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      [-Introduction-]

       Table of Contents

      THE EPISTLE TO YEMEN, 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.

      In the course of his reply Maimonides deals at length with several subjects which were live issues in his time. In the Hebrew introduction these topics are analyzed in detail. Here only a brief summary will be presented.

      Religious polemics. In his desire to refute the arguments of the apostate Jew, Maimonides devotes considerable space to demolishing his propaganda. Muslim polemics against Judaism could be subsumed under three headings: 1) By His dispensation revealed to Muhammad, God abrogated the Law of Moses, just as He had previously abrogated regulations within the Bible; 2) The Jews have forged and falsified the contents of their Law; originally many predictions of Muhammad's coming were found in it; 3) References to the prophetic mission of Muhammad in the Jewish Scriptures are nevertheless still available. Earlier Jewish scholars, both Rabbanite

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