Letter: Moss. VII,162.3

Letter Moss. VII,162.3

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Shelfmark
Moss. VII,162.3
Primary Language
Judaeo-Arabic

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  • 1 Translation

Description

Letter fragment from a man to his wife. In Judaeo-Arabic. Partial translation by Joel Kraemer: "I have sworn an oath not to wash the clothes I wear until I return to you, nor cut my hair, drink wine or enter a bath until I come home. People know how I am constantly weeping, crying out and sobbing. By the Torah of Moses, peace upon him, I have not forgotten you, nor have I ever replaced you with someone else, or forgotten your piety and love; may God not let me die out of desire for you. I entreat you not to forget me in your prayers ... I wish to treat you with kindness, may God fulfill my hopes in this regard. I ask that I should be able to bedeck you with jewels beyond every woman in Sicily." See also Med Soc, III, p.193, note 157.

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Additional metadata

Collection
Cambridge University Library, Mosseri
Input date
In PGP since 2017
Image
Transcription
Translation

Moss. VII,162.3 1r

°
1r
Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization (Yale University Press, 2026), vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Translated by Nadia Vidro

And the . . . was destroyed . . . property that was owed by my brother—may his memory be blessed. And I did not depart from Qal‘at Banī Ḥammād [a town in what is now Algeria] until I weighed out what was due to his wife: two hundred mith[qal] in addition to the three hundred mithqal . . .

I made a vow that I will not wash the clothes that I wear . . . until I come to you, and I will not shave the hair of my head, nor will I drink wine or enter a bathhouse until I come to you, and the people will let you know about my weeping, crying, and moaning.

[I swear] by the Torah of Moses—peace be upon him—that I did not forget you, I did not replace you with someone else, I have never forgotten your faith and your love. May God not put me to death in my longing for you [i.e., may I never cease longing for you]!

I ask you not to forget me in your prayers and to bear in mind my love for you and the acts of grace that I want to do with you. May God grant me my hope regarding this! I wish to make you the proudest from among all the daughters of Sicily, with jewels and ornaments.

May God witness . . . this . . . so do not worry your heart since I wish . . .

Moss. VII,162.3 1v

°
1v
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Cambridge University Library, Mosseri, Moss. VII,162.3. Available online through the Princeton Geniza Project at https://geniza.princeton.edu/documents/9367/ (accessed August 25, 2026).