Maimonides’ Grand Epistle to the Scholars of Lunel: Ideology and Rhetoric

Scholars in Lunel corresponded with Maimonides regarding various decisions in his Mishneh Torah (Code). Maimonides’ rejoinder opened with an unusual rhymed prose epistle, translated and annotated here for the first time by Charles H. Sheer. The author explores Maimonides’ letter in the context of his other works and compositions of the late Middle Ages, uncovering biblical passages embedded in the epistle, and illustrating how Maimonides shared his ideological struggle between study of Torah and ＂hokhmah＂ (philosophy, wisdom).

Rabbi Charles Sheer holds an M.A. in Talmudic Literature from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies, and Ordination from Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. For 34 years he was campus rabbi at Columbia University and Barnard College. He currently serves at a medical center as chaplain and member of the bioethics faculty. His publications include ＂Bikkur Holim The Origin of Jewish Pastoral Care＂ and ＂Torah u-Madda and the Brain Death Debate,＂ in Halachic Realities: Collected Essays on Brain Death (Maggid Books, 2015).