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115-538: Yoffe was born in Prague ; he could count amongst his ancestors Rashi and before him Hillel , Elnathan (governor of Judea) and ultimately back to King David . His father, Abraham b. Joseph, was a pupil of Abraham ben Abigdor . The Levush studied under Moses Isserles and Solomon Luria ; Mattithiah b. Solomon Delacrut was his teacher in Kabbalah . Yoffe also studied philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics (apparently at

230-462: A German physician, pupil of Immanuel Kant . The Treatise on Logic (Arabic: Maqala Fi-Sinat Al-Mantiq ) has been printed 17 times, including editions in Latin (1527), German (1805, 1822, 1833, 1828), French (1936) by Moïse Ventura and in 1996 by Rémi Brague, and English (1938) by Israel Efros, and in an abridged Hebrew form. The work illustrates the essentials of Aristotelian logic to be found in

345-742: A Germanic city called Casurgis . In the late 5th century AD, during the great Migration Period following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire , the Germanic tribes living in Bohemia moved westwards and, probably in the 6th century, the Slavic tribes settled the Central Bohemian Region. In the following three centuries, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in

460-462: A basis for the latter in the former. Maimonides' admiration for the Neoplatonic commentators led him to doctrines which the later Scholastics did not accept. For instance, Maimonides was an adherent of apophatic theology . In this theology, one attempts to describe God through negative attributes. For example, one should not say that God exists in the usual sense of the term; it can be said that God

575-407: A bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics , but failed to make the candidate city shortlist . In June 2009, as the result of financial pressures from the global recession , Prague's officials chose to cancel the city's planned bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics . On 21 December 2023, a mass shooting took place at Charles University in central Prague. In total, 15 people were killed and 25 injured. It

690-547: A cluster of associated notions. The meaning of the words is explained and illustrated with examples. At the end of each chapter, the author carefully draws up the list of words studied. Until very recently, it was accepted that Maimonides wrote the Treatise on Logic in his twenties or even in his teen years. Herbert Davidson has raised questions about Maimonides' authorship of this short work (and of other short works traditionally attributed to Maimonides). He maintains that Maimonides

805-686: A democratic way. The other Warsaw Pact member countries, except Romania and Albania , were led by the Soviet Union to repress these reforms through the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the capital, Prague, on 21 August 1968. The invasion, chiefly by infantry and tanks, effectively suppressed any further attempts at reform. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army would end only in 1991. Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc committed suicide by self-immolation in January and February 1969 to protest against

920-581: A digest of his Beit Yosef, led Rabbi Yoffe to consider whether he should continue writing his own work. On reflection, he concluded that there was room for it since it would contain "those laws observed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Bohemia." When R' Moshe Isserles ' gloss to the Shulḥan Arukh (called Mappah ) appeared in Cracow in 1578, Rabbi Yoffe felt that Rabbi Isserles had been too brief as had Rav Yosef Caro in

1035-448: A long, arduous trip through the desert, however, David was unimpressed by the goods on offer there. Against his brother's wishes, David boarded a ship for India, since great wealth was to be found in the East. Before he could reach his destination, David drowned at sea sometime between 1169 and 1177. The death of his brother caused Maimonides to become sick with grief. In a letter discovered in

1150-632: A massive increase in the city's overall population caused by the influx of Czechs from the rest of Bohemia and Moravia and the increasing prestige and importance of the Czech language as part of the Czech National Revival. World War I ended with the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk . At this time Prague

1265-473: A month later, Frederick the Great was defeated and forced to retreat from Bohemia. The economy of Prague continued to improve during the 18th century. The population increased to 80,000 inhabitants by 1771. Many rich merchants and nobles enhanced the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens full of art and music, creating a Baroque city renowned throughout the world to this day. In 1784, under Joseph II ,

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1380-401: A popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. In 2017, Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London , Paris , Rome , and Istanbul . The Czech name Praha is derived from an old Slavic word, práh , which means " ford " or " rapid ", referring to the city's origin at a crossing point of

1495-601: A rabbi, physician and philosopher. During his lifetime, most Jews greeted Maimonides' writings on Jewish law and ethics with acclaim and gratitude, even as far away as Iraq and Yemen. Yet, while Maimonides rose to become the revered head of the Jewish community in Egypt , his writings also had vociferous critics, particularly in Spain. He died in Fustat , Egypt, and, according to Jewish tradition,

1610-469: A similar work, although not as extensive as Rabbi Yoffe's. They reached an agreement to publish Rabbi Yoffe's book and to present the other Rabbi's additional comments in glosses (hagahos) throughout the book. The work is organised as follows. The first five "attires" are devoted to the laws expounded in Rav Yosef Caro's Beit Yosef ; the sixth, Ha-Orah is an elucidation of Rashi 's biblical commentary;

1725-471: A single innocent one to death ." He argued that executing a defendant on anything less than absolute certainty would lead to a slippery slope of decreasing burdens of proof, until defendants would be convicted merely according to the judge's caprice. Maimonides composed works of Jewish scholarship, rabbinic law , philosophy, and medical texts. Most of Maimonides' works were written in Judeo-Arabic . However,

