Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Maimonides, Moses

MAIMONIDES, MOSES (mī-mon'i-dēz), a Jewish philosopher; born in Cordova, Spain, March 30, 1135. He harmonized Judaism and philosophy. Driven with his family from Spain, he resided in Fez; then traveled by way of Palestine to Cairo, becoming there chief rabbi and the caliph's physician. His chief work, written in Hebrew, is &ldquo;Mishneh Torah&rdquo; (Repetition of the Law: 1170-1180), a masterly exposition of the whole of the Jewish law as contained in the Pentateuch and the voluminous Talmudic literature. His principal philosophical work, written in Arabic, was &ldquo;Dalalt al Haïrin&rdquo; (Guide of the Perplexed: 1190). He died in Cairo, Egypt, Dec. 13, 1204.