Commentary on the Mishnah: Prefatory Poem

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About This Entry

This Hebrew poem was composed by Maimonides to introduce his Judeo-Arabic commentary on the Mishnah. The closing words, “May Moses rejoice in his allotted portion,” are taken from the Sabbath morning prayer, where they refer to the biblical Moses, who rejoiced that God had made him His trusted servant. Here, Maimonides applies them to himself.

This book is composed about the Law of Moses,

clarifying its rules and its just law,

in accordance with the law that our elders transmitted,

its builders, who strengthened its construction.

It is the work of a weak man, young in years,

Moses, son of Maymūn, who cries out

to God, to straighten his path;

to make his yearning only for His Torah;

to make his portion be in the Mountain of Understanding;

to eat the Fruit of Wisdom as his only fare.

Then may he see God’s goodness, and then

may Moses rejoice in his allotted portion.