The Golden Path

The story of Maimonides and his legacy crosses centuries, continents, and cultures. Exploring the life and impact of this multifaceted luminary and great Jewish sage, this exhibition presented rare manuscripts and books on loan from famed repositories in Europe, Israel, and the US. Exhibition highlights included manuscripts in Maimonides’s own handwriting, a carved 11th century door to the Torah ark from Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue, and beautifully illuminated medieval manuscripts.

This exhibition and publication was made possible through the generous support of Robert and Debra F. Hartman. Major support has been provided by the Leon Levy Foundation and a private family foundation. Generous support was provided by the David Berg Foundation and the Maimonides Fund. Additional donors to support this exhibition project included the Zoltan Erenyi Charitable Fund Jack z’l and Judy Rajchenbach, Mark and Shari Coe, and The American-Scandinavian Foundation.

More About the Exhibition

The Golden Path tracked Maimonides and his thought through a study of materiality. It focused on visual material, such as depictions of Maimonides, and on manuscripts and rare printed books from collections around the world, exploring specific items within their varied historical, cultural, and Maimonidean contexts. The exhibition was organized by guest curator David Sclar and was complemented by a fully illustrated catalogue co-published by Liverpool University Press.  It explores Maimonides’ authority and impact as well as the Mediterranean and Islamic contexts in which he lived. The catalogue includes essays by world-class scholars from institutions such as Princeton University, Bar-Ilan University, Ben Gurion University, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Amsterdam, the University of Haifa, the University of Oxford, and Yeshiva University. 

Particularly exciting pieces included: 

• A beautifully carved 11th century panel from a door to the Torah Ark in Cairo’s Ben Ezra Synagogue, which was known to Maimonides himself. This panel is co-owned by YUM and by the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. 
• A manuscript written by Isaac Newton, on loan from the National Library of Israel, in which he cites Maimonides’ Laws of the New Moon in his proposal for reform of the Julian calendar. 
• Fragments from the Cairo Genizah on loan from the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, including one fragment with Maimonides’ signature and others in his hand. 
• A signed manuscript of the Mishneh Torah that was personally approved by Maimonides in a statement written in his own hand. This volume will be on loan from the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. 
• A volume of Maimonides’ commentary on the Mishnah. This volume, with notes by the sage himself, includes a well-known sketch of the Temple Menorah, which has in recent decades become the model for menorahs used in public Hanukkah celebrations across the world. This manuscript is also on loan from the Bodleian Libraries
• An illuminated manuscript of the monumental philosophical treatise Moreh Nevukhim, or Guide of the Perplexed, on loan from The Royal Library in Copenhagen. The manuscript was completed in Catalonia in 1348 and is considered one of the finest examples of the illumination traditions of that time and place. 

Select Artifacts

Arthur Szyk, Maimonides, New Canaan,1950, Watercolor and gouache on paper
Collection of Yeshiva University Museum, gift of Louis Werner

Arthur Szyk used vibrant colors and references to traditional Medieval manuscripts to create this vivid portrait of Maimonides in 1950. The Hebrew text appearing under Maimonides’s arm is a quote from his famed opus the Mishneh Torah and cites Psalm 16:5, “The Lord is my allotted share and portion; You control my fate.

Commentary on the Mishnah, Egypt, after 1168
Author: By Moses Maimonides
The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, MS. Pococke 295
 

This volume contains notes in Maimonides’s own hand in the margins and a beautiful sketch of the Temple Menorah, which may have been drawn by Maimonides himself. This image in recent decades became a model for menorahs used in public Hanukkah celebrations across the world.

Mishneh Torah, Egypt, 1170–1180
Author: By Moses Maimonides
The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, MS. Huntington 80 
 

This manuscript contains Maimonides’s signature, certifying the text’s correctness, which was known as an ijaza (authorization) – a common Islamic practice to ensure authenticity. His signature can be clearly seen at the bottom of the page. In the 12th century, this volume was bequeathed to the local rabbinic tribunal to be held as a model for the correction of other manuscripts of the Mishneh Torah.

Mishneh Torah, Printed by Gershom Moses Soncino, Soncino (Italy), 1490
Author: By Moses Maimonides
Hartman Family Collection
photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama

This Maimonides text was among the first to be produced using the new printing technology in the 15th century in Italy.

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Sefer ha-Mitsvot (Book of the Commandments), Yemen, 1492
Author: By Moses Maimonides
Hartman Family Collection
Photograph by Ardon Bar-Hama

Jews in Yemen faithfully followed Maimonides's teachings. This text is Maimonides’s rendering of the 613 commandments contained within the Torah.  This manuscript, written in the original Judeo-Arabic, includes a chart in red and green ink in which the scribe listed what he regarded as the most pertinent commandments, such as devotion to God, observance of Sabbath and festivals, and dietary laws.“

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Panel from a Torah Ark Door, Egypt, 11th century, with later carving and paint
The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (funds provided by the W. Alton Jones Foundation Acquisition Fund, 2000) and Yeshiva University Museum (funds provided by the Jesselson Foundation)
Photo: Susan Tobin

This panel comes from the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Fustat (modern-day Cairo), where Maimonides resided from about 1168 until his death in 1204.  As a rabbinic and communal leader, Maimonides likely had occasion to visit the Ben Ezra Synagogue.

Inscription: "Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord" (Psalm 118:19)

Lithograph, Warsaw, ca. 1879. Courtesy of Moreshet Auction House.

Ben Shahn, mosaic mural. William E. Grady CTE H.S., Brooklyn, 1957. Photo by: John Nelle.

Blasio Ugolino, Thesaurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum, Venice, 1744. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.  

Unknown Artist, Maimonides, 21st Century. Hartman Family Collection.

A. R. Oleosa, Statue of Maimonides, Córdoba, dedicated in 1985. Photo © Ken Welsh. All rights reserved 2023 / Bridgeman Images.