UC s Judaic Studies Offers Lichter Lecture Series on Maimonides, Medicine and Ethics

Each year, the Lichter Lecture Series focuses on a critical theme. This year’s lecture series focuses on Moses ben Maimon or Maimonides (1138–1204) — also known by the Hebrew acronym “Rambam.” The three lectures, on consecutive Monday nights, feature internationally renowned Maimonides scholars. Trained as a rabbi and physician, Maimonides, arguably one of the two or three most important Jewish philosophers of the medieval period, lived during the twilight of Spain’s golden age of Jewish culture.

“

Maimonides and Moral Ethics

” will be presented by Menachem Kellner, PhD, professor of Jewish Thought at University of Haifa, Monday, Oct. 16, at the

Stratford Heights Community Center.

“Medical Questions in Maimonides’ Writings” will be presented by Fred Rosner, MD,  professor of medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, on Monday, Oct. 23, at Raymond Walters College in Blue Ash.

“

Jewish Medical Ethics Through the Eyes of Maimonides”

will be presented by Edward Reichman, MD, associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, on Monday, Oct. 30, at the

Stratford Heights Community Center.

For each event, a reception starts at 6 p.m. with the lecture at 7 p.m.

All the lectures are free and open to the public . The reception will be observant of Kosher dietary law. To RSVP, call 513-556-2297.

About Maimonides
Born in Cordoba, Spain, Maimonides received a traditional Jewish education under the tutelage of his father. Following the Almohadean conquest of Spain in 1148, his family went into exile and eventually settled in Fez, Morocco. There Maimonides acquired a secular education at the University of Fez, which included studies in philosophy, science and medicine. In this period, he wrote his acclaimed commentary on the Mishnah (Repetition), one of rabbinic Judaism’s most significant homiletic texts.

Maimonides next lived in Palestine, where he spent considerable time in Acre and Jerusalem. He finally settled in Fostat, Egypt (near Cairo), and rose to become court physician to the Grand Vizier Alfadhil and the Sultan Saladin. In Egypt, Maimonides produced most of his life's work, including the Mishneh Torah (Repetition of the Law) and Guide for the Perplexed, which harmonized and distinguished between traditional Jewish beliefs and Aristotelian philosophical thought. Though strenuously criticized in his own lifetime by a variety of rabbinic opponents, Maimonides was posthumously recognized as a pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and a towering rabbinic authority. He died in Fostat and was buried in Tiberias, one of the Jewish "Four Holy Cities" in Israel.

Department of Judaic Studies
McMicken College of Arts and Sciences
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati OH 45221-0169
513-556-9116
Judaic.Studies@uc.edu

The Lichter Lectures in Judaic Studies are made possible by the Jacob and Jennie L. Lichter Fund of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

About the Department of Judaic Studies