Cairo Genizah : Letter; piyyuṭ

Solomon b. Judah Gaʾon

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Recto: letter from the Palestinian Gaʾon Solomon b. Judah in Jerusalem, in his son Abraham’s hand, to Solomon ha-Rofe b. ʿEli, in Tripoli, dated 1039 CE. Solomon b. Judah writes about Nathan b. Abraham, a young challenger who had set himself up as a rival Gaʾon in Ramla and had written letters to Egypt soliciting support. Solomon was livid and describes how he set off for Ramla and excommunicated Nathan and his supporters. He warns Solomon b. ʿEli that any letters arriving from Nathan should be ignored as they are ‘iniquitous scribblings and mischievous missives’. Verso: address and, in a different hand and ink (brown), a Hebrew piyyuṭ referring to the story of Pharaoh and the exodus, concluding in two lines at the top of recto.</p>