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Rambam's Mishneh Torah: The Book That Tried to Replace the Talmud?!

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The Jewish Learning Network

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Imagine trying to assemble a 10,000 piece puzzle  but without the picture on the box. That's what   Jewish life looked like for many jews after the  destruction of the Holy Temple. Torah she bal peh,   the oral Torah, was passed down from generation to  generation, but now was scattered across Mishneh,   Talmud, midrashim, and endless responsa.  People wanted to serve Hashem but didn't   know how to keep all 613 mitzvahs with  all it's details. And that's when one   man stepped in, A revolutionary, a torah giant. Welcome to torah unboxed, my name is Rabbi Mendel   Winner and today we will be reviewing the books  of the Rambam, or otherwise known as Maimonides.   Born in Spain in the 12th century Rabbi Moshe  ben Maimon lived through persecution and exile.   Eventually settling in Egypt where he became the  personal doctor of the Sultan and the spiritual   leader of the Jewish world. But the Ramabam wasn't  just brilliant he was bold. He saw the confusion   among the Jews trying to keep halacha, and he  made it his mission to organize it. Not to write   something new but to bring clarity to what already  was there. And he did it in a way that was never   done before. The Rambam wrote multiple books. He  wrote a full commentary on the Mishnah, The Guide   to the Perplexed, which was a deep philosophical  work answering the hardest questions in faith,   reason, G-d's nature. But his masterpiece, his  work that changed the world forever was his Yad   Hachazakah or Mishneh Torah. This fourteen  volume work includes every single halacha   and law from the entire Torah written clearly  and precisely. No back and forth just clarity.  He starts with the most fundamental truths  the existence of Hashem, the purpose of   creation, and the foundations of belief. And then he builds out the entire structure   of Jewish life. We have the laws of shabbos,  kashrus, marriage, sacrifices, kings, prophets,   and even the laws of the coming of Moshaich.  Everything organized crystal clear. No one had   ever done this before and no one has done it since But before he could write the Mishneh Torah the   Rambam had to answer one  simple but very big question.  What are the actual 613 mitzvos? You'd think it's  obvious, but it wasn't. Different sources listed   different mitzvahs. Counted them differently  debated what should be included. So the Rambam   wrote the Sefer Hamitzvahs which list all of the  613 commandments and its' source in the Torah  Now let's fast forward 800 years. In 1984,  the Lubavitcher Rebbe saw the power of the   Rambam's work. And he brought it into our  daily lives, he launched the daily Rambam   study initiative. With a simple goal that every  jew everywhere should study Rambam every day  You can choose 3 chapters a day and  finish the Mishneh Torah in about a year.   1 chapter a day and finish it in 3 years or just  the Sefer Hamitzvahs, a few mitzvahs every day   following the cycle of the 3 chapters. But why the  Rambam? Because the Rambam covers all of Torah,   all mitzvahs even those that apply only when  the Beis Hamikdash is standing or when Moshiach   comes. So by learning Rambam you are learning  the entire Torah and getting a full picture of   what exactly god wants from us. But the  Rebbe saw something even deeper. He said  "Imagine all jews all over the world in New York  in Moscow in Tel Aviv learning the same halachos   in the same day. Different language, different  background, but same Torah that's real unity  The first Sefer Hamitzvahs we're showcasing today  is this Moznaim 2 volume edition. This beautiful   set featured Hebrew and English side by side. The  English is laid out with a literal translation in   bold font, while interpolations appear in lighter  font for a better flow and readability. At the   bottom of the page you'll find footnotes and  commentary that offer background sources and   clarity. The mitzvahs follow the Rambam's original  order. All positive commandments those are the   dos, followed by the negative ones, the donts. We now have the Sichos in English   Sefer Hamitzvos by Rabbi Berel Bell. This set was  completely reorganized to align with the Rebbe's   daily Rambam study sign. Making it easy to follow  and learn day by day. It contains only English   texts clear and straight forward with the helpful  footnotes on the bottom providing commentary   sources and deeper insights into each mitzvah. We now have the Pardes Halemlech Rambam. This   one volume is from the complete set of the entire  Rambam translated into English. We have Hebrew   and English side by side, but on the bottom is  where it's really cool, you have all the talks   of the Rebbe and all the Rebbe's insights on the  Rambam by that halacha. So you can be studying the  Rambam, and then you're like wait, what did the  Rebbe say about this law, this halacha. Glance   at the bottom and you have it fully in English a  short transcript of the Rebbe's talk on that law.  We now have the Moznaim Complete Rambam set.  A true masterpiece translated by Rabbi Eliyahu   Tauger. This comprehensive edition is the first  to translate the entire Rambam. Each page includes   extensive footnotes at the bottom featuring  sources, explanations of the Rambams' reasoning   and notes where halacha may differ today. It's an outstanding resource for anyone looking   to learn Rambam, whether it's 3 chapters a day or  1. This set also includes a Sefer Hamitzvos volume   with the literal English translation presented  without the Hebrew. It's ideal for quick focused   daily mitzvah learning that provides direct access  to the Rambam's words in clear accessible English.  We now have the Living Lessons Yehadus Sefer  Hamitzvos. This beautifully fully colored Sefer   Hamitzvos is geared towards youngsters.  You have each mitzvah introduced with an   introduction followed by its sources from the  Torah, inspiring stories, practical takeaways,   and messages of the mitzvah that a child can take  in their personal lives. To summarize we gave this   2 volume Sefer Hamitzvohs Hebrew and English, with  footnotes in the Rambam's original order. We have   the English only, Sefer Hamitzvohs restructured  to follow the daily Rambam study cycle.   The Pardes Hamelech Rambam Hebrew and English  with the Rebbe's explanations. We have this   Moznaim Rambam by Rabbi Tauger, this beautiful  masterpiece translating the whole Rambam with   extensive footnotes and explanations,  it also comes with Sefer Hamitzvohs.  And, finally, the Living Lessons  Children's Sefer Hamitzvohs