Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter addressed to Avraham Maimonides, asking for a letter of recommendation to the head of the Palestinian Yeshiva (which at that time had its seat in Syria) for a relative of the writer called Barakāt b. Ismaʿīl al-Bazzāz (the cloth trader), who intends to travel to Damascus. This letter is crossed out. Verso: A second letter, possibly a copy or draft, possibly related to recto. This letter appears to be in the hand of Berakhot b. Shemuel (who could have scribed it for somebody else). It may be addressed to a Rosh Yeshiva (right side, l. 2). It is filled with profuse apologies ("I have never felt such pain as the pain that I felt because I was late...). The sender is also upset about how people have judged him harshly, which was only because of his great humility (qillat al-makbara wa-l-anafa). But the fault is no one's but his own (he says). He specifically asks for intercession with al-Shaykh al-Rashīd. He has enclosed the remainder of the rent. (Information in part from CUDL)

Informal note from Bū Naṣr. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions something that happened yesterday at the clinic (dukkān al-ḥakīm); the sender may be expressing remorse for what happened; and he wants to meet with the addressee or perhaps somebody else immediately.