Scholarship on Letter: CUL Or.1080 J88

1. [To the honorable Abū] Naṣr, son of his honor,] greatness and holiness. our master and teacher Elisha, Pride 
2. of the Levites, the pious and noble, may God bless him and [may his Lord] aid him, 
3. and may He protect him, and permit him to witness the 
4. joy of his son, his learning, and length of days. 
5. Amen. Selah. [My desire to see you is such] that were I to express 
6. it entirely, scrolls would not suffice. [God] knows that [this] is true. May he rejoin
7. us in your presence on the most joyous of occasions. [. . . . . ] 
8. Aside from this, your servant received on [Wednesday] 21 
9. Tammuz disturbing and alarming news about 
10. our lord, our teacher Moses, may he live forever, who requested that your servant 
11. come as quickly as possible on his mount on account of his illness. 
12. May God, the exalted prevent harm from befalling the community because of him, and may He protect him.
13. The bearer of this letter, Ismāʿīl b. al-Melammed 
14. b. al-Sadalū, an indigent man, burdened with family obligations, came to Bilbays, where he 
15. got some money to defray the poll tax. He says that (our) lord promised 

Margin

to obtain some funds for him to defray the poll tax for him and his son. Your servant received (our) Iord’s promise. But (our lord) has not yet made his payment.