Legal document: JRL Series L 128

Description

End of a legal document from Cairo dated in the first third of Adar 5502 AM which is 1742 CE. From what little can be gleaned in the opening lines of this damaged fragment, it seems this may have been related to guardianship procedures: "שבעולם ובפרט מה׳׳מ מרים מרת אחיו ומהיתומים". This reference points to the possibility that the widow Miryam's brother-in-law was involved in guardianship arrangements following her husband's death. The name Av[raham?] appears in line 1 but is unclear if it is connected to the deceased man, his surviving brother, or someone else. The middle signature contains a brief passage noting that one of the legal parties requested for someone else to sign on their behalf. These procedures often begin with variations of the verb צוה "to command" (for a clearer example, see ENA NS 56.7, PGPID 12885). One witness signature, to the left side, is that of Avraham Berakha Shalom. The scribe's signature is quite elaborate but can be confirmed as "Avraham Castro" through comparison with other contemporary fragments. For further instances of this scribal signature, compare with: (BL OR 5543.2, AIU VII.D.42, T-S 16.106). MCD.