Mishne Tora. Code of Maimonides. Book of Judges

"Judge" - Fourteenth book Mishneh Torah, Rambam final Halachic code. The book is devoted to the foundations of the legal system to ensure, on the one hand, the continuous development of Halacha, but on the other - the functioning of society under the laws of Judaism. The supreme legislative body, who is entitled to interpret written and oral Torah, and to independently make halachic rulings - the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, as the guarantor of security of the Oral Torah and its functionality. The Great Sanhedrin is the head of an extensive judicial system whose laws provided for the establishment of Judaism. Legislative and judicial branches are merged. Of special note is the administrative (imperial) power. The book "judges" called the Laws of the Sanhedrin and convictions, which it applies. This part is based on material Talmud Sanhedrin and Makoto (third chapter), and describes the functioning of the judicial system in a society built on the laws of the Torah. The second part of "judges" - Laws of the certificate, which rely on treatises Sanhedrin, Makoto Shvuot, Bava Batra and Ktubot. They set standards of listening to witnesses in court, making demands to the nature of the testimony describing befitting forms of interrogation, etc. The third part of "judges" make Laws disobedient, which sets out measures designed to prevent a split and the splitting of law, aimed at maintaining the unity of the Central Public cell - the family, and outlines the laws relating to the duties of children towards their parents. The fourth part of "judges" - Laws of Mourning, where, apart from the laws of mourning, consolation of mourners, funerals and visiting the sick, is formulated Rambam key principle underlying the whole body of laws: the only source of law - the revelation of Sinai. Conclude the book "Judges" Laws of kings and wars, where the Rambam considers autonomous institution of administrative power - the monarchy. Well-functioning legal, judicial and administrative authorities - a necessary but not sufficient condition for the formation of the merciful and just society as prescribed by the Torah. The laws of the Torah were performed in all its complexity and completeness, it should emphasize purity of intention, personal qualities and intellectual abilities of people occupying key positions in the apparatus, as well as the goals they set for ourselves. In his writings, Maimonides does not just talking about the relationship between socio-economic status and political structure of society on the one hand, and its cultural development on the other. Socio-political crises led to cultural decline, the persecution and calamity that befell the Jewish people, led to the neglect of philosophy and the decline of Sciences, have caused many problems in the development of Halacha. Messianic community, which was built in strict accordance with the laws of the Torah, will be a society of social justice and material abundance, the community where the front human person opens almost unlimited possibilities of development, where everyone can get closer to God. This golden age of closeness to God will be given not only to the Jewish people, but of all mankind. Thus, the last book of the Mishnah Torah brings us back to the first. At the heart of the book "Knowledge" is a separate human person to know God, he created the world and granted them Revelation tending to his love for God in this world to follow His ways. The book "Judges" is devoted to the society and sets out the basis of social order, allowing the fullest to realize this personal program. Finishing the book "Judge" and with it the entire Mishneh Torah quote from the prophet Yeshayahu - that the whole earth filled with the knowledge of God - the Rambam brings us back to the top of the first book of his work, which outlines the contours of this knowledge.