any groups that only follow Rambam?

Question

Are there any Jewish groups that consider the works of the Rambam as doctrinally relevant? Meaning they elevate his decisions above those of others, such as those of yosef karo?

Answer 1

I believe the closest you will find in recent history is the Dor Daim sect of the Yemenite community. They were an active community in the early 20th century, but currently don’t seem to have a centralized community. They are strongly anti Kabbalistic (or at least Zoharic and Lurianic kabbala) and strongly adhered to the philosophy of the Rambam to guide their faith. They also followed him in most Halacha areas, as they felt much of contemporary Halacha, including some of the Shulchan Aruch, had been corrupted by Kabbalistic beliefs and customs. You could read all about them here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dor_Daim

Answer 2

There is a Beit Kenesseth Rambam in Jerusalem that adheres to the Rambam. I believe it was majority Yemenite and it was an eye opening experience the one time I went. The service begins shortly after sunrise. The prayers are only those brought down by the Rambam, with zero modern additions. Everyone did their morning blessings at home so I believe they began with Psalms of Praise (pesukei d'zimra which was only the last 5 Psalms). Then it was Shema. Then Amidah and Torah service. The Torah was read one verse at a time and then repeated in Aramaic targum. Everything leading up to the Torah service was about a half hour to forty five minutes. The Torah reading and Prophets reading was about an hour and a half. A few blessings, one more Amidah and the service was done by about 10:30am. The majority of that time was the reading of the biblical books which made sense. It really restored the idea of what the service is really supposed to be about. The reading of the Torah and our Prophets, without a language barrier.

I don't have their contact information but if you look hard enough I'm sure you'll find them.

Update

Commentator asked: "Without a language barrier? Translating the Torah verse by verse to Aramaic is by no means helpful in the modern age"

I agree with you that at this moment, the Aramaic Targum does not help with a language barrier. But it shows that before Halakha got so stratified, we would make choices about our services to get around issues of language barrier. It makes me wonder if we still had a Sanhedrin, would every synagogue read one verse of the Torah, and then read out loud a translation in the local tongue? I'm imagining an Artscroll or JPS Translation for English etc etc.

Commentator asked: "The service is supposed to be about the reading of the Torah and our Prophets without a language barrier? Not praying?"

Almost every other synagogue service I've been to (Ashkenazi, Sepharadi, Moroccan, and Shammi Yemenite Services), the prayers take twice as long as the Torah Reading and reading of the Prophets. To have a Synagogue experience of the inverse, it gives the service an entirely different feel. I wouldn't say the service at the Rambam Synagogue wasn't about praying. But it definitely felt like the Torah and Prophet readings were the number one priority and prayers were a very clear second place priority. And I think that makes more sense for a Shabbat service where historically speaking, this was often the one time people could come and hear those books being read AND translated.