History-Makers: Maimonides

"From Moses to Moses, there was none like Moses." Jump into 1100s Cordoba & Cairo as we take a look at the life of one of the Medieval world's most boundary-breaking History-Makers: Moses Maimonides!
SOURCES & Further Reading: Great Courses lectures “Jewish Scholar in Cairo: Moses Maimonides” from “The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age” by Eamonn Gearon and “Maimonides and Jewish Law” from “Great Minds of the Medieval World” by Dorsey Armstrong. Britannica "Maimonides" www.britannica.com/biography/..., Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy "Maimonides"
plato.stanford.edu/entries/ma..., “The Guide For The Perplexed” “Mishne Torah” and “Commentary on the Mishnah” by Maimonides
Special thanks to Yellow/LudoHistory for his assistance in checking over my script. You can check out his livestreams playing historically-inspired videogames over at / ludohistory
Our content is intended for teenage audiences and up.
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[@thehasmoneanhistorian]

Fun fact: Maimonides was the person who came up with "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime."

[@trajectoryunown]

Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

[@tomasavendanozacarias5205]

@@trajectoryunown Give a man a cabagge, he'll eat it. Teach a man how to cabagge and he's got a new skill

[@Eas697]

That's up for debate.

[@ven9287]

@@tomasavendanozacarias5205 nice, nice

[@None-do2qn]

Give a man a hoe then he will plow the land, give man a hoe then he will plow her too. Idk why I made this weird comment

[@elimcclellan8139]

If I had a nickel for every time an openly Jewish man named Moses found a warm welcome in Egypt after fleeing his previous homeland due to religious persecution, I would have 2 nickels. Which isn't a lot but it is weird that it happened twice.

[@jackielinde7568]

To be fair, it's two more nickels than anyone would expect. Which kind of shows how awesome those two Moshe's are.

[@thedoomofred5174]

Dos vidana! You know in Spain that means two vidanas

[@gemmamoon5998]

There’s a phrase in Judaism about these two men: “From Moshe to Moshe, there is no one like Moshe!”

[@loug1016]

Hey, where's Perry?

[@zachg.4251]

Who is the other one?

[@merrittanimation7721]

Maimonides, upon going to Egypt: "Hi my name is Moshe-" "NOT AGAIN-" "Not that Moshe." "Oh."

[@ComfortingColourlessLight]

"from Moses to Moses there was none like Moses"

[@Grim_Sister]

(And all of Egypt sighed in relief)

[@jordinagel1184]

@@Grim_Sister and there was great rejoicing

[@YiannissB.]

Good one

[@SamAronow]

To say that medicine was Maimonides' "fallback job" is to misunderstand the Jewish context. Until fairly recently, being a rabbi was a part-time, unpaid position. Technically speaking, it isn't a position at all but rather a qualification, like a JD, that enables one to perform any number of duties relating to the practice of Jewish law. Some rabbis at this time were practicing professionally, but it was rare until the 19th century and Maimonides himself disapproved of it.

[@ahab145]

Hi Sam love your channel really happy to see you here

[@LillyP-xs5qe]

He had a saying regarding that אין לחם, אין תורה No bread, no Tora, If you can't provide for yourself and your family, you can't be a religious leader, only after you provide for the house can you start doing the religious stuff... If only the hassidics in Israel would learn that instead of sucking up all our tax money :/

[@AtarahDerek]

So like a Sunday school teacher. Or...Saturday school as the case would be.

[@erdood3235]

What does JD mean?

[@HistoryNerd808]

@@erdood3235 Juris Doctor. It's a type of law degree.

[@JG-wg2iv]

Really like the personal touch on the right-left scrolling when writing out his Arabic and Jewish names, then transitioning to left-right for his Christian name. 👌🏽

[@squibble311]

i didnt even notice that, huh

[@alphahunterd]

had to check and dang that's an awesome small detail

[@LexYeen]

It's the little things, really.

[@juliasakowitz8274]

he's Jewish. he doesn't have a Christian name.

[@Rotem_S]

@@juliasakowitz8274 well he did have one as Christians called him by that. I'm Jewish, I have a regular name, and also a name that is a bit different in English.

[@DanielSmith-mp4le]

Honestly you could just make a sub-series called "cool people in history" and we would watch it and you would not have to worry about making it fit a category like history makers.

[@kavky]

Jack Rackam has you covered

[@DanielSmith-mp4le]

@@kavky not really I prefer blue's style and attention to detail. I am not a fan of a lot of the people that jack picks for his videos (most of them are rulers who are also horrific mass murderers which he then plays for comedy).

[@Zivon96]

Literally releasing a video on one of the most famous Jewish scholars of all time, the day after the holiest day in the Jewish calendar Yom Kippur and right before Shabbat, AND with grammatically correct Hebrew with proper vowel placement. Blue, as my rabbi would say, a very loud and boisterous MAZAL TOV to you!

