The epitaph on Maimonides's tombstone reads, "From Moses (the prophet)
to Moses, there was none like Moses (Maimonides)." The name, "Moses
Maimonides" (1138-1204) is an acronym for his Hebraic name Moses ben
Maimon). For centuries, yeshiva scholars and students alike
affectionately refer to him by the epithet, "the Rambam." Just as the
original Moses became the founder of the religion of ancient Israel,
Moses Maimonides redefined Judaism for the future generations-more so
than any other Judaic thinker or Halakhic scholar who came before or
after him. Modern Judaism owes its conceptual and legal foundations to
this remarkable thinker. This remarkable person occupies a rare position
in the annals of Jewish history and is widely considered as one of the
greatest Jewish thinkers and philosophers who ever lived, Maimonides
stature reached almost mythic proportions. Jews of all modern religious
persuasions-from the ultra-liberal to the Haredi branches of Orthodoxy
each claim Maimonides as their patron hero. Both Christian and Islamic
thinkers held Maimonides (who refer to him as Musa ibn Maymun in Arabic
writings) in high regard.
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I have been impressed with the writings of Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel ever
since I read his first book on Philo. I enjoyed the comprehensive nature
of his writings and the many insights in his books. I liked that he
described Philo's views in an easy to read manner and compared Philo
views with those of many ancient and modern writers. Since that time, I
wrote six reviews of his Philo books and praised them all. There is much
in them that will interest and teach both scholars and readers who had
no idea beforehand about this first century philosopher, or just a
little information about him. Reading Rabbi Samuel's books will
introduce readers to a large number of Philo ideas, those of other
thinkers on the ideas, including the Talmuds and Midrashim, and about
philosophy and Judaism generally. Thus, when Rabbi Samuel asked me to
write the Foreword to his first book on Maimonides, I was very pleased
to accept his offer, both out of respect for his scholarship and because
I wrote many books and articles on Maimonides myself. - Rabbi Dr. Israel
Drazin
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Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is the son of a Holocaust survivor. He holds
two rabbinic ordinations from the Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch Yeshiva of
770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn and holds a D. Min degree from the San
Francisco Theological Seminary. He is an avid student of the Greek
classics, Biblical and Talmudic scholarship, Jungian Psychology, Western
Medieval Theology, Modern Philosophy, and 20th century psychology. He is
the author of The Lord Is My Shepherd: The Theology of the Caring God
(1996), Birth and Rebirth Through Genesis (2010), A Shepherd's Song:
Psalm 23 and the Shepherd Metaphor In Jewish Thought (2014), and
Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Jewish Commentator
(Volumes, 1-5), (2014-2018).
