Mishneh Torah

A Torah scroll

1. HaMadda (Knowledge)
   1. Yesodei ha-Torah (lit. ‘Foundations of the Torah’): belief in God, and other Jewish principles of faith
   2. De'ot: general proper behavior
   3. Talmud Torah: Torah study
   4. Avodah Zarah: the prohibition against idolatry and foreign worship
   5. Teshuvah: the law and philosophy of repentance
2. 

   The single scroll of the arm-tefillin
   Ahavah (Love [of God])
   1. Kri'at Shema: recitation of the Shema
   2. Tefilah and Birkat Kohanim: prayer and the priestly blessing
   3. Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Sefer Torah
   4. Tzitzit
   5. Berachot: blessings
   6. Milah: circumcision
   7. Seder Tefilot: order of prayers
3. 

   A sukkah booth
   Zemanim (Times)
   1. Shabbat: Sabbath
   2. Eruvin: a type of Rabbinic device that allows Jews to carry outdoors and walk longer distances on the Sabbath, as well as cook on holidays.
   3. Shevitat `Asor: laws of Yom Kippur, except for the Temple service (see Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, below)
   4. Yom Tov: prohibitions on major Jewish holidays that are different from the prohibitions of Sabbath
   5. Hametz u-Matza: chametz and matzah (i. e., Passover)
   6. Shofar ve-Lulav ve-Sukkah: Shofar (i. e., Rosh Hashanah) and palm frond and Sukkah (i. e., Sukkot)
   7. Shekalim: money collected for the Temple in Jerusalem when it stood
   8. Kiddush HaChodesh: sanctification of the month
   9. Taaniyot: fasts
   10. Hanukah u-Megillah: Hanukkah and the Scroll of Esther (i. e., Purim)
4. 

   A Ketubah, a Jewish marriage contract, outlining the duties of the husband
   Nashim (Women):
   1. Ishut: laws of marriage, including kiddushin and the ketubah
   2. Geirushin: laws of divorce
   3. Yibum va-Chalitzah: laws of levirate marriage
   4. Na'arah Betulah: the law of a man who seduces or rapes an unmarried woman
   5. Sotah: laws concerning a woman suspected of infidelity
5. Kedushah (Holiness)
   1. Issurei Biah: forbidden sexual relations, including niddah, incest, and adultery. Since intermarriage with non-Jews is forbidden, the laws of conversion to Judaism are also included.
   2. Ma'akhalot Assurot: laws of forbidden foods (see kashrut)
   3. Shechitah: laws of ritual slaughter
6. Hafla'ah (Separation):
   1. Shevuot: laws of oaths (to refrain from doing an action)
   2. Nedarim: laws of vows (to do an action)
   3. Nezirot: laws of Nazirites
   4. Erachin: laws of donations to the temple
7. Zera'im (Seeds)
   1. Kilayim: laws of forbidden mixtures
   2. Aniyim: laws of obligatory gifts to the poor
   3. Terumot: laws of obligatory gifts to the priests
   4. Maaser: laws of tithes
   5. Sheini: laws of secondary tithes
   6. Bikurim: laws of first fruit offerings
   7. Shemittah: laws of the sabbatical year
8. 

   Herod's Temple, as imagined in the Holyland Model of Jerusalem
   Avodah (Divine Service):
   1. Bet HaBechirah: laws of God's chosen house
   2. K'lei HaMikdash: laws of the temple utensils and those who serve within
   3. Bi'at HaMikdash: laws of entry to the sanctuary
   4. Issurei HaMizbe'ach: laws of entities prohibited to be offered on the altar
   5. Ma'aseh HaKorbanot: laws of the sacrificial procedures
   6. Temidim uMusafim: laws of continual and additional offerings
   7. Pesule HaMukdashim: laws of consecrated entities that have been disqualified
   8. Avodat Yom HaKippurim: laws of the Yom Kippur service
   9. Me'ilah: laws of the misappropriation of consecrated property
9. Korbanot (Offerings)
   1. Korban Pesach: the Passover offering
   2. Chagigah: the festival offering
   3. Bechorot: laws regarding first-born children
   4. Shegagot: Offerings for Unintentional Transgressions
   5. Mechussarey Kapparah: Offerings for Those with Incomplete Atonement
   6. Temurah: Substitution
10. Taharah (Ritual Purity)
    1. Tumat Met: defilement by coming into contact with death
    2. Para Aduma: the red heifer
    3. Tumat Zara’at: defilement by tzara'at
    4. Metamei Mischkaw u-Moschaw tangential defilement
    5. She'ar Avot haTumot other sources of defilment
    6. Tumat Ochalin: defilement of foods
    7. Kelim: vessels
    8. Mikvaot: laws regarding the mikvah
11. Sefer Nezikim, also known as Sefer Nezikin (torts)
    1. Nizqei Mamon: property damage
    2. Geneivah: theft
    3. Gezeilah v'Avidah: robbery and lost property
    4. Hovel uMaziq: one who injures another
    5. Rotzeah uShmirat Nefesh: murderers and life preservation
12. Sefer Kinyan (Acquisition)
    1. Mechirah sale
    2. Zechiyah uMatanah: ownerless property and gifts
    3. Sh’chenim: neighbors
    4. Shluhin v’Shutafin: agents and partners
    5. ‘Avadim: slaves
13. Sefer Mishpatim (Civil Laws)
    1. Schirut rent
    2. Sheilah uPiqadon borrowing and deposits
    3. Malveh v'Loveh lenders and borrowers
    4. To'en v'Nit'an plaintiff and reception
    5. Nahalot inheritance
14. 

