Letter: Halper 319

Description

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to an notable; wide space between the lines. The handwriting is probably known. Describing a communal controversy, requesting that the blind cantor Sheʾerit b. Yefet be removed from his position. The senders are apparently writing from a provincial town since they report bringing a document "to the city (i.e., Fustat) to our judges/courts" (פאורדנאה אלי אלמדינה אלי בתי דינים שלנו). There are several other men with the name Sheʾerit b. Yefet mentioned in Geniza documents (e.g. T-S 10J7.17) and a cantor named Sheʾerit in T-S 13J19.14, but it's not clear if these are the same person. On recto (secondary use): poem in honor of a bridegroom (rhymed ים-). (Information in part from Halper catalogue.)