Legal document: T-S 13J2.10

Description

Legal document. Partnership record. Dated July 1103. Written in the hand of Hillel b. Eli. This fragment concerns ownership interest in a partnership between Mōda‘ and Abraham al-‘Assāl. In the document, Mōda‘ calls upon Abū al-Faraj al-Bazzāz to testify that Mōda‘ has an interest in the partnership, while Abraham seems to claim that he or he and his wife are the sole owners of the capital. Abraham apparently invested capital with Mōda‘ for the operation of a shop, and upon distribution of the profits it became unclear whether the capital was intended to be simply a deposit with Mōda‘ or if it would be (per Maimonides) "half a loan…and half a deposit". Apparently, these details were left unspecified when Mōda‘ first became involved in the venture. Subsequently, Mōda‘ seems to have called two individuals – one (perhaps a scholar) identified only as Head of the Congregations ("Rosh ha-Qehillot"), and Abū al-Faraj – to the shop to clarify the nature of his relationship with Abraham. Thus, the present document reports that the Head of the Congregations affirmed in a qinyan that Mōda‘ was indeed a partner with Abraham and not simply an employee. Signed by Abraham b. Shemaiah and Isaac b. Samuel ha-Sefardī. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 218)