The Great Eagle (2017): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript
"Before I was formed in the womb,
the Torah knew me,
"and before I left the womb,
I was designated to spread her wellsprings."
Prof. Menachem Kellner
University of Haifa, Shalem Center
After the Twin Towers fell,
my wife and I were in the U.S. at the time,
we were stuck there
because all flights had been canceled.
The first Saturday after the event
we arrived at JFK Airport
and stood in line all night
to catch a flight.
A Bobov Hasid from Brooklyn
was standing next to me.
Out of courtesy
he asked me what I do.
I told him:
I'm a university lecturer.
Then he asked:
In what grade?
He didn't know exactly
what a university is.
"What do you teach?"
I said: The Rambam [Maimonides].
He was very surprised
that Rambam is taught at university.
And being an idiot with a diploma,
I wanted to tell him the whole truth,
not just what he wanted to hear.
I said: But we study Rambam
not the way you study Rambam
in yeshivas,
we teach Rambam in the context of
the people who influenced him,
like Aristotle the Greek,
Al-Farabi the Muslim and others.
He looks at me,
this small, short man,
he looks at me like this,
with big, innocent eyes
and utters one word:
"Gentiles?!"
He couldn't believe
that serious people,
I hope he thought
I'm a serious person,
reads Rambam in the context of...
gentiles!
The late Rabbi Bar Kappara said
that the Rambam is like a mirror,
everyone looks at the Rambam
and sees his own reflection.
My wife said something similar:
The Rambam is like a Rorschach test.
Already in the Middle Ages
people asked themselves
how can we explain
and understand the Rambam?
The easiest way is to simply
ignore what he wrote,
which is the most common approach.
Musa ibn Maymun
Safe?!
Sawad.
Anwar.
-Just a minute.
Anwar.
Next. Who else?
Bakri, Rina.
Sit down, people.
Make yourselves comfortable.
Take one.
Dr. Yaren Seri
Bar Ilan University
For those who don't know me,
0°m & “[rfi0
and for those who don't read Arabic,
it says: The history of medicine
and pharmacology of the Arabs,
during the Middle Ages, not today,
but when the Arabs were at their peak,
they were leaders in science in general.
Usually, during the entire year
we learn
about how the most famous
Muslim doctors cured diseases,
Ibn Sina, Ibn Zohur, al-Razi.
To you these are names
of streets or schools.
This time, I took an essay
written by a Jewish scholar
who is considered the greatest
Jewish scholar of all times.
Musa ibn Maymun was a scholar
born in Cordoba, Spain,
a very important city,
medicine developed there
and many scientists came from there.
Can you read what's written on top?
First of all,
In the name of the merciful God..." See?
What does it say here?
"God help me."
And after that?
"Said the sheikh, the leader."
See?
"Abu Amran Musa
ibn Abdallah..."
That's his Arabic name,
"from Cordoba,
"the Israeli,"
the Jew, right?
Cordoba , Andalusia, Spain
If you look over there,
it that the Rambam
was born in 1135.
was an important
philosopher and thinker.
Hfe was a Jew born in Cordoba.
He put great emphasis
on-faith and philosophy.
The Rambam is one of the most famous
intellectuals representing Cordoba.
They Say that touching his feet
can bring you luck.
The Ramban was born in 1135 when the city
was under Muslim rule of the Almohad dynasty
Prof. Moshe Halbertal
The Hebrew University
The Rambam grew up in Andalusia,
and in this Andalusian world,
there is a very dominant Jewish culture,
very rich, very strong,
in all areas,
in poetry, philosophy, Talmud.
And he is the most polished thing
that this world produced.
Almost the last.
-The last.
Prof. Sarah Stroumsa
The Hebrew University
The Rambam, people like him,
studied everything,
everything that was available,
which included philosophy,
mathematics, astronomy,
Arab culture, Arab poetry,
the beginning of medicine, the entire Talmud,
the entire Jewish Halakha [Jewish Law].
Everything was open to him.
And he swallowed everything.
-So it seems.
Who taught him these things?
We assume that
in a family such as his,
a boy studied mainly with his father.
Or Vishua Hesder Yeshiva
Haifa
Rabbi Dr. Rliyahu Rahamim Zini
Head of the Yeshiva
His father was a great scholar
and a disciple of
Rabbi Yosef ibn Migash
who was a disciple of the Rif,
[Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi].
Muslim culture in those days
was educated, inquisitive,
as a result
a symbiosis and synthesis developed
between the educated world and
the Torah world, one enriching the other.
Is it possible
that he had Muslim teachers?
Could he have studied
physics or astronomy with...
Why is that a problem?
As a mathematician,
didn't I study with Arameans?
I studied with Arameans,
we see no fault with that.
What does the Rambam say?
"Accept the truth from whoever says it."
The National Library of Israel
Givat Ram
"I, Moshe bar Maimon,
began to write this commentary
"and I am 23 years old.
"I completed it in Egypt
at the age of 30."
That's history you're holding.
Dr. Aviad Stollman
Head of Collections, National Library of Israel
The first time I saw this, I said
"Shehecheyanu" [blessing of praise].
Is this actually his handwriting?
This is actually his handwriting.
It was controversial in the past,
but today no one thinks
that it's not his handwriting.
Do you know what's in here?
A manuscript by the Rambam?
I see that someone already told you.
But not many people
get to see this manuscript,
so you're very privileged
and I'm sure that when you tell your families
they won't believe you.
Not many people see it
although you can see pictures of it
on the Internet,
but to actually see the manuscript,
not many get to see it.
You're receiving the honor of prime ministers
and presidents, I'm not exaggerating.
In his twenties the Rambam began to write
his commentary on the Mishnah
Five volumes in his hand writing,
have remained .
The Rambam wrote monumental essays.
-Yes.
He begins his commentary on the Mishnah
[Jewish oral law], which had never been done,
the entire Mishnah.
And he tries to refine
the Halakhic foundations of the Mishnah.
And you see in the prefaces he writes,
that he's a philosopher.
In the introduction
to his Commentary on the Mishnah
you already see
a solid philosophy of the Halakha,
he has a theory on the Halakha.
It's amazing that although
only in his twenties,
how solid this man is.
Exalted and praised be the living God
He exists unbounded by time
He is One and infinite in his Oneness
Unseen and compared to none...
A bit softer.
The Rambam defined his
"Thirteen Principles of Faith."
What does it mean to claim
that Judaism has principles of faith?
It's a new concept,
totally new.
If we search in the Torah,
the Mishnah, the Talmud,
all the literature, for an abstract
theological argument, we won't find one.
If we look for a list of the
principles of faith, we'll never find one.
The hymn "Yigdal Elohim Chai"
is based on the Rambam's Thirteen Principles
Upon His treasured and splendorous people
There has not arisen in Israel
another like Moses
A prophet who beheld His image
A Torah of truth He gave His people
By His prophet,
faithful to His house...
