Legal document: Moss. VII,32.1

Description

Legal document dated 6 July 1564 CE (16 Tammuz 5324) in Cairo/מצרים, in which Sulaymān Ṣafiyy and the treasurers of the heqdesh of the Mustaʿrib congregation reach an agreement regarding the amounts owed by Sulaymān. He owes them ongoing rent payments for the līwān in an ʿaliyya belonging to the heqdesh in which he lives, as well as a prior debt of 123 muayyadis. In this document, he commits to paying 4 muayyadis a week, or 16 a month, of which 9 are for rent and 7 are for defraying his debt of 123 muayyadis. There are three different enforcement mechanisms: Sulaymān accepts a ban of excommunication upon himself if he fails to pay on time; he undertakes a vow; and he agrees that if he does not pay, the treasurers have the right to evict him through the Muslim court sytem, and he will have to pay the associated fees (by including this provision here, the heqdesh officers forestall the possibility that they will be accused of violating the halakha by resorting to the Muslim courts). The witnesses are ʿOvadya b. Avraham Ḥazzan and David b. Elʿazar Ḥonik (? חניך) ha-Levi (who also appears in ENA NS I.57 and ENA NS 29.11). On verso there is an archiving note: "the rental contract of Sulaymān Ṣafiyy, debt of 123 muayyadis to the congregation." Information from Dotan Arad's edition. ASE.