Epistle to Yemen
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| Epistle to Yemen |
| The Epistle to Yemen (Iggeret Teiman), probably a compilation of several shorter responsa, was written by Maimonides about 1172 in reply to an inquiry (or inquiries) by Jacob ben Netan'el al-Fayyūmi, the then head of the Jewish community in Yemen. The exchange of letters was occasioned by a crisis through which the Jews of that country were passing. A forced conversion to Islam, inaugurated about 1165 by 'Abd-al-Nabī ibn Mahdi, who had gained control over most of Yemen, threw the Jews into panic. The campaign conducted by a recent convert to win them to his new faith, coupled with a Messianic movement started by a native of the country who claimed he was the Messiah, increased the confusion within the Jewish community. Rabbi Jacob evidently sought guidance and encouragement, and Maimonides attempted to supply both. Originally written in Arabic, this edition is that of the 1952 English translation by Boaz Cohen, published in New York by American Academy for Jewish Research, edited from manuscripts with introduction and notes by Abraham S. Halkin. |
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Contents |
[edit] Source
- Moses Maimonides, Moses Maimonides' Epistle to Yemen: The Arabic Original and the Three Hebrew Versions, Edited from Manuscripts with Introduction and Notes by Abraham S. Halkin, and an English Translation by Boaz Cohen. New York: American Academy for Jewish Research, 1952.
[edit] Other translations
- Moses Maimonides, Epistles of Maimonides: Crisis and Leadership, Translation and Notes by Abraham S. Halkin, Discussions by David Hartman. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America, reprint edition, October 1992 (from August 1985). ISBN 0827604300
- "Maimonides' Epistle to Yemen (1172)", translated by Joel L. Kraemer, in Lerner, Ralph, Maimonides' Empire of Light: Popular Enlightenment in an Age of Belief, Chicago: University Of Chicago Press, 2000, pp. 99-132. ISBN 0226473139
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- The Jewish National and University Library: Digitized Hebrew version
- Yale University Library Maimonides Exhibit: Rare edition of Igeret Teman ha-nikrah Petah Tikvah (Epistle to Yemen called Gate of Hope) Hanau, 1715
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This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was legally published within the United States (or the United Nations Headquarters in New York subject to Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement) before 1964, and copyright was not renewed.
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