Journey to Morocco 2025: Fez - An Analysis of Sulika's Sacrifice Based on Rambam in Iggeres HaShemad

What’s said in this shiur

The opening of this shiur, in Rabbi Daniel Glatstein’s own words — taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

Okay, here's our last uh last moments in Fez, in the city of the rift, but also the city of the Rambam. So, you were in the Rambam's house in Fez. And even though it says on the sign that the Rambam wrote the guide to the perplexed, whether he wrote that here that I'm not going to comment on, but I'll tell you what he did right here. He wrote one of the most important works that he ever compiled, a seminal work. It's called Igeras Hashmad. Eggeras Hashmad. And this is very important in light of us going to Celika today where uh a certain rabbi wrote that in those communities see the Rambam lived here in the Almoravids in the time of the Almorabs who were who were uh understanding and they allowed uh the Jewish community to practice religion. And then the Almahads came and they were fanatical and the Rambam had to hide with his father when the Almahads came. And a certain rabbi wrote that if you're being forced to abdicate your religion and to profess your belief in Islam, then not only required to give up your life, but also the mitzvah that you perform have no value anymore. If once you abdicate the religion, why even bother performing mitzvah? And the Ram and I ear argued vehemently. The Ram said first of all every mitzvah that a Jew fulfills it doesn't matter what they profess is valuable. But moreover a Jew is morally obligated to profess his belief in Islam and denounce Judaism to save their life because Islam is not idolatry. That's

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1. 0:00Okay, here's our last uh last moments in Fez, in the city of the rift, but…
2. 0:30rabbi wrote that in those communities see the Rambam lived here in the Almoravids in the…
3. 1:01required to give up your life, but also the mitzvah that you perform have no value…
4. 1:32the opinion of the Rambam that a Jew is obligated to profess their belief in Islam.…
5. 2:03interesting that she said that I'm different than Esther. Esther didn't have to didn't have to…
6. 2:34There's a choa about a city that was surrounded by uh gentile siege and there was…
7. 3:07Israel and just a segment of Israel. According to that cela to save the Jews of…
8. 3:38she gave. It's not that Esther didn't have to renounce her belief, denounce Judaism because what…
9. 4:08considered idolatry and a Jew would be obligated to say they believe in it in order…

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