Euroasian Jewish News

The Rambam’s 14 holy books have been translated into Russian

Chief Rabbi of Russia, Rabbi Berel Lazar, happily announced that the Yad HaChazakah, the 14 books written by the Rambam, have all been translated into Russian.

The books of the Rambam have become increasingly popular over the past few years due to the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s encouragement of Jews worldwide to study the texts. The Rambam’s goal was to educate the Jewish people about the intricacies of Jewish law in a clear, concise and accessible manner. It is auspicious, therefore, that the Russian translation of the Rambam’s final text came off of the press at the same time that Jews the world over were celebrating the completion of the eighth cycle of the study of Rambam.

This great undertaking was inspired by Rabbi Lazar’s study of Rambam with Moscow’s Jewish intellectuals. They enjoyed delving into the rich text and felt that the lack of a translated text caused them to miss vital points. The study of Rambam has become more popular throughout Russia in recent years through various Torah learning groups that study it on a regular basis. The philanthropist, David Aminov, took the entire project upon himself, giving the Jewish community of Russia and the entire Russian speaking community a tremendous gift.

The project was run by Rabbi Boruch Gorin, chief of the Moscow publishing house ‘L’chaim’ with the assistance of dozens of qualified translators in Moscow and around the world. The project took several years to complete.

Russian speaking Jews throughout the world have been given a tremendous opportunity, they can now study the holy texts of the Rambam in their own language. With the guidance of the Rambam’s wise teachings, those who study his texts will understand the laws of the Torah in a clearer way, allowing them to follow the Torah in a much more personal and meaningful way.

FJC