    Artist's imagination of the Sanhedrin, from an 1883 encyclopedia
    Sefer Shoftim (Judges)
    1. Sanhedrin
    2. Edut: testimony
    3. Mamrim: heretics
    4. Evel: mourning
    5. Melachim uMilhamoteyhem: kings and wars

Mishneh Torah contains a widely-quoted list of eight levels of charitable donation, where the first level is most preferable, and the eighth the least (see Tzedakah).[6]

The Mishneh Torah was strongly opposed almost as soon as it appeared. Major sources of contention were the absence of sources and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the Talmud. Some criticisms appear to have been less rational in nature. Indeed, Maimonides quotes the Talmud in stating that one should study the Talmud for a third of one's study time.[7]

The most sincere but influential opponent, whose comments are printed parallel to virtually all editions of the Mishneh Torah, was Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (Raavad III, France, 12th century).

Many critics were especially bitter against the new methods which he had employed, and the very peculiarities which he had regarded as merits in his work failed to please his opponents because they were innovations. Thus they reproached him because he departed from the Talmudic order and introduced a division and arrangement of his own, and because he dared to sometimes decide according to the Tosefta and the Jerusalem Talmud as against the Babylonian Talmud.

Especially sharp was the blame heaped upon Maimonides because he neglected to cite his sources; this was considered an evidence of his superciliousness, since it made it difficult, if not absolutely impossible, for scholars to verify his statements, and compelled them to follow his decisions absolutely. Yet, despite all this, Maimonides remained certain that in the future the Mishneh Torah would find great influence and acceptance. This is boldly expressed in a letter to his student Rabbi Yoseph ben ha-rav Yehudah:

And all that I've described to you regarding those who won't accept it [the Mishneh Torah] properly, that is uniquely in my generation. However, in future generations, when jealousy and the lust for power will disappear, all of Israel will subsist [lit. "we be satiated"] on it alone, and will abandon all else besides it without a doubt – except for those who seek something to be involved with all their lives, even though it doesn't achieve a purpose.

Maimonides defended himself. He had not composed this work for glory; he desired only to supply the necessary, but lacking, code, for there was danger lest pupils, weary of the difficult study, might go astray in decisions of practical importance.[8]

He noted that it had never been his intention to abolish Talmudic studies altogether, nor had he ever said that there was no need of the "Halakot" of Rabbi Isaac Alfasi, for he himself had lectured to his pupils on the Gemara and, at their request, upon Alfasi's work.[9] However, he did state that for the masses, there was no need for Talmud study, as the Mishne Torah, along with the written Torah, would suffice.[10] He also stated that in-depth study of Talmudic discussions was "a waste of time", for the sole purpose of study was to know how to practice the law.[11]

He said that his omission of his sources was due solely to his desire for brevity, although he regretted that he had not written a supplementary work citing his authorities for those halakot whose sources were not evident from the context. He would, however, should circumstances permit, atone for this error, however toilsome it might be to write such a supplement.[9]

Raavad was forced to acknowledge that the work of Maimonides was a magnificent contribution,[12] nor did he hesitate to praise him and approve his views in many passages, citing and commenting upon the sources.

Later works (e. g., Yosef Karo's Kesef Mishné) set out to find sources for Maimonides' decisions, and to resolve any disputes between him and the Raavad.

Title page from Sefer Shaarei Teshuvah (1960 pocket edition) by Yonah Gerondi (d.1263), first published in 1505.

