Rambam — Maimonides in Chabad
Full name: Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) | Dates: 1138–1204 | Location: Cordoba, Fez, Cairo
The Rambam’s Achievement
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon — the Rambam, or Maimonides — is the greatest codifier of Jewish law and one of the towering figures of medieval Jewish philosophy. Born in Cordoba, Spain, he fled the Almohad persecution as a child, lived in Fez and eventually Fostat (near Cairo), where he served as court physician and community leader while producing his monumental works.
His two supreme works: the Mishneh Torah (14 volumes of halachic code covering the entirety of Jewish law, written in elegant mishnaic Hebrew) and the Moreh Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed, a philosophical reconciliation of Aristotelian philosophy and Torah, written in Arabic). He also wrote the Sefer HaMitzvos (a enumeration and classification of the 613 commandments).
The Daily Rambam Learning Cycle
In Nissan 5744/1984, the Rebbe launched one of the most consequential communal educational initiatives in Jewish history: a daily study cycle of the Mishneh Torah, synchronized worldwide. Three tracks:
- Three chapters per day: Completes the entire Mishneh Torah in approximately one year (currently in its 40th+ cycle)
- One chapter per day: Completes the Mishneh Torah in approximately three years
- Sefer HaMitzvos: Learning the daily selection from Sefer HaMitzvos alongside
The Rebbe’s vision: every Jew in the world, of every background and level, studying the same Rambam on the same day. This creates achdus (unity) through Torah — not organizational unity, but the unity of shared talmud Torah. When a Jew in Johannesburg and a Jew in New York both study the same passage of Rambam on a Tuesday, they are connected across distance through Torah.
Why Specifically Rambam?
The Rebbe gave multiple reasons. The Mishneh Torah is the only halachic work that covers all 613 mitzvos — including those currently inapplicable (Temple service, agricultural laws of Israel). Studying the Rambam keeps the entirety of Jewish law alive in Jewish consciousness, even those parts in galut dormancy. It is preparation for Geulah.
Additionally, the Rambam wrote the Mishneh Torah for everyone — not just scholars. Its clear, unhedged prose (I say, not it seems) makes halacha accessible without requiring the reader to navigate Talmudic dispute. This democratizing impulse is itself a Chabad value.
Rambam in the Rebbe’s Sichos
The Rebbe devoted numerous sichos and ma’amarim to the Mishneh Torah. Key themes:
- The structure of Mishneh Torah: Why does the Rambam begin with Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah (foundations of Torah) and end with Hilchos Melachim (Laws of Kings, culminating in the laws of Moshiach)? The entire work is a journey from theological foundation to messianic fulfillment.
- Rambam and Kabbalah: Though the Rambam appears to represent the philosophical/rationalist tradition, the Rebbe showed repeatedly that the Rambam’s rulings contain hidden Kabbalistic dimensions — particularly in the laws of teshuvah and the laws of the Temple.
- The Rambam’s 13 Principles: How the foundational principles of Jewish faith articulated by the Rambam relate to Chassidic emunah.