Letter: ENA 2808.66

Letter ENA 2808.66

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In PGP since 2017

Description

Letter from Avraham b. Natan Av, judge in Cairo, to al-Mumhe, i.e. "the specialist," meaning a permanent member of the court, whose name is not preserved, and who was apparently in charge of the money of the qodesh, ca. 1100. Report concerning money of the qodesh after the death of its holder. A certain parnas, Musafir, has donated five dinars to the heqdesh of the synagogue of Cairo. Sa'id, "the head of the congregations," who was given the money in order to bring timber from Alexandria for this sum, died before he could go to Alexandria and the money was left with his widow. An inquiry (carried out by the court) into the matter has shown that the qodesh still owes the widow money and the writer asks that the balance be paid to her. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 220 #35)

ENA 2808.66 1

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Transcription

Moshe Gil, Documents of the Jewish Pious Foundations from the Cairo Geniza (Leiden: Brill, 1976).

ENA 2808, f. 66 ed. Gil, Documents, pp. 220 Doc. #35 Report concerning money of the qodesh after the death of its holder, ca. 1100. SH [11-19-86] (P)

  1. [ ] וצלח [
  2. [ ] תולי חביבי ולד ק[ ]ת[
  3. [ יכ]ון אלמשי ענדי אסהל מן רכוב דאבה דון פלמא
  4. [ ]אב עישי וזאלת אלאמראץ ואלעלל וצח אלגסם
  5. [ ]אלממחה חפטך אללה אן אלפרנס מסאפר נט רח
  6. [ ]לאלהקדש אלדי לכניסה אלקאהרה כמסה דנאניר סלמהא
  7. [אלי צ]אעד ראש הקהלות נע לישתרי לכניסתנא בהם כמס שוחאת מן
  8. אלאסכנדריה ותחמל אלי הונא באלגאה בלא ואגב תסוא הונא כמס
  9. ועשרין דינר וקצי אן צאעד לם ימצי אלי אלאסכנדריה ומאת הונא תלך
  10. אלמותה אלמשהורה פטאלבנא זוגתה באלדנאניר וער פנאהא אלכ[ ]
  11. ותבתנא אלשהאדה עלי צאעד באלה דנא ותסלמה איאהא קבל ופאתה
  12. באיאם לישתרי ללהקדש בהא כשב שוח ואדרכתה אלופאה פסאל[נא]
  13. אלוזגה(!) ואשהדת עלי רוחהא באן אננא אכד מנה זאיד מן אל[כמס]ה
  14. דנאניר פהו ללהקדש ואלחגה פהי בעשרין ארדב קמח סער [תלאתה]
  15. אראדב בדינר אלתמן סבעה אלא תלת וקד אדעא אנה אופא דינ[רי]ן בכד
  16. דראהם ולם יתבת לה שי וגמיע מא חצל מן אלה דנא` אלדינר ונצף אלדי
  17. קד אכדתה וקד בקי מן דאך מאל אלהקדש ג ונצף ואלדי בקי עליהם
  18. פי אלחגה ה וסדס פלעל תעידו ללהקדש[ ] ותעטיה אלחגה

Margin:

  1. ]ענדי מחמוד לאן גירה יטמע
  2. ]מעי ושלומו יגדל לעדי עד נצח ישע יקרב

Translation

Moshe Gil, Documents of the Jewish Pious Foundations from the Cairo Geniza (Leiden: Brill, 1976).

Recto

  1. .... 

  2. ....appointed my friend, the son…

  3. .....it is easier for me to walk than to ride an animal, so that when 

  4.  . . . . my life, and the indispositions and diseases are over and the body is in good health 

  5.  . . . . al-Mumḥē, may God guard you, that the parnās Musāfir, may God preserve him, 

  6.  . . (donated) to. The heqdēsh belonging to the Synagogue of Cairo 5 dinars, that he handed over

  7. (7-9) to Ṣāʿid rōsh ha-qehillōt, of blessed memory, with which to buy 5 fir trees from Alexandria for our synagogue and carry them here in honor, there being no need to pay 25 dinars for them here. But (fate) decided that Ṣāʿid should not go to Alexandria and he died here, that

  8.  
  9.  
  10.  well-known death. Then we requested the money from his wife and informed her . . . 

  11. (11-12) and recorded the evidence about Ṣāʿid’s debt of 5 dinars and that he received them a few days before his decease in order to buy fir wood with them for the heqdēsh; but death overtook him. So we requested 

  12.  
  13.  his wife, and she testified for herself that we have taken from him more then those 5

  14.  dinars that indeed belong to the heqdēsh, but there is a claim of 20 irdabbs wheat, the market price being of 3 

  15.  irdabbs a dinar; the sum paid 6 2⁄3. The claim also was that he returned 2 dinars by  24 dir., but nothing was recorded to his credit. There should also be included in the 5 dinars 1 1/2 dinar that 

  16.  I took, so that the balance of money owed to the heqdēsh of it was of 3 1/2; therefore, the rest owed by the qōdesh 

  17.  according to the claim is of 5 1/6 So that perhaps you should remind the

  18. heqdēsh . . . . to give her what she claims.

 

Recto, margin

  1.  .... with me Maḥmūd (?) since the others would desire 

  2.  . . . with me. And may your welfare increase for ever and ever, neṣaḥ yeshaʿ yiqārēv.

 

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