It's just too fast.
And don't play so loud.
These are the Thirteen Principles of Faith
The foundation of God's law and Torah
The Torah and the prophecy
of Moses are true
Blessed Eternally be his grat name.
Yes, this is an amazing text
where the Rambam strongly objects
to scholars who teach Torah
for money.
"Just as I do it for free,
so too must you do it for free."
In other words,
you must teach the Torah
just like God teaches it - for free.
And then he says,
'I'm surprised at scholars
"who don't know how to deal
with what is written in the Torah."
The Torah and the Oral Law forbid
taking money for teaching Toraih.
"Know this,
for it has already been said:
"Do not capitalize on the Torah
for personal gain.
"In other words:
Do not use it a tool for your livelihood.
"And goes on to explain that whoever
capitalizes on the Torah in this world
"forfeits life in the world to come."
Prof. Hanina Ben-Menahem
The Hebrew University
There is a specific Mishnah that says
that whoever capitalizes on the Torah,
loses his place in the world to come.
He asks,
how did they ignore this Mishnah?
How could they not see
that it's forbidden?
"And it's all a mistake,
nothing in the Torah validates it,
"and nothing at all to lean on.
"If we study the history
of the Sages, of blessed memory..."
He refers to the scholars of
the Mishnah and Talmud.
"We won't find them
taking money from people
"or collecting money for yeshivas.
Exalted and distinguished yeshivas
should support themselves.
A person should study Torah
and not receive money for it.
This is certainly contrary
to everything we see today
in the manner in which yeshiva boys
are supported,
the Rambam was against it.
Rabbanit Malka Puterkovsky
The idea of Hevrat Lomdim [society of scholars]
is despicable to the Rambam.
A Jew who does not earn a living
from the labor of his hands,
from his professional capabilities,
is blasphemous.
Blasphemy is the worst sin there is.
There is no repentance for it.
True, Hazon Ish said: Sometimes we must
violate the Torah for the sake of the Torah,
and we must have a Levite tribe.
-After the Holocaust.
Yes, after the Holocaust,
we need a number of scholars,
if you wish, in modern terms,
we must give them stipends
so they can maintain the Torah world.
Also the Hazon Ish of blessed memory,
and wiser men than I claimed it,
he didn't intend for a whole society
where men don't work,
don't make a living
and only study Torah.
This is completely contrary
to the Rambam's world view.
When the Rambam talks against
capitalizing on the Torah...
I know the yeshiva students,
I know them from the inside.
When we talk about the majority
of serious yeshiva students,
they don't capitalize on the Torah.
I don't see them using the Torah as a tool for
a life of leisure, livelihood and sustenance,
on the contrary,
they devote themselves to the Torah,
they're willing to live in poverty
for the sake of the Torah.
However, of course
it's at the expense of many things,
and I don't think the situation today
is perfect.
It's at the expense
of all sorts of things.
If it has reached the point
where those
who aren't cut out to study all day
are there,
then either they don't study all day
because they're not cut out for it,
or they're in a mental or spiritual place
which isn't right for them.
Does it upset you when people latch onto
the words of the Rambam? -Very much so.
Why? The Rambam was...
For two reasons,
for the reasons I mentioned before,
which in my opinion is capitalizing on the
Rambam in order to attack us.
And the worst thing is...
You suddenly found The Rambam?
Okay,...
there's a Halakhic ruling,
the legal scholars decided.
The book "Mishnah Berurah"
[on Jewish law] says it's allowed.
You're interfering
in our Halakhic rules?
Great, there's the Rambam,
we...
We have legal scholars,
and in the Mishnah Berurah
they ruled that it's okay.
Hundreds of years before the Mishnah Berurah
they ruled that it's okay.
They disagreed with the Rambam,
so...
Why this interference?
It's like me entering someone's world
and saying:
You should think like so-and-so.
I mean..
I feel it's dishonest.
I'll find you something interesting.
-What language did he write it in?
It's written in Hebrew,
this is his handwriting.
It's called half-cursive script.
The Rambam had
What does this say?
It's like Rashi's handwriting.
"There were two...
-Two. -Two...
"Judges...
-Judges of fines. -"Judges of fines
"in Jerusalem..."
Edmon.
-"Edmon and Hanan Ben Avshalom."
You can read this very well.
Now try to read something
further down.
"And seven..."
Try.
It's hard to read.
-Why?
Don't you know Hebrew?
The letters are strange,
they've changed since then.
But you managed to read this,
You knew that it says
"in Jerusalem," right?
So why can't you read this?
It's hard, isn't it?
Why is it hard?
Where did the Rambam live?
Oh, maybe those are Arabic letters?
But these are HebrewJetters.
It's written in Arabic
in Hebrew letters.
Judeo-Arabic.
Judeo-Arabic means
Arabic in Hebrew letters.
For example, see this word?
It's probably "ard,"
the word for land in Arabic.
I'll try to find a word
that you know in Arabic.
The third chapter from Ketubot-
(Marriage Contracts)
Prof. Colette Sirat
Sorbonne, Paris
You know what handwriting is?
It's like recognizing a friend
from a distance,
you recognise him
by the way he moves.
The same goes for handwriting.
Anyone who knows
Rambam's handwriting recognizes him.
Look,
here, for example, how...
Erasures. -Erasures.
He was irritable.
I feel him
He's one of my friends.
I don't always agree with him,
but it's a fact.
This is Arabic in Hebrew letters.
The Rambam's Arabic
was pure Arabic.
From the 10th to the 12th century
all cultured Jews
learned to write both
Hebrew and Arabic.
The Rambam was an Arab
in every respect.
So what? It's fine, why not?
Now I would like
to read a few small interesting passages
from his essay
that have to do with poisons
you've never heard of before.
In order to understand the Rambam,
like the Rishonim (Sages)
and the Geonim before him,
you cannot understand this culture,
you don't know it
in its entirety.
It's not enough to learn Arabic,
it's important to understand Arabic culture,
Arabic literature,
Islam and Islamic culture.
You have to know it.
The Rambam uses terms
that are related to Islamic theology.
You cannot understand "Guide to the Perplexed"
if you haven't read Al-Farabi.
Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali.
In a way it's a form of repression,
because one of the greatest Jewish minds
of all times
is planted very deeply
in the Arab Muslim world.
-That's right.
"As a general rule I may tell you
study only the works on logic
"composed by the learned
Abu Nasser al-Farabi.
"For everything he has written especially his
book 'The Principles of all Existing Things'
"are like fine flour and a man can understand
and learn from his writings,
"because of his profound wisdom."
The Rambam said that
he read Ibn Rushd,
and his writings prove
that he read Ibn Rushd,
not only his commentaries
but he also read
his theological essays.