1840-447: A student of Isaac Alfasi . At an early age, Maimonides developed an interest in sciences and philosophy. He read ancient Greek philosophy accessible via Arabic translations and was deeply immersed in the sciences and learning of Islamic culture . Maimonides, who was revered for his personality as well as for his writings, led a busy life, and wrote many of his works while travelling or in temporary accommodation. A Berber dynasty,

1955-591: A verse of The Beleaguered City by Longfellow (1839) and also in the limerick There was an Old Lady of Prague by Edward Lear (1846). Prague is also called the "City of a Hundred Spires " , based on a count by 19th century mathematician Bernard Bolzano ; today's count is estimated by the Prague Information Service at 500. Nicknames for Prague have also included: the Golden City, the Mother of Cities and

2070-565: A wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies. In 2019, the city was ranked as 69th most livable city in the world by Mercer. In the same year, the PICSA Index ranked the city as 13th most livable city in the world. Its rich history makes it

2185-508: A year, suffering from a sore boil, fever, and depression , and was almost given up. About eight years have passed, but I am still mourning and unable to accept consolation. And how should I console myself? He grew up on my knees, he was my brother, [and] he was my student. Around 1171, Maimonides was appointed the Nagid of the Egyptian Jewish community. Arabist Shelomo Dov Goitein believes

2300-479: Is Velký Počernický with 41.76 ha (103.2 acres). The largest body of water is Hostivař Reservoir with 42 hectares (103.8 acres). Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides ( / m aɪ ˈ m ɒ n ɪ d iː z / , my- MON -ih-deez ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam ( Hebrew : רמב״ם ), was a Sephardic rabbi and philosopher who became one of

2415-668: Is a crescent-shaped golden sun with rays protruding. One of these banners was captured by Swedish troops during the Battle of Prague (1648) when they captured the western bank of the Vltava river and were repulsed from the eastern bank, they placed it in the Royal Military Museum in Stockholm ; although this flag still exists, it is in very poor condition. They also took the Codex Gigas and

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2530-485: Is a work of practical halacha, accompanied by the reasons behind the various halachic decisions according to logic and earlier sources , and includes sections on Torah commentary, philosophy, and mysticism. This work was divided into ten sections known as "levushim" (garments, or "attires"). While still in his youth, Rabbi Yoffe had the idea to compile a book on Jewish law, which would be used for making halachic decisions . The appearance of R' Yosef Caro's Shulchan Arukh ,

2645-500: Is called רמב״ם , short for "our Rabbi, Moshe son of Maimon" and pronounced Rambam . In Arabic, he is sometimes called "Moses ' son of Amram ' son of Maimon, of Obadiah, the Cordoban " ( أَبُو عَمْرَان مُوسَى بْن مَيْمُون بْن عُبَيْد ٱللّٰه ٱلْقُرْطُبِيّ , Abū ʿImrān Mūsā bin Maimūn bin ʿUbaydallāh al-Qurṭubī ), or more often simply "Moses, son of Maimon" ( موسى بن ميمون ). In Greek,

2760-524: Is dominated by the cathedral , which began construction in 1344, but was not completed until the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th-century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl , founder of the Přemyslid dynasty . Legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied: "I see a great city whose glory will touch

2875-519: Is in comparison to God. This is the basis of the Torah. The principle that inspired his philosophical activity was identical to a fundamental tenet of scholasticism : there can be no contradiction between the truths which God has revealed and the findings of the human mind in science and philosophy. Maimonides primarily relied upon the science of Aristotle and the teachings of the Talmud, commonly claiming to find

2990-550: Is not corporeal. This was central to his thinking about the sin of idolatry . Maimonides insisted that all of the anthropomorphic phrases pertaining to God in sacred texts are to be interpreted metaphorically . A related tenet of Maimonidean theology is the notion that the commandments , especially those pertaining to sacrifices , are intended to help wean the Israelites away from idolatry. Maimonides also argued that God embodied reason , intellect , science , and nature , and

3105-490: Is not non-existent. One should not say that "God is wise"; but it can be said that "God is not ignorant," i.e., in some way, God has some properties of knowledge. One should not say that "God is One," but it can be stated that "there is no multiplicity in God's being." In brief, the attempt is to gain and express knowledge of God by describing what God is not, rather than by describing what God "is." Maimonides argued adamantly that God

3220-453: Is often determined by factors outside of one's control, human beings have free will to choose to behave in ways that build character. He wrote, "One is obligated to conduct his affairs with others in a gentle and pleasing manner." Maimonides advised that those with antisocial character traits should identify those traits and then make a conscious effort to behave in the opposite way. For example, an arrogant person should practice humility. If

3335-631: Is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia . Situated on the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.4 million people. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of Central Europe , with a rich history and Romanesque , Gothic , Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors , most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611). It

