מכתב: T-S AS 154.128 + T-S AS 147.5a + T-S AS 154.226 + T-S AS 147.5b + T-S AS 154.127

תיאור

Three drafts of a communal letter in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe in his early career (dates: 1100–38 CE), addressed to an unidentified community. T-S AS 154.128 + T-S AS 147.5a is the roughest version; T-S AS 154.226 + T-S AS 147.5b is a clean copy; and T-S AS 154.127 is a third copy filling in a few of the phrases from the section preceding the portion preserved in the other two copies. This is a fundraising appeal on behalf of a captive who has been granted a short period of time to travel to raise money for his ransom. The total ransom was 110 dinars (an exorbitant sum for a single captive; maybe he is raising money for 3 or 4 people, though this is not mentioned anywhere in the document). The congregation of Fustat has already raised 80 dinars, and he now must raise the remaining 30 dinars. The different copies are inconsistent about who stood security for him to allow him to travel. T-S AS 154.128 + T-S AS 147.5a says that it was "some of the Byzantines" (baʿḍ al-rūm), but this is crossed out and replaced with "the ḥaverim of ʿAsqalān, may they be remembered with a thousand blessings." The other two copies revert to mentioning the Byzantines rather than the ḥaverim of Ashqelon. The unfortunate captive is accompanied by a Christian (al-ʿarel), who it seems is the one who will force him to return to his country and be imprisoned should he fail to raise the remainder of the ransom. The addressees are reminded of the great reward that awaits those who assist such captives. (Information in part from Goitein's index card and CUDL.) Joins: Alan Elbaum