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The Physician Vs. the Halakhic Man: Theory and Practice in Maimonides’s Attitude Towards Treating Gentiles

The Physician Vs. the Halakhic Man: Theory and Practice in Maimonides’s Attitude Towards Treating Gentiles

By Abraham Ofir Shemesh

Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, Volume 17, Issue 49, 2018

Maimonides teaching students from a 14th century manuscript

Abstract: Ancient Jewish law took a strict approach to medical relationships between Jews and non-Jews. Sages forbade Jews to provide non-Jews with medical services: to treat them, circumcise them, or deliver their babies, in order to refrain from helping pagan-idolatrous society. Such law created particularly severe social conflicts in cases of mixed societies based on joint systems.

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The current paper focuses on the attitude of Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1138-1204), a medieval Sephardic Jewish Rabbi towards providing medical service to gentiles. Following the classical rabbis R. Moshe ben Maimon in his halakhic tome Mishne Torah, objected to treating non-Jews. His rigid attitude found expression in several aspects of helping and giving medical treatment to non-Jews. Despite the classical rabbinical restrictions on medical relationships between Jews and non-Jews, and his own rigid halakhic verdicts, Maimonides treated gentiles. According to one understanding, Maimonides cured Muslims for a wage, which is permitted.


However, it seems that the main factor that may have facilitated Maimonides halakhic position is the identification of Islam as a non-idolatrous faith. Interestingly not only on medical issues did the Maimonides act differently than his halakhic rulings in Mishne Torah, rather in other areas as well.

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Click here to read this article from the Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies

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