[@DavidbarZeus1]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Red helped him, as she is of Jewish heritage on one side of her family

[@chapablo]

@@DavidbarZeus1 those cute little drawn faces are Red’s doing so I’m sure she had free input on this video.

[@zesky6654]

@@DavidbarZeus1 Weren't they both Jewish?

[@DavidbarZeus1]

@@zesky6654 I honestly don’t know. Red made it obvious thanks to her video on Hanukkah, but I haven’t heard anything similar from Blue

[@johnathanmonsen6567]

"Guide for the Perplexed?" My man wrote the first For Dummies Book? Nice.

[@matantan1111]

Just that in order to understand what he is talking about in that book, you need to get "Guide for the Perplexed For Dummies"

[@Geoffery_of_Monmouth]

Except half the book is him calling you a dummy for not understanding right off the bat. Oh, you thought I was SERIOUS when I made that clearly bad argument 55 pages ago? LOL why aren't you well equipped enough to handle the true philosophy?

[@HistoryOfRevolutions]

"A single candle can light a thousand more without diminishing itself" - Hillel the Elder (הִלֵּל‎)

[@AxxLAfriku]

whyd you have to go and make things so complicated? i see the way youre acting like youre somebody else. gets me frustrated. simply admit that i am the funniest and greatest and sm*rtest and coolest and strongest yout*ber of all time! admit it, dear his

[@trajectoryunown]

Dang, I haven't heard that one until now. That's actually very inspiring.

[@davidegaruti2582]

That sentence is powerful

[@aaronsirkman8375]

@@AxxLAfriku dude, don’t copy others; you have your own unique charm. Which I’m reporting for spam, as always.

[@Rayzersword]

But that's not true, because in the time it took to light 1000 candles, some of the wick of the original candle will have burnt up.

[@rafisanders]

As an Orthodox Jew, he's my personal idol. All of my family and friends try to follow and emulate his ethics and law interpretations

[@BradyPostma]

Where would you advise an outsider begin reading about his life and teachings?

[@rafisanders]

@@BradyPostma personally I'd try and read his book guide to the perplexed. It's a book trying to balance human reason and faith. For example, even though I'm a religious person. I studied chemistry in University. To me, the whole idea of a scientific universe is a pretty good proof of a creator. The system is too complex and interconnected to be just a random act (in my own humble opinion). Maimonides basically thinks along those same lines. But he's infinitely more eloquent than I am

[@BradyPostma]

@@rafisanders Thank you! I have great respect for those who find peace between religion and science, so that sounds like a perfect place to begin.

[@marcello7781]

I was about to ask the same question but I'm glad I've found a well detailed answer. As a non-Jewish guy very fond of Jewish culture I've always been interested in Rambam and particularly on his vision of a scientific approach to creationism.

[@jackielinde7568]

@@BradyPostma As a lackadaisical Jew, I have to agree with Rafi. I have the Guide to the Perplex in my library, as well as his two book series The Commandments. You can't go wrong with The Guide to the Perplex. The Commandments isn't something I'd recommend to an outsider to start with, since it's the distillation of the Torah into 613 rules that form the basis of Jewish Law. While there's writings on universal things, like how the concept of both loving and fearing a supreme being in the same nature of a child loving and fearing their parents helps to ensure that a person will lead a good life and treat those around them well. But quite a few of those laws, like the rules of Kashrut (dietary laws), only apply to Jews. They're not bad reads for people interested in Maimonides, but definitely start out with The Guide to the Perplexed first. There are English translations available.

[@xavierestelles9327]

I live in Andalucía, and this guy's a local hero, especially as you get close to Córdoba.

[@mackenziebeeney3764]

Which says a lot about the man considering he was a Jew who grew up in an Arab Muslim ruled nation which is now controlled by Christians. Like is there anyone else that is so well liked across those three religions?

[@blarg2429]

@@mackenziebeeney3764 I can think of one or two...

[@derekskelton4187]

@@blarg2429 Christians don't usually acknowledge Jesus was a Jew

[@blarg2429]

@@derekskelton4187 True, but that's merely a failing of theirs.

[@sacharubinstein5305]

as a jew who lives in Israel, where we have streets and squares named after him, it's really neat to hear that there's appresciation for this amazing man in other places as well

[@colonelsanders177]

Appreciation for Blue's amazing year corner card thingies: Flawless Disguise: 1148-1159 eeeeast: 1165-1168 Holy Land?: ∼1167-1168 Holy Banned Exodusn't: 1169-1204 Begone, Fatimid: 1169-1174 Saladin for the Sala-Win: 1174-1193

[@raumnika5304]

very underrated aspects of these videos

[@Nazuiko]

I wasnt sure if that was "begone," like a command or "Begone" like "Antigone" (Bay-ga-nee?)