3450-564: The Mishneh Torah was written in Hebrew. In addition to Mishneh Torah, his Jewish texts were: Maimonides' achievements in the medical field are well known, and are cited by many medieval authors. One of his more important medical works is his Guide to Good Health ( Regimen Sanitatis ), which he composed in Arabic for the Sultan al-Afdal , son of Saladin , who suffered from depression . The work

3565-476: The Almohads , conquered Córdoba in 1148 and abolished dhimmi status (i.e., state protection of non-Muslims ensured through payment of a tax, the jizya ) in some of their territories. The loss of this status forced the Jewish and Christian communities to choose between conversion to Islam , death , or exile . Many Jews were forced to convert, but due to suspicion by the authorities of fake conversions,

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3680-557: The Bethlehem Chapel . Inspired by John Wycliffe , these sermons focused on what were seen as radical reforms of a corrupt Church. Having become too dangerous for the political and religious establishment, Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance , put on trial for heresy , and burned at the stake in Konstanz in 1415. Four years later Prague experienced its first defenestration , when

3795-503: The Cairo Geniza , he wrote: The greatest misfortune that has befallen me during my entire life—worse than anything else—was the demise of the saint, may his memory be blessed, who drowned in the Indian sea, carrying much money belonging to me, to him, and to others, and left with me a little daughter and a widow. On the day I received that terrible news I fell ill and remained in bed for about

3910-613: The Codex Argenteus . The earliest evidence indicates that a gonfalon with a municipal charge painted on it was used for the Old Town as early as 1419. Since this city militia flag was in use before 1477 and during the Hussite Wars, it is the oldest still preserved municipal flag of Bohemia. In the following two centuries, Prague strengthened its role as a merchant city. Many noteworthy Gothic buildings were erected and Vladislav Hall of

4025-504: The Geonim (post-Talmudic early Medieval scholars, mainly from Mesopotamia ). It is also known as Yad ha-Chazaka or simply Yad ( יד ) which has the numerical value 14, representing the 14 books of the work. The Mishneh Torah made following Jewish law easier for the Jews of his time, who were struggling to understand the complex nature of Jewish rules and regulations as they had adapted over

4140-534: The God of Abraham to what philosophers refer to as the Necessary Being . God is unique in the universe, and the Torah commands that one love and fear God ( Deut 10:12) on account of that uniqueness. To Maimonides, this meant that one ought to contemplate God's works and to marvel at the order and wisdom that went into their creation. When one does this, one inevitably comes to love God and to sense how insignificant one

4255-528: The Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveler Abraham ben Jacob . The Old New Synagogue of 1270 still stands in the city. Prague was also once home to a slave market. At the site of the ford in the Vltava river, King Vladislaus I had the first bridge built in 1170, the Judith Bridge (Juditin most), named in honor of his wife Judith of Thuringia . This bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1342, but some of

4370-446: The Jewish calendar according to Maimonides and an additional commentary on Abraham bar Hiyya 's geographical-astronomical Tzurat ha-Aretz ; the tenth, Even Yikrat , is on Menahem Recanati 's commentary on the Torah . The Levush is an exception among the codifiers in treating ritual-legal matters from a kabbalistic standpoint ; his approach, to a certain extent, "tended to draw together

4485-668: The Jewish medical ethicist Fred Rosner into contemporary English. Lectures, conferences and research on Maimonides, even recently in the 21st century, have been done at medical universities in Morocco . The Oath of Maimonides is a document about the medical calling and recited as a substitute for the Hippocratic Oath . It is not to be confused with a more lengthy Prayer of Maimonides . These documents may not have been written by Maimonides, but later. The Prayer appeared first in print in 1793 and has been attributed to Markus Herz ,

4600-698: The Mishnah , during the years 1166–1168. Following this sojourn in Morocco, he lived in [[ Acre ]] with his father and brother, before settling in Fustat in Fatimid Caliphate -controlled Egypt by 1168. There is mention that Maimonides first settled in Alexandria, and moved to Fustat only in 1171. While in Cairo , he studied in a yeshiva attached to a small synagogue , which now bears his name. In Jerusalem , he prayed at

4715-503: The Prague astronomical clock , the Jewish Quarter , Petřín hill and Vyšehrad . Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites . The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. It is home to

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4830-634: The Red Army took the city almost unopposed. The majority (about 50,000 people) of the German population of Prague either fled or were expelled by the Beneš decrees in the aftermath of the war. Prague was a city in a country under the military, economic, and political control of the Soviet Union (see Iron Curtain and COMECON ). The world's largest Stalin Monument was unveiled on Letná hill in 1955 and destroyed in 1962. The 4th Czechoslovak Writers' Congress, held in

4945-468: The Scholastic philosophers, especially on Albertus Magnus , Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus . He was a Jewish Scholastic. Educated more by reading the works of Arab Muslim philosophers than by personal contact with Arabian teachers, he acquired an intimate acquaintance not only with Arab Muslim philosophy, but with the doctrines of Aristotle. Maimonides strove to reconcile Aristotelianism and science with

5060-637: The Temple Mount . He wrote that this day of visiting the Temple Mount was a day of holiness for him and his descendants. Maimonides shortly thereafter was instrumental in helping rescue Jews taken captive during the Christian Amalric of Jerusalem 's siege of the southeastern Nile Delta town of Bilbeis . He sent five letters to the Jewish communities of Lower Egypt asking them to pool money together to pay