Ibn Rushd (1126-1198)
Born in Cordoba
At the top of the page
you see his use of
"Observe, wise men,"
which as Zeev Harvey showed,
is a verse from the Quran.
How do you say it in Arabic?
First of all, it shows us
Rambam's knowledge
of the Quran.
But more than that,
in one of Ibn Rushd's
short theological essays,
the matter of observation
is central
and he also uses this phrase.
It's very important to him
as proof of the religious duty
to engage in philosophy,
in study.
To think, the obligation to think.
Out of all the quotes
that the Rambam could have chosen
this one may best reveal
his connection with Ibn Rushd.
Is it correct to say
that engaging in
the Rambam's biographical aspect is trivial?
Not only the Rambam, in general...
When you started with the Rambam,
I wanted to say,
not necessarily the Rambam,
it's typical of all our sages.
To an ordinary Haredi,
the biographical issue
is not that interesting,
and not important,
the important thing is
his spiritual contribution to our tradition
and the biographical aspect is trivial.
It's good for the girls who study
Jewish history...
nothing more.
You don't dwell on the fact
that he felt at home with Arabic culture,
he was fluent in Arabic,
he was very familiar with the philosophies
of Al-Farabi, Aristotle.
He wrote about them openly,
and you disregard them.
But I wouldn't call it
"conscious disregard."
What then? -The Haredi community
is a traditional, conservative community
that continues the tradition
handed down by its forefathers.
And when something doesn't
coincide with the tradition of
"What do I want to learn
from the Rambam," then...
Ask an ordinary Haredi:
What does it mean to you that the Rambam
was familiar with philosophical literature,
Aristotelian literature?
He'll say:
The Rambam is allowed.
You'll say: "The Rambam says
that others should also learn,"
if we assume the Rambam said so...
Yes.
He'll say:
Okay, but our rabbis didn't tell us that.
To me that's an honest answer,
it's not an evasion,
it's not a game we're playing.
I don't approach the Rambam directly,
I accept the Rambam through tradition,
passed on from generation to generation,
and vice-versa,
I trust our rabbis or our tradition
that guides me
what to learn from each scholar.
When the Rambam is a child,
battalions of Almohad soldiers arrive
who give the Jews a choice
to convert to Islam or death.
We're talking about a tough dynasty.
Nowadays we could compare it
to ISIS.
Muslims also pay with their lives,
Christians and Jews
are given the same choice:
Islam or death.
All the Jews are rounded up at
the square near the big mosque,
they give them a choice
between Islam and death,
some people say:
We refuse to convert to Islam
under any circumstances.
Martyrdom.
-They simply kill them.
On the spot.
-Yes.
There's a description of such a killing
in Sana'a.
There's a description of such a killing
in Sijilmasa,
and we assume
the same happens in Cordoba.
The Rambam family wanders.
-The Rambam family
at some point
pretend to be Muslims.
If they do it immediately
or first try
to go to northern Spain
we don't know.
When they reappear,
they appear in the Jewish congregation
all of whom pretend to be Muslims.
This is in Fez.
-Yes.
Fez, Morroco
The Rambam family home
Fez, Morocco
We know, from his own words,
that during this period
he is practicing medicine.
So if in Al-Andalus
he studied theoretical medicine
in North Africa he studies like they did,
at the patient's bedside.
He joins other doctors
and makes his rounds to see patients.
The Rambam didn't invent medieine,
certainly not ancient medicine,
the Rambam, like his predecessors,
relied on the great ancient
Greek physicians,
starting with Hippocrates, later the greatest
physician in antiquity, Galen and the like.
There's no relevance to his being
an important man among the Jews,
as far as the science of medicine
in his books.
Prof. Samuel Kottek
Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University
This book by the Rambam
is called "Chapters of Moses."
Then it says,
It is the Book of Medicine.
What language
was this book written originally?
Arabic, of course.
All the medical books
were written in Arabic.
but they were translated later.
Everyone thinks that the Rambam was a great
doctor because of his innovations in medicine.
It's not true?
-It's not true.
But all his good qualities
that appear in all of his manuscripts
were also reflected
in his medical books.
To choose what to say,
to say it concisely.
clearly and analytically.
This is what makes his manuscripts
so important.
"Every person who falls ill requires
renewed consideration
"and should never say:
This disease is similar to that one,
"a physician does not treat a disease,
he treats a sick person."
He always emphasized
that a doctor should
think twice when deciding
how to treat a patient.
He said things that I always quote
because they're so important.
He said: Don't say,
the disease that I see now
is like the one I saw
three weeks ago.
Because every sick person
needs a renewed evaluation
that's how they translated his words
from Arabic, "renewed evaluation."
In other words,
to see him as a sick person.
Don't say, I'm treating a disease,
I'm treating a sick person.
The Yuri Shtern Holistic Care Center
It's obvious that the Rambam
was one of the great doctors of his time.
What amazes me as far as
the Rambam's medicine,
is the fact that despite ttYe paradigms,
the theories,
theories that don't withstand
the test of modern medicine,
Rambam was ahead of his time in a long
line of perceptions relating to medicine,
as far as the connection between
body and soul, personalized medicine,
which is a distinct characteristic
of ultra-modern medicine,
and the Rambam said it long ago.
He said it 800 years ago.
Rambam's uniqueness
was in his holistic approach,
his approach to personalized medicine
and the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle
to maintain good health.
Those of us who believe,
and I'm certainly one of them,
the Rambam originated the idea
that in every disease
there is an interaction
between body and soul
and the way a patient copes with his disease
and the extent of suffering
is not only a result of the body,
not only, unfortunately,
the metastasis that affects the nerve
and causes pain,
but also his mental condition
at the time.
And if we can improve 6ne,
the other will also improve,
this is a profound belief
in modern medicine today
and no one denies it.
"Those who were wealthy who cared for their
family and wealth, became Muslim outwardly.
"Moshe Ben Maimon (The Rambam)
did so and remained in his country.
"And when he practiced
the symbol of Islam outwardly,
"he accepted its details such as
reading the Quran and prayer."
Did they stay alive? Yes.
Were they in Cordoba? Yes.
Did they reached Morocco? Yes.
There were no options.
They had to appear to be Muslims.
It doesn't make him
any less of a good Jew.
Still, the greatest Jewish thinker
lived as a Muslim for part of his life.
Allegedly lived part of his life
as a Muslim.
That's true, yes.
He kept alive, that's right..
The Rambam wrote an epistle during
that period, "The Epistle on Apostasy,"
it's a very interesting epistle,
because we already hear his voice,
as an authority,
with a lot of compassion.
He tells the Jews in the Maghreb:
First of all,
you don't have to become martyrs
and not convert to Islam,
there is no such obligation
in the Jewish laws of self-sacrifice,
why?
Because all they asked of you
was a verbal declaration,
to recite the Shahada.
It is not a declaration
that becomes a fact, an action
for which you must sacrifice your
If the Rambam did it,
it meant nothing to him.
