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Iggeret Teman (Epistle to Yemen)Entitled al-Risala al-Yamaniyya, this letter was sent to Jacob ben Netanel al-Fayyumi, head of the Jewish community in Yemen , in 1173 or 1174. Its purpose was to raise the morale of Yemenite Jewry who had to deal with crises of forced conversions by the ruler, Abd-al-Nabi ibn Mahdi, and the appearance of a false messiah in their midst. Its various contents include an explanation of religious persecution and hatred towards the Jews; the God of Israel and His attributes; the principles of faith; foreign religions; eschatological calculations; the coming of the Messiah and other topics. This epistle, consisting of tens of pages, was translated into Hebrew three times during the Middle Ages: by Samuel Ibn Tibbon, by Abraham Ibn Hisday and by Nahum ha-Maaravi (under the title Petah Tikva). A synoptic edition with these three translations and a translation into English was published by A.S. Halkin, New York , 1952. A new scientific edition of the original appeared, accompanied by a new translation into Hebrew, by Qafih in his edited collection of Maimonides’ letters, Jerusalem , 1972. More recently, a version of the original with the translation by Ibn Tibbon was published by Y. Shilat in his edition of the letters, Jerusalem , 1987, pp. 77-168.
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