Question of the Week: Who coined the term
`parapsychology'?

•snopsuopqns 341Apnas oz as.nj alp Jo Quo p UE
1sr2oTotpAsd ufiu.IDD y *(Z.6 I -L.98 I) JIossa )(BIN UeNtSUV

at's In
Name?

Rabbis also known by Latin names.

Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, or Maimonides.

PHILLIP AND ELIZABETH
APPLEBAUM

Q: Is Maimonides the only rabbi
with a Latinized name?
A: No, there are others, all from
Spain. Maimonides is the Latin
form of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon
(1135-1204), known among Jews
primarily by his Hebrew acronym,
Rambam. Other rabbis whose
names were given a Latin form
include Nachmanides — Rabbi
Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270),
known by his Hebrew acronym,
Ramban; and Gersonides --- Rabbi
Levi ben Gershom (1288-1344),
known by his Hebrew acronym,
Ralbag. The poet and philosopher,
Shlomo ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol
(1020-1057), was known as
Avicebron.

Politically, Moab and Israel went
through periods of hostility and
peace, as recounted in the Tanach
(Jewish Bible). The Babylonian
conquest of Israel and its neigh-
: bors, including Moab, brought a
I permanent end to Moabite inde-
pendence. By the sixth century
1 BCE, Moab was taken over by
invading Arab tribes. Most of the
1 Moabites fled to other countries
and lost- their identity; the natives
who remained were assimilated into
1 the Arabs.
1 There are no ethnic groups today
1 who are identifiable as descendants
of the Moabites, and the Moabite-
language, known only from archae-
ological remains, did not survive.

Q: These days, everyone seems to
1 be 'America's sweetheart" — Meg
Ryan, Julia Roberts, Sandra
Bullock. If I'm not mistaken, the
Q: On Shavuot in our synagogue,
1 first "America's sweetheart" was
we heard the Book of Ruth, in
Mary Pickford. I also seem to
which Ruth is described as a
I remember that she once said some-
Moabite. Just who were the
thing derogatory about Jews in
MoabiteO and are they still
1 World War II. Am I correct?
around?
A:Pickford (and yes, she did have
A: Moab (or Moav in Hebrew) was
the first title of "America's sweet-
a land immediately east of the
: heart") did indeed make a deroga-
Dead Sea in what is today the
tory remark about Jews during
Kingdom of Jordan. Accbrding to
World War II. It was quite a scan-
the Torah (Genesis 19:30-38), the
! dal back then. Pickford even dedi-
Moabite people were descended
cated an entire chapter to the inci-
from Lot, nephew of Avraham.
dent in her autobiography-Sunshine
Throughout their history,
and Shadow.
Moabite relations with Israel were
"Each of us has at least one
indeed close. Aside from the geo-
graphic proximity, the Moabite lan- 1 moment in his life that stands out
1 with a burning sense of shame and
guage belonged to the northwest
self-guilt, a moment during which
Semitic family, very close to
we committed a grave, though per-
Hebrew, and the Moabite alphabet
haps unintended, offense against a
was almost identical to the ancient
1 fellow human being," she wrote. "I
Hebrew alphabet.
believe one of the most thoughtless
Like Israel, Moab was an agrarian
things I ever said was an intolerant
society, but unlike monotheistic
remark I made one night in Beverly
Israel, Moab was strongly pagan.

I.,'"

/

,

4

•

7/13

2001

89

