Letter: Moss. V,332

Description

Letter from a man to his wife. In Judaeo-Arabic. Oddly, the sender refers to himself in the third person most of the time. The address is made out to Simḥa al-[...] al-Tabarānī, at the Palestinian synagogue. Simḥa is presumably meant to read the letter to the wife. The sender provides a granular update on his business travels, mentioning people such as Abū Yūsuf al-Ruqūqī and several towns, probably all in the Nile Delta, including Minyat al-Qaʾid(?), Minyat al-S[...], and Sunbāṭ. He is hosted by a group of people from Beit Shean/Baysān (they are called Bayāsina) with whom he had previously traveled from ʿAkkā. He emphasizes his sadness at separation from his wife ("I cannot enjoy life and I am unsettled on account of distance in tears(?)... you know how much I love to eat warmed bread, but I have eaten only cold food since leaving you." He then goes on to Alexandria, where Natan says something to him. He carries on in the same vein on verso, describing his pain on account of absence, urging her to be patient and not to give enemies any cause to gloat, and mentioning further business affairs (including trade in riding animals, it seems). Mentions someone named Ibn al-Ḥamd(?). Regards to "your son," to the teacher Abū l-Wafaʾ, to the wife of the shaykh, and to Simḥa. NB: This fragment is not yet conserved and is only viewable at Cambridge as of 11/2021.