Deathbed Declaration (Fustāt, Egypt)

[We, the undersigned witnesses, observed the following incident on such-and-such a day, in the month of such-and-such, in the year such-and-such, when we went to visit the lady So-and-so and found her sick and lying in bed. Her speech] and words were fine, her language was in order, and she was articulate. She could hear and speak and discuss matters. [Her mind was properly settled, so that she could ask and answer questions, and respond to queries that required a positive answer with a “yes”] and to questions that had a negative answer with a “no,”¹ like other [healthy people who can walk around unaided. And she said in our presence as follows:

“You should know, sirs, that my mind] is settled, and I can speak properly [and, as I am concerned that I might die from this illness, I want to divide up my property retroactively from today, after my death]. And I want my last will and testament to be like that of one who issues directives with regard to her property, due to her expectation of her approaching [death—a full-fledged, confirmed, and established will. All actions I perform with my property should be considered] correct and acceptable, rather than errors of any kind.

[Now, I have a courtyard in Fustāt, Egypt, in Qaṣr al-Rum, which is] Qaṣr al-[Shāma‘], in the Paupers’ Street. This is the street . . . [and this courtyard belongs to me], including [its] openings [and] pathways, the path leading up to it and the path [down from it, and all enhancements, and the labor invested in it, from the depth of the earth up to] the height of the sky. Even though the land belongs to the king, I have consecrated eight parts [of this courtyard, out of twenty-four] parts to the charitable endowments of the two synagogues in Fustāt, Egypt; four [parts to the synagogue of the Babylonians, and four] parts to the synagogue of the Jerusalemites, so that the profits of a third of this courtyard each month [ . . . ]² in these two synagogues, in order to fulfill my wishes, as the sages have said: It is [a commandment to fulfill the words of the dead] [see, e.g., b. Gittin 14b].

Furthermore, I have sold two parts of this courtyard to Sutayt, my sister’s daughter, the widow of Tsemaḥ ben David, [for four]teen fine and weighed gold coins, minted by the Caliph al-Mu’izz. Earlier, I took them from her, and I purchased beams to [reinforce] this courtyard. Thus, I have already sold these two parts of this courtyard to Sutayt for those fourteen gold coins as a full-fledged, complete, confirmed [and established] sale from now until [forever], to her and her heirs after her. They have left my possession and entered her [possession], in the manner of all transactions, with the negation of any [declaration to the contrary], and with the negation of all [conditions].

I have also given four parts of this courtyard to Fā’iza, daughter of . . . the Levite, as a full-fledged, absolute, confirmed, and established gift, on condition that she gets married [with] them. If, God forbid, the Omnipresent [brings about her death] before she marries, then that sixth of the courtyard shall be for the two aforementioned synagogues, and her heirs shall receive absolutely nothing of that sixth of the courtyard. If she marries, then it shall be for her and her heirs after her, as I have [thus] stipulated, like the stipulation of the sons of the tribe of Gad and the sons of the tribe of Reuben, with the affirmative preceding the negative.³

In addition, two parts of this courtyard shall be sold, and the proceeds used to pay for my bones to be brought to the holy city of Jerusalem, may it be speedily rebuilt. As for the remaining eight parts of this courtyard, four of them are for my brother Sahlān, and the other four for Rayyisa, the daughter of my brother Ephraim, in accordance with the statement of the sages, may their merit last forever, that grandchildren are like children [see b. Yevamot 62b]. I have also compensated and cleared and cleansed my paternal sister Sida and her daughter Sutayt, the widow of Tsemaḥ, [son of David, and her] descendants, the orphans, the children of Tsemaḥ, from any kind of claim, and from any legal action or challenge, and from having to take a vow of a dedication, and from an oath, and from any extension [of an oath, where implicit or] explicit, whether by the laws of Israel or [with the assistance of the nations] of the world.”

From her sickness, . . . departed to her eternal home on Thursday, 14th of the month of [Kislev], in the year 13[1]‌8 of the counting of the Era of Documents [1006 CE], in Fustāt, Egypt, which is situated on the Nile. We wrote and [signed and handed over this document] to them as proof and in order to acquire. This includes the phrase “after death,” which is written over an erased part of the document, and the phrase “the Omnipresent, before she marries,” which is written between the lines.

It is confirmed and established, . . . ha-Kohen ben Samuel.

Source: CUL T-S 16.115.