The eight hundredth anniversary of the birth of Moses Maimonides, one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, was celebrated by an international broadcast last night over an N. B. C.-WEAF network. The speakers were Dr. Cyrus Adler, president of the Jewish Theological Seminary and chairman of the cultural committee of the Joint Distribution Committee, and William Rosenwald, co-chairman of the United Jewish Appeal and son of the late Julius Rosenwald. Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein, former president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregation, delivered an invocation.
A group of cantors led by Cantor Vigoda chanted the thirteen Articles of Faith and Belief, known as “The Yigdal,” which Maimonides wrote. The broadcast was under the auspices of the Cultural Committee of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
Dr. Adler stressed the contribution of Maimonides to world Jewry and civilization in general, the significance of his contribution, and its inspirational value eight hundred years later.
“Some of his writings,” Dr. Adler said, “have so modern a ring that they would be applicable to our times and to the widest circles. One of his famous epistles was called the Iggeret Teman, the letter to the South, which was written about 1172. The people of this far off country were in great trouble and they addressed to him various inquiries. One of these was with regard to a Jew who was claiming to be the Messiah. In his reply he points out that various pseudo – Messiahs had arisen in Spain and Morocco and in other places. He says in effect that the man in South Arabia is no doubt demented. He asserts as a sign of the man’s poverty of intellect, that he ordered all money to be distributed for charity. Such an order, the letter says, contradicts the Bible. The law commands that we bestow a portion of our substance on the needy and our ancient teachers have made the rule that one-fifth of a man’s property is what he should thus bestow. He points out as an evidence of the man’s folly that if the wealthy should give away their property to the poor and thus impoverish themselves, then the poor who had become enriched in turn, would have to return the money to the donors, and in effect he says the whole plan is a summary of nonsense.
“Without drawing any immediate lesson I submit to my hearers of the radio audience whether this letter written more than seven hundred and fifty years ago has not a lesson for some of the strange economic theories of our day.”
William Rosenwald’s address was devoted to the “Eight Degrees of Charity” of which Maimonides was the author. These, he said, reflect as forcefully and truly today what should be our approach to the problem of relief and social welfare as it did almost #00 years ago.
Rabbi Goldstein, in his invocation, also dwelt upon the charity-precepts of Maimonides, saying that if we were to abide by them our public institutions, as well as individuals in need, would be sufficiently endowed and rehabilitated.
The Afghanistan tribes believe that they are descended from the lost Ten Tribes.
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