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Moreh Nebukim


The Guide for the Perplexed (Hebrew: מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim; Arabic: دلالة الحائرين, dalālat al-ḥā’irīn, דלאל̈ת אלחאירין) is one of the three major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, primarily known either as Maimonides or RAMBAM (Hebrew: רמב"ם‎‎. This work seeks to reconcile Aristotelian philosophy with Hebrew Bible theology, by finding rational explanations for many events in the text.


It was written in Judeo-Arabic in the form of a three part letter to his student, Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of Ceuta, the son of Rabbi Judah, and is the main source of the Rambam's philosophical views, as opposed to his opinions on Jewish law. It is interesting to note, however, that a small minority believe the Guide for the Perplexed to have been written by an anonymous heretic and not the Rambam, most notably amongst these is the revered 18th century scholar, Reb Yaakov Emden.

Since many of the philosophical concepts, such as his view of theodicy and the relationship between philosophy and religion, are relevant beyond strictly Jewish theology, it has been the work most commonly associated with Maimonides in the non-Jewish world and it is known to have influenced several major non-Jewish philosophers. Following its publication, "almost every philosophic work for the remainder of the Middle Ages cited, commented on, or criticized Maimonides' views." Within Judaism, the Guide became widely popular, with many Jewish communities requesting copies of the manuscript, but also quite controversial, with some communities limiting its study or banning it altogether.


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