This companion volume contains twelve essays by leading scholars on the life, thought, and influence of one of Judaism's greatest thinkers: Moses Maimonides (1138-1204). Philosopher, Rabbi, Bible commentator, physician, Talmudic expositor and social commentator, Maimonides wrote on subjects that touch every aspect of life.

Each volume of this series of companions to major philosophers contains specially commissioned essays by an international team of scholars, together with a substantial bibliography, and serves as a reference work for students and nonspecialists. One aim of the series is to dispel the intimidation such readers feel when faced with the work of a difficult and challenging thinker. Moses ben Maimon, known to English speaking audiences as Maimonides (1138-1204), represents the high point of Jewish rationalism in the middle ages and played a pivotal role in the transition of philosophy from the Islamic East to the Christian West. His greatest philosophical work The Guide of the Perplexed had a decisive impact on all subsequent Jewish thought and is still the subject of intense scholarly debate. An enigmatic figure in his own time, Maimonides continues to defy simple attempts at classification. The twelve essays in this volume, all by leaders in their respective fields, offer a lucid and comprehensive treatment of his life and thought. They cover the sources on which Maimonides drew, his contributions to philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, and Bible commentary, as well as his esoteric writing style and influence on later thinkers.