5175-517: The Thirty Years' War , a particularly harsh period for Prague and Bohemia. Ferdinand II of Habsburg was deposed, and his place as King of Bohemia taken by Frederick V, Elector Palatine ; however his army was crushed in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) not far from the city. Following this in 1621 was an execution of 27 Czech Protestant leaders (involved in the uprising) in Old Town Square and

5290-481: The US Army Air Forces . 701 people were killed, more than 1,000 people were injured and some buildings, factories and historic landmarks ( Emmaus Monastery , Faust House , Vinohrady Synagogue ) were destroyed. Many historic structures in Prague, however, escaped the destruction of the war and the damage was small compared to the total destruction of many other cities in that time. According to American pilots, it

5405-646: The oldest university in Central Europe. His father John of Bohemia began construction of the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral , within the largest of the Prague Castle courtyards, on the site of the Romanesque rotunda there. Prague was elevated to an archbishopric in 1344, the year the cathedral was begun. The city had a mint and was a center of trade for German and Italian bankers and merchants. The social order, however, became more turbulent due to

5520-573: The ransom . The money was collected and then given to two judges sent to Palestine to negotiate with the Crusaders. The captives were eventually released. Following this success, the Maimonides family, hoping to increase their wealth, gave their savings to his brother, the youngest son David ben Maimon, a merchant. Maimonides directed his brother to procure goods only at the Sudanese port of ʿAydhab . After

5635-517: The Šárka valley , Butovice and Levý Hradec . The construction of what came to be known as Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, expanding a fortified settlement that had existed on the site since the year 800. The first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad , was founded in the 10th century, some 70 years later than Prague Castle. Prague Castle

5750-579: The " normalization " of the country. In 1989, after riot police beat back a peaceful student demonstration, the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague, and the capital of Czechoslovakia benefited greatly from the new mood. In 1992, the Historic Centre of Prague and its monuments were inscribed as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site . In 1993, after the Velvet Divorce , Prague became

5865-418: The 17th century, Prague's population began to grow again. Jews had been in Prague since the end of the 10th century and, by 1708, they accounted for about a quarter of Prague's population. In 1689, a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. In 1713–14, a major outbreak of plague hit Prague one last time, killing 12,000 to 13,000 people. In 1744, Frederick

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5980-470: The Four Lands and the Council of Lithuania . He is also a patriarch of the Jaffe family . A different Rabbi Mordecai Yoffe - Mordecai ben Moses Yoffe - is known for the controversy over his 1549 appointment as rabbi of Grodno , which had to be settled by Queen Bona , and eventually led the Lithuanian government to formalize many of the procedures of the Jewish community. Levush Malkhus Hebrew : לבוש מלכות , lit.   'Robes of Royalty'

6095-454: The Great of Prussia invaded Bohemia. He took Prague after a severe and prolonged siege in the course of which a large part of the town was destroyed. Empress Maria Theresa expelled the Jews from Prague in 1745; though she rescinded the expulsion in 1748, the proportion of Jewish residents in the city never recovered. In 1757 the Prussian bombardment destroyed more than one-quarter of the city and heavily damaged St. Vitus Cathedral. However,

6210-412: The Heart of Europe. The local Jewish community, which belongs to one of the oldest continuously existing in the world, have described the city as עיר ואם בישראל Ir va-em be-yisrael , "The city and mother in Israel". Prague has grown from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, to become the capital of a modern European country. The region

6325-429: The Hebrew ben ('son of') becomes the patronymic suffix [[[wikt:-ίδης|-ides]]] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 9) ( help ) , forming Μωησής Μαϊμονίδης "Moses Maimonides". He is sometimes known as "The Great Eagle" (Hebrew: הנשר הגדול , romanized:  haNesher haGadol ). Maimonides was born 1138 (or 1135) in Córdoba in the Muslim -ruled Almoravid Caliphate , at

6440-525: The Hebrew versions, the Treatise is called The words of Logic which describes the bulk of the work. The author explains the technical meaning of the words used by logicians. The Treatise duly inventories the terms used by the logician and indicates what they refer to. The work proceeds rationally through a lexicon of philosophical terms to a summary of higher philosophical topics, in 14 chapters corresponding to Maimonides' birthdate of 14 Nissan. The number 14 recurs in many of Maimonides' works. Each chapter offers

6555-471: The Judge, son of Joseph the Wise, son of Isaac the Rabbi, son of Obadiah the Judge. At the end of his commentary on the Mishnah , however, a longer, slightly different genealogy is given: Moses son of Maimon the Judge, son of Joseph the Wise, son of Isaac the Judge, son of Joseph the Judge, son of Obadiah the Judge, son of Solomon the Rabbi, son of Obadiah the Judge. Maimonides studied Torah under his father, who had in turn studied under Joseph ibn Migash ,

