Maimonides and his critics engage in a halakhic discussion in this Steinsaltz edition

The 2025 bilingual edition of The Steinsaltz Mishne Torah: Sefer Hamadda and Sefer Ahava by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, published by Koren Publishers, is a remarkable achievement. The impressive book contains more than 1,100 pages. It is the first volume of the projected series that will continue with the remaining books of Maimonides’ highly acclaimed Mishne Torah. Maimonides is also called Rambam.

The volume contains Maimonides’ Introduction to Mishne Torah, Sefer Hamadda and Sefer Ahava, in Hebrew and English, with Ravad’s glosses on Maimonides’ text. The mystic Ravad gives his opinions on the rationalist Maimonides’ views. The book also presents the ideas of early and later significant authorities, with the Hebrew in the volume fully vocalized to enhance reading, clear English translations with added explanations to enhance clarity, color pictures, and illustrations to bring Maimonides’ text to life and enhance understanding.

Maimonides, who was born in 1138, composed the Mishne Torah over 10 years between 1170 and 1180 CE. He began the legal code at age 33, after completing his Commentary on the Mishnah in 1168. The initial text was finished around 1178–1180 CE. He edited and refined the manuscript until he died in 1204.

Ravad is the Hebrew acronym for Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (c. 1125–1198), a preeminent Provençal rabbi, talmudic scholar, and legal authority. He is best known for writing the Hasagot (critical glosses), his fierce commentary objecting to the works of his contemporary, Maimonides, many of which are included in this volume.

His major critiques were: Maimonides wrote the Mishne Torah as a definitive code of law, but omitted the names of the sages, the source texts, and the conflicting opinions. Ravad argued that omitting sources forced readers to rely unthinkingly on Maimonides’ personal judgment, and they could not see the evolution of the law or the Talmud’s statements to verify whether a ruling was correct. Ravad disliked Maimonides’s view that people could read the Written Torah and his code, thereby completely bypassing all other intermediate books of the Oral Law. (Ravad ignored the fact that no code of law is composed as he thinks it should be.)

Sefer Hamadda and Sefer Ahava are the first two volumes of the 14-book code Mishne Torah. Sefer Hamadda means The Book of Knowledge. It contains the theological, philosophical, and ethical foundation of the legal code. It has the basic Jewish principles and what Jews should know to understand Jewish practice. Among much else, it discusses the unity of God, the prohibition of idolatry, proper character traits, Torah study, and the laws of repentance (Teshuvah).

Sefer Ahava means The Book of Love. It is the legal guide to the daily practices that express a person’s love for God. It contains rules governing daily prayers, the recital of the Shema, and the physical ritual objects a person wears or places in their home, such as Tefillin, Tzitzits, and Mezuzahs.

 The subjects in these two books are among the most frequently studied sections of Rambam’s code. However, they are also among the most difficult because of their philosophical density and compressed Hebrew. This edition succeeds admirably in opening the text to a broad readership without diluting its sophistication.

The integration of Ravad’s glosses is impressive. Many books isolate Ravad’s critical comments from the main text, forcing readers to shuttle back and forth between columns or footnotes. Here, the glosses are seamlessly incorporated, allowing readers to witness the classic dialogue between Rambam and one of his fiercest medieval critics. The result is a dynamic process of halakhic debate.

This volume includes 81 pages of summaries of the laws in the Mishne Torah, providing a superb review and helping readers understand them. There are 11 pages listing authors and books mentioned in the book. There is also an additional section titled “From the Lubavitcher Rebbe” that sheds additional light on Maimonides’ writings and thinking by revealing their spiritual depth and intellectual profundity. During my encounters with the Rebbe, both face-to-face and in letters, when I told him that I am a follower of Maimonides, he told me that he is also a follower of Maimonides.  While the two of us may not agree on how to interpret all of the brilliant philosopher Maimonides, we certainly, and all people certainly, can and should learn much from him.

The incorporation of the views of major early and later authorities broadens the reader’s understanding of how Rambam’s rulings were interpreted, challenged, and applied over centuries of Jewish legal discourse. These notes, like Ravad’s comments, create the feeling of sitting in a learned study hall where generations of scholars participate in a shared conversation.

The influence of Rabbi Steinsaltz’s vision is unmistakable. Readers like me who are familiar with his editions of the Talmud, which I studied for several years, will recognize the same commitment to making classical Jewish texts intellectually accessible not only to mystics like him but also to rationalists like me. He is clear, offers very sensible explanations, draws on modern scholarship, and is willing to provide historical and conceptual background that traditional editions frequently omit.

The book is beautifully produced. The hardcover binding, elegant page design, and durable paper give the work the dignity appropriate to a foundational Jewish text. Koren and the Steinsaltz team have produced one of the finest modern editions of the Mishne Torah available today. It is not merely a translation or commentary; it is an invitation into the intellectual universe of Rambam. There is no better place to go.

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Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin is a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps and is the author of 67 books.