It wasn't as if
the Rambam failed, he converted to Islam.
He told all the Jews:
Fine, say the Shahada,
try to leave the area
so you can live a full Jewish life,
and that's what he did.
So let's put it in perspective...
for us it's a sensation,
wow, he converted to Islam,
for him it's a legitimate Halakhic action
done under pressure.
To convert to Islam because of a threat
doesn't warrant a commendation,
but according to the Halakha,
what did they ask him to do?
To say that Mohammed is a prophet?
So we'll say he's a prophet.
Do you think that he did that?
-No.
Where did he say it?
It's a false claim, it's unfounded.
Firstly, you know that it has never
been established historically,
It's controversial.
Yes, okay.
You're asking me...
I'm asking your opinion.
-Yes.
I don't know.
I don't know if the Rambam
really lived that way.
It's controversial.
And if it is true,
I have no problem with it.
If a person thought...
-Is it a difficult question for you?
No, it does't bother me,
because if the Rambam
had really adopted the Muslim faith
during a period of his life,
I'd have a problem with it,
a very serious problem.
But if he led a Muslim lifestyle outwardly,
under pretense,
it certainly wasn't more than that,
so even if we assume that
according to the Halakha
he shouldn't have done it,
but if he did it because
he felt that he should do it,
that he's allowed to do it,
then I see no fault in it.
"But if anyone asks us
whether to be killed or confess,
"we tell him to confess
and not be killed.
"But he shall not stay in that kingdom,
"but remain in his house
until he leaves if he must,
"and shall do his worship in private.
"There has never been
persecution such as this,
"where you are only forced
to say something.
"But be ready to die
if you are forced to do something
Which you are sanctioned about.
What does the Rambam say
in the Epistle on Apostasy?
He says: In such a case, if a person
asks me how he should behave,
I tell him:
Convert to Islam. Outwardly.
It's a wonderful apostasy, he says.
There's never been such an apostasy,
they're only asking you to say something
and they grant you
your life in return.
Convert to Islam outwardly,
then leave,
the moment you have a chance,
leave to lands where
you can continue living your life,
in this case,
the lands of the Crusaders.
"And the advice I give myself,
"and my loved ones
and whoever asks for my opinion,
"is to leave these places and go somewhere
where he can establish his religion
"and fulfill his Torah
without duress.
"He should not be afraid to leave his home
and children and all his possessions,
"because the faith the Lord
bequeathed us is great."
Ceuta a Spanish enclave in North Africa
from which the Rambam
and his family sailed to Eretz Yisrael
"One Shabbat night on the fourth day
of the month of Iyar I boarded the ship
"and on Erev Shabbat, the 10th of Iyar
in the 4920th year of creation,
huge wave threatened to drown us.
The sea was raging."
"One Shabbat night,
on the third day of the month of Sivan,
"I left the sea in peace.
"We arrived in Acre. I survived
apostasy and reached the Land of Israel."
Acre
The Land of Israel in these days
is under Christian rule, an unpleas-ant
Christian government, the Crusaders.
We assume they didn't
want to stay there for a long time.
He arrives in a Jewish world,
looks around and wonders...
Where am I?
Who do I talk to here?
He's in an terrible crisis
when he describes the Torah world
in a certain letter he says:
There's nothing there.
They didn't stay because they
didn't think they could flourish there.
"And on the third day of the month
of Heshvan
"we left Acre and set out for Jerusalem
under danger.
"I entered the great and holy house
and prayed.
"Praise God for everything.
"These two days, the 6th and 9th
of the month of Heshvan,
"I vowed will be festive days for me.
"Just as I lived to pray
in the ruins of the Holy Temple
"May I and all the children of Israel
soon see its rebuilding, Amen."
Allah is great!
Allah is great!
God is King,
God will rule for ever and ever
The Temple Mount
We continue to say:
The Temple Mount is in our hands.
Blessed is He who made a miracle for us
in this exact place.
Yehuda Glick
Temple Mount Foundation
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to hereby open
the Doreshei Tzion Conference.
My teachers and rabbis,
this year's conference is special
because this year
we mark a special year,
850 years since the Rambam
went up to the Temple Mount.
Incidentally, the Rambam thought
the Temple Mount's sanctity
was still in effect,
so it's hard for me to believe
that he violated his own law.
The source doesn't sound authentic.
There is no significant evidence
that the Rambam went up
to the Temple Mount.
Besides, does it really matter?
He doesn't call for pilgrimages
to the Temple Mount, he doesn't...
it's not his world.
If you want to ask
a Halakhic question:
Is it allowed or forbidden to go to the
Temple Mount according to the Halakha (laws)?
Clearly, relying on the Rambam
is justified.
Of course you have to check if other scholars
disagreed with him Halakhically,
which I don't think is the case.
He didn't say it's Halakha,
he told a historic story. -Yes, but...
It doesn't matter,
as far as Halakha,
I see no reason to forbid going up
to the Temple Mount, at least parts of it.
When I say "dry Halakha"
I mean, there are rules regarding
existing Kedushot (sacred things),
so you're permitted to go up there,
there's no question about it.
I don't think anyone disputes it,
any scholar will tell you so.
-Do you go up there?
No, in spite of my strong desire
to be sanctified and go up,
but I don't,
for reasons of my desire to belong
to the Haredi society and the great rabbis
of Israel who don't allow it,
and for that reason
I forego my spiritual passion.
In addition we have to look at
the political-social side of it,
is it right to lead the public
to go up to the Temple Mount?
In this case it's a political question,
a social question.
Here I say, what's the connection
between the Rambam's private visit
and going there today when the situation
is charged socially, politically
aimed for certain purposes...
How do you connect that
to the Rambam?
I wish to invite Yehuda Etzion!
These days...
we're accused of wanting
the Temple Mount
and all the heads of state say:
False accusation...
Al-Aqsa is in danger,
false accusation.
I wish to say that this false
accusation is not false.
al-Aqsa truly is in danger
because it is standing on our holy site,
so, of course, it cannot remain there,
and certainly one day
not only al-Aqsa
but also the Dome of the Rock
and the Islam's hold on the Temple Mount
will end.
I'd even say something
somewhat political,
but I'll say it.
There is an expression going around
mostly in right-wing circles,
in certain national-religious circles,
"The ruler of the mountain rules the state,"
and to me that's a very serious statement.
It's turning the tables,
instead of the mountain of the House of God
being a place where we all succumb
to work God,
suddenly you'e painting a picture
where you use the mountain as a tool
to maintain our control of this land,
I think that's very serious.
God will never change or alter
His law for all eternity
He sees and knows our most hidden secrets
He perceives the outcome of things
at its inception
He rewards a man according to his work
And places evil on the wicked
according to his wickedness
He will send our Messiah
at the end of days
To redeem those waiting
for His final salvation
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the Torah knew me,
"and before I left the womb,
I was designated to spread her wellsprings."
