Maimonides Medical Writing, Volume 2: Maimonides' Commentary on the Aphorisms of Hippocrates by Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Moses Maimonides) Translated by Fred Rosner Maimonides Research Instritute, (1987)

Reviewed by Israel Drazin - April 1, 2010

This well-written volume focuses on Maimonides' Commentary on the Aphorisms of the great ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (about 460 BCE to about 370 BCE) who was the father of medicine and whose views, modified somewhat by Galen (second century CE), was followed by doctors for a millennium and a half as gospel/tradition. Maimonides' evaluation of the teachings of Hippocrates is very significant because it serves as an example of his general approach to life and to religion in general and Judaism in particular. Hippocrates was considered to be the authority on medicine and yet Maimonides had no qualms about investigating his claims and disagreeing with them. He did this with Jewish traditions as well.

Maimonides taught that people who want to learn the truth should not depend on the teaching of another – no matter how authoritative that person is considered to be in the community or in history – or even on a long-standing tradition of a large group of people, no matter how sacrosanct that tradition is. One must evaluate the tradition and determine whether it is logical and conforms to what one observes of the world.

• Maimonides' Medical Writings, Volume 4, by Moses Maimonides.
  Maimonides' Medical writings constitute a vivid exposition of the spiritual and ethical teachings of the Torah. This volume contains three treatises on health.
  
  
• Abraham Maimonides' Wars of the Lord and the Maimonidean Controversy, by Abraham Maimonides.
  This book was written by Abraham Maimonides, in defense of his father, Moses Maimonides. Beyond the clarity of the response per se and its reflection of the personality of Rabbi Abraham, the book serves as a guidepost for every individual in his fulfillment of daily mitzvot as well as in his development of the moral and ethical personality, leading to human perfection.