מכתב: Yevr.-Arab. II 1143

תיאור

Letter draft from an unknown man in Egypt to Marzūq Chelebi (? גלבי) in Damascus. Both writer and addressee are Qaraites. The latter is greeted as someone who is renowned for his charity "among Muslims, Christians, and Rabbanites." Recto is written in Judaeo-Arabic, and verso is in Arabic script; both sides appear to belong to the same letter. The letter mentions a figure named Isaac Navarro several times as well as "the Pasha." It tells the tale of persecution and imprisonment; it seems that the captive Rabbanites had the wherewithal to advocate with the Pasha for their release, but not so the Qaraites, and the Rabbanites gloated tremendously (wa-yā shamātat al-rabbānīn!). Needs further examination.