The Epistles of Maimonides: Crisis and Leadership » (1st pbk. ed)

Maimonides, best known as the great codifier of Jewish law and philosophic master of Jewish and medieval thought, is largely unappreciated for his role as a statesman and leader. Too little attention is devoted to texts that reveal Maimonides' emphatic involvement with the community. This volume shows Maimonides as he led the Jewish people through an age of crisis; the epistles contained herein represent the philosopher's response to three critical issues of his day: religious persecution (The Epistle on Martyrdom), the claims of Christianity and Islam (The Epistle of Yemen), and rational philosophy's challenge to faith (The Essay on Resurrection).