The Maimonides Heritage Center stands adjacent to the tomb and provides an extensive introduction to the life and influence of Maimonides — his birth in Córdoba in 1138, his family's flight from Almohad persecution, his years in Egypt, and the extraordinary range of his scholarship in medicine, astronomy, philosophy, and Jewish law.
The center uses interactive displays to illuminate why Maimonides remains such a central figure: his fourteen-volume Mishneh Torah codified the entirety of Jewish law; his philosophical work reconciled Aristotelian logic with Jewish theology; his medical writings were translated into Latin and studied in European universities. It is a useful stop for visitors who want to understand what they are seeing at the adjacent tomb.