Vatican Library to Loan Rare Maimonides Manuscripts to Israel Museum

Vatican Library to Loan Rare Maimonides Manuscripts to Israel Museum Pave The Way Foundation Announces Loan Following Largest Audience of Jewish Leaders to Ever Meet With Sitting Pope ROME, Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Pave the Way founder and President Gary Krupp announced today that the Vatican Library has agreed to lend the rare Moses Maimonides Manuscripts, to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in September to coincide with the Museum's 40th anniversary. Mr. Krupp made the announcement at the end of a special private audience with Pope John Paul II, which was attended by some 160 Jewish leaders, rabbis and cantors from the United States and Israel. The special audience -- attended by the largest group of Jewish leaders to ever meet with a sitting pope -- was held to recognize the Pope's efforts during his 26-year pontificate in bringing down the walls of hate, and his contribution towards religious reconciliation with the Jewish people and the State of Israel. The group attending the audience included Oded Ben-Hur, Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See; Rabbi Adam Mintz, president of the New York Board of Rabbis; Rabbi Shmuel Rene Sirot, Past Chief Rabbi of Europe and France; Rabbi David Lincoln, Chief Rabbi of the Park Avenue Synagogue, New York; Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat, Rabbi Joseph Arbib of the Great Synagogue in Rome and Gadi Golan, former Director of Religious Affairs for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. The group also included 12 Cantors, who last night presented a concert at the Great Synagogue in Rome for the delegation and representatives of the Vatican and the Roman Jewish Community. Pave the Way, whose mission is to bring together men of good will, no matter what religious background, has devoted much time and effort towards working with the officials of the Israeli Government and the representatives of the Holy See in Israel to move for the finalization of fundamental agreements for establishing full diplomatic relations between Israel and the Vatican. "Our mission calls for many projects of inter-religious action and this mission led to approval for the manuscript loan from the Vatican to Israel. The Vatican has the largest repository of ancient Hebrew manuscripts in the world," said Mr. Krupp, one of three living Jews to be knighted by a Pope to the Order of St Gregory the Great. Mr. Krupp contacted the Israel Museum to solicit their interest in applying to the Vatican Library to initiate a loan of the four rare Hebrew manuscripts, including an illuminated manuscript of Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon Maimonides. "Through the good offices of the Nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi and the Franciscan custody in Israel and specifically Fr. David Jaeger's advice and help, the Holy See approved the loan for these manuscripts." Farther Jaeger, a spokesman, legal advisor to the Franciscan Custody in Israel and canon law professor said, "The parties are committed to cultural cooperation." "The work by Maimonides, a 12th century doctor and sage in Egypt, was written by a scribe in the 1400s, 200 years after his death, and is cherished as a one-of-a-kind record that covers the rules of life, such as marriage and other codes of behavior," Mr. Krupp explained. Source: Pave the Way Foundation CONTACT: Joseph Gallo of KCSA Worldwide, +1-212-896-1269, or jgallo@kcsa.com, for Pave the Way Foundation; or Rome, Gary Krupp of Pave the Way Foundation, +011-39-06-338-329-03901 ------- Profile: International Entertainment