Cairo Genizah : Letter

Solomon b. Judah (Gaʾon)

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Part of a letter, c. 1030 CE, written by Solomon b. Judah, apparently to Sahlān b. Abraham, in Fusṭāṭ, regarding a dispute between the academies of Jerusalem and Babylon. A leader of the Jewish community in Fusṭāṭ, who had previously had the title Ḥaver and thus accepted the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem academy, had accepted the title Allūf and thus submitted to the Babylonian academy. Solomon writes of the importance of loyalty, with a reference to 2 Samuel 20:2 in which Israel deserts King David but Judah remains faithful to him, and complains of the desire of the Babylonian academy, under the leadership of Hai Gaʾon, for influence and wealth, which contrasts with his own humility and simple lifestyle. Solomon also alludes to Zechariah 11:15, which mentions the ‘foolish shepherd’, also mentioning ‘my brother, he-Ḥaver, your father’, that is Abraham he-Ḥaver b. Sahlān. </p>