מכתב: T-S G1.74

תיאור

Fragment of a large and beautifully-written letter or sermon addressed to a community. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi (1100–38 CE). The purpose is to recommend a scholar for support or employment. Similar genre as T-S 6J7.19 (PGPID 17150), but probably not directly related. As described by Mark Cohen: "It announces, with stylistic flourish, the arrival in Egypt of a great Talmudic scholar from Narbonne, France, by the name of Yiṣḥaq. Our Yehuda is mentioned en passant in a revealing passage: "This year there arrived in Egypt (diyār miṣr) from a town in Europe (diyār al-[r]ūm) called Narbonne—the town famous for its scholars (ʿulamāʾ) and righteous men (fuḍalāʾ)—a man whose superior in knowledge, piety, and reverence has not arrived from those parts (min tilka al-diyār) since the great rav (al-rav al-kabīr), our master Yehuda Rosh ha-Seder, may his memory be blessed." It seems virtually certain that the great rav Yehuda Rosh ha- Seder referred to posthumously in this passage is identical with Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Kohen. The letter implies, therefore, that he had arrived from a Christian country, possibly Italy (usually termed "the land of al-rūm" in the Geniza), and had, therefore, obtained at least part of his learning within a non- Islamic environment. Quite likely, he had also spent time in an Arabic-speaking Jewish community (Qayrawān?) prior to settling in Egypt around 1050" (Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, 106–07; transliterations adjusted for PGP style). M. A. Friedman, "A Responsum by the 'Rav' Judah b. Joseph ha-Kohen Concerning a Child Bride who Committed Adultery" [Hebrew] Dine Yisrael (2000), 331, accepts that the identification of Yehuda Rosh ha-Seder with Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Kohen is probably correct; Marina Rustow, "The Diplomatics of Leadership," (2014), questions whether there is sufficient evidence to confirm this identification.