On Sunday March 22, Haifa’s Maimonides Research Center held its First National Awards Dinner at the Plaza Hotel.
Several persons, including Dr. Henry J. Heimlich famous medical innovator and discoverer of the Heimlich Maneuver, which has saved many thousands of lives were honored by the Institute for their contribution to its growth and development.
Prof. Jacob I Dienstag was awarded the Maimonides Scholar’s Award for his many studies and bibliographies of the “Great Eagle” as Maimonides is often referred to in our literature.
The award was presented to him by his close friend, Elie Weisel.
“As for Prof Jacob Dienstag, a very special friend, ” Wiesel declared, “It is said of the Baal Shem Tov that he wanted to know who would be his neighbor in the world to come. All I know is my neighbor in this world. Prof Dienstag is my shul neighbor. He makes my shul experience doubly pleasurable. I think he likes me- but his real love, outside of Claire (Dienstag’s wife) is Maimonides.”
Wiesel went on to describe Dienstag’s great erudition and concluded with the following words: “I wonder what about him makes me like him more: his vast knowledge of whatever relates to Maimonides or his absolute faith in and love of Israel… I am sure that whenever my friend Reb Ya’akov needs an intercessor in heaven, it is the Rambam himself who volunteers for this task.”
Later in the evening, Elie Wiesel, who had come from Paris, especially for this occasion, addressed the gathering again, explaining what Maimonides had meant to him personally from his youth in Sighet, where he began studying the Rambam’s works, until this day
The honor conferred upon Prof. Dienstag was well deserved . His devotion tot he study of Maimonides and to the cataloging of editions and translations of his books and works about them, is indeed extraordinary. It can verily be said of him that the Rambam has been his steady companion.
He was born in Mielec Galicia and came to this country as a young child. After studying at Yeshivas R. Jacob Joseph and Rabbi Shlomo Kluger, he entered Yeshiva University (then Yeshiva College). While still a student he began working in Y.U..’s Judaic library. Eventually he became it director, serving in that capacity for almost 30 years.
It is now more than 50 years, since he commenced collecting and recording whatever has been written about Maimonides in any language and in any part of the world. He continued to do so even during World War II, when he served in the armed forces in the U.S. After the war, he began publishing the results of his research. He has contributed studies and bibliographies of Maimonides as well as monographs on Maimonidean scholars in Hebrew and English, to books and scholarly periodicals in Israel, in the U.S. and in European countries. Only a few of his many studies can be mentioned here: Ein HaMitzvot, a bio-bibliographic lexicon of the scholarship pertaining to Maimonides’ Sefer HaMitzvot, Yeshiva University, 1968; Bibliography of Maimonides Shemonah Perakim (Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik Jubilee Volume, 1984); bibliography of editions of Mishne Torah (Kiev, Volume, 1071), Bibliography of Moreh Nevukhim (A. Scheiber Memorial Volume, 1988); Commentaries on Moreh Nevukhim (M. Weiler Volume, 1987). Ktav published Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas and Eschatology in Maimonidean Thought , containing essays and studies by various scholars with introductions and bibliographies by Dienstag. He also prepared additions for Sepher Hermon Press’reprint of David Yellin’s and Israel Abraham’s classical biography of Maimonides.
In his acceptance speech of the Maimonides Scholar’s Award, Dienstag recalled that last autumn at a symposium on Maimonidean scholarship at the Hebrew University, he had declared that the time had come for the publication of a Maimonides encyclopedia, which will make the treasures of the Rambam’s knowledge and wisdom easily accessible to the scholar and the learned layman. he suggested that the Maimonides Research Institute undertake this task.
At the dinner, volume four of the English edition of Maimonides’ medical writings, which are published by the Maimonides Research Institute was distributed to the guests.
Rabbe Yehuda Assaf, dean of the Maimonides Research Center said to me after the greatly successful affair: “Prof. Dienstag helped my late father, Rabbi David Assaf, when he came to the U.S. to enlist support for the publications of his concordance on Mishne Torah. He was also of great assistance to our insitute. Our edition of the Rambam’s medical writings feature his bibliographies. I am happy that we have honored Prof. Dienstag because it is an honor for us to have a scholar, like him collaborate in our publications.”
The Jewish Press, Friday, April 17, 1992