[@JustSomeYTuser]

you don’t know how to do timestamps

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

Agreed, but I wish that each time I pause it to read everything, bits were not covered on the upper and lower magins by my 'pause screen' display.

[@kammieceleek5113]

"Token Jewish friend, Jesus" This explains more about bigotry towards Jews than I'm comfortable with

[@AoiLucine]

Its sort of surreal that i only put together 'Hey, Jesus was Jewish yknow' in my 20s. It was such a non-thing in my church (roman catholic) but its like... scrapping out huge parts of context about who he was...

[@Gala-yp8nx]

Most Christians refuse to acknowledge that Jesus was a Jew.

[@floraevoli3330]

@@AoiLucine And Jesus wasn't white and African/ Asian, like it's obvious once you think about it but we just don't often think about it

[@rsfaeges5298]

@@Gala-yp8nx On the other hand, MANY Christians refuse to forgive "The Jews" for that.

[@rsfaeges5298]

@@AoiLucine Cultural appropriation?

[@talknight2]

He's still considered one of the most important Jewish scholars of all time and is a household name in any Jewish community. Within Judaism he's as famous as Isaac Newton.

[@escudojoreg5194]

Amazing! Portuguese Schools rarely teach us much about Muslim Iberia, so it's always amazing to learn more!

[@josesierragarduno752]

Really? In Spain they teach us about it

[@AccidentalNinja]

What schools do teach about Muslim Iberia?

[@escudojoreg5194]

@@AccidentalNinja "they were here once, we borrowed some science and architecture, and then we kicked them out." I'm guessing this happens because the Portuguese Reconquista, in comparison with the Spanish one, was fairly quick.

[@Cibershadow2]

@@escudojoreg5194 It's a shame because I've heard that muslim culture remained fairly prominent in the south of Portugal for many centuries after

[@samsmith4242]

In Portugal’s case though that does make a lot sense, since Portugal was founded by a group of English crusader teaming up with a Christian noble and capturing Lisbon. So, rather than Spain that is more of a Christian successor to the Muslim Al-andalous, Portugal was directly at odds with them from its founding. The Anglo-Saxon king aren’t really taught in England either. They were here. They beat the Celts. Norman’s came and still (technically) rule. The vikings and Even the Celts get more attention than the Anglo-Saxons. It’s a shame but also makes sense since, Norman Conquest and England is more the foundation of modern England

[@PaulGAckerman]

I love hearing about Maimonides just because my mother worked a nurse at Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn, NY.

[@ayindestevens6152]

My first thought was that hospital!

[@jackielinde7568]

Now you have a little understanding behind "The Man, The Myth, The Legend."

[@chimera9818]

There is also hospital that named after him in Israel

[@trla6505]

Neat

[@katherinetamarizhoward3215]

I worked there too, in my 20's. I was an admin.

[@ientrancedi]

“From Moses to Moses, none arose like Moses”

[@astefansky9440]

It Anyone is wondering where this was taken from, it’s a quote on his gravestone.

[@jgr7487]

"Maimonides is the coolest" is an understatement.

[@leoraf2814]

If she really thought he was the coolest, she would respect his opinions on the Islamic civilization that she claims he's a shining example of.

[@jgr7487]

@@leoraf2814 "she"?

[@leoraf2814]

@@jgr7487 Some time had passed between when I watched the video and when I wrote that. I usually watch the trope talks.

[@zollieberdy4405]

You're right - he is awesome. A few notes: 1) Actually, a lot of people had problems with his compendium of law because he DIDN'T explain where he was getting his sources from. He just assumed that you would understand how he reached that conclusion. 2) The story how he became a doctor: There was a rather arrogant world class doctor, so he pretended to be mute and then worked in the doctors home, watching as he treated patients. One day they brought in a person. The doctor wasn't sure how to treat him, (there was a worm eating at his brain, if I recall correctly) so the Rambam put a leaf at the edge of his skull and the worm crawled out and onto it. The doctor purportedly asked him "what are you doing - can't you see it's life and death" to which he replied "yes. that's why I'm acting now." 3) There's another story that king Saladin's advisor didn't like that his personal physician was Jewish. They forced Saladin to agree to a murder plot, where Saladin asked the Rambam to go to a certain brickmaker and ask him "if he did what the (king?) asked him to do," whereupon the brickmaker had orders to shove the first person who said that into a pit of lime. On the way the Rambam was asked to perform a circumcision on an infant, and was therefore delayed. In the interim, the advisor, in his haste to see the Rambam dead, asked the bricklayer if he did what the king wished to do, whereupon the advisor was shoved into the lime. When the Rambam asked the brickmaker if he did as told, he said that he had. The king was in a bit of a shock when the Rambam walked to the palace that day. 4) Richard the Lionheart purportedly asked him to be his physician. 5) The Rambam DID NOT say that much of the bible was allegorical. It's complicated, but he has very specific rules when something can be considered allegorical. 6) Nowadays, most people hold of other rulings on Jewish law than the Rambam, but he's far from obsolete. And most of the time many Jewish Philosophers hold the same rule most of the time. Sorry for the rant - I'm just really excited that this video exists. I've actually wondered if Blue would cover him. (The Ramban - Moses ben Nachman is also pretty cool. Look up the disputation of barcelona).

