Letter: Bodl. MS heb. b 13/51

Description

Letter from Seʿadya ha-Kohen b. Hillel (aka Saʿd b. Hilāl) Rosh ha-Qahal to Ṭoviyya b. ʿEli ha-Kohen ha-Ḥaver, the muqaddam of Bilbays (here called "muqaddam al-yahūd"). In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic, often rhymed, with the address in both Hebrew and Arabic. Seʿadya praises Ṭoviyya in the warmest tones and asks what he has done wrong for Ṭoviyya (and Ṭoviyya's wife?) to cut off their letters to him. He was pained when a letter from Ḥalfon b. Sasson to his brother arrived in Toviyya's handwriting (reading חט as כט). The right margin deals with the logistics of correspondence. The upper margin mentions some debts and the dangers of travel (שיבוש הדרכים) preventing the sending of something or someone. Verso is mainly copious regards to and from family members and friends ("I can no longer burden people by carrying letters to each of you"—hence he includes all the greetings in one letter.) (Information in part from Goitein’s index card)