Special mention should be made of Yonah of Gerona, a cousin of Nachmanides (Ramban) who was initially a member of the vocal opponents of the "Yad". He was involved in the burning of a number of copies of the Sefer ha-Madda in the 1240s. Regret followed, when he saw the Talmud being burnt in Paris in 1244, which he interpreted as a sign from Heaven that he had been mistaken. He set out to the Land of Israel, to ask forgiveness on Maimonides' grave in presence of ten witnesses, but failed to continue to his destination. He composed a classic work on penitence (titled Shaarei Teshuva, "The Gates of Repentance") during his soul-searching.

Title page of Karo's Shulchan Aruch

Mishneh Torah itself has been the subject of a number of commentaries, the most notable being Magid Mishné by Vidal de Toulouse, Kesef Mishné by Yosef Karo, Mishné la-Melech, Lechem Mishné, Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz) and Hagahot Maimoni (which details Ashkenazi customs). Most commentators aim to resolve criticisms of the Raavad, and to trace Maimonides' sources to the text of the Talmud, Midrash and Geonim.

Later codes of Jewish law, such as Arba'ah Turim by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher and Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yosef Karo, draw heavily on Maimonides' work, and in both, whole sections are often quoted verbatim.

Also there were many attempts down to the present time to force those who follow the rulings of Maimonides to change to the Shulchan Aruch or some other latter work of Minhag/Halakha. In response to this Karo wrote:

Who is he whose heart conspires to approach forcing congregations who practice according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to go by any one of the early or latter-day Torah authorities?! ... Is it not a case of a fortiori, that regarding the School of Shammai—that the halakhah does not go according to them—they [the Talmudic Sages] said ‘if [one practices] like the School of Shammai [he may do so, but] according to their leniencies and their stringencies’: The RaMBaM, is the greatest of all the Torah authorities, and all the communities of the Land of Israel and the Arab-controlled lands and the West [North Africa] practice according to his word, and accepted him upon themselves as their Chief Rabbi. Whoever practices according to him with his leniencies and his stringencies, why coerce them to budge from him? And all the more so if also their fathers and forefathers practiced accordingly: for their children are not to turn right or left from the RaMBaM of blessed memory. And even if communities that practice according to the Rosh or other authorities like him became the majority, they cannot coerce the minority of congregations practicing according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to practice like they do. And there is no issue here concerning the prohibition against having two courts in the same city [‘lo tithgodedu’], since every congregation should practice according to its original custom…

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, studied the Mishneh Torah daily and encouraged other Jews to follow along with him in an annual study cycle.

The in-depth study of Mishneh Torah underwent a revival in Lithuanian Judaism in the late 19th century. The Lithuanians did not use it as a source book on practical halakha, as they followed the Ashkenazi authorities such as Moses Isserles and the Aruch ha-Shulchan.

Instead, they used it as a guide to Talmudic interpretation and methodology. Given the fact that the Mishneh Torah entirely omits these topics, this reading seems paradoxical and against the grain. Their method was to compare the Talmudic source material with Maimonides' final decision, in order to reconstruct the rules of interpretation that must have been used to get from one to the other.

It thus remains an integral part of the Yeshiva curriculum. As regards Talmud study, it is one of the primary works referenced in analyzing the Talmudic text from a legal point of view, as mentioned. It is also a primary text referenced in understanding the Halakha as presented in the Arba'ah Turim and Shulchan Aruch; and Mishneh Torah is thus one of the first post-Talmudic sources consulted when investigating a question of Jewish law. See Yeshiva § Talmud study; Yeshiva § Jewish law; Halakha § Codes of Jewish law.

Prominent recent authorities who have written commentaries on the work include Rabbis Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (Ohr Somayach), Chaim Soloveitchik (Chiddushei Rabbeinu Chaim), Yitzchok Isaac Krasilschikov (Tevunah), Isser Zalman Meltzer (Even HaEzel), and, more recently, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Hadran al HaRambam), Elazar Shach (Avi Ezri), Nahum Rabinovitch (Yad Peshuta), and Rabbi Yosef Kapach. See also: List of commentaries on Mishneh Torah

Many scholarly speeches (e. g., the traditional Rabbi's speech on the Shabbat preceding Pesach and Yom Kippur) often revolve around a reconciliation between two passages in Maimonides' work. Rav Soloveitchik's work Al haTeshuvah discussing repentance in the light of Rambam's work, is widely studied and referenced (in Modern Orthodox communities) in the days leading up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Today, thousands of Orthodox Jews, particularly Chabad Hasidim, participate in one of the annual study cycles of Mishneh Torah (one or three chapters a day), innovated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in the spring of 1984. Parallel to the three- or one-chapter(s)-a-day cycle, there is a daily study of the Sefer Hamitzvot "Book of the Commandments", also authored by Maimonides.