6670-532: The Prague Castle was added. In 1526, the Bohemian estates elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg . The fervent Catholicism of its members brought them into conflict in Bohemia, and then in Prague, where Protestant ideas were gaining popularity. These problems were not preeminent under Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II , elected King of Bohemia in 1576, who chose Prague as his home. He lived in Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but also scientists, musicians, and artists. Rudolf

6785-404: The Rambam to follow any other decisor [of Jewish law], early or late? [...] The Rambam is the greatest of the decisors, and all the communities of the Land of Israel and the Arabistan and the Maghreb practice according to his word, and accepted him as their rabbi." An oft-cited legal maxim from his pen is: " It is better and more satisfactory to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put

6900-415: The Shulḥan Arukh, and decided to resume his original work, "that will be midway between the two extremes: the lengthy Beit Yosef of Caro on the one hand, and on the other Rav Yosef Caro's Shulḥan Arukh together with the Mappah of Rabbi Isserles, which is too brief." In all, Rabbi Yoffe worked on this book almost 50 years. However, after completing his book he was confronted by another Rabbi who had also written

7015-438: The Talmudists and kabbalists, otherwise in danger of an open breach". [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Singer, Isidore ; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Jaffe (Joffe)" . The Jewish Encyclopedia . New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Prague Prague ( / ˈ p r ɑː ɡ / PRAHG ; Czech : Praha [ˈpraɦa] )

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7130-463: The Vltava river. Another view to the origin of the name is also related to the Czech word práh (with the meaning of a threshold ) and a legendary etymology connects the name of the city with princess Libuše , prophetess and a wife of the mythical founder of the Přemyslid dynasty . She is said to have ordered the city "to be built where a man hews a threshold of his house". The Czech práh might thus be understood to refer to rapids or fords in

7245-399: The antechambers filled with gentiles and Jews [...] I would go to heal them, and write prescriptions for their illnesses [...] until the evening [...] and I would be extremely weak." As he goes on to say in this letter, even on Shabbat he would receive members of the community. Still, he managed to write extended treatises, including not only medical and other scientific studies but some of

7360-492: The capital city of the new Czech Republic. From 1995, high-rise buildings began to be built in Prague in large quantities. In the late 1990s, Prague again became an important cultural center of Europe and was notably influenced by globalisation . In 2000, the IMF and World Bank summits took place in Prague and anti-globalization riots took place here. In 2002, Prague suffered from widespread floods that damaged buildings and its underground transport system. Prague launched

7475-522: The cardinal principles of faith for Orthodox Jews . Two poetic restatements of these principles ( Ani Ma'amin and Yigdal ) eventually became canonized in many editions of the Siddur (Jewish prayer book). The omission of a list of these principles as such within his later works, the Mishneh Torah and The Guide for the Perplexed , has led some to suggest that either he retracted his earlier position, or that these principles are descriptive rather than prescriptive. Maimonides equated

7590-477: The circumstances of one's environment are such that it is impossible to behave ethically, one must move to a new location. Maimonides agreed with "the Philosopher" (Aristotle) that the use of logic is the "right" way of thinking. He claimed that in order to understand how to know God, every human being must, by study, and meditation attain the degree of perfection required to reach the prophetic state. Despite his rationalistic approach, he does not explicitly reject

7705-427: The city in June 1967, took a strong position against the regime. On 31 October 1967 students demonstrated at Strahov . This spurred the new secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party , Alexander Dubček , to proclaim a new deal in his city's and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the " socialism with a human face ". It was the Prague Spring , which aimed at the renovation of political institutions in

7820-406: The city militia fought bravely under the Prague Banner. This swallow-tailed banner is approximately 4 by 6 ft (1.2 by 1.8 m), with a red field sprinkled with small white fleurs-de-lis, and a silver old Town Coat-of-Arms in the center. The words "PÁN BŮH POMOC NAŠE" (The Lord is our Relief/Help) appeared above the coat-of-arms, with a Hussite chalice centered on the top. Near the swallow-tails

7935-483: The country was occupied by Nazi Germany , Hitler took over Prague Castle. During the Second World War , most Jews were deported and killed by the Germans. In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany — Reinhard Heydrich —during Operation Anthropoid , accomplished by Czechoslovak national heroes Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš . Hitler ordered bloody reprisals. In February 1945, Prague suffered several bombing raids by

8050-405: The daughter of Mishael ben Yeshayahu Halevi, had one child who survived into adulthood, Abraham Maimonides , who became recognized as a great scholar. He succeeded Maimonides as Nagid and as court physician at the age of eighteen. Throughout his career, he defended his father's writings against all critics. The office of Nagid was held by the Maimonides family for four successive generations until

8165-421: The end of the golden age of Jewish culture in the Iberian Peninsula after the first centuries of Muslim rule. His father, Maimon ben Joseph , was a dayyan or rabbinic judge. Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen later wrote that he had traced Maimonides' descent back to Simeon ben Judah ha-Nasi from the Davidic line . His ancestry, going back four generations, is given in his Epistle to Yemen as Moses son of Maimon

