'repetition of the Torah'), also known as Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה, 'book of the strong hand'), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (halakha) authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam).

Contemporary reaction was mixed, with a strong and immediate opposition which focused on the absence of sources and the belief that the work appeared to be intended to supersede study of the Talmud.

A number of laws appear to have no source in any of the works mentioned; it is thought that Maimonides deduced them through independent interpretations of the Bible or that they are based on versions of previous Talmudic texts no longer in our hands.

The Mishneh Torah virtually never cites sources or arguments, and confines itself to stating the final decision on the law to be followed in each situation.

There is no discussion of Talmudic interpretation or methodology, and the sequence of chapters follows the factual subject matter of the laws rather than the intellectual principle involved.

[7] The most sincere but influential opponent, whose comments are printed parallel to virtually all editions of the Mishneh Torah, was Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquières (Raavad III, France, 12th century).

This is boldly expressed in a letter to his student Rabbi Yoseph ben ha-rav Yehudah: And all that I've described to you regarding those who won't accept it [the Mishneh Torah] properly, that is uniquely in my generation.

He had not composed this work for glory; he desired only to supply the necessary, but lacking, code, for there was danger lest pupils, weary of the difficult study, might go astray in decisions of practical importance.

[9] Raavad was forced to acknowledge that the work of Maimonides was a magnificent contribution,[12] nor did he hesitate to praise him and approve his views in many passages, citing and commenting upon the sources.

Later works (e. g., Yosef Karo's Kesef Mishné) set out to find sources for Maimonides' decisions, and to resolve any disputes between him and the Raavad.

Various commentaries have been written which seek to supply the lacking source documentation, and, indeed, today, the Mishneh Torah is sometimes used as a sort of an index to aid in locating Talmudic passages.

In cases where Maimonides' sources, or interpretation thereof, is questionable, the lack of clarity has at times led to lengthy analyses and debates – quite the opposite of the brevity he sought to attain.

This necessarily relates to different subjects – like the influence of the exile, language skills, lack of time, censorship, and alternate versions of the Talmud.

In response to this Karo wrote: Who is he whose heart conspires to approach forcing congregations who practice according to the RaMBaM of blessed memory, to go by any one of the early or latter-day Torah authorities?!

And there is no issue here concerning the prohibition against having two courts in the same city [‘lo tithgodedu’], since every congregation should practice according to its original custom…The in-depth study of Mishneh Torah underwent a revival in Lithuanian Judaism in the late 19th century.

It is also a primary text referenced in understanding the Halakha as presented in the Arba'ah Turim and Shulchan Aruch; and Mishneh Torah is thus one of the first post-Talmudic sources consulted when investigating a question of Jewish law.

Today, thousands of Orthodox Jews, particularly Chabad Hasidim, participate in one of the annual study cycles of Mishneh Torah (one or three chapters a day), innovated by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in the spring of 1984.

A popular commentary, Rambam La'Am ('Rambam for the Nation'), was produced in 1971 by Rabbi Shmuel Tanchum Rubinstein [he] (published by Mossad Harav Kook).

[16][non-primary source needed] This 20 volume set is widely used in daily Rambam study, in the Israeli Chabad and Religious Zionist communities.

After Qafiḥ died, Rabbi Rasson Arusi has largely filled his place as the leading public representative of the Baladi and Rambamist communities.

Arusi and the organization Makhon Mishnath haRambam have published several books filled with commentary on various parts and aspects of the Mishneh Torah as well as topics related to the Yemenite Jewish community.

Scholars specializing in the study of the history and subculture of Judaism in premodern China (Sino-Judaica) have noted this work has surprising similarities with the liturgy of the Kaifeng Jews, descendants of Persian merchants who settled in the Middle Kingdom during the early Song dynasty.

[20] He also points out: There is no proof, to be sure, that Kaifeng Jewry ever had direct access to the works of "the Great Eagle", but it would have had ample time and opportunity to acquire or become acquainted with them well before its reservoir of Jewish learning began to run out.

In response to a letter from the Rabbis of Lunel, France requesting him to translate his Guide of the Perplexed from Arabic to Hebrew, Maimonides applauded their piety in light of what he viewed as the general stagnation of religiosity throughout the rest of the Jewish world.

"[23] Adam Schiff chose to take his Senate oath of office on a second edition (Soncino, 1490) of the Mishneh Torah in 2024, "in part because of his concerns about the state of the rule of law" and also because of "his nerdy interest in how old this volume is and how comprehensive it is".

[citation needed] The 1888 work Dat Vadin by Rabbi Moses Frankel, published in Odessa, is a Russian language summary of the Mishneh Torah.

This edition is available online on chabad.org [28] In November 2006 Mayer Alter Horowitz of the Boston Hasidic dynasty announced that The Nesher Hagodol Legacy Foundation had begun a translation "Perush HaMeir" elucidating and explaining the Mishneh Torah.