After a long wandering, Maimonides finally settled in Fustat, a city near Cairo, in 1168. The Jews were doing well in Egypt, living in peace with their Muslim neighbors and belonging to what we would call the middle class today. They lived around synagogues in predominantly Jewish neighborhoods.

Jewish families lived just like Muslim families: they wore similar clothes, shopped in the same stores, and apart from the dietary restrictions each group had, they ate practically the same as their neighbors. One difference was the tallit, which the Jews wore all the time.

In Fustat, Maimonides became interested in the religious affairs of the 7,000 families living there and in Cairo. He was especially concerned about the differences in religious practices between the descendants of Babylonian Jews and the Jews originally from the land of Israel. The most important of these had to do with the order of prayers and the cycle of Torah readings, which for some was completed in one year and for others in three. He tried to mediate to unify religious practices, but he could not. The division was deep-rooted and each group prayed in its synagogue.

He also cared for Jews captured in wars waged by the forces of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, as well as those kidnapped by pirates. By appealing personally, forming committees or writing letters, he raised the money needed to pay the ransom and free the captives. He was able to do this because his fame had spread throughout the world and had earned him recognition, not only from Jews, but also from Christians and Arabs. The authorities referred to him as “Rais al Yahud,” the leader of the Jews.

In those years, the Jewish community of Yemen, the second oldest after that of Jerusalem, asked him for advice on how to deal with a situation that threatened its very existence. The Shiite rulers who took power in Yemen in 1172 gave Christians and Jews the choice of converting to Islam or dying. Many Jews converted, not only because of the threat, but also because of their poor knowledge of Judaism. They believed that Muhammad had brought a new religion to replace their own and therefore there was no point in resisting.

Maimonides wrote them a letter, now known as Iggeret Teman (Letter to Yemen) or Petah Tikvah (Gate of Hope) in which he extended his message of hope to all those who lived under oppression and in which he declared his firm commitment to the faith of Israel. He assured them that the Jewish nation always survives any attempt to annihilate it and that oppression would soon end. The letter was distributed throughout the country with very positive effects. Yemenite Jews renewed the bond between Israel and God and waited patiently for Maimonides’ promise to be fulfilled. In 1174 Turhan Shah, Saladin’s brother, entered Yemen and took control of the government, freeing the Jews from their oppression. Maimonides’ promise had been fulfilled.

Prepared by Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: “Maimonides” by Sherwin B. Nuland.