Legal document: T-S NS J66

Description

Drafts of a testimony to the effect that Yeshuʿa b. Shelomo ha-Levi is a genuine Levi and that he used to be called up to the reading of the Torah in Jerusalem when no other local or foreign Levi was present. T-S NS J66 (mainly Hebrew) and T-S 8.161 (mainly Judaeo-Arabic) are versions of the same document. Location: Fustat. Dating: 1229 CE (based on the other version). This version contains no signatures. Underneath the draft, at 90 degrees, it says in Judaeo-Arabic, "Hey you, who are my master, sign this testimony. And peace. Shelomo wrote this." (Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) On verso (not transcribed) there are additional versions: two lines in Hebrew and one line in Judaeo-Arabic. And at 90 degrees, there are cryptic notes in Arabic script. In huge letters at the top, it says "yā sīdī" (same as the Judaeo-Arabic note on recto). Underneath, there is a difficult text block that includes a reference to sending a messenger. (Information in part from Goitein's index card). VMR. ASE.