The Rambam & The 'Blind' Man

The great scholar Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides), also known as the Rambam, was an accomplished physician, personally attending the Sultan of Egypt and his family. He was not the only doctor in the palace, but the Rambam was the Sultan's favorite, and this provoked much envy and jealousy.

His rivals lost no opportunity to devise schemes and plots to discredit the Rambam in the eyes of his royal employer, but the Sultan was not fooled by the wicked plots. With each failed scheme, the Rambam rose even higher in the Sultan's estimation.

The Rambam's detractor's never rested in their machinations. Finally, the Sultan exploded in anger. "You charlatans never give up! How many times will you come to me with your foolish stories and ridiculous claims against ben Maimon? This time I challenge you to prove that you are superior to the Jewish doctor!" The physicians left elated, confident that they would surely find a way to finally ruin the hated Jew.

The following day they appeared at the appointed hour at the royal palace, an unknown man in tow. "This man, your Excellency, has been blind from birth, and we, Sire, will cure him before your eyes! Ben Maimon surely cannot perform this feat, but we can do it!"

The Sultan smirked at these words. "Liars! It is patently impossible to cure someone who has been blind from birth!" At that, one of the physicians stepped forward and with a flourish, he applied a layer of salve to the man's eyes. Everyone stood staring at the man, waiting to see some sign of a cure. Could it really happen that a blind man would see?

The silence was broken by the man's joyous cries, "I can see! I can see!"

But before a word was spoken, the Rambam flashed a scarf before the man's eyes. "What color is this handkerchief?" he asked.

The man responded in a victorious tone, "It is red!"

"Aha!" said the Rambam with a smile. "The fraud is obvious! A blind man cannot possible identify colors, which he has never before seen!"

The Sultan rose from his seat and exultantly clasped the Rambam's hand, exclaiming, "How could I have believed them for a moment!"

The group of deceitful physicians quickly left the room, praying the Sultan would not punish them in his anger.