Letter: ENA 2808.42

Description

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer and addressee are unknown, but the handwriting seems very familiar. The writer starts by addressing a single person and sending blessings for his son; he then switches to addressing that person together with his brothers. The letter is a quintessential example of the epistolary norms surrounding illness, expressing preoccupation for others, and rebuking others for failing to do the same. "When I heard that your condition had worsened (takhallufhā), I became very distressed and forgot my own illnesses and condition, until God had mercy and the news of your health arrived, and I thanked God for that, yodu l-adonay ḥasdo, and may God avert all evil from you and your brothers and all in your care and protect me from all bad news. By my life, I am pained/sick of heart from the fact that you do not mention me in a letter or an inquiry, despite the fact that I have not cut off (our correspondence), and the fact that you are to me like my children, nay, like my brothers-in-law, and you ought to be inquiring after me (iftiqādī) if only with a letter or an inquiry. But I forgive you because of all of your cares." ASE.