Letter: T-S Ar.7.11

Description

Fragment of a letter, written somewhere in Spain, to Abū l-Saʿd ha-Levi (i.e., Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel ha-Levi). Written in a typical, elegant Spanish hand. The letter was short to begin with, and now only a little of its opening and most of what is written in the margins is missing. The writer, whose identity is unknown, wrote some words in Arabic script amidst the Hebrew script; it seems that he wrote everything in a hurry, and it is not always clear whether a certain letter is written in Hebrew letters or in Arabic letters. Because of these difficulties and the poor state of preservation of the letter, the decipherment and translation are difficult in several places. The writer also sent blessings in the name of his father. The formula حضرة المرتبة حرست (ח̇צר̈ה אלמרתב̈ה חרסת, in translation: "his majesty, may God preserve it') has not yet been found in other documents. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV.)