A popular commentary, Rambam La'Am ('Rambam for the Nation'), was produced in 1971 by Rabbi Shmuel Tanchum Rubinstein (published by Mossad Harav Kook).[16] This 20 volume set is widely used in daily Rambam study, in the Israeli Chabad and Religious Zionist communities. Adin Steinsaltz produced a similarly positioned commentary, published by Koren in 2017.[17]

As for halakha l'maaseh (practical application of Jewish law), although the majority of Jews keep Jewish law according to various other Rabbinic codes organized around the Shulchan Aruch, an increasing number of Yemenite Jews, as well as various other individuals, are being attracted to the Mishneh Torah as their choice code of Jewish law by which to live. They may consider it a return to the original ways of their ancestors.

One individual who contributed to this phenomenon was Rabbi Yiḥyah Qafiḥ, the founder of the Dor Daim movement in Yemen. The Mishneh Torah had always been a leading authority in the Baladi (local, traditionalist) Yemenite community – as a matter of local custom. Scholarly work in this vein was continued by his grandson, Rabbi Yosef Qafiḥ (also spelled Gafah, Qafahh or Kapach). Yosef Qafiḥ is credited with the publication of an almost encyclopedic commentary to the entire Mishneh Torah, including his own insights, set to a text of the Mishneh Torah based upon the authoritative, hand-written manuscripts preserved by the Yemenite Jewish community. The introduction to his edition of the Mishneh Torah is well known in itself as a defense for the keeping of halakha according to the Mishneh Torah.[18]

During his lifetime, Yosef Qafiḥ was a leading figure in the Baladi Yemenite community as a whole, as well as the Dor Daim or strict "Rambamists". After Qafiḥ died, Rabbi Rasson Arusi has largely filled his place as the leading public representative of the Baladi and Rambamist communities.

Rabbi Rasson Arusi is founder of 'Halikhoth Ahm Yisroel' and Makhon Mishnath haRambam, and head of the marriage department of the Rabbinate of Israel, as well as chief rabbi of city of Kiryat Ono in Israel. Arusi and the organization Makhon Mishnath haRambam have published several books filled with commentary on various parts and aspects of the Mishneh Torah as well as topics related to the Yemenite Jewish community. Besides the works of Qafiḥ and Arusi, there are a number of other commentaries to the Mishneh Torah written by leaders of the Yemenite Jewish community.

Scholars specializing in the study of the history and subculture of Judaism in premodern China (Sino-Judaica) have noted this work has surprising similarities with the liturgy of the Kaifeng Jews, descendants of Persian Merchants who settled in the Middle Kingdom during the early Song Dynasty.[19] Beyond scriptural similarities, Michael Pollak comments the Jews' Pentateuch was divided into 53 sections according to the Persian style.[20] He also points out:

There is no proof, to be sure, that Kaifeng Jewry ever had direct access to the works of "the Great Eagle", but it would have had ample time and opportunity to acquire or become acquainted with them well before its reservoir of Jewish learning began to run out. Nor do the Maimonidean leanings of the kehillah contradict the historical evidence that has the Jews arriving in Kaifeng no later than 1126, the year in which the Sung fled the city--and nine years before Maimonides was born. In 1163, when the kehillah built the first of its synagogues, Maimonides was only twenty-eight years old, so that it is highly unlikely that even his earliest authoritative teachings could by then have reached China [...] The compliance of their descendants with certain uniquely Maimonidean interpretations implies that the channels of communication between the kehillah and extra-Chinese Jewish centers were still open several generations after its establishment.[21]

The work was being used by the Jews of India during Maimonides' lifetime. In response to a letter from the Rabbis of Lunel, France requesting him to translate his Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic to Hebrew, Maimonides applauded their piety in light of what he viewed as the general stagnation of religiosity throughout the rest of the Jewish world. However, he commented: "Only lately some well-to-do men came forward and purchased three copies of my code [the Mishneh Torah] which they distributed through messengers... Thus, the horizon of these Jews was widened, and the religious life in all communities as far as India revived."[22] Further support for the Mishneh Torah circulating in India comes in the form of a letter sent from Safed, Israel, to Italy in 1535. In it, David del Rossi claimed that a Tripolitan Jewish merchant had told him the India town of Shingly (Cranganore) had a large Jewish population who dabbled in yearly pepper trade with the Portuguese. As far as their religious life, he wrote they: "only recognize the Code of Maimonides and possessed no other authority or Traditional law."[23]