Letter: T-S 12.3

Description

Letter from a Maghribi silversmith named Efrayim b. Ishaq of Ceuta, Morocco, who had fled Almohad persecution in his native country about 35 years earlier. He describes himself as a 'foreigner' in spite of having lived in Egypt for about 15 years. When he lost half his sight from ophthalmia (ramad), he was unable to work as a silversmith and had to resort to teaching. He asks the addressee, also of Maghribi origins, for charity. Ca. 1181. The letter is preceded by a poem (lines 3-8). English translation in Med Soc V, 77. T-S 8J20.24 is a sequel to this letter. On verso: an eulogy in Hebrew.