Posted on 06/10/2005 6:59:05 AM PDT by maryz
CAIRO--Maimonides, the great rabbi, philosopher and healer, died 800 years ago in Egypt, but for many of those years he kept on working. Over the centuries his presence was said to be felt in the little synagogue deep in the heart of Cairo's old Jewish Quarter where, legend had it, he taught his disciples in a basement room. For the Jews of the Levant, Maimonides the doctor was as important as Maimonides the theologian and codifier of Jewish law. So it was to his small shul, known as Rav Moshe, that Jews from across Egypt journeyed in hopes that the man who believed in both God and science could cure them.
As it happens, I once went to this Jewish Lourdes as a little girl. When I was six, there was a small sleeping area in Rav Moshe, with worn-out mattresses. Anyone who came to be healed was handed a threadbare blanket and a pillow, and perhaps some holy rubbing oil, and urged to go to sleep and wait for the Rambam, as Maimonides was called. As a child, I was terrified of the place: It was so dark and spooky. But legend had it that once you were asleep, Maimonides would visit you in a dream and heal you. I was suffering at the time from a puzzling swelling in my left leg that mystified all the specialists my parents consulted.
* * * *
Even in 2005, the old Jewish Quarter is a maze of alleyways where one must look out for donkeys, chickens and hungry cats. As my husband and I followed our guide on foot, schoolchildren joined us, delighted to see Americans on their turf. If there is anti-Americanism in Cairo, or anti-Semitism, I didn't see it in the children.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I found this article inexpressibly moving.
How about wealthy Jews helping out?
I don't know, but I would expect the politics would be more of a consideration than tne money.
Who will help the once-robust synagogues of Egypt?
No one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.