[@Emanon...]

A few notes: Maimonides was an awesome figure of history, no doubt. There is absolutely no indication that stories 2, 3 and 4 ever took place. Especially 2) since medically it doesn't even make any sense. Follow Maimonides and stop aggrandizing and idolising his life and deeds...

[@user-kk9sw2sx3o]

I'll have to join the cpmmentator above me at least in part; you dictate folklore and legends as if they're absolutes - which they are not. There are plenty of peculiar Jewish stories about many rabbis, Rambam included, and there's no reason to belive them as the ultimate truth. Regarding 6, you are both right and wrong. Right in that Halachically speaking, outside of Yemenite Jews mostly no one goes by the Rambam on everything. Wrong because he still is one of the pillars of the Halacha - he's one of the Shulchan Aruch's three pillars, and the Mishneh Torah is one of the most basic books for Halacha study. In addition to that, most Orthodox Jews base their beliefs on his 13 principles - and it's not like everyone agreed with him on those. And yeah, Ramban is also cool, but I'm not sure how significant he was to general history, and I think he lived in the Christian part of Spain. He's very important for the history of Judaism, but... That may not be of much interest to non-Jews.

[@DarkMeridian0]

Glad I'm not the only one who says "¿Porque no Los dos?" In casual English conversation

[@ravid6167]

As an Iranian muslim, I really appreciate that you cover this part of history as well. Sometimes people forget that the dark age was actually the golden age for a huge part of the world.

[@None-do2qn]

Assalamualaikum from Bangladesh. How’s life brother?

[@noukan42]

The dark age wasn't even a dark age in europe, just some parts of it were.

[@ravid6167]

@@noukan42 True

[@ravid6167]

@@None-do2qn Sister actually :) Everything is fine الحمدالله ^^

[@None-do2qn]

@@ravid6167 glad to hear, I hope one day we muslims stop Sunni-Shia drama and love each other as muslims and humans. I hope Iran’s economy improves and people life’s improves.

[@miraf.3432]

i can't tell if you timed this video for the high holidays but either way it's a delight to see our boy

[@theleakypen8662]

had the same thought when i got the notif! Perfect timing! :D

[@omershaik6374]

It's so nice to see a non jewish person acknowledging how great Rambam is.

[@gsjacobs]

The Rambam's eight levels of charity still stand true today.

[@mikotagayuna8494]

After watching this video, The Guide for the Perplexed has become one of my most favorite book titles of all time.

[@JettMajor]

Legitimately a great night when this is uploaded at 1am when I should be sleeping

[@christianpetersen3563]

1AM AUSTRALIAN GANG (I'm assuming)

[@loll2561]

4pm here, damn you should sleep after the vid

[@junkoenoshima2756]

Yeah I love staying up late

[@whyareallmynamestaken1382]

@@christianpetersen3563 AAY!

[@selkouni7614]

The fact that you've uploaded this right as Yom Kippur ended, is quite awesome! 😎

[@arthurbriand2175]

There is a great fiction book about him and Averroes/Ibn Rushd meeting called "the brotherhood of the awakened" on their shared love for the works of Aristotle.

[@al-muwaffaq341]

Lol yeah two fanboys of Aristotle

[@dylanchouinard6141]

This book sounds literally perfect!

[@arthurbriand2175]

@@dylanchouinard6141 I don't know if it was translated. Do you speak French?

[@light9205]

@@al-muwaffaq341 Ibn rushed critisied Aristotle (rightfully so) because he found many wrong ideas in Aristotle medical theorys

[@dylanchouinard6141]

@@arthurbriand2175 …no 😞

[@yair4291]

Maimodies wrote the Mishne Torah with barely any cited sources or explanations with the goal of making everything short and simple to understand. The funny thing is, because of this lack of sources, commentary on Maimonides's Own Work has become a genre of itself, with tens or even hundreds of books written with the goal of finding his reasonings and digging deaper into his logic.

[@danib577]

Writing commentary on works of commentary is Judaism's favorite thing to do 😂

[@el_rod]

Well you know the saying: "two jews, three opinions."

[@terjethornqvist4361]

Yet another amazingly interesting person from history that I had no clue about, and need to read up on!

[@BradyPostma]

Spoilers: history contains a LOT of amazing people.

[@VivaLaDnDLogs]

I love when Blue blows my mind with people I've never heard of. It helps start to fill in so many of the gaps in my history education.

