Jewish Heritage Trip to Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar Blog

Today, we drove from Granada to Cordoba. Perhaps the three most famous Jews who lived in Cordoba were Chasdai ibn Shaprut, Yehuda Ha'Levi, and the Rambam, an acronym for Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, commonly called Maimonides.

Yehuda HaLevi is remembered in part for his poetry, much of which has entered the liturgy. One of his most famous poems is called, "Libi B'Mizrach - My heart is in the East."

Before we entered the Jewish Quarter, we were given a tour of the Mezquita, once the great Mosque of Cordoba, now an impressive Christian Cathedral. In its best of times, Cordoba represented a triangular relationship of mutual respect and shared dialogue between the Christian, Moslem and Jewish faiths. Maimonides was known to spend time interacting in the Mezquita. Once a 40,000 library of diverse religious texts was held there.

Maimonides was respected by his neighboring faith groups. He wrote the Guide to the Perplexed, the Mishneh Torah - a codification of the Talmud, a commentary on the Mishnah, a list of thirteen principles of Jewish faith, and much more. The Yigdal we recite in our liturgy is a poetic reformulation of his thirteen principles. While some found his codification of the Talmud to be controversial; over the ages, Maimonides would be regarded as one of the greatest rabbinic luminaries. In modern times. Schools, hospitals, and more have been named in his memory.

Maimonides lived only his childhood and teenage years in Cordoba. A famous statue depicts a much older and scholarly version of the man. A small synagogue adjacent to the statue, in which we prayed and sang Yigdal, is attributed to Maimonides. Around the local square are the Maimonides hotel, the Maimonides jewelry store, and more.

For me personally, the day was meaningful on many levels. As a child, I attended the Maimonides Day School in Brookline, Mass. In the afternoon, I met a U.S. Jewish tour group, which included my sister in law's cousin, a rabbi in Massachusetts. We had last seen each other at my nephew's Bar Mitzvah a few years ago.

Another great day. Tomorrow,  we leave to spend Shabbat in Gibraltar.

Rabbi Morrison standing in front of the Maimonides statue

The front of the sanctuary in the Maimonides synagogue

Maimonides Plaza

An evening of flamenco dancing in Granada