رسالة: Bodl. MS heb. c 28/65

In [your] name, O Merci[ful].

Greetings from the four corners of the earth and favors from all sides, along with calm, quiet, serenity and other signs of security given by God, to [his] precious h[onor], g[reatness, and] h[oliness], [our] ma[ster] and t[eacher] Eli ha-Kohen the parnas and trustee of the court—may the Lord of Hosts protect you, envelop you with [His] wing, make your grey hairs resplendent with a crown of honor and a diadem of pride, grant you ripe fruit and a good end, and may your hope never be cut off—son of [his] h[onor], g[reatness, and] h[oliness], [our] ma[ster] and t[eacher] Ḥayyim ha-Kohen the mumḥe [expert judge—Ed.]—[may his] s[oul] r[est in peace].

I sent earlier letters to Your Excellency my master the Kohen the parnas and trustee of the court—may your Rock keep you and protect you from enemies—mentioning what I shall discuss here, namely, the situation about which I ask the Creator, praise Him, to make things turn out well in the end through His mercy. I explained to you also what was stated in the letter from our lord the head of the diaspora [rosh ha-gola]—may his name live forever—addressed to [our] ma[ster] Abraham the cantor—[may his] R[ock] k[eep him]—expressing his reliance upon me in all matters of service to the community, small and great. I also told you that the [ab]ove-[m]‌entione[d] can[t]or . . . came to me accompanied by a large number of the elders of the community—may God preserve them—and said: “You know that I am incapable of handling the duties that were thrust upon me. Neither I, nor the community, can do without your participating in public service [as] you have always done.”

However, I did not accede to their wishes one bit. In fact, I have resigned from all communal duties and from the service that I had accepted. I am not the least bit distressed over that, since I never derived any profit from my position, apart from the honor of serving our lord the head of the diaspora—may his name live forever. I earned only the hostility of a large number of people in the community because I am connected with his retinue. I have served him and been his faithful friend for a number of years in compliance with his command. I confess that I cleaved to him as steadfastly as any seeker of refuge and hope and, indeed, had put my hopes in that.1 Nonetheless, I ended up, as it were, unthanked, even though I believe that I have done no wrong and am free of guilt, as the people in the community well know. At any rate, I thank you for your favors. You—may God crush [your en]emies and protect you—will do what you must to restore proper order in your communities—may God adorn them with your long life and cheer them with your [continued] vitality. Perhaps thereby I will benefit along with the community. Whatever the Merci[ful] God decides to do will be for the best.

Now to my main reason for j[otting dow]n these lines. I wish to inform my m[a]‌ster the Kohen the parnas and trustee of the court—may God bless you and k[ee]p you—about the stature of the bearer of this letter. He is my master the elder Abū Sa‘d the wise and understanding one—may his Rock keep him and protect him from enemies—son of Phineas—[may he] r[est in] E[den]. He is one of the most valued of our Damascene coreligionists—may God cause them to increase. He is a man reared on Jewish learning and on good deeds. I feel personally obliged to provide for his needs by virtue of his goodness, modesty, and Jewish learning. In addition, he, I, and another scholarly relative of his have in common . . . , and love, being in awe of God.2 He has set out for Egypt on some affair of his. He has little experience in those parts, for this is his fi[r]st journey there.

Please, my master the Kohen, keep an eye on him, watch over him, and hel[p]‌ him in whatever comes up in connection with his needs. He is carrying a receipt from the tax bureau attesting that he has pai[d t]he poll tax. If it is interpreted to his detriment, do not, my m[a]ster, ignore him in that matter. I will reckon everything you do for him as if done for me and will thank you and add this to your previous kindnesses towards me. May God in His mercy not release my master from doing this deed.

Greetings to you and to your son [our] ma[ster] and t[eacher] Ephraim, sweet brother—may God cause him to be fruitful and multiply, and may he be great forever. My father and brother wish you both much peace and [the same to our] ma[ster] and t[eacher] Shemarya ha-Kohen—may God restore him to full health and increase his welfare and that of his sons forever. I ask that you give regards to my sister, to her son, and to his father—may God preserve them—from my father, from me, and from my brother. [Our] ma[ster] Hillel ha-Levi Elder of the Community wrote my master a number of letters, but has not had the favor of his good offices with our lord on his behalf. Therefore, do this for him out of your kindness, God willing.

May you be rewarded with peace and [me]rcy. [E]‌n[d] of Marḥeshvan, [1]405.