[Avodah] Rambam/Support

[david guttmann]

RJR wrote:

>Let's assume for now that  the Rambam learned full time and only went to
work for Parnassah after his brother died (we need not get into whether this
was Yissachar/Zevulun according to R' Moshe or "Tzedakah"), why did he
choose medicine which seems to have led him to spend much less time on Limud
torah then he might have spent had he  worked for parnassah at another
profession?

Besides the fact that I disagree with the Tradition article on several
grounds which I plan to write about, people miss that to Rambam Chochma was
part of Torah not like the Gra's understanding that it was needed to help
understanding Torah but as part of the mitzvah of Yediat Hashem which to him
was the goal for all Mitzvot including Limud Hatorah. Medicine he learned as
part of that Chochma apparently while still in Spain and north Africa. At
the end of his Pirush Hamishna he alludes to the fact that he learned other
Chochmot while wandering and he was just thirty.

I want to make a short point about the article from an historical point. The
author argues that Rambam's comment on Kardom Lachpor was a reaction to the
Egyptian charity of his days. Rambam finished the Pirush soon after arriving
in Egypt as he says in his ending remarks and it is not very likely that he
wrote that comment later and added it. He seems to have written his Pirush
following the order of the Mishna and Avot would probably have been written
much before his arrival.

I also do not think the difficulties presented by the author are so
difficult to resolve through simple logical analysis - but that is not as
easy as just writing a comment here.



David Guttmann
 
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