Why ‘Gosinnomore’? Part 2 – Inspiration from a Jewish Intellectual
Born in AD 1135, Moses Maimonides or Moses Ben Maimon, also called Rambam, is considered one of the foremost intellectual figures of medieval Judaism. He was a Jewish philosopher, jurist as well as the personal physician of Sultan Saladin of Egypt, the famous Muslim military leader. He was also a prolific researcher and writer of the Jewish faith.
In AD 1178, at the age of forty-three, Maimonides published his greatest achievement, the Mishne Torah (‘The Torah Reviewed’) in which he systematically detailed out all the Jewish laws and doctrines as found in the Torah (the first five books of Moses).
The Mishne Torah provided a framework of understanding these laws within the first five books of the Bible.
There are laws relating to the treatment of Gentiles, laws on treatment of the poor, dietary laws, laws guiding the Jews on doing businesses as well as those relating to the handling of properties. There are even laws dealing with injuries and damages, criminals, as well as punishments. And readers might be keen to note that there is even one relating to the issue of leprosy and quarantines. Since the works of Maimonides, other Jewish scholars had categorized his findings into a more meaningful arrangement.
Today, almost a thousand years on, Maimonides is still recognized as a pillar of the Jewish faith, and his creed has become part of the orthodox liturgy. On a Jewish prayer shawl worn by traditional Jews, for example, you will find knots and strings called Tzitzit on each corner and these represent the 613 commandments found in the Torah and ‘discovered’ by Maimonides.
Maimonides had given us a structure. By systematically rearranging these laws which are scattered within the five books of Moses, he had made it easier for Jews to understand the Mosaic Covenant.
The question that we asked ourselves is – “Could we do the same for the New Testament? Will it be useful to provide clarity across the New Testament to Christians relating to doctrines, behaviors, and sins?”
With the benefits of computer technology and the internet, could we also build collaboration across the oceans for greater results?
The www.gosinnomore.com takes its inspiration from Maimonides. In addition, other than to identify these doctrines, behaviors, and sins, we have categorized and numbered them for easy reference.
We hope that you will get to enjoy the content as much as we have in creating them.