text · B0150
Iggeret Teiman אגרת תימן
The Rambam's letter to the Jews of Yemen, written from Fustat in answer to R' Yaakov ben Netanel (Yaakov ben Netanel) during the crisis of forced apostasy and a messianic pretender (c. 1172). It is the founding document of the Rambam–Teiman bond: the map's one bright edge between Egypt and the Teiman column, through which the Mishneh Torah became the Yemenite community's canon.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- אגרת תימן
- Also known as
- Epistle to Yemen, Petach Tikvah, Al-Risala al-Yamaniyya
- Era
- rishonim
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 4932–4934 AM
- Academic
- c. 1172–1174 CE
- Duration
- ≈2 years
- Precision
- approximate
IV. What
- Language
- Judeo-Arabic
- Structure
- A single long pastoral letter: consolation for the persecution, refutation of the apostasy decree's theology, assessment of the messianic claimant, and instruction to stand firm — written to be read aloud "to every community, to the wise and the simple."
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| The letter is addressed to "the honored, great, and holy Master and Teacher, Jacob... son of... Nathanael," and answers his report of the rebel ruler's decree of compulsory apostasy against the Jews of Yemen. | tradition | ★★★★★ | |
| Written in Judeo-Arabic so that all could hear it, it was rendered into Hebrew by Nachum HaMa'aravi, who titled it "Petach Tikvah" (Opening of Hope); Yemenite tradition credits the letter with steadying the community, and later Yemenite gratitude to the Rambam extended to invoking him in the Kaddish.
The Kaddish custom ("in the life of our teacher Moshe ben Maimon") is reported in later literary tradition rather than contemporary documents; recorded at matching confidence.
|
tradition external | ★★★☆☆ |