מכתב: Moss. III,232

recto

1. A store of understanding and a fortress of faith, ‘out of them shall come a tent-peg’, ‘out of them a cornerstone’. May the LORD fill his mouth with a joyful cry, the discerning and wise, [my lord] –
2. may the Merciful One protect him and redeem him – after the store of wellbeing, the abundance of longing to [see] the light of your countenance. I inform the Eminence of your Torah how
3. your disturbing letter arrived, in which you revealed to my ears that you gave the money to your noble brother – may His Rock and Redeemer keep him – and he sent me […]
4. and indeed the honourable R. Jacob Elyaqim wrote to me that he too had given him money. And up to now I’ve received not a thing. And the season of heat
5. has passed, and the might of the rains has arrived. Therefore I greatly entreat the Eminence of your Torah that if he hasn’t already loaded it, don’t send me anything, because the time
6. has passed as I have written. And I also cannot be delayed […] except to my house. And for that reason I have finished
7. by sending this courier. And indeed I put some time back in the mouth of the honourable R. Ḥayyim Ḥakim  – may his Rock and Redeemer keep him  – when he was going that the Eminence of your Torah should give some of the money
8. to the honourable R. Shimʿon to send it to Jerusalem  – may it be rebuilt speedily in our days  [……] until I go. I celebrated indeed
9. when I heard that my relative the honourable R. Shimʿon had ‘found a wife {found a good thing}’  – may it be a good sign for us and for all Israel. I won’t carry on any longer except
10. to entreat the Lord to let you ride upon the heights of prosperity and sate you with joy and happiness to your own wise pleasure and the pleasure of the servant of the Lord, the humble Isaac Luria.

(Postscript, lines 11–12)

And please pass on my greetings to ‘her indoors’  – blessed shall she be above all women in the tent  – and to Doña Buena and to your son – may his Rock and Redeemer keep him  – and to all who are attached to you.

(Date, lines 11–12)

Tuesday of the Paraša ‘A nation and a company of nations shall come from you etc’.

recto, right margin

1. And here from what I understood of the letter of the Eminence of your Torah, he has sent the grain in full here for the masters, and I
2. did not know if he would indeed send me a note on some ship that is coming and what
3. the total would be, and if he hasn’t sent it, then he should not.