Letter: T-S 13J17.21

Description

Letter probably from Shemuel b. Daniel b. ʿAzarya (the eldest brother of David b. Daniel). Describing his grief over his father's death. Dating: 1062 CE or shortly thereafter, if Goitein's identifications are correct (since Daniel b. ʿAzarya died in August/September 1062). "After describing his pain—also physical—over the loss of his father and his state of disconsolation (quoting Lamentations 2:13), he continues: 'You, the illustrious elder, have already learned how God the exalted has afflicted the people of Israel and, in particular, myself with the eclipse of the honored position (jāh) possessed by me through the vanishing of the crown, the glory, the power, the splendor . . . the nasi. . . and Head of the yeshiva....'" (Information from Goitein's index card and Med Soc V, pp. 258, 578.)