Letter: T-S 18J4.4

Recto

1. In your name, O Merciful 
2. "Happy is he who is thoughtful of the wretched; in bad times may the Lord keep him (from harm)" (Psalm 41:2). "Happy is he who lends generously, who conducts his affairs
3. with equity" (Psalm 112:5). "He who is generous to the poor makes a loan to the Lord, etc." (Proverbs 19:17). "It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to take the wretched poor into your home;
4. when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to ignore your own kin" (Isaiah 58:7). "Wealth is of no avail on the day of wrath, but charity
5. saves from death" (Proverbs 11:4). "For the work of charity shall be peace, and the effect of charity, calm and confidence forever" (Isaiah 32:17). 
6. I send peace and salvation / as a blessing and delight / to rescue from all evil / and all affliction and harm / to protect you always
7. with mercy / to appear at every moment and hour, / great blessings / abundant success / compassion
8. and favor / kindness and mercy along with all the other blessings that have been heralded / and words of comfort that have been spoken / to his honor,
9. gre(atness and) hol(iness our) m(aster) and t(eacher) Eli ha-Kohen the parnas, the trustee, / sweet as the (desert) manna / may the steadfast God bless you / and establish your fame among the unbereft nation.
10. / May He grant you an auspicious end / and may you have vigor in good old age, / son of Ḥayyim the "Expert," (may his) m(emory be) b(lessed).
11. May you have abundant peace from the Lord of peace, and a blessing from God, your salvation, Who will give you salvation, and also from the one beloved by you and beloved friend, who prays
12. at all times for you, and from your venerable brethren, for we dwell in peace and give thanks to the Rock, our salvation, as for all the
13. kindness He has done for us. I inform you, may your Rock protect you and shield you from trouble, that God, may His praise be exalted, commanded us to turn
14. toward the "common poor" among us and to those from good families who have fallen from their wealth, in order to favor them and expend upon them blessing
15. from the bounty of the Lord that He has given us, so that He will bless us in whatever we do, all the more so in the case of scholars of the Torah, who are called
16. such and who apply themselves diligently at its doors, guarding the doorposts of its entrances. Happy is he who wins merit for fulfilling this commandment, for the entirety of
17. expressions of comfort and good tidings were spoken precisely with regard to those who benefit scholars of the Torah out of their own wealth, feed them, give them drink, and clothe them. 
18. The bearer of these lines is Solomon b. Benjamin. He is a good and deserving man, crowned with humility,
19. a modest person, from a good family of noteworthy householders whose table was always set and whose houses were always wide open.
20. However, on account of the many troubles that befell them they fell from their wealth, became poor, and were forced to turn in their need to others.
21. This man left as a war refugee, // wishing to go up to Jerusalem the Holy City, may God sustain it
22. forever. // Because of his poverty, he has been forced to travel around in search of sustenance for himself, // and will go [t]here later. // He asked to have
23. these two lines written on his behalf to be an intercessor for him, because, on account of many sins, he is not bold enough to do this.
24. I ask your excellency, (may your) R(ock) p(rotect you), when he approaches you, to be as diligent as you can and act with him as is your good habit with
25. all wayfarers, and do not delay so that he must stay longer. "Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed" (Psalm 74:21). In return the Lord will give blessing.
26. "If one says he will give and does give, he receives a reward both for saying and for doing. If one says he will give but does not manage to do so,
27. he receives a reward for the commandment just as for the doing. If one does not say he will give but tells others to give he receives a reward
28. for this, as it is written, 'for in return the Lord your God will bless you in all your efforts and in all your undertakings'" (Deuteronomy 15:10).
29. These lines are being written with urgency because time is pressing and this Solomon is anxious to go. So
30. I have not been able to write at greater length. May the King of the universe in His abundant mercy protect you and your son and cover you both with the cover
31. of His wings and send His blessing in your barns that are hidden from the eye and make you dwell safely and tranquilly without fear of evil, and may He turn
32. toward us and toward you in His abundant mercy, and announce to us peace from the mouth of peace, in the biblical verse that says, "How welcome on the
33. mountain are the footsteps of the herald announcing peace (or: happiness), heralding good fortune, announcing victory, telling Zion,
34. 'Your God is King'" (Isaiah 52:7).  May your welfare and the welfare of those who love you increase forever. Greetings to your son Ephraim, may he increase
35. like the (swarms of) locusts forever and ever. Selah. May salvation be near and peace and mercy in the end. 
36. Your beloved friend Nathan ha-Kohen b. Mevorakh 

 

Verso, address

Deliver in joy and gladness to (his) h(onor) g(reatness and) h(oliness) Eli ha-Kohen the parnas and Trustee b. Ḥayyim ha-Kohen the "Expert," (may his) m(emory be) b(lessed). 

His "son" Nathan ha-Kohen b. Mevorakh (may his) e(nd be) g(ood). May great salvation be near

 

Verso

To Fustat, God great and exalted willing. Deliver it, may God have mercy on you.