Living Torah Archives

There are many similarities between Maimonides and the Alter Rebbe, the Founder of Chabad Chasidism. They both issued decisions on Jewish law that guide all later generations.

“On the day that a Tzaddik passes away all his life’s work is revealed – “and effects salvation throughout the world.” How much more so in regard to Maimonides, who taught the entire Torah to “young and old alike.”

The windows in the Temple were designed to be narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, representing the fact that its purpose is to shine outward and share the light with the rest of the world. The goblets in the Temple Menorah also symbolize this idea.

There are many similarities between Maimonides and the Alter Rebbe, the Founder of Chabad chasidism. They both issued decisions on Jewish law that guide all later generations.

In a letter to one of his disciples, Maimonides describes the taxing daily schedule he endured as court physician to the sultan of Egypt. It not only drained him to the point of exhaustion, it also left him nearly no time to pursue the true joy of his life: Torah study.

Maimonides rules in his Laws of Partnerships: If one person owns eggs, and another has chickens, and the two enter into a partnership for the latter’s chickens to warm the eggs until they hatch, the eventual profits are to be divided between them. Until then, the egg-owner must provide food and compensation to the chicken farmer.

Maimonides is celebrated as a master of Jewish law and philosophy. Not only do we learn from his scholarly writings, but from the life he led as well – a life dedicated to the physical and spiritual welfare of all people.

There are many similarities between Maimonides and the Alter Rebbe, the Founder of Chabad Chassidism. They both faced extreme opposition to their teachings, yet the opposition fell away. Eventually, their detractors became ardent disciples.

1985 marked the first Siyum Harambam, closure of the yearly cycle of studying the Mishne Torah, the magnum opus of Maimonides. This project was initiated by the Rebbe to unite all Jews in study, and for the benefit of studying the entire body of Jewish law, as compiled by Maimonides. The universal acceptance of Maimonides is evidenced by his headstone, which is engraved with the words “From (the first) Moses to Moses (Maimonides) there arose none like Moses.” Through the time of the Judges, the Prophets, the Kings and the Sages, the Mishnah and the Talmud, and all of the subsequent Jewish sages, no one could compare to Moses – until Maimonides!