Cairo Genizah : Letter

Joseph b. Peraḥya Ibn Yijū

Cairo Genizah

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Letter from the elderly Joseph b. Peraḥya Ibn Yijū in Mazara, Sicily, to his sons Peraḥya and Moses in Egypt, dated 1156 CE. Joseph writes that he had asked a scribe - a muʿallim - to write the letter for him, but the muʿallim refused and Joseph had to write the letter himself. The letter discusses familial matters, including the rescue of Moses from pirates, and the hoped-for marriage of Peraḥya to Joseph’s niece. Joseph also requests that the Nagid write to the Muslim commanders of Mazara and Messina and to the leaders of the Jewish community in Sicily - Dāʾūd b. Ṣāliḥ, Abū l-Faraj Ibn Masnūt, and the physician Rabīb - to arrange for his family to travel to Sicily.</p>