[@nebsam715]

Never heard of this guy and I thank you blue for bringing him to my attention,time for some history

[@carolynthomas3938]

4:15 “Their one Jewish friend quota was taken by Jesus” lmao love this channel

[@dcguy3]

As some others have said, saying medicine was his "fallback job", while a good pun, is inaccurate to Judaism of the time. Most rabbis had a non religious job, and being a rabbi wasn't fully seen as a job but more a community leader Love the video, but slightly miffed at this lol

[@ninryu4]

Can we bring that back?

[@m.h.7364]

That statue at 0:46 bears signs of having been patted on the beard so much it turned yellow

[@cxfxcdude]

His shoes too

[@AbsolXGuardian]

I was already familar with Rambam's philosphy, but beyond "lived in Islamic Golden age" I didn't know anything about his life. Thank you!

[@theleakypen8662]

same here! so excited to have learned more

[@leoraf2814]

He considered Muslims his oppressors and colonizers, and even made the bold claim that they were worse than the Christians in his Epistle to Yemen. He also said that he hated writing in the oppressor language of Arabic, but that he did so because he wanted the unlearned men of the Middle East's Jewish communities to understand him.

[@jinnhuariya8737]

@@leoraf2814why didn’t he just move to Christian lands, I mean they were right next door? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@iancollins9960]

So I randomly clicked on a video so I could do something on my 30 min break at work besides silence. Didn't expect to be hyped to learn about a man I didn't know existed before I watched it.

[@AegixDrakan]

Welcome to OSP, where it's loaded with nifty stuff like this. :P

[@iancollins9960]

@@AegixDrakan lol, been following them for years. I usually stick to trope talk and stuff I'm already familiar with tho

[@josesierragarduno752]

As a guy from Córdoba I must say that few youtubers, that I saw, talk about Al-Andalus and his philosophers. Good job :)

[@mayoandbananasandwich6527]

“Long ago the 3 religions lived in peace…but everything changed when the Reconquista attacked”

[@jgr7487]

didn't you just hear that the Almohavids did the same? Umayyad Cordoba wasn't the rule.

[@SamAronow]

For a good while after the Almohads, Christian Spain was actually the engine of Jewish thought. While it is true that Muslim countries were _somewhat more likely_ to allow religious toleration, there was no shortage of exceptions on both sides. The simplified narrative of "Muslim Spain good, Christian Spain bad" seems to date back to the 19th century, when Spanish Liberals in support of Queen Isabel II began extolling the virtues of the Sephardic Golden Age as a rejoinder to the ultra-conservative Carlists. Suffice it to say that for a good few centuries, Christian Spain had inherited Muslim Spain's legacy of toleration before gradually abandoning it due to complicated European power politics.

[@mayoandbananasandwich6527]

@@jgr7487 it’s a joke lmao

[@maxion5109]

@@SamAronow It had also to do with Spain's desire to create a "pure" Catholic Christianity free from heresy and non-Christian deviation. Being a frontier Christian nation to the Islamic world probably had a lot to do with fostering a militant Catholicism among other things, but Isabel and Ferdinand were definitely the turning point monarchs in this regard.

[@maxion5109]

@@SamAronow But interesting insight. There was a lot of revisionism going on for political and nationalistic purposes during the mass politics of the industrial age.

[@Valery0p5]

"And he was Saladin's doctor!" So according to some historical fanfiction he also treated St Francis of Assisi once? 😅

[@cp1cupcake]

There was a letter of his I remember reading a long time ago, about his daily schedule as a doctor for Saladin. TL:DR it was something like an 18 hour/day job helping all of the guys in court. So depending on when Francis was there, probably.

[@zvimur]

Similar could possibly done about Richard the Lionheart (see Walter Scott's The Talisman).

[@Gala-yp8nx]

@@zvimur True. He likely treated Richard when he fell from his horse.

[@zvimur]

@@Gala-yp8nx more likely (if the event in the book actually happened), whoever treated Richard could have used medicines prepared by Maimonides. Don't know if Maimonides ever got to the Holy Land.

[@chimera9818]

@@zvimur he is buried here at least currently (his grave is in Tiberius city and you can visit it)

[@smugsneasel]

Can we just take a second to appreciate the glorious pun in "Exodusn't"?

[@ilaihalevy6652]

Thank you so much for making this video! Jewish philosophy was one of my electives in high school, and we spent a whole year discussing just the introduction to a chapter of his Mishna commentary, and I’ve been fascinated by the man ever since. So cool to see him covered on this channel!

[@profeseurchemical]

"presumably, thier quota of token jewish friend was already filled by jesus" is such a powerful statement

[@brettspock8658]

I hope we get an Over the Garden Wall Detail Diatribe for Halloween

[@jacobshore5115]

Me too!

[@luigiboi4244]

I personally hope that Red does a video on Werewolves.

[@fatherpucci-madeinheaven362]

@@luigiboi4244 i think she mentioned doing research on werewolves in one of the recent podcasts

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

I would love a second part, covering in greater detail what exactly he wrote.