8280-513: The end of the 14th century. A statue of Maimonides was erected near the Córdoba Synagogue . Maimonides is sometimes said to be a descendant of King David , although he never made such a claim. With Mishneh Torah , Maimonides composed a code of Jewish law with the widest-possible scope and depth. The work gathers all the binding laws from the Talmud , and incorporates the positions of

8395-407: The exiling of many others. Prague was forcibly converted back to Roman Catholicism followed by the rest of Czech lands. The city suffered subsequently during the war under an attack by Electorate of Saxony (1631) and during the Battle of Prague (1648) . Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000. In the second half of

8510-421: The four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město, and Hradčany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov , was included only in 1850. The Industrial Revolution produced great changes and developments in Prague, as new factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby regions. The first suburb, Karlín , was created in 1817, and twenty years later

8625-479: The history of Islamic and Arab sciences. Influenced by Aristotle , Al-Farabi , Ibn Sina , and his contemporary Ibn Rushd , he became a prominent philosopher and polymath in both the Jewish and Islamic worlds . Maimonides referred to himself as "Moses, son of Rabbi Maimon the Spaniard " ( Hebrew : משה ברבי מימון הספרדי ). In Medieval Hebrew, he was usually called ר״ם , short for "our Rabbi Moshe", but mostly he

8740-476: The human race (מבחר המין האנושי)', so that instead it read 'the excommunicated heretic (מוחרם ומין)'. But later, after the provocateurs had repented of their act, and praised this great man, a student repaired the gravestone to read 'choicest of the Israelites (מבחר המין הישראלי)'". Today, Tiberias hosts the Tomb of Maimonides , on which is inscribed "From Moses to Moses arose none like Moses." Maimonides and his wife,

8855-416: The insistence of Isserles). He was Rosh Yeshiva in Prague until 1561, when, by order of the emperor Ferdinand , the Jews were expelled from Bohemia . Yoffe then went to Venice and studied astronomy (1561–71). In 1572 he was elected rabbi of Grodno ; in 1588, rabbi of Lublin , where he became one of the leaders of the Council of Four Lands . Later Yoffe accepted the rabbinate of Kremenetz . In 1592 he

8970-419: The introduction, he gave the impression of wanting to "cut out" study of the Talmud, to arrive at a conclusion in Jewish law, although Maimonides later wrote that this was not his intent. His most forceful opponents were the rabbis of Provence (Southern France), and a running critique by Rabbi Abraham ben David (Raavad III) is printed in virtually all editions of Mishneh Torah . Nevertheless, Mishneh Torah

9085-465: The leadership he displayed during the ransoming of the Crusader captives led to this appointment. However he was replaced by Sar Shalom ben Moses in 1173. Over the controversial course of Sar Shalom's appointment, during which Sar Shalom was accused of tax farming , Maimonides excommunicated and fought with him for several years until Maimonides was appointed Nagid in 1195. A work known as "Megillat Zutta"

9200-643: The most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages . In his time, he was also a preeminent astronomer and physician , serving as the personal physician of Saladin . He was born and lived in Córdoba in al-Andalus (now in Spain) within the Almoravid Empire on Passover eve 1138 or 1135, until his family was expelled for refusing to convert to Islam. Later, he lived in Morocco and Egypt and worked as

9315-605: The most systematically thought-through and influential treatises on halakha (rabbinic law) and Jewish philosophy of the Middle Ages. In 1172–74, Maimonides wrote his famous Epistle to Yemen . It has been suggested that his "incessant travail" undermined his own health and brought about his death at 69 (although this is a normal lifespan). Maimonides died on 12 December 1204 (20th of Tevet 4965) in Fustat. A variety of medieval sources beginning with Al-Qifti maintain that his body

9430-561: The new converts had to wear identifying clothing that set them apart and made them subject to public scrutiny. Maimonides' family, along with many other Jews , chose exile. For the next ten years, Maimonides moved about in southern Spain and North Africa, eventually settling in Fez, Morocco . Some say that his teacher in Fez was Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Cohen Ibn Susan , until the latter was killed in 1165. During this time, he composed his acclaimed commentary on

9545-506: The opposite side of the river, as well as the Lesser Town beneath the existing castle, appeared only later. The English spelling of the city's name is borrowed from French . In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was pronounced in English to rhyme with "vague": it was so pronounced by Lady Diana Cooper (born 1892) on Desert Island Discs in 1969, and it is written to rhyme with "vague" in

9660-549: The original foundation stones of that bridge remain in the river. It was rebuilt and named the Charles Bridge. In 1257, under King Ottokar II , Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague on the site of an older village in what would become the Hradčany (Prague Castle) area. This was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg rights . The new district

9775-432: The patient's autonomy . Although he frequently wrote of his longing for solitude in order to come closer to God and to extend his reflections—elements considered essential in his philosophy to the prophetic experience—he gave over most of his time to caring for others. In a famous letter, Maimonides describes his daily routine. After visiting the Sultan's palace, he would arrive home exhausted and hungry, where "I would find

