The Denver Jewish news., 1923-10-11
Bs FRANKLrN GORDON

DSJ Nv" rs Os AoBsos
SeniinaSy.
By FRANKLIN GORDON
Taken from the American Hebrew
Dear to- the heart OF the antiquarian
and b0ok-fancier Is treasure trove Of
some forty thousand volumes that COM
prize the Ethan Adler Collection now
being cata1ogssed ae the Jewish The
oiosical Seminary Of New YORK. What
priceless gems Of antique Jewish lore !
Pearls Of wisdom .garnereti from flie
literary deposit vaults cf the world !!
Bsit II there is one item III this coliec-
tion Of outstanding interest, ii is the
work known az the ''Aimanach Fer
pcruuin' originally pennei BY the Jew
isii Court astronomer abraham Ia
cutos so years ago.
This curious sample Of mediaeval
science nntedatcs the work of Copper
Fiicts, the founder Of mBdern a~tron-
0my, by more than half century.
Prepared originally in HeBrew between
the years 1873 and 147s under the
patronage Of the. bishop Of Salarnanca,
ZAcuto's Chronological work with its
astronoMicai tables was SOON Atter
translated into Latin and Spanish by
the Jewish scientist and physician,
Joseph vencinho. The translator pre-
stmtesl a copy to Coiumlbt,s who always
carrietil 1t witfs him as d guide After
his death ii was fouAsf iii his library
EDse cslsuasS~s Htvaoeees ~ EeI1pse.
Especiai interest attaches to Zacuto's
work. because on one occasion. at least,
1t was the means of saving the lives
OF Columbus and his crew. The story
was told by the navigator himself and
liz voueiied for by DR.. n. Ksyseriing in
his authoritative treatise. entitled
christopher Colunbus nrd the Partici-
patton Of the Jews in the Spanish and
Portuguese Discoveries" The account
which rcatls like n chapter from Rider
HagEard runs as follows:
ON his Inst voyage OF exploration
Columbus and his crew found them
selves stranded on the island of ia
maica in the West Indies. The COM
'rnantier was sick at heart. Provisions
were scarce. due to the hostile attitude
OF the native Indians. The panes OF
hunger gnawed at the vitals Of his
lbetiraggled band of followers. To add
to tho sorry plight Of Columbus, the
crew became mutinOus. Only hand
full Of men remained loyal to the intre-
pid leader.
In this predicament Columbus he
thought himself Of the, astronomical
tables Of zacuto. BY consulting this
book and making due allowance for the
seven hours difference in time between
Spain and Jamaica. he calculated that
an eclipse Of the moon was due to
take place on the evening OF February
20. 1904. Accordingly he hit on de-
vice to play upon the superstitious
fears Of the natives.
SummOning the Indian chiefs to n
conference. Columbus boldly announc-
ed that, unless they would procure
sufficient food for himself and his men
the God OF the Spaniartls would surely
Overwhelm them with disaster by de-
priving them of the light Of the moon.
With night-fall came the eclipse just
as Columbus had predicted.' The In
dians were visibly impressed and be-
came panic-stricKen. Throwing them
selves ut the feet Of Columbus, they
begged him to stay the hand Of the
avenging. Great Spirit.
Columbus withdrew after lie had
promised to exert his influence in their
behalf. AS soon as the moon emerg-
cd in all it's effulgence from behind the
clouds, Columbus appeared before the
natives with the air of one who had
succeeded in appcasing tile wrath OF
the Omnipotent. The demonstration
hnd the desired effect. Thus wns the
"Almamch Perpetdum' Of zacuto in.
strumcntal in saving the lives of Col
umbus and his crew.
A Jewish Professor ut Saiamalicg
Added interest attaches to this book
because of the distinguished career OF
the man who wrote it.. Abraham Za-
cuto WIS one of the foremost math-
cmaticians and scientists in medieval
Europe. He was also a Hebrew
scholar deeply versed in the study of
the Talmud Born in Salamanca
about the year 1859, he early manifest
ed love of science that won for him
the favor of Diego de Deza. the learned
theologian of Jewish extraction and the
Bishop Of. Salamanca. After complct-
ing. his studies ,at the University of
Salamanca. Zacuto was nude professor
of astronomy at this institaion, rilen