| Title | Two Judaeo-Arabic Letters to Abraham Maimonides |
|---|---|
| Subtitle | A Recommendation and a Condemnation of a Communal Leader |
| Contributor | Mordechai Akiva Friedman (author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0464.08 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0464/chapters/10.11647/obp.0464.08 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Mordechai Akiva Friedman; |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2025-03-07 |
| Long abstract | The article presents and analyses two Judaeo-Arabic letters from the Cairo Geniza, addressing issues surrounding the appointment of Moses ben Peraḥya as a communal leader (muqaddam) in Minyat Ziftā and Minyat Ghamr under Abraham Maimonides. The first letter, written by supporters, recommends Moses for the post, highlighting his virtues, adherence to Jewish law, and opposition to his rivals. The second letter, written by a critic or rival, accuses Moses of abusing his authority, mishandling responsibilities such as teaching, and creating divisions in the community. The documents illustrate the complexities of communal leadership in medieval Egyptian Jewry, including patronage systems, local rivalries, and the Nagid’s role in maintaining balance. These letters reveal the dynamics of power, religious authority, and interpersonal tensions in Jewish communities during the Maimonidean era. |
| Page range | pp. 257–286 |
| Print length | 30 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
| Landing Page | Full text URL | Platform | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0464/chapters/10.11647/obp.0464.08 | Landing page | https://books.openbookpublishers.com/10.11647/obp.0464.08.pdf | Full text URL |
Mordechai Akiva Friedman (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) is Emeritus Professor of Talmud, Tel-Aviv University. He has published widely on the Cairo Geniza, the wider medieval Jewish world, and Judaeo-Arabic, including A Dictionary of Medieval Judeo-Arabic in the India Book Letters from the Geniza and in other Texts (Ben-Zvi Institute & The Rabbi David Moshe and Amalia Rosen Foundation, 2016 [Hebrew]).