In the late 1940s a committee overseen by members of Congress selected 23 figures to be depicted high on the walls of the House of Representatives as part of a portrait series featuring historical Lawgivers from ancient times through the 18th century. Central to the display is Moses, the ultimate lawgiver, conveyor of the Law of G-d to humanity. Among that select group is another Moses, known as Maimonides. He was selected due to his groundbreaking work of codifying Torah and Talmudic law in a systemized fashion. Since much of Western law can be traced back to Talmud/Jewish law, his inclusion was apropos.
While we don’t need confirmation of Maimonides’ place on the “Mount Rushmore” of lawgivers, it is nice to see him recognized for those monumental achievements.
As for how he is viewed in the Jewish tradition, the epitaph on his tombstone says it all, “From Moses to Moses there arose none like Moses.” The Rambam’s role in articulating Torah law, Jewish philosophy, and ethics, places him in the highest echelons of Jewish scholarship. Hardly a discussion of Torah can take place without referencing the teachings of the Rambam. He is reverently referred to as the “Great Eagle” leaning into the metaphor of a mighty eagle who carries its young on its wings. Through his scholarship and leadership, Maimonides has been our eagle for nearly a millennium.
Did you know that there is a monthly class in our community featuring the writings of Maimonides? Taught by my father, Rabbi Zelig Rivkin, the longest serving Rabbi in New Orleans, Breakfast with Maimonides focuses on a different section of the Rambam’s halachic writings on the first Sunday of each month. Join us at Chabad Uptown this Sunday at 9 am over bagels and lox as we mine the wisdom of one of the greatest “lawgivers” in human history. I look forward to seeing you there.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin