Legal document: Bodl. MS heb. c 28/11

(1) Testimony that took place before us, we witnesses whose signatures are at the bottom of this document, as follows. There appeared before us (his) h(onor), g(reatness and) h(oliness) 

(2) (our) master and t(eacher) Judah “Choice One of the Yeshiva” b. Moses (who) r(ests in) E(den), who is known as Ibn Sighmār, he being of sound mind and body, 

(3) in control of his will, compliant, neither forced nor compelled, with neither forgetfulness, deception (of  the senses), infirmity, illness, nor any other among 

(4) all the things that disqualify testimony. He said to us: “Ten years ago I was in al-Mahdiyya where I met 

(5) M(r.) Abraham ha-Kohen ibn Faraj (who) r(ests in) E(den), who is known as al-Raḥbī, in my house. He spotted in my possession a piece of ambergris 

(6) weighing 72 ounces, beautiful, white, long, and of  the highest quality possible. He liked it very much and asked me about selling it 

(7) to him. I told him: ‘I will not sell it because I hope to  transport it with me to the East.’ He said to me that selling it in Syria 

(8)  would be better and more successful. Then he asked me about selling half of it to him, such that it would be “between us” (baynī wa-baynahu), and he would take it with him to sell in Syria.’ I consented 

(9-10) to this and  sold him half of it for what I wanted and collected the money. The afore mentioned piece of ambergris weighing 72 ounces became a partnership  (shirka) between me and him (baynī wa-baynahu), and he transported it with him to sell in Syria. He arrived in Syria, 

(11) and I received his letter (saying) that he had sold the piece of ambergris for a good price to Tamīm  b. Masʿūd, and that with the proceeds he had bought 

(12) brazilwood,  and that the price of brazilwood changed while it was in his possession  and that he added to its value fifty percent by selling it to people from  Byzantium (al-rūm)at a good price, resulting in a 

(13) sum of money (jumla). Then I received another letter of his saying: ‘I am going to carry  what is on your own personal account to the Maghrib.’ Afterwards he travelled to the Maghrib twice. 

(14-15) I asked him to hand over what was on my own personal account to the son of my brother, but he did not pay him a thing. Thereafter a boy named Ibn Benaya went off on a journey on my behalf from Alexandria. I wrote a letter for him to take, (stating) that he (al-Raḥbī) should pay him, and that the latter (the boy) should give  him a release for whatever he collected from him. He (al-Raḥbī) paid 

(16) him 28 dinars and the latter gave him a release for that amount exactly. Now every year I receive letters from him (al-Raḥbī) promising to 

(17-18)  come see me, but I have not gotten any of the truth from him,nor have I  received anything fro[m him] to this day. In addition, the aforementioned 28 dinars have not reached me, though I learned that he had paid (the boy). Therefore I have found it necessary to appoint a legal representative  to claim from him 

(19) the original account file on the aforementioned  ambergris weighing 72 ounces and whatever was gained through (the sale of) it and the brazilwood 

(20) and to demand (the oath) on ‘fulfillment  of the trust’ following the rendering of the account. So now, be witnesses for me and make a symbolic acquisition from me ‘as from now’ and write,  

(21) using all the (proper) fixed terms and emphatic expressions and all the terms of titles of right, and sign it and convey therewith as a title of right 

(22) to M(r.) Eli the parnas ha-Kohen b. Yaḥyā (who) r(ests in) E(den) so  that it can serve him as a writ and document from this day forth to the  effect that I have given to him 

(23) four cubits of land from my compound in Fustat, Egypt, as a complete gift, strong and valid, a permanent 

(24) gift, and incidental to them and joined to them I have made him my legal representative against M(r.) Abraham ha-Kohen ibn Faraj (who) r(ests in) E(den), known as al-Raḥbī, 

(25) to extract for me from him everything I claim from him, as mentioned at the beginning of this power of attorney. I have  appointed this M(r.) Eli 

(26) ha-Kohen the parnas to claim and take possession of everything for himself and take title to it for himself. I have also  appointed him to make the claim in any 

(27)court he wants, even with the  assistance of gentiles. I have appointed him to claim, to summon to court,  to collect, and to take payment. I have made 

(28) his claim (like) my claim,  his ruling (like) my ruling, his collecting (like) my collecting, his paying (like) my paying, his hand like my hand, his exacting an oath (like) my  exacting an oath, 

(29) his making an out of court settlement (sulḥ) (like) my making an out of court settlement, his release (like) my release, and his act (like) my act, for this is my will. I have deemed that he may appoint as legal representative anyone else whom he wants

(30) in whatever manner he wishes. I accept whatever results from the litigation, whether it be favorable or unfavorable, and I am not permitted to say ‘I sent you for my benefit, not to  my detriment.’ I accept responsibility for all this for myself and for my  heirs after I die, according to the most perfect and wise 

(32) (laws) made by our Rabbis (of) b(lessed) m(emory) concerning powers of attorney, declaring void any declarations or conditions, neither like conditional transactions nor  

(33) like formularies, but rather according to the stringencies of all documents  that are validated in court. We thereupon performed the symbolic acquisition (qinyan) from (his) h(onor), g(reatness and) h(oliness) (our) t(eacher)  and m(aster) Judah “Choice One of the Yeshiva” b. Moses (who) r(ests in)  E(den), who is known as Ibn Sighmār, to M(r.) Eli ha-Kohen the parnas b.  Yaḥyā (who) r(ests in) E(den) concerning all 

(35) that is written and specified  above, with an implement fit for doing so. Strong and valid. We wrote and  signed on Sunday, the third 

(36) day of the month of Second Adar, in the  year 4845 of the Creation, in the city of Alexandria, which sits on the shore  of the Great Sea. 

Solomon b. Sason (who) r(ests in) E(den) ʿUlla ha-Levi b. Joseph (may his)  e(nd be) g(ood) Mawhūb the cantor b. Aaron the cantor (who) r(ests in)  E(den) Manasse ha-Levi b. Yefet the teacher (who) r(ests in) E(den)