Betrothed to the earth’s dust

Yeshu‘a ben Joseph ha-Kohen ha-shofet (the judge) was one of the leading figures of Jewish Alexandria. The descendant of a family of judges, Yeshu‘a was also a poet of some stature. Much of his correspondence with other notables survives in the Cairo Geniza and bears witness to his involvement in the redemption of captives, legal problems, and other communal matters. Surviving documentation shows that Yeshu‘a faced fierce opposition during his lifetime but found support among the geonim of Palestine. Some of his poems were composed as introductory texts to his formal letters, a common practice in his day. Yeshu‘a wrote liturgical poetry as well as poems for special occasions. His poetry survived only in the Geniza.