Prof. Menachem Kellner
University of Haifa, Shalem Center
After the Twin Towers fell,
my wife and I were in the U.S. at the time,
we were stuck there
because all flights had been canceled.
The first Saturday after the event
we arrived at JFK Airport
and stood in line all night
to catch a flight.
A Bobov Hasid from Brooklyn
was standing next to me.
Out of courtesy
he asked me what I do.
I told him:
I'm a university lecturer.
Then he asked:
In what grade?
He didn't know exactly
what a university is.
"What do you teach?"
I said: The Rambam [Maimonides].
He was very surprised
that Rambam is taught at university.
And being an idiot with a diploma,
I wanted to tell him the whole truth,
not just what he wanted to hear.
I said: But we study Rambam
not the way you study Rambam
in yeshivas,
we teach Rambam in the context of
the people who influenced him,
like Aristotle the Greek,
Al-Farabi the Muslim and others.
He looks at me,
this small, short man,
he looks at me like this,
with big, innocent eyes
and utters one word:
"Gentiles?!"
He couldn't believe
that serious people,
I hope he thought
I'm a serious person,
reads Rambam in the context of...
gentiles!
The late Rabbi Bar Kappara said
that the Rambam is like a mirror,
everyone looks at the Rambam
and sees his own reflection.
My wife said something similar:
The Rambam is like a Rorschach test.
Already in the Middle Ages
people asked themselves
how can we explain
and understand the Rambam?
The easiest way is to simply
ignore what he wrote,
which is the most common approach.
Musa ibn Maymun
Safe?!
Sawad.
Anwar.
-Just a minute.
Anwar.
Next. Who else?
Bakri, Rina.
Sit down, people.
Make yourselves comfortable.
Take one.
Dr. Yaren Seri
Bar Ilan University
For those who don't know me,
0°m & “[rfi0
and for those who don't read Arabic,
it says: The history of medicine
and pharmacology of the Arabs,
during the Middle Ages, not today,
but when the Arabs were at their peak,
they were leaders in science in general.
Usually, during the entire year
we learn
about how the most famous
Muslim doctors cured diseases,
Ibn Sina, Ibn Zohur, al-Razi.
To you these are names
of streets or schools.
This time, I took an essay
written by a Jewish scholar
who is considered the greatest
Jewish scholar of all times.
Musa ibn Maymun was a scholar
born in Cordoba, Spain,
a very important city,
medicine developed there
and many scientists came from there.
Can you read what's written on top?
First of all,
In the name of the merciful God..." See?
What does it say here?
"God help me."
And after that?
"Said the sheikh, the leader."
See?
"Abu Amran Musa
ibn Abdallah..."
That's his Arabic name,
"from Cordoba,
"the Israeli,"
the Jew, right?
Cordoba , Andalusia, Spain
If you look over there,
it that the Rambam
was born in 1135.
was an important
philosopher and thinker.
Hfe was a Jew born in Cordoba.
He put great emphasis
on-faith and philosophy.
The Rambam is one of the most famous
intellectuals representing Cordoba.
They Say that touching his feet
can bring you luck.
The Ramban was born in 1135 when the city
was under Muslim rule of the Almohad dynasty
Prof. Moshe Halbertal
The Hebrew University
The Rambam grew up in Andalusia,
and in this Andalusian world,
there is a very dominant Jewish culture,
very rich, very strong,
in all areas,
in poetry, philosophy, Talmud.
And he is the most polished thing
that this world produced.
Almost the last.
-The last.
Prof. Sarah Stroumsa
The Hebrew University
The Rambam, people like him,
studied everything,
everything that was available,
which included philosophy,
mathematics, astronomy,
Arab culture, Arab poetry,
the beginning of medicine, the entire Talmud,
the entire Jewish Halakha [Jewish Law].
Everything was open to him.
And he swallowed everything.
-So it seems.
Who taught him these things?
We assume that
in a family such as his,
a boy studied mainly with his father.
Or Vishua Hesder Yeshiva
Haifa
Rabbi Dr. Rliyahu Rahamim Zini
Head of the Yeshiva
His father was a great scholar
and a disciple of
Rabbi Yosef ibn Migash
who was a disciple of the Rif,
[Rabbi Isaac al-Fasi].
Muslim culture in those days
was educated, inquisitive,
as a result
a symbiosis and synthesis developed
between the educated world and
the Torah world, one enriching the other.
Is it possible
that he had Muslim teachers?
Could he have studied
physics or astronomy with...
Why is that a problem?
As a mathematician,
didn't I study with Arameans?
I studied with Arameans,
we see no fault with that.
What does the Rambam say?
"Accept the truth from whoever says it."
The National Library of Israel
Givat Ram
"I, Moshe bar Maimon,
began to write this commentary
"and I am 23 years old.
"I completed it in Egypt
at the age of 30."
That's history you're holding.
Dr. Aviad Stollman
Head of Collections, National Library of Israel
The first time I saw this, I said
"Shehecheyanu" [blessing of praise].
Is this actually his handwriting?
This is actually his handwriting.
It was controversial in the past,
but today no one thinks
that it's not his handwriting.
Do you know what's in here?
A manuscript by the Rambam?
I see that someone already told you.
But not many people
get to see this manuscript,
so you're very privileged
and I'm sure that when you tell your families
they won't believe you.
Not many people see it
although you can see pictures of it
on the Internet,
but to actually see the manuscript,
not many get to see it.
You're receiving the honor of prime ministers
and presidents, I'm not exaggerating.
In his twenties the Rambam began to write
his commentary on the Mishnah
Five volumes in his hand writing,
have remained .
The Rambam wrote monumental essays.
-Yes.
He begins his commentary on the Mishnah
[Jewish oral law], which had never been done,
the entire Mishnah.
And he tries to refine
the Halakhic foundations of the Mishnah.
And you see in the prefaces he writes,
that he's a philosopher.
In the introduction
to his Commentary on the Mishnah
you already see
a solid philosophy of the Halakha,
he has a theory on the Halakha.
It's amazing that although
only in his twenties,
how solid this man is.
Exalted and praised be the living God
He exists unbounded by time
He is One and infinite in his Oneness
Unseen and compared to none...
A bit softer.
The Rambam defined his
"Thirteen Principles of Faith."
What does it mean to claim
that Judaism has principles of faith?
It's a new concept,
totally new.
If we search in the Torah,
the Mishnah, the Talmud,
all the literature, for an abstract
theological argument, we won't find one.
If we look for a list of the
principles of faith, we'll never find one.
The hymn "Yigdal Elohim Chai"
is based on the Rambam's Thirteen Principles
Upon His treasured and splendorous people
There has not arisen in Israel
another like Moses
A prophet who beheld His image
A Torah of truth He gave His people
By His prophet,
faithful to His house...
