Geniza Lab

Eclectic set of documents sharing a single folio. Dating: Early 15th century, probably. Recto: Letter copies. In Hebrew. The first letter mentions the Mourners of Zion. The writer seems to have received a rebuke regarding an error in something he copied, since he writes, "Perhaps the copyists confused the text in their haste to spread the good news from one person to another. When I saw it written like this in the copies, that is how I copied it, not adding or subtracting anything." The second letter is from the community of Cisneros (ציץ נירוש) to Ḥasdai Crescas (d. 1410), thanking him for his letter and conveying the good tidings of a merciful messenger of God who was sent to redeem the Jews from the oppressive edicts of the Christians. This letter may be connected to the messianic claimant Moses b. Isaac Botarel of Cisneros, who rose to prominence following the anti-Jewish edicts of 1391 and who counted Crescas among his followers. ASE