The the purpose of the maimonides list is to support slow
readings of works by Maimonides. For a brief discussion of what I
mean by "slow reading," please see my essay at
http://www.freelance-academy.org/slowread.htm.

This is one of a group of lists hosted by The Free Lance Academy,
whose main purpose is to create opportunities for serious,
committed intellectual inquiry outside the university, primarily
by means of online media such as internet mailing lists. For the
names of other lists in this group, search on the relevant
keywords listed below.

The discussion leader for the Maimonides list is Scott Michael
Alexander [smalexa@ibm.net] and he has provided the following
introduction on Maimonides: Moses
Ben Maimon, known in the West as Maimonides, (1135-1204), the
most significant Jewish philosopher, was born in Islamic Cordoba,
Spain. Apart from being a philosopher, he was famous as a jurist;
physician; international leader of the Jews; prose stylist in
Arabic and Hebrew; in short, a man of innumerable
accomplishments.

In his eternal monument, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides codified
the entire corpus Judaica. The Guide of the Perplexed was his
statement of "the science of the law in its true sense," that
is, the rational examination of the divine law in the world of
divine creations.

The discussion of this List should examine the Guide, as well his
other philosophical writings, including The Book of Knowledge
section of the Mishneh Torah, The Treatise on Resurrection, The
Eight Chapters, and others. Keywords: The Free Lance
Academy, freelance, freelance-academy, philosophy, slow reading,
Maimonides, Jewish studies, theology