Geniza Lab

Note of a Nagid to the 'noble congregation' of Fustat (same type as described in Mediterranean Society, II, App. C 101-112) asking them to complete the collection of the pledges made on the Day of Atonement, especially those for a traveler from Europe, ifranji, who was to leave on the morning after the first two days of the Feast of Tabernacles. The interesting fact to be learned from this note is the speediness with which the pledges were collected. There are only four days between the Day of Atonement and the beginning of the Feats of Tabernacles. The letter seems to assume that, say, on the third day of the interval between the two holidays most of the pledges had already come in. Another interesting point is the Nagid's admonition to think of the poor on the Siyyum (Heb.), the festive conclusion of the yearly reading of the Pentateuch, which takes place at the end of the autumn holidays. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 506, App. C 132)