Major Works
Guide of the Perplexed
- Recommended translation: The Guide of the Perplexed. Translated with an introduction and notes by Shlomo Pines.With an introductory essay by Leo Strauss. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1963. Originally composed in Arabic, in 1190.The Guide presents the Law and philosophy as espousing two different, even contradictory views of the world. The perplexity induced by these two different worldviews is Maimonides’ main subject in the Guide.
Mishneh Torah
- The Mishneh Torah is published in the Yale Judaica series as a 14 volume set entitled The Code of Maimonides. A good place to start is with the second volume, which has been recently re-translated by Menachem Kellner, a noted scholar of Maimonides. Each Volume is listed individually under the category of the "Mishneh Torah". Mishneh Torah (1177) The Mishneh Torah is a 14-volume comprehensive compendium of Jewish Law, giving authoritative legal guidance on virtually every aspect of the Law, e.g., the foundations of the Law, ethical qualities, marriage and divorce law,… More
Commentary on the Mishnah
- The Commentary on the Mishnah has not been translated into English in its entirety. However, there are translations of Maimonides' introduction to Pirqe Aboth called "The Eight Chapters." English translation of Eight Chapters, Introduction to Commentary on Avoth by Joseph Isaac Gorfinkle, New York: Columbia UP, 1912. Maimonides’ first major work sought to give a clear, accessible and practical explanation of Jewish Law as it is laid out in the Mishnah, the first and most authoritative systematization and reorganization of Jewish Law, probably completed around 200… More