Letter: JRL SERIES B 2031

Description

Letter addressed to the physician (rofeʾ) Moshe b. Ṣadoq ha-Dayyan ha-Kohen. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in both Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. The paper is darkened and the text is faded (damage from a book binding?). The addressee is given grand titles such as משה הרב המובהק הפטיש החזק דגל הרבנים. His two sons are blessed. After a very deferential introduction, the sender expresses his deep regret (al-nīrān wa-l-nadāma) for having neglected something. About two-thirds of the way down the front page, there is a small gap, and the sender turns to addressing a woman (plausibly his sister and the wife of the addressee; she is not his own wife, since he refers to her husband further down). He continues addressing the woman for the remainder of the letter. The next section is too damaged to read. The phrase "to Nāblus" appears at the bottom of the page. The sender then begins reporting on his pilgrimage to the graves of biblical saints in Palestine. He mentions Kafr Ḥāris and ʿAwarta and the tombs of al-Sayyid Elʿazar, Itamar, and Pinḥas; and apparently another village with the tombs of al-Sayyid Yehoshuaʿ, his father Nūn, and of Kalev b. Yefune. There are further descriptions of other places and sites he visited with his companions (including the tomb of Joseph in Bal[āṭa]), but the paper is torn and the names are mostly missing. He adds, "I have only told you these things because you sent a letter blaming me..." On verso, he refers to "[...] your staying there, other than your husband." May refer to her having ophthalmia (wa-antī ramida, v8). A few lines further down, "I have no silver and I cannot find anyone... Your cousin (ibn ʿammik)... Do not cut your (letters off from me)...." Note that the first fragment under this shelfmark is unrelated. The letter requires further examination, ideally with multispectral imaging.