walks the earth across the centuries with thousands eager to pay him
the tribute of their love and admiration.

The octocentennial of his birth and the 750th anniversary of his
death were observed by the Jews of the world with the devotion and
dignity befitting his commanding figure. In Israel a Maimonides Year
was proclaimed on the anniversary of his death, and wherever Jews
lived it served as an occasion for contemplating his life and dissem-
inating his teachings.

England was a fertile field of the modern Maimonides revival. The
signal was given in 1881 by Michael Friedländer English translation
of The Guide for the Perplexed from the original Arabic. Since then,
culminating in the Maimonides Anniversary, any number of learned
tomes, popular biographies, scholarly monographs, and commemo-
rative volumes appeared, covering almost every phase of Maimonides'
philosophical, theological, juridical, scientific, and literary activity.

The Jews of the United States have more than kept pace with their
English coreligionists in their dedication to the "Great Eagle" and the
dissemination of his teachings. Besides impressive cultural meetings,
the Maimonides Anniversary was marked by the more enduring
tribute of a number of literary and scientific contributions not un-
worthy of the great Sage and Teacher.

This volume is the result and outgrowth of a long-time dedication
to the work and personality of the man almost universally regarded
as the greatest of Jews since Bible times. On the occasion of the 750th
anniversary of Maimonides' death, this writer published a number
of articles. They were intended, as well as one could in a popular
publication, to present the general features of the life and work of
the man who, loved and admired by his contemporaries, continues to
cast the light of his genius upon our time. These articles are greatly
amplified, gaps filled, new material introduced, and, wherever pos-
sible, Maimonides is made to speak for himself.

Based on scattered passages throughout his writings, the reader will
find in the second part of the book a carefully arranged selection of
Maimonides' religious, philosophical, and ethical teachings. Since this
book is primarily designed for the general reader rather than for the
specialized scholar, technical discussions, which only too often obscure
rather than clarify a subject, were purposely omitted. Students who
wish to pursue the subject further will find ample material in the
accompanying Bibliography.

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