It's just too fast.
And don't play so loud.
These are the Thirteen Principles of Faith
The foundation of God's law and Torah
The Torah and the prophecy
of Moses are true
Blessed Eternally be his grat name.
Yes, this is an amazing text
where the Rambam strongly objects
to scholars who teach Torah
for money.
"Just as I do it for free,
so too must you do it for free."
In other words,
you must teach the Torah
just like God teaches it - for free.
And then he says,
'I'm surprised at scholars
"who don't know how to deal
with what is written in the Torah."
The Torah and the Oral Law forbid
taking money for teaching Toraih.
"Know this,
for it has already been said:
"Do not capitalize on the Torah
for personal gain.
"In other words:
Do not use it a tool for your livelihood.
"And goes on to explain that whoever
capitalizes on the Torah in this world
"forfeits life in the world to come."
Prof. Hanina Ben-Menahem
The Hebrew University
There is a specific Mishnah that says
that whoever capitalizes on the Torah,
loses his place in the world to come.
He asks,
how did they ignore this Mishnah?
How could they not see
that it's forbidden?
"And it's all a mistake,
nothing in the Torah validates it,
"and nothing at all to lean on.
"If we study the history
of the Sages, of blessed memory..."
He refers to the scholars of
the Mishnah and Talmud.
"We won't find them
taking money from people
"or collecting money for yeshivas.
Exalted and distinguished yeshivas
should support themselves.
A person should study Torah
and not receive money for it.
This is certainly contrary
to everything we see today
in the manner in which yeshiva boys
are supported,
the Rambam was against it.
Rabbanit Malka Puterkovsky
The idea of Hevrat Lomdim [society of scholars]
is despicable to the Rambam.
A Jew who does not earn a living
from the labor of his hands,
from his professional capabilities,
is blasphemous.
Blasphemy is the worst sin there is.
There is no repentance for it.
True, Hazon Ish said: Sometimes we must
violate the Torah for the sake of the Torah,
and we must have a Levite tribe.
-After the Holocaust.
Yes, after the Holocaust,
we need a number of scholars,
if you wish, in modern terms,
we must give them stipends
so they can maintain the Torah world.
Also the Hazon Ish of blessed memory,
and wiser men than I claimed it,
he didn't intend for a whole society
where men don't work,
don't make a living
and only study Torah.
This is completely contrary
to the Rambam's world view.
When the Rambam talks against
capitalizing on the Torah...
I know the yeshiva students,
I know them from the inside.
When we talk about the majority
of serious yeshiva students,
they don't capitalize on the Torah.
I don't see them using the Torah as a tool for
a life of leisure, livelihood and sustenance,
on the contrary,
they devote themselves to the Torah,
they're willing to live in poverty
for the sake of the Torah.
However, of course
it's at the expense of many things,
and I don't think the situation today
is perfect.
It's at the expense
of all sorts of things.
If it has reached the point
where those
who aren't cut out to study all day
are there,
then either they don't study all day
because they're not cut out for it,
or they're in a mental or spiritual place
which isn't right for them.
Does it upset you when people latch onto
the words of the Rambam? -Very much so.
Why? The Rambam was...
For two reasons,
for the reasons I mentioned before,
which in my opinion is capitalizing on the
Rambam in order to attack us.
And the worst thing is...
You suddenly found The Rambam?
Okay,...
there's a Halakhic ruling,
the legal scholars decided.
The book "Mishnah Berurah"
[on Jewish law] says it's allowed.
You're interfering
in our Halakhic rules?
Great, there's the Rambam,
we...
We have legal scholars,
and in the Mishnah Berurah
they ruled that it's okay.
Hundreds of years before the Mishnah Berurah
they ruled that it's okay.
They disagreed with the Rambam,
so...
Why this interference?
It's like me entering someone's world
and saying:
You should think like so-and-so.
I mean..
I feel it's dishonest.
I'll find you something interesting.
-What language did he write it in?
It's written in Hebrew,
this is his handwriting.
It's called half-cursive script.
The Rambam had
What does this say?
It's like Rashi's handwriting.
"There were two...
-Two. -Two...
"Judges...
-Judges of fines. -"Judges of fines
"in Jerusalem..."
Edmon.
-"Edmon and Hanan Ben Avshalom."
You can read this very well.
Now try to read something
further down.
"And seven..."
Try.
It's hard to read.
-Why?
Don't you know Hebrew?
The letters are strange,
they've changed since then.
But you managed to read this,
You knew that it says
"in Jerusalem," right?
So why can't you read this?
It's hard, isn't it?
Why is it hard?
Where did the Rambam live?
Oh, maybe those are Arabic letters?
But these are HebrewJetters.
It's written in Arabic
in Hebrew letters.
Judeo-Arabic.
Judeo-Arabic means
Arabic in Hebrew letters.
For example, see this word?
It's probably "ard,"
the word for land in Arabic.
I'll try to find a word
that you know in Arabic.
The third chapter from Ketubot-
(Marriage Contracts)
Prof. Colette Sirat
Sorbonne, Paris
You know what handwriting is?
It's like recognizing a friend
from a distance,
you recognise him
by the way he moves.
The same goes for handwriting.
Anyone who knows
Rambam's handwriting recognizes him.
Look,
here, for example, how...
Erasures. -Erasures.
He was irritable.
I feel him
He's one of my friends.
I don't always agree with him,
but it's a fact.
This is Arabic in Hebrew letters.
The Rambam's Arabic
was pure Arabic.
From the 10th to the 12th century
all cultured Jews
learned to write both
Hebrew and Arabic.
The Rambam was an Arab
in every respect.
So what? It's fine, why not?
Now I would like
to read a few small interesting passages
from his essay
that have to do with poisons
you've never heard of before.
In order to understand the Rambam,
like the Rishonim (Sages)
and the Geonim before him,
you cannot understand this culture,
you don't know it
in its entirety.
It's not enough to learn Arabic,
it's important to understand Arabic culture,
Arabic literature,
Islam and Islamic culture.
You have to know it.
The Rambam uses terms
that are related to Islamic theology.
You cannot understand "Guide to the Perplexed"
if you haven't read Al-Farabi.
Ibn Sina, al-Ghazali.
In a way it's a form of repression,
because one of the greatest Jewish minds
of all times
is planted very deeply
in the Arab Muslim world.
-That's right.
"As a general rule I may tell you
study only the works on logic
"composed by the learned
Abu Nasser al-Farabi.
"For everything he has written especially his
book 'The Principles of all Existing Things'
"are like fine flour and a man can understand
and learn from his writings,
"because of his profound wisdom."
The Rambam said that
he read Ibn Rushd,
and his writings prove
that he read Ibn Rushd,
not only his commentaries
but he also read
his theological essays.
Ibn Rushd (1126-1198)
Born in Cordoba
At the top of the page
you see his use of
"Observe, wise men,"
which as Zeev Harvey showed,
is a verse from the Quran.
