Geniza Lab

Letter from Yeḥiel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Ẓarfati, in Jerusalem, to an unknown addressee, in Alexandria. The letter consists of a halakhic discussion, mostly in Aramaic, perhaps a responsum. It concludes with a report that Yeḥiel arrived safely in Jerusalem. Verso: Apart from the address there are jottings or accounts(?) in Arabic script. Information in part from FGP.

Autograph letter by Avraham Maimonides to Moshe b. Peraḥya. It is a recommendation for the bearer, the French rabbi R. Yeḥiel [b. Yiṣḥaq Ẓarfatī], to the community of rabbis (ʿulamā' al-sharīʿa) in Palestine and Jerusalem. Moshe b. Peraḥya served as a judge in the Rīf, including in Minyat Zifta and Minyat Ghamr; he was the brother of Yosef b. Peraḥya. On verso is a donation list with many names, conceivably for a fundraiser on behalf of the bearer of the letter. Information entirely from Mordechai Akiva Friedman's edition and discussion.

Letter from Yeḥiel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Ṣarfati, in Jerusalem, to a certain Menaḥem (probably the judge Menaḥem b. Yiṣḥaq b. Sasson), probably in Cairo. Dating: Early 13th century, likely 1219–29 CE (Shweka's assessment). See also T-S 8J33.4, a previous letter on the same matter. "At the beginning of the 13th century there were two communities in Jerusalem which were established after the city was conquered by Salah al-Din in 1191: the Ashkelonite community and the Maghrebi community. Beginning in 1210, a wave of pilgrims – known as the Emigration of the Rabbis – arrived from France and England. Relations between the various communities were very tense, as testified by Yehuda Alharizi, who visited Jerusalem in 1214. From letters of R. Yehiel the Frenchman to Fustat, we learn about a heated debate that took place in Jerusalem at the time. Because the Jews were not allowed to immerse themselves in the Shiloah spring, a campaign was held in Egypt to build a new mikveh, and a large sum was collected and sent to the community in Jerusalem for this purpose. But R. Yehiel, the leader of the community, objected to the construction of a new mikveh, preferring that the women of the community immerse in a private mikveh in his home – according to him, this would enable his wife to supervise the women’s immersion. R. Yehiel appealed to the local judge in Fustat, asking permission to change the the donation’s destination. However, members of the local community were not satisfied with this arrangement, and tried to build a new mikveh. The ensuing dispute split the community, until R. Yehiel and his group were forced to leave the synagogue. The two groups did not hesitate to involve the Muslim ruler in the conflict, which led to the arrest of some members of the community. The controversy spilled over into an interethnic struggle, with tensions caused by changes based on the French halachic tradition instituted by R. Yehiel. Until now, we knew of this story from two pages published almost a century ago. With the discovery of five additional pages, we now have a full description of this episode from the history of Jerusalem in the early 13th century." (Information from Roni Shweka.) Previous description: Four-page letter in Hebrew perhaps from Alexandria, concerning a dispute between prominent members of the Jewish community and the consequent expulsion of one of them from the synagogue. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, 384, and Goitein's index cards.)

Letter from Yeḥiel b. Yiṣḥaq ha-Ṣarfati, in Jerusalem. In Hebrew. Dating: No earlier than 1221 CE, as that is the year Anatoli died. He sends greetings to the widow of Rabbi Anatoli of Marseilles (living in Alexandria) and to her daughter Esther and granddaughter, sending wishes to the latter to bear male children. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, 462.) He also greets Yefet ha-Melammed ha-Ḥaver, possibly Yefet b. Shemuel who served in the court of Yeḥiel b. Elyaqim (see Shweka, "And Every Day They Make Quarrels," p. 35).