[@jackielinde7568]

Eh, I don't think everything he wrote needs to be covered. But maybe an episode on The Guide to the Perplexed would be welcomed.

[@donatodiniccolodibettobardi842]

@@jackielinde7568 _Everyone?_ *EVERYONE!!!*

[@chimera9818]

The list of all the laws of Judaism

[@bbh6212]

Thank you for an amazing video. Possibly my favorite video of the year. (As a Jew I'm biased.) Rambam is THe biggest influence on modern Jewish thought. The idea that God has not form? Rambam. The idea that God is all powerful and all knowing to a sense beyond human comprehension? Rambam. The thirteen points of faith mentioned in this video are said every morning. This man. What a Tzadik.

[@bbh6212]

@Anjo da Justiça that's very interesting. I didn't know that. Thank you. Edit: I'm not sure what is going on, but I was notified of a reply that isn't showing up on the comment. I hope you see this

[@micper5507]

The idea that God has not form, is all powerfull and all knowing to a sense beyond human comprehension, existed before Maimonide.

[@NoamHaim]

You upload just before shabas enters which makes it perfect

[@Shadeem]

ever since I found out about al andalus and its loss, I shed a tear.

[@corywilliams2255]

I love learning new things, and Gregory's enthusiasm just makes it more of a joy. Thank you.

[@kronosthetimewaifu4841]

Yes! The Rambam (Maimonides) was an amazing person, I can't even begin with him. 1) Mishne Torah: A complete codex of every single law complied in the Talmud, written in clear, lucid language. Most Orthodox Jews today (myself included) learn this all the time. 2) More Nevuchim (Guide for the Perplexed): A treatise on philosophy, which was initially banned by Jews at the time for citing Greek thought, but now learned by Jews around the world. 3) Rambam's 13 principles of faith: The existence of God. God's unity and indivisibility into elements. God's spirituality and incorporeality. God's eternity. God alone should be the object of worship. Revelation through God's prophets. The preeminence of Moses among the prophets. That the entire Torah (both the Written and Oral law) are of Divine origin and were dictated to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai. The Torah given by Moses is permanent and will not be replaced or changed. God's awareness of all human actions and thoughts. Reward of righteousness and punishment of evil. The coming of the Jewish Messiah. The resurrection of the dead. 4) At one point he had access to the Aleppo Codex, which was partially destroyed in the 1940s. This codex was the oldest full copy of the Old Testament available. Older parts exist, but this codex is the oldest complete version. 5) Last one, I promise. His tier list for charity: listed from highest to lowest Giving an interest-free loan to a person in need; forming a partnership with a person in need; giving a grant to a person in need; finding a job for a person in need; so long as that loan, grant, partnership, or job results in the person no longer living by relying upon others. Giving tzedakah anonymously to an unknown recipient via a person (or public fund) which is trustworthy, wise, and can perform acts of tzedakah with your money in a most impeccable fashion. Giving tzedakah anonymously to a known recipient. Giving tzedakah publicly to an unknown recipient. Giving tzedakah before being asked. Giving adequately after being asked. Giving willingly, but inadequately. Giving "in sadness" (giving out of pity): It is thought that Maimonides was referring to giving because of the sad feelings one might have in seeing people in need (as opposed to giving because it is a religious obligation). Other translations say "Giving unwillingly." Sincerely, your average Torah Scholar and nerd.

[@John_Weiss]

Hmmm… some of those 13 principles of faith seem like jabs at a Certain Crucifixated Religion… 😉

[@chimera9818]

@@John_Weiss well he did say that if Jewish people have to convert to other religion can convert to Islam because it is closer to Judaism than Christianity in a lot of aspects (Jewish people can even pray in a mosque if there is no synagogue near by because it follows all the recruitment )

[@fatih1186]

Wh Woa tzedakah is charity right? Islam has "shadaqah" it means the same!

[@avalerie4467]

Vive le RAMBAM de Memoire Bénite ! I would love to know his corpus of work but I am getting old and started getting serious about my studies just a few years ago. Keep the nerds going, my friend !

[@cl9615]

@@fatih1186 Yes Hebrew and Arabic are very similar

[@abiefloop]

I go to a orthodox Jewish school and we regularly go to Maimonides's commentary for clarification

[@WatchOnYT]

I learnt this story over and over again in school (religious Jewish one, of course) and books, but THIS made it actually funny. It's an interesting story anyway, but you made it fun too.

[@yotamchii]

Blue, thank you for making this video!❤ I'm Jewish and listening to someone (who I have no idea of their religion) talking positively about an important Jewish man, in an historically accurate way, and such positive and excited language- absolutely made me cry. And I mean ugly, emotional, HAPPY crying! Again, thank you!

