Scholarship on Legal document: T-S 10J7.10

The elder Abū ‘Alā Japheth, the …,

the son of the elder Maslī’aḥ—may he rest in Eden—appeared before us and made the following deposition, while we were constituted

as a court of three. He said: “I was with the cantor, ‘The Diadem’—may God accept him with favor—when

Wuḥsha, the broker, came in and said: ‘Do you not have an advice for me? I had an affair with Ḥassūn

and conceived from him. We contracted a marriage before a Muslim notary, but I am afraid

that he may deny being the father of my child.’ She then lived in the house of Ben al-Sukkarī

on the uppermost floor. He (the cantor) said: ‘Go and gather some people, and let them surprise you with him so that your assertion might be confirmed.’

She did so, gathering two who surprised her with him, and confirmed her assertion. She was then

pregnant with this Abū Sa’d, her son, whom she had conceived in her illicit relation with Ḥassūn. I know also

that she went on the Fast of Atonement to the synagogue of the Iraqians, but when

the Nāsī of blessed memory noticed her, he expelled her from the synagogue. I know

all this for sure, and deposit herewith my testimony to this effect. There appeared also in court

the ritual slaughterer Abū Sa’īd Ḥalfōn ha-Kohen, son of Rabbi Joseph ha-Kohen—may he rest in Eden—and deposited the following witness in our presence:

"I was living in the house of Hibat Allah Ben al-Sukkari—may God accept him

with favor—on the ground floor for many years, while Wuḥsha, the broker,

had her domicile in the uppermost part of the house. In those days, she came down once to one

of the tenants, namely Abū Naṣr, the Kohen, the cantor Ben al-Kāmukhī, and to Abraham

the Jerusalemite, known as the son of the mrhṭ, and said to them: ‘Please,

come up with me to my room for something. The two went up with her

and found Ḥassūn sitting in her place and....