How do you say it in Arabic?
First of all, it shows us
Rambam's knowledge
of the Quran.
But more than that,
in one of Ibn Rushd's
short theological essays,
the matter of observation
is central
and he also uses this phrase.
It's very important to him
as proof of the religious duty
to engage in philosophy,
in study.
To think, the obligation to think.
Out of all the quotes
that the Rambam could have chosen
this one may best reveal
his connection with Ibn Rushd.
Is it correct to say
that engaging in
the Rambam's biographical aspect is trivial?
Not only the Rambam, in general...
When you started with the Rambam,
I wanted to say,
not necessarily the Rambam,
it's typical of all our sages.
To an ordinary Haredi,
the biographical issue
is not that interesting,
and not important,
the important thing is
his spiritual contribution to our tradition
and the biographical aspect is trivial.
It's good for the girls who study
Jewish history...
nothing more.
You don't dwell on the fact
that he felt at home with Arabic culture,
he was fluent in Arabic,
he was very familiar with the philosophies
of Al-Farabi, Aristotle.
He wrote about them openly,
and you disregard them.
But I wouldn't call it
"conscious disregard."
What then? -The Haredi community
is a traditional, conservative community
that continues the tradition
handed down by its forefathers.
And when something doesn't
coincide with the tradition of
"What do I want to learn
from the Rambam," then...
Ask an ordinary Haredi:
What does it mean to you that the Rambam
was familiar with philosophical literature,
Aristotelian literature?
He'll say:
The Rambam is allowed.
You'll say: "The Rambam says
that others should also learn,"
if we assume the Rambam said so...
Yes.
He'll say:
Okay, but our rabbis didn't tell us that.
To me that's an honest answer,
it's not an evasion,
it's not a game we're playing.
I don't approach the Rambam directly,
I accept the Rambam through tradition,
passed on from generation to generation,
and vice-versa,
I trust our rabbis or our tradition
that guides me
what to learn from each scholar.
When the Rambam is a child,
battalions of Almohad soldiers arrive
who give the Jews a choice
to convert to Islam or death.
We're talking about a tough dynasty.
Nowadays we could compare it
to ISIS.
Muslims also pay with their lives,
Christians and Jews
are given the same choice:
Islam or death.
All the Jews are rounded up at
the square near the big mosque,
they give them a choice
between Islam and death,
some people say:
We refuse to convert to Islam
under any circumstances.
Martyrdom.
-They simply kill them.
On the spot.
-Yes.
There's a description of such a killing
in Sana'a.
There's a description of such a killing
in Sijilmasa,
and we assume
the same happens in Cordoba.
The Rambam family wanders.
-The Rambam family
at some point
pretend to be Muslims.
If they do it immediately
or first try
to go to northern Spain
we don't know.
When they reappear,
they appear in the Jewish congregation
all of whom pretend to be Muslims.
This is in Fez.
-Yes.
Fez, Morroco
The Rambam family home
Fez, Morocco
We know, from his own words,
that during this period
he is practicing medicine.
So if in Al-Andalus
he studied theoretical medicine
in North Africa he studies like they did,
at the patient's bedside.
He joins other doctors
and makes his rounds to see patients.
The Rambam didn't invent medieine,
certainly not ancient medicine,
the Rambam, like his predecessors,
relied on the great ancient
Greek physicians,
starting with Hippocrates, later the greatest
physician in antiquity, Galen and the like.
There's no relevance to his being
an important man among the Jews,
as far as the science of medicine
in his books.
Prof. Samuel Kottek
Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University
This book by the Rambam
is called "Chapters of Moses."
Then it says,
It is the Book of Medicine.
What language
was this book written originally?
Arabic, of course.
All the medical books
were written in Arabic.
but they were translated later.
Everyone thinks that the Rambam was a great
doctor because of his innovations in medicine.
It's not true?
-It's not true.
But all his good qualities
that appear in all of his manuscripts
were also reflected
in his medical books.
To choose what to say,
to say it concisely.
clearly and analytically.
This is what makes his manuscripts
so important.
"Every person who falls ill requires
renewed consideration
"and should never say:
This disease is similar to that one,
"a physician does not treat a disease,
he treats a sick person."
He always emphasized
that a doctor should
think twice when deciding
how to treat a patient.
He said things that I always quote
because they're so important.
He said: Don't say,
the disease that I see now
is like the one I saw
three weeks ago.
Because every sick person
needs a renewed evaluation
that's how they translated his words
from Arabic, "renewed evaluation."
In other words,
to see him as a sick person.
Don't say, I'm treating a disease,
I'm treating a sick person.
The Yuri Shtern Holistic Care Center
It's obvious that the Rambam
was one of the great doctors of his time.
What amazes me as far as
the Rambam's medicine,
is the fact that despite ttYe paradigms,
the theories,
theories that don't withstand
the test of modern medicine,
Rambam was ahead of his time in a long
line of perceptions relating to medicine,
as far as the connection between
body and soul, personalized medicine,
which is a distinct characteristic
of ultra-modern medicine,
and the Rambam said it long ago.
He said it 800 years ago.
Rambam's uniqueness
was in his holistic approach,
his approach to personalized medicine
and the emphasis on a healthy lifestyle
to maintain good health.
Those of us who believe,
and I'm certainly one of them,
the Rambam originated the idea
that in every disease
there is an interaction
between body and soul
and the way a patient copes with his disease
and the extent of suffering
is not only a result of the body,
not only, unfortunately,
the metastasis that affects the nerve
and causes pain,
but also his mental condition
at the time.
And if we can improve 6ne,
the other will also improve,
this is a profound belief
in modern medicine today
and no one denies it.
"Those who were wealthy who cared for their
family and wealth, became Muslim outwardly.
"Moshe Ben Maimon (The Rambam)
did so and remained in his country.
"And when he practiced
the symbol of Islam outwardly,
"he accepted its details such as
reading the Quran and prayer."
Did they stay alive? Yes.
Were they in Cordoba? Yes.
Did they reached Morocco? Yes.
There were no options.
They had to appear to be Muslims.
It doesn't make him
any less of a good Jew.
Still, the greatest Jewish thinker
lived as a Muslim for part of his life.
Allegedly lived part of his life
as a Muslim.
That's true, yes.
He kept alive, that's right..
The Rambam wrote an epistle during
that period, "The Epistle on Apostasy,"
it's a very interesting epistle,
because we already hear his voice,
as an authority,
with a lot of compassion.
He tells the Jews in the Maghreb:
First of all,
you don't have to become martyrs
and not convert to Islam,
there is no such obligation
in the Jewish laws of self-sacrifice,
why?
Because all they asked of you
was a verbal declaration,
to recite the Shahada.
It is not a declaration
that becomes a fact, an action
for which you must sacrifice your
If the Rambam did it,
it meant nothing to him.
