The Golden Path: Maimonides Across Eight Centuries

Among the intellectual luminaries dotting the millennia of Jewish history, none shines brighter than Maimonides (1138-1204). He was a rabbi, jurist, Talmudist, philosopher, physician, astronomer, and communal leader, and produced a myriad of writings on halakhah, theology, medicine, and philosophy that have attained near-canonical status. We have more source material from or about Maimonides than possibly any other Jewish figure in the medieval period, and more has been written about him than perhaps any other Jew in history. Epithets like the ‘Great Eagle’ and the ‘Western Light’ – and the glorifying statement ‘From Moses to Moses, none arose like Moses’ – reflect centuries of authority, influence, and fascination. The Golden Path traces the impact and reception of Maimonides and his thought through a study of materiality, specifically the production and dissemination of textual objects. It consists of two sections: a descriptive catalogue of an exceptional private collection of manuscripts and rare books; and essays from leading scholars on aspects of Maimonides's cultural context, influence, and appropriation through disparate eras and geopolitical spheres. Combining intellectual, reception, and book historical research, the heavily illustrated volume explores his effects in assorted social and political circumstances, across diverse intellectual and cultural environments.

About the Author :
David Sclar is a historian and educator based in New York.

Review :
‘This splendid book recreates the life and thought of Moses Maimonides, the greatest of Jewish scholars and thinkers, and the work of the scribes, printers, and interpreters who copied, studied, and sometimes argued with his works over the centuries. Vivid images and lively essays weave a rich tapestry of Jewish art and scholarship, philosophy and theology, across borders and over time.’ Anthony Grafton, Princeton University ‘The joy of a collector meets the erudition of the scholar in this magisterial volume. Although much is gained when texts are made digital, much is also lost – not least the tangibility of the manuscripts and books that carried the thought of the great Maimonides across time and space. This volume, in doing justice to a magnificent collection and a landmark exhibition of exceptional objects, makes an important contribution to the history of the Jewish book and our understanding of the enduring impact of Maimonides.’ Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Professor Emerita at New York University, and Chief Curator of the Core Exhibition at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw ‘The Golden Path should be the property of every curious reader and researcher wishing to engage with an integrated concept of Maimonides. The renewed meeting with Maimonides offers readers an abundance of knowledge and food for thought through a rare combination of unique objects and innovative research. The exhibition presents the best of the world’s collections, while the scholarly studies indicate the breadth of Maimonides’s influence on intellectual fields across many centuries.’ Professor Menahem Ben-Sasson, Department of the History of the Jewish People and Chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem ‘The Golden Path is an impressive and important contribution to scholarship as well as a useful way for a nonspecialist to study the history of Maimonides’ texts.’ Adam Shear, Religious Studies Review