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[Letter to the Jews of Fustat] : manuscript.
Library at the Katz Center - Genizah Fragments Halper 392
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- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Rabbis of the Jewish Community of Jerusalem.
- Language:
- Hebrew
- Subjects (All):
- Yosef ben Shelomoh, ha-Kohen, active 11th century--Correspondence.
- Yosef ben Shelomoh.
- Efraim ben Shemarya, approximately 980-approximately 1060--Correspondence.
- Efraim ben Shemarya.
- Efraim ben Shemarya, approximately 980-approximately 1060.
- Rabbis--Jerusalem--Office--History--To 1500.
- Rabbis.
- History.
- Tax collection--Egypt--History--To 1500.
- Tax collection.
- Jews--Egypt--Charities--History--To 1500.
- Jews.
- Jews--Jerusalem--To 1800.
- Hebrew letters.
- Charities.
- Egypt.
- Genre:
- Correspondence.
- Personal correspondence.
- Penn Provenance:
- Cairo Genizah Collection (University of Pennsylvania. Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. Library).
- Cairo Genizah Collection (Dropsie College. Library).
- Sulzberger.
- Physical Description:
- 1 folio : torn, loss in upper edge; folded in mail format; verso is blank
- Paper 27.9 X 17.8 cm material applied: black ink ruling method: in mail format; left rule justified by stretching last character columns: 1 lines: 23 horizontal, 2 marginal extant (recto).
- Contained In:
- Cairo Genizah Collection
- Place of Publication:
- [Jerusalem], [publisher not identified], [1030?]
- Language Note:
- Hebrew. Hebrew
- Notes:
- A letter in florid Hebrew, in some places rhyming, authorizing Japheth he-Ḥazzan ben Jacob, to collect donations for the Jewish Community of Jerusalem. The Community owes 40 gold coins (dinar) in taxes.
- They inquire about the collection for the poor. The hand is recognized as that of Joseph ha-kohen he-Ḥaver (signed here l. 29), the scribe of this community, the son of R. Solomon ben Judah Gaon (d. 1051, see Mann, The Jews of Egypt, 1919, vol. 1 pp. 75-152).
- Signed in autograph by the leadership of the Jerusalem Community: 1. Solomon ha-kohen ben Mordekhai, 2. Mevasser ben Shela, 3. Moses ha-Levi ben Joseph חזן הכנסת, 4. Jeshua ben Yeḥiye, 5. Japhet ben Naḥum, 6. Ḥayim ben Solomon, 7. Nathan ben Judah, 8. Moses ben Jacob, 9. Moses ben Judah, and 10. Joseph ha-kohen.
- Nos. 1, 6, 7 are also signed on a similar letter to Fustat, Mosseri I.16/ENA 2804, 20 ( published, Gil, ibid pp. 201-203, no. 110).
- The epistle was probably sent to Ephraim ben Shemaryah, referred to here (l. 22) as he-Ḥaver, who served as the head of the Erets Israeli community of Fustat, (in whose synagogue the Genizah was housed) in documents between 1020-1047 (see E. Bareqet, Shafrir Mitsraim, 1995, pp. 100-121, =Fustat on the Nile, Leiden, 1999, pp. 129-160).
- He earned the title "he-Ḥaver", as in this letter, in 1025 (Bareqet ibid. p. 104, idem. p. 135). See Bareqet: Yehude Mitsrayim 1007-1055 / Elinoar Bareqet. Jerusalem : Mekhon Ben-Tsevi, 1995, p. 63; Mann ibid. vol. II pp. 124-129.
- Forms part of: Cairo Genizah Collection.
- Cited in:
- Halper, no. 392
- IMHM, no. F38400
- Publications about:
- Letters of his were collected and published by M. Gil: Erets Yiśraʾel ba-teḳufah ha-Muslemit ha-rishonah (634-1099) / Moshe Gil. Tel-Aviv : University of Tel Aviv, 1983, v. 2, p. 751-762 no. 405-411. This letter appears there, p. 751-752, no. 405.
- OCLC:
- 1366217762
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