9890-482: The people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest Jan Želivský . Hus' death, coupled with Czech proto-nationalism and proto-Protestantism , had spurred the Hussite Wars . Peasant rebels, led by the general Jan Žižka , along with Hussite troops from Prague, defeated Emperor Sigismund , in the Battle of Vítkov Hill in 1420. During the Hussite Wars when Prague was attacked by "Crusader" and mercenary forces,

10005-530: The population exceeded 100,000. The revolutions in Europe in 1848 also touched Prague, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years, the Czech National Revival began its rise, until it gained the majority in the town council in 1861. Prague had a large number of German speakers in 1848, but by 1880 the number of German speakers had decreased to 14% (42,000), and by 1910 to 6.7% (37,000), due to

10120-649: The region of Bohemia, which means "home of the Boii people". In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes ( Marcomanni , Quadi , Lombards and possibly the Suebi ), leading some to place the seat of the Marcomanni king, Maroboduus , in Závist. Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map drawn by Roman geographer Ptolemaios mentioned

10235-480: The reign of his son, King Wenceslaus IV (1378–1419), a period of intense turmoil ensued. During Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that Jews had desecrated the host (Eucharistic wafer) and the clergy encouraged mobs to pillage, ransack and burn the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Prague (ca 750 people) was murdered. Jan Hus , a theologian and rector at Charles University, preached in Prague. In 1402, he began giving sermons in

10350-402: The required beliefs of Judaism: Maimonides is said to have compiled the principles from various Talmudic sources. These principles were controversial when first proposed, evoking criticism by Rabbis Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo , and were effectively ignored by much of the Jewish community for the next few centuries. However, these principles have become widely held and are considered to be

10465-433: The rising power of the craftsmen 's guilds (themselves often torn by internal conflicts), and the increasing number of poor. The Hunger Wall, a substantial fortification wall south of Malá Strana and the castle area was built during a famine in the 1360s. The work is reputed to have been ordered by Charles IV as a means of providing employment and food to the workers and their families. Charles IV died in 1378. During

10580-459: The river, the edge of which could have acted as a means of fording the river – thus providing a "threshold" to the castle. Another derivation of the name Praha is suggested from na prazě , the original term for the shale hillside rock upon which the original castle was built. At that time, the castle was surrounded by forests, covering the nine hills of the future city – the Old Town on

10695-461: The seventh, Simḥah ve-Sason , contains sermons for holidays and weddings. Rabbi Yoffe collectively termed the last three, "rabbinic robes," considering that these should be learned by "every student in that order – philosophy, astronomy, and Kabbalah." These are: the eighth, Pinnat Yikrat , is a commentary on Maimonides ' Guide of the Perplexed ; the ninth, Eder Yakar , is a commentary on the laws of

10810-594: The stars". She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site. The region became the seat of the dukes , and later kings of Bohemia . Under Duke of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious the area became a bishopric in 973. Until Prague was elevated to archbishopric in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Mainz . Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from across Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by

10925-619: The teachings of the Torah . In his Guide for the Perplexed , he often explains the function and purpose of the statutory provisions contained in the Torah against the backdrop of the historical conditions. The book was highly controversial in its day, and was banned by French rabbis, who burnt copies of the work in Montpellier . In his commentary on the Mishnah ( Tractate Sanhedrin , chapter 10), Maimonides formulates his "13 principles of faith"; and that these principles summarized what he viewed as

11040-509: The teachings of the great Islamic philosophers such as Avicenna and, above all, Al-Farabi , "the Second Master," the "First Master" being Aristotle . In his work devoted to the Treatise, Rémi Brague stresses the fact that Al-Farabi is the only philosopher mentioned therein. This indicates a line of conduct for the reader, who must read the text keeping in mind Al-Farabi's works on logic. In

11155-410: The years. Later codes of Jewish law, e.g. Arba'ah Turim by Rabbi Jacob ben Asher and Shulchan Aruch by Rabbi Yosef Karo , draw heavily on Mishneh Torah : both often quote whole sections verbatim. However, it met initially with much opposition. There were two main reasons for this opposition. First, Maimonides had refrained from adding references to his work for the sake of brevity; second, in

11270-443: Was omnipotent and indescribable. He said that science, the growth of scientific fields, and discovery of the unknown by comprehension of nature was a way to appreciate God. Maimonides taught about the developing of one's moral character . Although his life predated the modern concept of a personality , Maimonides believed that each person has an innate disposition along an ethical and emotional spectrum. Although one's disposition

11385-472: Was a true European capital with highly developed industry. By 1930, the population had risen to 850,000. Hitler ordered the German Army to enter Prague on 15 March 1939, and from Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate . For most of its history, Prague had been a multi-ethnic city with important Czech, German and (mostly native German-speaking) Jewish populations. From 1939, when

11500-403: Was an art lover as well, and Prague became the capital of European culture. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler , the painter Arcimboldo , the alchemists Edward Kelley and John Dee , the poet Elizabeth Jane Weston , and others. In 1618, the famous second defenestration of Prague provoked

11615-636: Was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austria-Hungary . The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations , the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era . Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions including Prague Castle , Charles Bridge , Old Town Square with

