Letter: ENA 4011.20

Description

Letter of thanks. In Judaeo-Arabic. Praising a scholar who had spent a certain amount of time, it seems during the High Holidays, in a provincial town. His presence highly enhanced the prestige of the Jewish community and both Jews and Muslims were happy with him. He prayed from the prayerbook of Saadya Gaon. The document mentions al-Shaykh al-Thiqa Abū Ghālib, but it is not clear if he is the man so beloved. The letter has at least 10 signatures. The first is that of David b. ʿAmram ha-Kohen, in the same hand as the document itself. Other signatures: Berakhot b. [...]; Seʿadya b. Avraham ha-Levi; Yefet b. Yesh[uʿa?]; Elʿazar b. Ṣedaqa; Ṣedaqa b. Yiṣḥaq(?) ha-Kohen; Yoshiyya b. Araḥ; Sheʾerit b. Maṣliaḥ ha-Levi ha-Ḥazzan. (Information in part from Goitein's index card and Med Soc II, 299.) NB: Goitein called this document ENA 4011.19.