Letter: Bodl. MS heb. b 11/33
Letter Bodl. MS heb. b 11/33What's in the PGP
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This is the fourth letter sent by Yonatan ha-Kohen b. David of Lunel to Moses Maimonides (active in Egypt ca. 1168–1204), writing in his own name but also all the sages of Provence. The letter discusses three topics. (1) They have succeeded in finding a translator for the Guide for the Perplexed, Shemuel b. Yehuda Ibn Tibbon. "Indeed [the Guide] would have been 'as a small stone in a heap of stones' (Proverbs 26:8) and 'as a lily among thorns' (Song of Songs 2:2), a book for the illiterate, if our Creator had not brought us one wise and enlightened in every wisdom, whose father taught him the language of the Arabs, the son of the wondrous sage, the elevated physician, Yehuda Ibn Tibbon ha-Sefaradi." Yonatan then gives a list of works that Yehuda Ibn Tibbon has translated: Sefer ha-Emunot, Sefer Ḥovot ha-Levavot, Middot ha-Nefesh, Mivḥar ha-Peninim (of Ibn Gabirol), the Kuzari, and Sefer ha-Diqduq and Sefer ha-Shorashim by Ibn Jannāḥ. Then, referring to the Midrash on 1 Samuel 3:3 ("the lamp of Eli had not yet gone out [when the lamp shone of] Shemuel ha-Ramati"), he returns to Shemuel the son of Yehuda who has started his career in the lifetime of his father and teacher. "He scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion into his hands (Judges 14:9), and fed us, with the tip of the pen in his hand, of the honey [from your lips] and the drops of myrrh from your fingers, and our eyes were illuminated to see what was concealed. Our eyes have not been sated with seeing, nor our ears with hearing, and our desire has grown [greater than] in the beginning, like the thirsty bird that has begun to drink when the cup is taken away, or like the nursing baby torn away from his mother's breast." (2) This leads to the second topic: they wish to be sent the third and final part of the Guide, which they have not yet seen. (3) The third matter is alluded to in a postscript, in which Yonatan repeats a request for the responsa to the 24 queries they had sent regarding the Mishneh Torah. The response of Maimonides, who neglected to respond to the first three letters, has been preserved (not in the Geniza). From the response, we also learn that this letter by Yonatan of Lunel was accompanied by a letter to Maimonides from Shemuel Ibn Tibbon. In it, he introduced himself, expressed his wish to travel to Egypt and meet Maimonides in person, and sought advice on some matters of translation. Verso contains three different text blocks. At the top, very faded, is the address, most of which Stern succeeded in reading with UV light (משה יצ בן . . . ר מימו[ן] זצל המגיד דבריו ליעקב חקיו ומשפטיו לישראל). Next, there are 11 lines in the hand of Moses Maimonides, likely his notes to himself and/or an assistant when he filed away this letter: "When the responsa to their queries were delayed from reaching them due to an illness [. . .], they sent this fourth letter requesting the responsa and the Guide, and this is the text of their letter. [. . .] the Guide, and let the delayed responsa be expedited." The word after "illness" is difficult to read. Stern suggests רבאני and the translation "divine mania." Baneth suggests ובאני, meaning "an epidemic illness." Finally, in a third hand, there is a date, which must have been added by a later owner: Monday, 2 Elul 1580 (=1269 CE), Shabbat Shofeṭim. Information largely from Stern's analysis, pp. 18–20 and 23. There are various editions, awaiting digitization. For an edition of the writing by Maimonides, and a general analysis of the place of this letter in his correspondence with the scholars of Provence, see Stern, "Maimonides' Correspondence with the Scholars of Provence," Zion 16 (1951), pp.18–29. ASE
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Translator: Stern, S. M. (in English)
Bodl. MS heb. b 11/33 33 recto
For and on behalf of the notables and sages, by the order of old and young, upon the decision of the counsellors and advisors, I was moved to say words, utter praise, tell the glory of Moses, the great scribe of Israel. Behold by the wisdom he has in his heart and the spirit of the holy God which he has more than any living, his decree goes forth upon the whole of the earth, a law that is not to be changed; true is his law and enduring his decree, no false and corrupt word is found in him, but they are rays of light which come forth from before him, some of them are fountains of living water in the midst of light, some sparkles of burning fire for those that walk on the shore of the river; they increase the wisdom of the wise and the knowledge of those that possess intelligence. He uncovers deep and hidden things, announcing fundamental doctrine. He is a holy angel, in whom is found excessive spirit, wisdom and intelligence, to interpret dreams and tell enigmas and to untie knots. May his greatness reach the height of the sky, may his comfort be long, from God, King of heaven, Whose paths are all truth, Whose kingdom has no end; may he live before Him for ever, the chief of governors, sages, magicians, enchanters and sorcerers, chief of his nation, leader of his people; may his welfare and peace be great, even so as we require, pray for and beseech from the Lord of mercy, from Whom comes wisdom and might and to Whom belongs greatness and kingdom.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of our father, Who has inspired the king, I mean the king of wisdom, to glorify our Law and to restore the edifice of our Thora and to raise his canopy over us. We have earnestly striven, so far as God has given us the power, to collect his sapphire-valued volumes and treasured tomes, against which no precious things can be set and to whose value nothing comes up; all these perish, but his wisdom endures forever and his righteousness stands in all eternity—he, our lord, our pride, the tabernacle of our glory, the sanctuary of our renown, the altar of the Lord, the ark of God, the tables of the covenant, the throne of honour, the site of our sanctuary, Moses, the servant of the Lord, captain of the host of the Lord—the son of his saintly honour, our lord and master Maymun; wonder of wisdom, mine of mysteries, glory of Israel, our foundation-stone, by whose worth we stand, and not by ours, our exalted renown, who stands by our side! You renew your testimony before us and we learn of your ornaments, we have seen the Codex of the Mishne Thora, an interpreter of doubtful cases, and uncoverer of deep things; you have given before us life and goodness, and increased wisdom and goodness, by sending us the book Guide of the Perplexed. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, but let him that glories glory in this that he knows it; its words are the words of the living God; who found it, found life, who turns away from it, turns away from life. It is like its name, a guide for the perplexed, if he is a learned man—for the crowd it is like a stone that no one heeds. For us, it was as a bag of gems in a heap of stones and a rose among the thorns, the book is delivered to him that is not learned to read it. But God sent us good speed, in the person of a wise son, who is well versed in all the sciences, whom the master, his father, had taught the learning and the tongue of the Arabians, the son of the admirable scholar and excellent physician, the master Rabbi Judah ibn Tibbon the Spaniard, who had benefited and enlightened us and taught us some of the books of the sciences, by translating for us the Book of the Beliefs, the Book of the Duties of the Hearts, the Book of the Characters of the Soul, the Choice of Pearls, the Book of the Khazar King, the books of the grammarians; the Book of the Roots by Ibn Janah, who also has Diverse Colours, each one of these books gives to its owner honour. [ . . . ]
Therefore, if it please our lord and master, our pride, and the thing seem right in his eyes, as his bread is rich and his dough fat, let him give us a full ration and grant us our portion, not like beggars whose way is to be satisfied with a slice of bread. Let him send us the rows of the shewbread, the rows of the living God, the complete rows of the book of the Guide of the Perplexed. Let him show mercy and compassion and let him listen with the ear of love and complaisance to the prayer of these our learned men, the inhabitants of Lunel.
Bodl. MS heb. b 11/33 33 verso
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