It wasn't as if
the Rambam failed, he converted to Islam.
He told all the Jews:
Fine, say the Shahada,
try to leave the area
so you can live a full Jewish life,
and that's what he did.
So let's put it in perspective...
for us it's a sensation,
wow, he converted to Islam,
for him it's a legitimate Halakhic action
done under pressure.
To convert to Islam because of a threat
doesn't warrant a commendation,
but according to the Halakha,
what did they ask him to do?
To say that Mohammed is a prophet?
So we'll say he's a prophet.
Do you think that he did that?
-No.
Where did he say it?
It's a false claim, it's unfounded.
Firstly, you know that it has never
been established historically,
It's controversial.
Yes, okay.
You're asking me...
I'm asking your opinion.
-Yes.
I don't know.
I don't know if the Rambam
really lived that way.
It's controversial.
And if it is true,
I have no problem with it.
If a person thought...
-Is it a difficult question for you?
No, it does't bother me,
because if the Rambam
had really adopted the Muslim faith
during a period of his life,
I'd have a problem with it,
a very serious problem.
But if he led a Muslim lifestyle outwardly,
under pretense,
it certainly wasn't more than that,
so even if we assume that
according to the Halakha
he shouldn't have done it,
but if he did it because
he felt that he should do it,
that he's allowed to do it,
then I see no fault in it.
"But if anyone asks us
whether to be killed or confess,
"we tell him to confess
and not be killed.
"But he shall not stay in that kingdom,
"but remain in his house
until he leaves if he must,
"and shall do his worship in private.
"There has never been
persecution such as this,
"where you are only forced
to say something.
"But be ready to die
if you are forced to do something
Which you are sanctioned about.
What does the Rambam say
in the Epistle on Apostasy?
He says: In such a case, if a person
asks me how he should behave,
I tell him:
Convert to Islam. Outwardly.
It's a wonderful apostasy, he says.
There's never been such an apostasy,
they're only asking you to say something
and they grant you
your life in return.
Convert to Islam outwardly,
then leave,
the moment you have a chance,
leave to lands where
you can continue living your life,
in this case,
the lands of the Crusaders.
"And the advice I give myself,
"and my loved ones
and whoever asks for my opinion,
"is to leave these places and go somewhere
where he can establish his religion
"and fulfill his Torah
without duress.
"He should not be afraid to leave his home
and children and all his possessions,
"because the faith the Lord
bequeathed us is great."
Ceuta a Spanish enclave in North Africa
from which the Rambam
and his family sailed to Eretz Yisrael
"One Shabbat night on the fourth day
of the month of Iyar I boarded the ship
"and on Erev Shabbat, the 10th of Iyar
in the 4920th year of creation,
huge wave threatened to drown us.
The sea was raging."
"One Shabbat night,
on the third day of the month of Sivan,
"I left the sea in peace.
"We arrived in Acre. I survived
apostasy and reached the Land of Israel."
Acre
The Land of Israel in these days
is under Christian rule, an unpleas-ant
Christian government, the Crusaders.
We assume they didn't
want to stay there for a long time.
He arrives in a Jewish world,
looks around and wonders...
Where am I?
Who do I talk to here?
He's in an terrible crisis
when he describes the Torah world
in a certain letter he says:
There's nothing there.
They didn't stay because they
didn't think they could flourish there.
"And on the third day of the month
of Heshvan
"we left Acre and set out for Jerusalem
under danger.
"I entered the great and holy house
and prayed.
"Praise God for everything.
"These two days, the 6th and 9th
of the month of Heshvan,
"I vowed will be festive days for me.
"Just as I lived to pray
in the ruins of the Holy Temple
"May I and all the children of Israel
soon see its rebuilding, Amen."
Allah is great!
Allah is great!
God is King,
God will rule for ever and ever
The Temple Mount
We continue to say:
The Temple Mount is in our hands.
Blessed is He who made a miracle for us
in this exact place.
Yehuda Glick
Temple Mount Foundation
Ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to hereby open
the Doreshei Tzion Conference.
My teachers and rabbis,
this year's conference is special
because this year
we mark a special year,
850 years since the Rambam
went up to the Temple Mount.
Incidentally, the Rambam thought
the Temple Mount's sanctity
was still in effect,
so it's hard for me to believe
that he violated his own law.
The source doesn't sound authentic.
There is no significant evidence
that the Rambam went up
to the Temple Mount.
Besides, does it really matter?
He doesn't call for pilgrimages
to the Temple Mount, he doesn't...
it's not his world.
If you want to ask
a Halakhic question:
Is it allowed or forbidden to go to the
Temple Mount according to the Halakha (laws)?
Clearly, relying on the Rambam
is justified.
Of course you have to check if other scholars
disagreed with him Halakhically,
which I don't think is the case.
He didn't say it's Halakha,
he told a historic story. -Yes, but...
It doesn't matter,
as far as Halakha,
I see no reason to forbid going up
to the Temple Mount, at least parts of it.
When I say "dry Halakha"
I mean, there are rules regarding
existing Kedushot (sacred things),
so you're permitted to go up there,
there's no question about it.
I don't think anyone disputes it,
any scholar will tell you so.
-Do you go up there?
No, in spite of my strong desire
to be sanctified and go up,
but I don't,
for reasons of my desire to belong
to the Haredi society and the great rabbis
of Israel who don't allow it,
and for that reason
I forego my spiritual passion.
In addition we have to look at
the political-social side of it,
is it right to lead the public
to go up to the Temple Mount?
In this case it's a political question,
a social question.
Here I say, what's the connection
between the Rambam's private visit
and going there today when the situation
is charged socially, politically
aimed for certain purposes...
How do you connect that
to the Rambam?
I wish to invite Yehuda Etzion!
These days...
we're accused of wanting
the Temple Mount
and all the heads of state say:
False accusation...
Al-Aqsa is in danger,
false accusation.
I wish to say that this false
accusation is not false.
al-Aqsa truly is in danger
because it is standing on our holy site,
so, of course, it cannot remain there,
and certainly one day
not only al-Aqsa
but also the Dome of the Rock
and the Islam's hold on the Temple Mount
will end.
I'd even say something
somewhat political,
but I'll say it.
There is an expression going around
mostly in right-wing circles,
in certain national-religious circles,
"The ruler of the mountain rules the state,"
and to me that's a very serious statement.
It's turning the tables,
instead of the mountain of the House of God
being a place where we all succumb
to work God,
suddenly you'e painting a picture
where you use the mountain as a tool
to maintain our control of this land,
I think that's very serious.
God will never change or alter
His law for all eternity
He sees and knows our most hidden secrets
He perceives the outcome of things
at its inception
He rewards a man according to his work
And places evil on the wicked
according to his wickedness
He will send our Messiah
at the end of days
To redeem those waiting
for His final salvation
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