Scholarship on Letter: Yevr. III B 904

O our great and chosen Elder—may God grant you a long life in blessing and happiness, may He ward off all misfortune, and may He bestow upon you success in all things.

We are writing to you, our brother, on the 8th of Marḥeshvan. We are in a state ordained by the Creator Almighty and Exalted—But He is at one with Himself, and who can turn Him? And what His soul desireth, even that He doeth (Job 23:13). We have been dealt a heavy blow, and we have suffered a great loss in our bereavement of our support, the support of all Israel. Our exalted Master, our Nagid, the Prince of the Diaspora, has passed away. Woe unto this calamity which has struck us, this disaster which has come upon us with his loss. Thus we say: The Crown has fallen from our head; Woe unto us! for we have sinned (Lamentations 5:16). Master, our iniquities have turned away these things, and our sins have withheld good from us (Jeremiah 5:22). We are afraid and anxious, for we are left uncovered with him gone, as he was the protector of the community and its support. There is no doubt that God Almighty and Exalted has taken him from us for the bliss which has come to him and for the evil which has found us with him gone. As it is said of one such as he: The righteous is taken away from the evil to come (Isaiah 57:1).

Indeed, Master, the time is ripe for troubles. As to our position, I have already complained to you. It has been for a long time exposed and stripped naked of its elders. The shepherd is gone who guided it. This Nagid—may God have mercy upon him—was one who protected the community’s welfare from those who would expose it and took good care of most of its affairs. When he departed, no one was left to take good care of matters and to protect our interests. But rather, we have become, as it is said: For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth, and as a garden that hath no water (Isaiah 1:30).

I am writing this letter to you on the day following his passing—may his soul find rest in Paradise. I do not know how to describe to you the state of affairs, nor am I able to give you any account of this affliction because it is more terrible than anything I might describe. It is as if we all became orphans bereaved of their parents, for the distinguished received much good from him—and the common folk even more. Now the poor and the destitute are utterly deprived of his protection. Now the enemy and the opponent have become arrogant toward us. We do not know how our situation will turn out. Indeed, those who are far away from us [in the outlying areas and the provinces] feel his loss even more strongly than we, because the governors and officials are crushing them while they can find no one from whom to seek aid.

We had thought along with him, Master, that on this past Sukkot we would gather together and look into the matter of our Masters, the Heads of Yeshivot. We intended to answer their letters and to investigate what had been detained in Fustat from reaching them. And there were other things we wished to look into so that we could bring the matter out into the open and clear it up. But then fate descended upon him unawares, and he went to the Abode of Truth. “He has gone to rest and left us to sigh.” Perhaps, Master, I shall find a way afterwards when the darkness has lifted, and I shall write to you what I know and express what is within me and impart it to you, so that you may inform our Masters.

I cannot be blamed [for not taking care of the affairs of the Baghdad Yeshivot at this time]. The affairs of the kingdom, O our brother, are in an extreme state of turmoil. Our city at this moment is completely closed off, no one comes in or goes out [see Joshua 6:1]. The place is ravaged by hunger and drought. And just when there was a little rain, and people began to open their eyes, the judgment of God came upon this leader. And he was taken unto Him, leaving our position exposed and ruined . . .

The people of Gabes, too, have suffered severe hardship on account of the heavy payment that fell upon them during the time of the famine, leaving them stripped bare. Most of them are in our city at this time.

The Further Maghreb, like Sijilmasa and other cities, is in chaos with people dead from hunger and sword. We live in great fear—may God make us secure from this dread.

I have already asked you several times to clarify for me the matter of the Gabesians’ money, namely, the 100 dinars which they had sent with Abū Zikrī Judah and which should have reached you several years ago. There has been a good deal of correspondence and controversy since that time, and we do not know what became of it. Please explain to me what you know of it, and whether any of it arrived or not. Would you also let me know what was sent with the sons of Barhūn, our in-laws—may God protect them. I cannot write you any more than this now. . . .

Do you think you might be so kind as to send a letter or some news. Since you are gracious, do not leave me to my grief any longer, and do not deprive me of your customary kindness. I ask God to reunite us quickly under the best of circumstances. If I should find a way to write at the time of the next caravan after this, then it shall reach you. And if the situation should become even more oppressive, then we are depending upon you to inform our Masters of that which I have written to you and to convey my apology to them.

May God shield and preserve you. . . . And may the end be peace.

Verso, address

To our great Elder Abu ’l-Faraj—may God preserve him—Joseph b. Jacob b. ‘Awkal (may his soul find rest) God is his Protector and his Shepherd

From Joseph and Nissīm the sons of Berechiah (may his soul find rest)

Destined for Fustat

God willing