Intro to Rambam system part 1

I have this posting here for comments. Due to its centrality it is also permanently posted at the bottom of the site.

Why Rambam?

Todays Torah world sees a proliferation of texts, perhaps greater than that of any other time in history. Alongside this proliferation however we find a tremendous dilution in clarity of purpose. Unlike the ancients whose focus was on the end intended by their projects, we rarely find anyone asking themselves today- what is the end of our Torah study?

The reason for this, in large measure, is the very proliferation of texts itself. It is so easy to get lost in the sea of arguments and counter arguments about isolated topics that one can forget to ask- what subject are these topics that we arguing about instrumental to? What principles are these arguments founded upon? Are these arguments bringing us any closer to what our Soul really needs - true appreciation for the underlying unified Mada of the Creator that allows us to have love (ahavaso) and awe (yiraso) of Him?

If we consider this most fundamental question- we understand why Rambam is the only possible path. Mi-Moshe ad Moshe lo kam ki-Moshe. In his introduction to the Mishne Torah Rambam not only identifies the dead end we have enslaved ourselves in, he points to the method that leads to redemption.
We must order ourselves to a unified educational curriculum of the premier Baal ha-mesorah who understands our problem.

In our times, severe troubles come one after another, and all are in distress; the wisdom of our Torah scholars has disappeared, and the understanding of our discerning men is hidden. Thus, the commentaries, the responses to questions, and the settled laws that the Geonim wrote, which had once seemed clear, have in our times become hard to understand, so that only a few properly understand them. And one hardly needs to mention the Talmud itself--the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, the Sifra, the Sifre, and the Toseftot--which all require a broad mind, a wise soul, and considerable study, before one can correctly know from them what is forbidden or permitted and the other rules of the Torah.

41 For this reason, I, Moshe son of the Rav Maimon the Sephardi, found that the current situation is unbearable; and so, relying on the help of the Rock blessed be He, I intently studied all these books, for I saw fit to write what can be determined from all of these works in regard to what is forbidden and permitted, and unclean and clean, and the other rules of the Torah: Everything in clear language and terse style, so that the whole Oral Law would become thoroughly known to all; without bringing problems and solutions or differences of view, but rather clear, convincing, and correct statements, in accordance with the legal rules drawn from all of these works and commentaries that have appeared from the time of Our Holy Teacher to the present.

42 This is so that all the rules should be accessible to the small and to the great in the rules of each and every commandment and the rules of the legislations of the Torah scholars and prophets: in short, so that a person should need no other work in the World in the rules of any of the laws of Israel; but that this work might collect the entire Oral Law, including the positive legislations, the customs, and the negative legislations enacted from the time of Moshe Our Teacher until the writing of the Talmud, as the Geonim interpreted it for us in all of the works of commentary they wrote after the Talmud. Thus, I have called this work the [Complete] Restatement of the [Oral] Law (Mishneh Torah), for a person reads the Written Law first and then reads this work, and knows from it the entire Oral Law, without needing to read any other book between them.

43 I have seen fit to divide this work into groups of the laws according to topics, and I divide the groups into chapters dealing with one topic; each chapter I divide into paragraphs, so that they may be learned by heart.

44 Among the groups in the various topics, some groups include the detailed laws of a single Biblical commandment, when the commandment comes with many oral traditions that make up a single topic; and other groups include the detailed laws of many Biblical commandments, when all the commandments are on one topic: For the organization of this work is according to topics, and is not according to the counting of commandments, as will be clear to one who reads it.

Over the years the Rambam himself has become somewhat remote from us. While Rambam saw the confusion in Torah Shebaal peh, he clearly presupposed a living tradition of reading Torah Shebictav ordered to understanding Mitzvos. This tradition was founded upon a grammatical/ logical method. In our day this tradition has become confused as well. There is very little effort put into understanding Torah shebichtav as a source material for Mitzvos at all, let alone based upon a coherent grammatical/logical method. Fortunately great masters have stepped in to fill this breach. Ralbag wrote an entire peyrush la-torah dedicated to showing the way to finding Mitzvos in torah shebichtav. Ramchal wrote excellent works on the logical method and grammatical approach needed to unravel the principles underlying these texts.

What remains for us as a community is to gain facility in these tools of the Soul provided us by the ancient masters to attain the end articulated by Rambam

so that all the rules should be accessible to the small and to the great in the rules of each and every commandment and the rules of the legislations of the Torah scholars and prophets: in short, so that a person should need no other work in the World in the rules of any of the laws of Israel; but that this work might collect the entire Oral Law.

Such a systematic apprehension of Torah could indeed give our soul what it yearns for- an appreciation of Chochmaso that allows us Ahavaso and Yiraso