מכתב: T-S 13J11.5

Peace, peace be his allotment. May his blessings from heaven above increase. May he have salvation, mercy, and his prayers accepted. May he find favor and lovingkindness and enlightenment In the eyes of God and man, altogether. All these and more, may they be multiplied for him, Our dear one, his glorious honor The holy master and teacher, the Allūf and Rōsh Kalla The wise and understanding Sahlān b. Abraham . . .

Abundant greetings and blessings from the congregation of the City of the Great King [Jerusalem]. They recount your praise and testify to your strength on account of what you have done for us.

A letter from our envoy has arrived relating how you helped and aided him; how you encouraged the people to help their poor brethren time after time; and you informed them with touching words of their misery, their helplessness, and this heavy burden which has weighed like a yoke upon its inhabitants.

It is for this reason [that is, the collection of taxes] that the Arabs [lit., “sons of Ishmael”—Ed.] sit here as an imposition on the city, imposing officials and fixed payments upon its men, in return for which they [the Arabs] do not molest those of the House of Israel who come to seek atonement amongst its stones and pity in its dust; who come to circumambulate the gates of the Temple and to pray over them with upraised voices, reciting the Qedūsha and the Bārekhū; and who come to ascend the Mount of Olives with song and to stand there on holidays facing the Shrine of the Lord, the place of the Divine Presence, His Footstool, and no one says a word to them. Now the heavy tax is a fixed levy, and we are but few in number. We have only enough to pay a small part of it. The remainder, we have to borrow at interest so that the pilgrims to the Holy City will not be threatened with tax notices [i.e., with having to prove that they have paid the jizya (poll tax on non-Jews)—Ed.]. Thus, it is a duty for all Israel to support those who live in Jerusalem and to be a tent peg for them in time of need. Everyone who champions their cause will be entitled to share in their joy.

The Allūf’s well-being and his reward will surely come from the Lord God of Israel. Abundant greetings and may you attain great salvation.

From Solomon the Younger, Head of the Yeshiva of the Pride of Jacob, on behalf of the Rabbanite community of the Holy City—may God reestablish it.