Moses Maimonides (1138–1204) is arguably the most impactful Jewish thinker ever to have lived. He was born in Islamic Spain, and after many years of wandering settled in Egypt. He lived a remarkable life spanning continents, cultures, and intellectual worlds. A philosopher and legal scholar, he composed a vast corpus of fascinating and challenging works, even as he worked day and night both as a physician to the royal court, and as the social and political leader of the Jewish community. His writings transformed Jewish philosophy and law, provoked fierce controversy, and inspired generations of thinkers. In this lecture, we will journey through Maimonides’ life and world, and encounter one of the most extraordinary and daring Jewish thinkers of all time.

About the facilitator

Raphael Dascalu

Founder and facilitator

Raphael Dascalu is a Melbourne-based researcher and translator. Born and raised in Sydney, he completed his MA at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, his PhD at the University of Chicago, and studied in a number of institutions of Jewish learning, including Yeshivat ha-Kibbutz ha-Dati (Ein Tzurim), the Pardes Institute, and the Shalom Hartman Institute. He is a Senior Research Fellow at Notre Dame University Australia, an Adjunct Research Associate at Monash University, and a student of the mysteries of the cosmos.