In and Around Maimonides presents eight highly focused studies on Moses Maimonides and those around him. "In Maimonides" refers to close readings of passages from Maimonides' writings; "around Maimonides" refers to concentric circles, beginning with his own family (his father R. Maimon and his son R. Abraham), with whom Maimonides' views are in conversation; medieval Yemen, where Maimonides' writings were studied and glossed in their original language; Judah Halevi, a major figure in Andalusian Judaeo-Arabic culture with whom Maimonides is often contrasted; and, finally a wide range of Judaeo-Arabic figures, all of whom engaged with the vocabularies of religion. These studies offer new and important insights into the thought of Maimonides on a variety of issues, such as the capacity of humans to better themselves morally, the political nature of prophecy, and the proper way to approach God.
