Letter: T-S 8J14.18

Description

Letter from a member of the nasi family of Mosul addressed to Shelomo b. Yishay. Dating: the events described in the letter likely took place in the 1190s CE, though it may have been written considerably later; many of the same scribe's other letters come from the 1230s CE, though there is no blessing for the dead after the name of Maimonides in this letter. The sender reminisces on a visit when he was younger to the house of Moshe Maimonides. He describes his reception by Maimonides, various other matters, includes information on the layout of Maimonides' home, and mentions a servant of Maimonides, describing him as the “keeper of the curtain" (purdah-dār), a duty similar to that of an usher. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society, 4:381, 454; 5:65, 522.) EMS. This letter is edited and discussed in Paul Fenton, "A Meeting with Maimonides," BSOAS vol. 45 no. 1 (1982), 1–4. In recto, l. 7, Fenton reads ר טוק, citing Goitein, and explains that "ṭawq means 'strength', especially that of a young man. Rabbi Ṭawq is colloquial for young man. The writer stresses the master's joviality." However, the phrase is much more likely ד טרק, meaning "four times." In verso, l. 3, Fenton translates "aqrāṣ laymū" as "lemon cakes." The term qurṣ (pl. aqrāṣ) should be translated "pastille," and refers to a small medicated or flavored tablet. See Leigh Chipman, "The World of Pharmacy and Pharmacists in Mamlūk Cairo," Brill (2010), p. 281.