Judah ben Joseph ben Isaac ibn Simeon was the student for whom Moses Maimonides ostensibly wrote his Guide of the Perplexed (and not Judah ben Joseph ibn ʿAqnīn as was once thought). Born in Ceuta, Morocco, in the mid-twelfth century, Ibn Simeon went to Alexandria and, after corresponding with Maimonides, arrived in Fustatto study with the Master sometime between 1182 and 1184. Maimonides praised his student’s poetry and his presumed ability to grasp metaphysics through diligent study.

Ibn Simeon eventually left Egypt on business but continued to correspond with Maimonid…