Cairo Genizah : Letter; poetry

Ephraim b. Isḥāq (silversmith)

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Letter from a Maghrebi silversmith named Ephraim b. Isḥāq of Ceuta, Morocco, who had fled Almohad persecution in his native country about 35 years earlier. He describes himself as a ‘foreigner’, despite having lived in Egypt for about 15 years. He asks the addressee, also of Maghrebi origin, for charity. Ca. 1181 CE. The letter opens in Hebrew, and includes a poem (lines 3-8), before switching to Judaeo-Arabic. The name of the recipient, who is referred to as ‘the outstanding sage’ and ‘crown of the sages’ among many other flattering epithets, is not preserved. </p>

Want to know more?

Under the 'View more options' menu you can find metadata about the item, any transcription and translation we have of the text and find out about sharing this image.

No Contents List Available

No Metadata Available