[@keruthol8089]

When your life story sounds like someone’s super cool author self insert, you know your doing something right

[@simonbeaird7436]

'The Guide for the Perplexed' is one of the best book titles ever. 😎

[@TheOmaga13]

I think the history makers series has to be my favourite osp series of all time. I love that you take the time to introduce these people who are so interesting, and are not discussed. (At least in my education experience) I really love learning about these people, places, and beliefs that I never even knew I didn't know. (I hope that makes sense) I love the series. This was a great video as always!

[@JessWLStuart]

Maimonides, because of what he's taught, is *definately* a history maker! Not all history makers need to rule over or kill people.

[@israelrabbit1943]

I grow up with Maimonides works, this feel nostalgic, nice job guys!

[@brookelawrence1772]

I studied in Cordoba and this video made me SO SO HAPPY I cannot even tell you thanks for stretching your rules Blue!

[@eacalvert]

I love Blue's and Red's passion for their subject. You can just feel it. Blue fan boying in this episode filled me with joy. Continue to stay awesome my dude

[@grapeshot]

This is an interesting topic, the multiculturalism of medieval Spain.

[@arthurbriand2175]

Read the Brotherhood of the Awakened by Jacques Attali it's great

[@JMObyx]

But was it really?

[@likealightning4139]

@@JMObyx yes, yes it was. Considering that many societies on the christian and muslim side subscribed to the "Convert or f*ck off" kind of religious tolerance for many centuries after it, some to this day, it was interesting and still is.

[@JMObyx]

@@likealightning4139 Well, regardles of the good things claimed here, the persecution could get so bad that pregnant women would have rather *fled for their lives into the wilderness* rather than face it. There's a book that speaks about another viewpoint of the topic of Muslim occupied Spain that I think is worth checking out and that too many ignore. "The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise."

[@likealightning4139]

@@JMObyx Blue even said in the Video that it was no utopia, but still far better then most of medieval Europe or the medieval Muslim world. Some muslim societies tended to be more tolerant, since they faced the reality of a multicultural, multi-faith society in many parts of the world from the start, but that doesn’t mean they were perfect, or tolerant by today‘s standards. And I‘m sure women were still oppressed because they were oppressed in like 90% of societies across the ages. Again, like Blue said, Al Andalus was no Utopia. There were many things wrong with it for sure. But it is still fascinating that their more tolerant disposition so clearly influenced the progress of science, philosophy and culture. For example the whole concept of Chivalry and Courtly Love, like Red explained in her video about King Arthur, that thoroughly took hold in medieval European society, but originated in the Muslim world and the classic literature from Greek and Roman times they translated. You could go on an hour long lecture how Christian and Muslim societies treated women horribly throughout the ages. That’s a reality. But pointing at one specific culture, saying „they treated women bad“ and using it as a strawman to dismiss all of their other achievements is Whataboutism at its finest. Because Medieval Europe didn’t treat women any better. Nor did the Muslim countries to the south and east of Al-Andalus. Some did treat them better. Some treated them worse. Doesn’t mean their philosophical or scientific achievements are worthless. History is never black and white. Always grey. But that’s a baseline of knowledge everyone who spends some time with history should have. If we put a segment about everything a culture did wrong by today‘s standards into every video about history, every video about history would be 2 hours long. Because there are no innocent or perfect cultures. Because no human is innocent or perfect. We all have our failings.

[@Yanzdorloph]

Fun fact that persecution thing the Al-Mohads did brought their doom and they were replaced with another berber dynasty The-Merinids who have the coolest flag, and were super friendly to the jews to the point they were in key government positions.

[@Jon_the_Wizard]

Please keep talking about Egypt, Blue, you will find I’m not only not going to stop you but encourage you to do so.

[@GailGurman]

This was one of the most enjoyable videos I've seen on your channel. I had heard of Maimonides many times but I never knew much about him, and this video taught me a lot. Also your enthusiasm about him made the story exciting!

[@jeremy1860]

People like Maimonides need to be taught about in schools. And not just history courses in college or the like, I'm talking "you need to know about this person" in schools long before that point 😊

[@TheNovusSpes]

This was rad. I freaking love how well you approach the intersection of Religion and History. You are also incredibly respectful of all parties involved. I don't think I ever would have heard of this guy otherwise and hot damn am I glad to know that such a person existed.

[@kindoflame]

I never expected a Maimonides video on this channel, but I am so happy there is one. You even pronounced his name correctly!

[@lebbe169]

Words can’t describe how much I appreciate y’all

[@yakirchernin6015]

Mishne Torah also called "Ahyad Hahazaka" "The Strong Hand'

[@aislingbannett4450]

And it’s called that because the way you spell “hand” יד (yad) corresponds to 14 in gematriya which is a reference to the 14 volumes in that work

[@yakirchernin6015]

@@aislingbannett4450 Yep. I wasn't sure how to explain it in english

[@Snorlax_il]

I very quickly replaced Blue's gushing of Maimonides with Vegeta's "He's so god damn COOL!" line in DBZA

[@sagacious03]

Neat analysis! Love these longer, more in-depth analysises! Thanks for uploading!

