Samuel Dodson

Even though there are only 16 Jewish families in Cordoba, the Jewish history is so significant here that there is a museum dedicated to that story. RAMBAM, or Maimonides, is a big part of the exhibition, but there is a lot to the story of the Golden Age of Jewish People in Western Europe in the Middle Ages. The Jews were so successful that they almost ruled the country. A famous Jew born in Cordoba became the main vizier of the king and general of the Spanish Army of the Berber kings based in Granada. It is considered to be the only time between the ancient kingdom of Israel and the modern state of Israel that the Jews have been in control of an army. In fact, the country was a Jewish state in all but name due to the influence of the Jews in the royal court.

The Jews invented a way of using gold mixed with silver to embroider garments which gave them a form of opulence which made whoever wore them look stunning as the light glinted off their clothes. The kings wore these clothes but so did the affluent Jews.

The Jewish success led to hatred both in Granada and Cordoba and there was a massacres in the fourteenth century which led many Jews to flee.

There was also an exhibition in the museum commemorating all the Muslim families in Europe who saved Jewish families during the Hitler’s holocaust in World War Two. There were some amazing stories of bravery and courage under threat of death to save their Jewish cousins.

The Umayyad Caliphate which ruled medieval Spain at the time of Maimonides’ birth was very supportive of the arts, culture, science, religion, architecture, philosophy and learning. They were quite different from Catholic rulers in that respect. They were tolerant of Jews, Muslims and Christians. This is to be contrasted with the Catholic monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella who expelled unconverted Jews and Muslims the minute they took Granada in 1492.

It was into this tolerant and advanced culture of the Umayyads that Memonides was born and was able to become a learned and respected man. At least for a few decades until things turned sour for the Jews when a less supportive Caliphate took over and RAMBAM fled to North Africa and then Cairo where he joined the large Jewish population there. It was in Cairo that he wrote the Mishnah, simply a work of genius, over ten years. It is for this work that he is best known by the Jews. For non-Jews his works if Philosophy and his work in medicine, science and astronomy that he is best known. He was also a student of Aristotle and he wrote extensively on the famous Athenian philosopher and his arguments and logic.
In the area of philosophy, his work entitled ‘A Guide for the Perplexed, analyses the apparent tension between faith and reason, between religion and rationality. He argued the truth should be our goal and he acknowledged that the challenges around faith and reason can be perplexing and requires careful thoughtful searching for truth.Read more