Rabbi Moses Maimonides, known also as the Rambam, was one of the greatest Jews of all times. During his life, he wrote numerous books in which he explained the laws and philosophy of the Torah. He was not only esteemed in the Jewish world, though. He was also known and well respected as a physician, philosopher and scientist.
The Rambam was born in Cordova, Spain, and moved as a young man with his family to Egypt. Because he did not believe in accepting monetary remuneration for his work as a Jewish scholar, he devoted himself to medicine in order to support himself and his family. The Rambam reached the peak of his professional reputation as a doctor when he was appointed to the staff of the court of Saladin as royal physician.
When the Rambam felt his end approaching, he instructed his family to bury him in the Holy Land. On the twentieth of Tevet, at the age of 69, the Rambam passed away. In Egypt, where he had been the chief rabbi, the Rambam was mourned by Jew and Moslem alike for three days. In the Holy Land and the rest of the world, where the Rambam had acted as guide and mentor to world Jewry, he was memorialized with special services and fasts.
People from all over gathered in Egypt to attend the funeral of the great Rambam. When the procession was over, a discussion erupted as to where to bury him. The Rambam's request had only been to bury him in the Holy Land. No mention was made as to which city or site should be his final resting place.
Because no solution to the problem at hand was in sight, everyone agreed to begin taking the coffin toward the borders of Israel, hoping that along the way they might be guided as to where tp bury him.
The coffin was perched atop a sturdy camel and, with hundreds joining the caravan, made its way toward the Holy Land. One of the most difficult and dangerous parts of desert travel was not necessarily the lack of water, nor sand storms. It was the constant fear of being overtaken by one of the many bands of highway robbers who attacked the innocent travelers.
As it began to get dark, the pace of the caravan quickened a bit. Everyone hoped that they would be able to find a relatively safe place to camp for the evening. Their fears were well founded though, for within a short while, the sound of hoof beats could be heard, coming closer and closer. "We're being attacked," cried out the leader of the caravan. Many of the people panicked and scattered in different directions. A few of the braver people remained with the coffin to guard it. But, they, too, were frightened away as the gang of vicious bandits came charging toward them.
The bandits approached the camel with the large box. It was obvious to them that this box must contain a huge treasure if so many people were guarding it. As much as they tried, though, the box could not be taken down from the camel. "Grab the camel's reins," shouted the leader of the bandits. "We'll take it with us." Their efforts met with no success, though. They tried as much as possible to get the huge animal to move, but it would not budge.
"Open the box," commanded the leader. One of the gangsters swaggered over to the box and began to pry off the lid. "There's a body in this box," he shrieked, as he ran away. The other bandits, too, became frightened at the thought of a dead body in a box in the middle of the dark desert and quickly made their exit.
The people from the caravan who had been accompanying the coffin slowly made their way back toward the camel. But, to their surprise, the camel began moving determinedly, as if it had a specific destination in mind.
The caravan leader cautioned the other people not to go near the camel. "Let us see what direction it takes." After a little while, it was obvious that the camel was heading straight for the border of Israel. No one dared to go close to the camel. Instead, they followed from a distance behind. The people were amazed to observe how the camel kept on its course heading straight for Israel. By now, everyone was certain that there would no longer be a problem of where to bury the Rambam.
After reaching the borders of Israel, the camel continued to travel steadily. The camel came to the city of Tiberias in the Northern part of the country. It continued on through the narrow streets of the city until, at a certain spot, it suddenly stopped and began to kneel down on the ground.
The people understood that this was the place where they should bury the Rambam. Carefully, they removed the coffin from the camel's back and placed it on the ground. Immediately, the people began digging the grave. All who witnessed this strange event were amazed to see the wonderful miracle take place right before their own eyes.
The people of the city of Tiberias built a beautiful structure over the spot where the Rambam was buried. And every year, on the anniversary of his passing, thousands of people from all parts of the world come to visit his holy grave. For, the Talmud tell us that "He who prays at the grave of a righteous person is equal to one who has prayed in the Holy Temple."
