, a leaf from the opening of Hilkhot
Nizqe Mamon. The leaf dates from the period
1170-80, when Maimonides was compiling the work. The
crossing out and correction in the centre of the page
is where Maimonides originally wrote the title Hilkhot Neziqim and corrected it to Hilkhot Nizqe Mamon. The rest of the leaf is
virtually identical to the modern published
editions. more |
| Responsa
|
Cambridge University Library T-S 12.201 |
| Maimonides' responsa (answers to halakhic queries) were in Judaeo-Arabic, as was customary at the time. Though the questions are often long and always formally phrased, his responses were invariably short to the point of terseness, no doubt due to the pressing demands on his time of all his interests and responsibilities. His replies are always prefaced by al-jawab, 'the answer', and finish with 'Moses wrote this'. Interestingly, none of these autographs appear in medieval collections of his responsa, suggesting that no copies of them were ever made. |
Cambridge University Library T-S 12.202 |
| The questioner politely inquires of Maimonides (described as 'the precious diadem' and 'the great councillor') whether a certain man may legitimately marry his nephew's widow. Maimonides' magnificently succint reply occupies the small amount of blank space left underneath the question at the bottom of the leaf. |
Cambridge University Library T-S 8K13.8 |
| The first part of the question is preserved in another Genizah fragment (T-S K13.8). It explains how accusations of improper conduct have been made against a respected teacher of children, who is pure of heart and never been involved in love affairs. Maimonides' answer - which is both halakhically acceptable and full of common sense - follows at the end of the question and is signed, as usual, with 'Moses wrote this'. |
| Maimonides' medical
work
|
Cambridge University Library T-S Ar.44.79 |
| Maimonides' fame as a philosopher and halakhist sometimes eclipses his medical reputation, but, during his lifetime, he was equally as famous as a physician, with his knowledge and skills being sought by Jews and Muslims, and, reportedly, even by the Crusader king of Jerusalem. Several of his medical writings are preserved in autograph in the Cairo Genizah, but on display here is one of his lesser known works, Fi `l-Jima'a (On Sexual Intercourse), which was a treatise on sex and aphrodisiacs concentrating heavily on dietetics, a branch of medicine in which Maimonides was a pioneer. It was commissioned by the sultan Omar, son of Nur al-Din and nephew of Saladin. Since it was intended for a non-Jewish reader, the fair copy of the work would have been in Arabic script, but it is interesting to note that Maimonides wrote the draft in Judaeo-Arabic (Arabic in Hebrew characters, the written vernacular of medieval Egyptian Jewry). Evidently he found it more convenient to write in Hebrew characters when preparing the work. |
| Letters of
Maimonides
|
Cambridge University Library T-S 12.192 |
| Maimonides wrote this letter on behalf of a scholar called Isaac al-Dar`i. Dar`i and his son, whose family hailed originally from Dar`a in Morocco, were newcomers to Egypt and needed help from the local Jewish community to pay the poll-tax (in Arabic, jizya or jaliya) which the Muslim authorities imposed on the Jewish and Christian minorities (the dhimmi) under their jurisdiction. The poll-tax was a considerable burden on all but the most wealthy, and it was common for the Jewish community to rally round and assist in its payment. This letter probably dates from earlier in Maimonides' time in Egypt (the 1170s perhaps) and it is easier to read than many of his autographs, being written in a more formal and earlier hand. His full signature, 'Moses son of the scholar Maymun - may the memory of the righteous be blessed', appears at the end. |
Cambridge University Library T-S 16.290 |
| Having received a letter from a
scholar, Maimonides drafted his reply on the back.
Elaborately-phrased and containing fulsome praise for
Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, the
scholar's letter had asked for a meeting in order to
discuss some passages in the work that had caused him
difficulty. Not wishing to let slip an opportunity,
he had also requested advice on the proper diet for
someone engaged in studies. In his polite reply,
Maimonides tells the inquirer how busy his medical
work keeps him, explaining that he returns home only
late and completely exhausted, but generously
suggests that they might be able to meet on the
sabbath in the study hall. He ends by recommending
almonds, raisins and date honey as suitable snacks
for a busy scholar. The letter clearly postdates
publication of the Guide, and therefore was
probably written sometime after 1190, towards the end
of Maimonides' life. more Contemporary documents concerning Maimonides |
Cambridge University Library Or.1081 J1 |
| This badly damaged fragment is the
last letter (c. 1170) that David Maimonides sent to
his older brother before taking ship for a trading
voyage to India. The letter was dispatched from
`Aydhab, the Sudanese port, which had been David's
original destination. Having failed, however, to find
suitable goods to buy, David decided to follow in the
footsteps of other Jewish merchants and take ship to
India, a dangerous but potentially quite lucrative
undertaking. His letter is mostly an explanation of
this fateful decision, for his older brother had
strongly warned against it. David's death on that
voyage brought financial ruin upon the Maimonides
family and caused Moses to take to his bed for a
year. David, a trader in gems, had been the main
provider for the whole family (though he was guided
in everything by his older brother's wisdom). With
his death, Moses was forced to seek work as a
practising physician, an ultimately fortuitous move,
since his medical career eventually brought him
recognition and influence at the highest levels of
Egyptian society, in the Ayyubid court (though, as he
later stated in a letter, it did not deliver him
great wealth).
|
Cambridge University Library T-S J2.78 |
| This is a draft of a proclamation
declaring Maimonides Ra’is al-Yahud, 'Head
of the Jews'. The holder of the post was chosen by
the Jewish notables of Fustat and recognised by the
Muslim authorities as the official representative of
the Jewish community. Maimonides held the position
twice (in 1171-2 and 1196-1204), and this document
refers to his first term in office. more |
Cambridge University Library T-S 8J14.18 |
| This is an account, by an unknown
writer, of a visit that he made to Maimonides' house.
It appears to have been the postscript to a letter
that is now missing. The writer was clearly very
excited by his visit and takes considerable delight
in describing with great attention to detail how
Maimonides, together with his son Abraham, behaved
towards him and, al-Jalal, the writer's son. Although
the host and his son are only referred to as R. Moses
and R. Abraham, there can be little doubt from the
tone of his account as to their identity. more |