[@noahweathers4408]

My goodness, Maimonides sounds like a great scholar and someone who left behind a great deal of wisdom for us to learn from. Than you very much for these videos.

[@jackielinde7568]

Thank you for covering Maimonidies.

[@WolfBoy-om6dw]

Maimonides is fucking awesome also the death of his brother is unbelievably tragic fantastic video Blue.

[@Tsuruchi_420]

The fact you "had to stretch" the definition of history maker is 100% worth it, had never heard of this Guy and learning about him is totally a pro

[@queerlyvictorian]

4:28 I legit CACKLED. One of the best jokes I’ve heard in a while!

[@benjaminstiles]

YES!! My favorite part of Friday.

[@Jaytaxman]

I had to turn on notification so I actually get this. For some reason your last two weeks of videos have not been shown up in my feed. Just a heads up. Love you guys!

[@leonardodavinci8313]

Thank you for putting sources in the description!

[@mossthemage9948]

Had to read his book for my philosophy class and it's great to know more about his personal life! thanks :D

[@badendersgame]

"I had to stretch a little bit to make Maimonides count as a history maker.." you can go ahead and just rename this series "people in history i think are cool" Blue. none of us are going to argue with you.

[@Crazyivan777]

My grandfather, who was both a physician and a talmudic scholar, gushed about Maimonides all the time. It made me want to know more about his works, and doing that brought me closer to my grandfather. I knew Maimonides' works, but I never really knew his history. Thank you for sharing this- it makes so much of what my grandfather shared with me make even more sense.

[@ThePa1riot]

Love it when I see a history video about an obscure historical figure or event I actually know about.

[@witchshairlichen]

This video came out on my birthday! I’m taking it as a sign to learn more about Maimonides

[@odysseusinspace9704]

It’s good to see the Rambam covered by this channel. I’m a conservative Jew, and I can safely say that every learned Jew who I’ve ever met can wholeheartedly recommend reading his commentary. This includes myself, and I’m agnostic!

[@danib577]

I'm an atheist Jew (I value Judaism as the traditional, cultural, philosophic, and historical body of work that it is, just without believing in god) and his work is absolutely a must read!

[@odysseusinspace9704]

Explaining my agnosticism, it’s my opinion that if someone is to say that they believe in God, they must have something that they can point to as personal evidence. This evidence can be anything, as the point is to avoid blind faith and the pitfalls thereof. I do not have such evidence, therefore I do not believe.

[@emmazig]

I think you guys could make a great (and probably hilarious) video or short about Hillel and Shammai’s famous disputes tbh

[@MarkSultanaX2]

I love these obscure figures. Thanks Blue.

[@whatthefridge1o1]

using a video i watched for fun, as inspiration for a university paper yall are the reason im a history major

[@dillpickle5987]

Thank you for posting this in history class, my teacher showed it to us LOL

[@TheEvilSkippy]

My tired eyes thought this was about mermaids

[@cxfxcdude]

Im sure Red may do a fish people episode in a trope talk eventually

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

Ahhah! I love when my eyes play tricks on me. The concepts formed from it are often hilarious.

[@oranjethefox8725]

In my Jewish culture school, we spent a good month just on Maimonides, there is so much more to say, but good job summarizing.

[@moonflower1759]

Thank you for pronouncing Cordoba correctly, great video! ❤

[@marcello7781]

One of the greatest men of the Middle Ages!

[@aimansafwan1997]

Major correction, dude. Saladin never proclaimed as Caliph of Egypt. That honor goes to the Fatimids, an Ismaili Shia dynasty, many years before him. He instead swore fealty to the Sunni Abbasid Caliph, and he makes sure that the Caliph's name is always mentioned highly in every mosques during Friday prayers. All while proclaiming himself as Sultan, a title which has become the new hotness at the time.

[@kaly_ths_291]

Córdoba and Andalusia are some GORGEOUS places to find yourself visiting or living.

[@AskMia411]

Oh, THAT'S where the name for the Andalusian horse came from!!!!! You learn know things every day! Just got back from my grandma's funeral, and this helped me feel a little better. Thanks Blue!

[@elpaya7775]

Wises people like Maimonides make me proud of being Iberian

[@Axyr]

0:16 OMG HE DID IT, THE MADMAN DID IT! HE PRONOUNCED CÓRDOBA PROPERLY!!!!!!!! All is good in the world :D

[@vzq5175]

Loved seeing this. Never clicked on a video so fast in my life. Great job, and I'd love to see more Judaic (and other abrahamic tbh) philosophers discussed on the channel!

[@lennongrad13]

Everytime I play a paradox game (especially ck2 and eu4) I imagine Blue doing a video on the history I create