11730-485: Was appointed court physician to al-Qadi al-Fadil , the chief secretary to Sultan Saladin , then to Saladin himself; after whose death he remained a physician to the Ayyubid dynasty . In his medical writings, Maimonides described many conditions, including asthma , diabetes , hepatitis , and pneumonia , and he emphasized moderation and a healthy lifestyle. His treatises became influential for generations of physicians. He

11845-590: Was buried in Tiberias . His tomb in Tiberias is a popular pilgrimage and tourist site. He was posthumously acknowledged as one of the foremost rabbinic decisors and philosophers in Jewish history , and his copious work comprises a cornerstone of Jewish scholarship. His fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah still carries significant canonical authority as a codification of halakha . Aside from being revered by Jewish historians, Maimonides also figures very prominently in

11960-410: Was called as rabbi to Prague ; from 1599 until his death he occupied the position of chief rabbi of Posen . In addition to his Torah study, writing and teaching he was involved with communal needs, and attended the fairs at Yaroslav and Lublin , where community leaders and rabbis from large communities met to discuss matters of general interest. These meetings were the forerunners of the Council of

12075-454: Was interred near Lake Tiberias , though there is no contemporary evidence for his removal from Egypt. Gedaliah ibn Yahya records that "He was buried in the Upper Galilee with elegies upon his gravestone. In the time of [David] Kimhi , when the sons of Belial rose up to besmirch [Maimonides] . . . they did evil. They altered his gravestone, which previously had been inscribed 'choicest of

12190-485: Was knowledgeable about Greek and Arabic medicine, and followed the principles of humorism in the tradition of Galen . He did not blindly accept authority but used his own observation and experience. Julia Bess Frank indicates that Maimonides in his medical writings sought to interpret works of authorities so that they could become acceptable. Maimonides displayed in his interactions with patients attributes that today would be called intercultural awareness and respect for

12305-610: Was not the author at all, based on a report of two Arabic-language manuscripts, unavailable to Western investigators in Asia Minor. Rabbi Yosef Kafih maintained that it is by Maimonides and newly translated it to Hebrew (as Beiur M'lekhet HaHiggayon ) from the Judeo-Arabic. Through The Guide for the Perplexed and the philosophical introductions to sections of his commentaries on the Mishna, Maimonides exerted an important influence on

12420-544: Was on the bank opposite of the Staré Město ("Old Town"), which had borough status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications. Prague flourished during the 14th-century reign (1346–1378) of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the king of Bohemia of the new Luxembourg dynasty . As King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, he transformed Prague into an imperial capital. In the 1470s, Prague had around 70,000 inhabitants and with an area of 360 ha (~1.4 square miles) it

12535-448: Was recognized as a monumental contribution to the systemized writing of halakha . Throughout the centuries, it has been widely studied and its halakhic decisions have weighed heavily in later rulings. In response to those who would attempt to force followers of Maimonides and his Mishneh Torah to abide by the rulings of his own Shulchan Aruch or other later works, Rabbi Yosef Karo wrote: "Who would dare force communities who follow

12650-558: Was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz , citing Cyriacus Spangenberg , claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.  1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. Around the fifth and fourth century BC, a Celtic tribe appeared in the area, later establishing settlements, including the largest Celtic oppidum in Bohemia , Závist, in a present-day south suburb Zbraslav in Prague, and naming

12765-476: Was the deadliest mass murder in the history of the Czech Republic. Prague is situated on the Vltava river. The Berounka flows into the Vltava in the suburbs of Lahovice . There are 99 watercourses in Prague with a total length of 340 km (210 mi). The longest streams are Rokytka and Botič. There are 3 reservoirs, 37 ponds, and 34 retention reservoirs and dry polders in the city. The largest pond

12880-399: Was the result of a navigational mistake. In March, a deliberate raid targeted military factories in Prague, killing about 370 people. On 5 May 1945, two days before Germany capitulated, an uprising against Germany occurred. Several thousand Czechs were killed in four days of bloody street fighting, with many atrocities committed by both sides. At daybreak on 9 May, the 3rd Shock Army of

12995-563: Was the third-largest city in the Holy Roman Empire. Charles IV ordered the building of the New Town (Nové Město) adjacent to the Old Town and laid out the design himself. The Charles Bridge, replacing the Judith Bridge destroyed in the flood just prior to his reign, was erected to connect the east bank districts to the Malá Strana and castle area. In 1347, he founded Charles University ,

13110-515: Was translated into Latin, and published in Florence in 1477, becoming the first medical book to appear in print there. While his prescriptions may have become obsolete, "his ideas about preventive medicine, public hygiene, approach to the suffering patient, and the preservation of the health of the soul have not become obsolete." Maimonides wrote ten known medical works in Arabic that have been translated by

13225-482: Was written by Abraham ben Hillel , who writes a scathing description of Sar Shalom while praising Maimonides as "the light of east and west and unique master and marvel of the generation." With the loss of the family funds tied up in David's business venture, Maimonides assumed the vocation of physician, for which he was to become famous. He had trained in medicine in both Spain and in Fez. Gaining widespread recognition, he

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