Moses Maimonides was a famous philosopher and physician who was heavily influenced by many varieties of sciences, mathematics and classical philosophy, mainly the works of Aristotle. These influences allowed him, not only to provide rational but meaningful Jewish texts and teachings that have been impacting the Jewish community for years, but to provide contributions that paved the way for Judaism to cultivate into the modern, meaningful and relevant religion that it is today.
Maimonides was a Sephardic Jew born in Cordoba, Spain in 1136. He was well educated in Jewish religion, secularist sciences and philosophy, most of which were taught to him by his father who was also very well educated. In 1148, Maimonides and his family were forced to flee Cordoba due to the increasing threat of invasion of the Almohades. Eventually Maimonides and his family settled in Fostat, Egypt where they were able to practice their religion freely. Shortly after their arrival in Fostat, Maimonides' father had passed. David, his brother, then took it upon himself to run the family business and allow Maimonides to study his works further. Tragedy truck Maimonides once more when David passed away on a business excursion at sea. He began to work as a physician due to his extensive knowledge on sciences. Soon after he was appointed court physician in 1183, while also being the Chief Rabbi. In 1204, Maimonides passed away and was mourned by Jews worldwide; his body was laid to rest in the holy city of Tiberias.
During his lifetime, Maimonides wrote a variety of texts that received much praise and antagonism, although most of these texts are used in various modern Jewish practices and doctrines. His greatest work and most significant contribution was the Misneh Torah. This text was a code of law that affirms the Talmud (oral law). It's detailed and highly structured writings allowed Jewish law to become more accessible to everyday people and provided them with a comprehensible guide to God and his laws "His love for God will increase, his soul will thirst His very flesh will learn to love God" (Misneh Torah).
