Letter: T-S 13J13.2

Description

Letter from Yehuda b. Avraham b. Faraj, in Ṣahrajt (Goitein) or Jerusalem (Gil), to ʿEli b. ʿAmram (aka Abū l-Husayn ʿAllūn b. Muʿammar), in Fustat. In Hebrew and Arabic (in Arabic script). Dating: ca. 1065 CE; at any rate, under the gaonate of Eliyyahu ha-Kohen, because it ends with the motto (ʿalāma) Yeshaʿ Yuḥash. Goitein identified the sender's location as Ṣahrajt since that is where Yehuda b. Avraham drew up Bodl. MS heb. c 28/5. Gil suggests that he is Yehuda ha-Ḥazzan of Jerusalem (unclear which other documents this man is known from) and just happened to be staying in Ṣahrajt in 1060 CE. (Unbeknownst to Goitein and Gil, ENA 2465.8–9 and CUL Or.1080 15.50 also have the same sender and same addressee.) In this letter, Yehuda b. Avraham is recommending a colleague, Seʿadya the teacher, whom he hopes will be treated well and honored in Fustat ("with aṣḥāb al-khilaʿ"). "He does not need any charitable collection nor anything else from the Jews"—what he needs is a good word on his behalf with aṣḥāb al-[...] (some government bureau or maybe the capitation tax collectors—the word is torn away).