Letter: T-S NS J170

Description

Letter from Eliyyahu (b. Zekherya) to the scholar Yosef. In Judaeo-Arabic. Eliyyahu expresses astonishment that the latter had not answered the Rayyis with regard to the Nile boat (ʿushārī). On recto (the second page of the letter), Eliyyahu expresses apprehension about his son Abū l-Barakāt (Shelomo) who is hoping to get married. Eliyyahu himself has sworn not to get involved (פאקסם אלממלוך אנה לא ישיר עליה בראי), because apparently he's gotten in trouble by being too involved in the past (אלדי מא כאן אלזאמי לה בדלך פי שי מן אלסעד). So he now asks the addressee to get involved in his place. It seems the first potential match, the daughter of Manṣūr, does not have a "good heart" (שאין הלב טוב). (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)