Maimonides' full name was ''Moshe ben Maimon'' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: משה בן מיימון) and his Arabic name was موسى بن ميمون بن عبد الله القرطبي الإسرائيلي (''Mussa bin Maimun ibn Abdallah al-Kurtubi al-Israili''). However, he is most commonly known by his [[Greek language|Greek]] name, '''Moses Maimonides''' (Μωησής Μαϊμονίδης), which literally means, "Moses, son of Maimon", like his name in Hebrew and Arabic. Many Jewish works refer to him by the Hebrew acronym of his title and name — '''R'''abbi '''M'''oshe '''b'''en '''M'''aimon — calling him the '''RaMBaM''' or the '''Rambam''' (רמב"ם).
==View on Noahides==
:See Also [[Maimonides' Law of Noahides]]
A simple reading of the rules of Maimonides' would indicate that Jews or a Jewish court are obligated in (at the minimum) coercing Noachides to observe their laws. Such is not the only way, however, to interpret Maimonides' statements. Maharatz Chayut in his responsa[Responsa 2.] seems to adopt a formulation of Maimonides ruling that makes this law a mere historical recounting of facts. He states (quoting the Rashbash[ Rabbi Shlomo Ben Shimon Duran, Rashbash 543. ]):
:Sanhedren 56b recounts that the Jews were commanded in ten commandments at Marah[ See "Dinim" Encyclopedia Talmudit 7:396-397 for a discussion of this issue. ]; these ten commandments were the seven laws of Noah, the Sabbath laws, dinim, and respect for one's parents. Why did the Jews need to be commanded again [on the seven Noachide laws] since Jews were already commanded from the time of Adam and Noah...Since we conclude that commandments that were given prior to Sinai to Noachides, and not repeated at Sinai, are obligatory only for Jews, the seven commandments had to be repeated at Sinai to obligate Noachides.[ The general rule is that commandments apparently directed to all recounted in the bible prior to revelation at Sinai are binding only on Jews; commandments recounted twice in the bible, one before revelation and once after are binding on all; see generally Encyclopedia Talmudit, supra note *, at 359-360. ] Based on this Rashbash, the assertion of Maimonides that "Moses, our teacher, only willed Torah and mitzvot to the Jewish people, since it states 'An inheritance to the community of Jacob.'" ... and his assertion that 'Moses our teacher was commanded by God to compel the commandments obligatory to the children of Noah' appear logical. Why was Moses also the messenger to the rest of the world to compel observance of the seven commandments, perhaps they are obligated by Adam or Noach? Rather we see that Moses being commanded at Marah on the seven Noachide commandments, even though Gentiles were already commanded, was done to make Noachides obligated in the mitzvot even now.
Thus, according to Maharatz Chayut, there is no obligation for any specific Jew, in any circumstance to compel observance by a Noachide. Rather Maimonides is merely explaining the jurisprudential basis for the obligation of Noachides to their seven commandments -- absent Moses' re-commandment at Sinai, only Jews would have been obligated in Noachide law. The most that one could claim according to Maharatz Chayut is that perhaps Moses himself was obligated to compel observance of the Noachide laws; Jews currently are not -- apparently neither in the context of a beit din nor in the context of any specific individual. Maharatz Chayut would then limit Maimonides' rule obligating Jews to establish courts and appoint judges to those Noachides who formally accept the obligations of a ger toshav (resident alien) and who live in the Jewish community and who are dependent on it for law and order "lest the world be destroyed".[ Maimonides Malachim 10:11. ] Certainly in the diaspora there are few such communities of Noachides; although if there were, and they could not see fit to enforce the law themselves, a Jew should guide them. Similar claims that Maimonides' rules do not create a practical legal obligation can be found in Aruch Hashulchan,[YD 267:12-13] the writings of Rabbi Yehuda Gershuni,[ Rabbi Yehuda Gershuni (Mishpatai Melucha 2d ed. pages 232-234)] Rabbi Shaul Yisrali[ Amud Yemini 12:1:12.] and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher,[ Torah Shelama 17:220] the author of Torah Shelama, all of whom assert that the opinion of Maimonides itself is to be understood as limited to yemot hamashe'ach (or perhaps less ideally, full Jewish law in Israel).
However, all of these explanations of Maimonides' ruling are difficult and the simple understanding of Maimonides is that (at the least) a person that is capable of forcing compliance, must. Indeed, while Rabbi Karo does appear to limit the application of Maimonides somewhat, he clearly understands Maimonides as requiring compulsion whenever possible, even by an individual.[ Kesef Mishnah Mila 1:6] This is similarly understood to be the opinion of Maimonides by Tzafnach Panaich, in his lengthy discussion on this topic.[ Rabbi Joseph Rosen, Tzafnach Paneach, Maimonides, Milah 1:6] A ruling similar to Maimonides' is found in Chinuch 192, where it states:
:The rule is as follows: In all that the nations are commanded, any time they are under our jurisdiction, it is incumbent upon us to judge them when they violate the commandments.
==Biography==
[[Image:Maimonides-Statue.jpg|thumb|Statue of Maimonides in Córdoba, Spain]]
* "How to Begin to Study ''the Guide''", Leo Strauss, from ''The Guide of the Perplexed, Vol. 1'', Maimonides, translated from the Arabic by Shlomo Pines, University of Chicago Press, 1974
== See also ==* [[Golden age of Jewish culture in Spain]]
==External links==
*[http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=107769 Maimonides Mishneh (or Mishnah) Torah or Rambam - the codified laws compiled by Maimonides]
*[http://www.library.dal.ca/kellogg/Bioethics/codes/maimonides.htm Oath and Prayer of Maimonides, as a choice instead of the Hippocratic Oath in medical profession.]
[[Category:Rambam Approach]]
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