Letter to al-Andalus

In several passages, we find that support of Torah scholars is compared to the support of the house of God, as it is written: But be strong, O Zerubbabel—says the Lord—be strong, O high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak; be strong, all you people of the land—says the Lord—and act! For I am with you—says the Lord of Hosts (Haggai 2:4). [ . . . ]

Fortunate is the generation that you provide for—because you understand whence scholars and their students are sustained, just as you know the scholars’ straitened circumstances and provide for them, so you will be called a good and faithful provider in the heavens and on earth, as were those who provided for the Jewish people in ancient times. You descend from those early saints, your forefathers and the elders of your region, the scholars of the West, which is a place filled with the divine presence [shekhinah] more than any other, even the Tabernacle and the Temple, the place of the divine presence and the area of prostration. Moreover, wisdom has been found in Spain [Aspamya] from the earliest times until now, for it was explained that in the time of Alexander of Macedon, when he sought to rise up to the heavens, the scholars of the land of Israel in the House [Temple] advised him to go to Spain [Sefarad], for there were found scholars from the first exile. And also, on several occasions, in the days of the sages of instruction, the scholars of the Mishnah, questions would be sent to Spain [Aspamya], and they [i.e., the scholars there] would answer them and also ask questions.

Finally, in the days of our lord and master Paltoy, [who served as] head of the yeshiva [from 841 to 858], they [i.e., the scholars] asked them to write for them a Talmud and its interpretation, and he ordered it to be done, and it was written for them. Also, at the time of his son, our master, Tsemaḥ, head of the academy [from 872 to 889], my paternal great-grandfather, they sent questions on the entire Talmud, so many that even several donkeys could not carry them. These and their many other queries from their days are in my possession because they held office together for a period of forty years. I also have the questions of your ancestors to their ancestors, as well as the letters of your forefathers to our master Tov, father of the academy of the diaspora, my paternal grandfather. In their day, all their needs were met by this academy, Pum[bedita], and by our master, Tsadok, head of the academy in the city of Meḥasya [Sura]; and our master Naḥshon, gaon of Meḥasya [from 810 to 812]; his son; and his brother, Mar Rav Moses, my maternal grandfather. Their questions attest to their deep understanding and great wisdom, because wisdom is a fortress to the wise, stronger than ten rulers, and the good name that becomes ascribed to them is theirs forever, as it is written: O that my words were written down; would they were inscribed in a record, incised on a rock forever, with iron stylus and lead! (Job 19:23–24).

And after our masters Tsemaḥ and Tov were gathered to Eden, no questions from you arrived. This was in the days of our master and teacher Yehudah Ga’on [from 905 to 917], and he along with our master and teacher Mishoy [ben Isaac Tsadok] alluf [an honorific] were scribes at the gate of our master Tsemaḥ, my paternal great-grandfather, may they rest in peace. Afterwards, questions arrived from your locales for our master Kohen Tsedek Ga’on [from 917 to 935], of blessed memory.

O you, light of my eyes, and the people of your region, who are renowned for their wisdom, who have acquired illustrious reputations, among the greatest in the land, following the practice of your fathers, taking note of the insult to the academies, for two years your donation to the academies has come, but we have been robbed and have not received any of it, except for a small amount saved by our prince [nasi] Solomon—head of the exile [the exilarch], long may he live—with difficulty, from the hand of him who stole it [Khalaf ibn Sarjado]. Also [he stole] your donation and that which was donated at that time and sent by the esteemed elder, noble among his people, an honest merchant, who has no equal in our land among the elders in fear of God, humility, righteousness, and charity, my master and teacher Aaron, and his brother, the distinguished and esteemed, my master and teacher Moses, may God protect them and maintain their wealth, the sons of my master and teacher Abraham ben Aaron, of blessed memory. The thief wanted to devour and destroy them.

And with all this trouble within the academy, we were crushed and bent our heads to the ground in sorrow. We have no reshuyot [territories where the Jewish communities were considered to be under the jurisdiction of the geonim] from which to derive a livelihood [i.e., collect various taxes], for they were destroyed. Of those that remain, we were required to go [i.e., travel] to them ourselves, for the important scholars of the academy went out as judges in our jurisdiction. Also, our lands were destroyed and lost in those same harsh years that passed over us; our money and our lands were lost, and we were spilled out like the stones of the sanctuary at every street corner [see Lamentations 4:1]. We have bartered our treasures for food to keep ourselves alive [see Lamentations 1:11]. We have nothing left but the writings of our fathers. But God did not let our feet slip (Psalms 66:9), and our destroyer took pity on us and gave us our lives as booty, and with all that happened to us, we did not desert the ways of our fathers, and we studied His Torah in hardship. Although our forefathers in the generations of our teachers faced greater adversity than ourselves—for example, in the time of R. Judah ben R. Ilai, when six students would cover themselves in one garment and study Torah [see b. Sanhedrin 20a], and Hillel the elder, and similar examples—we have declined from those generations.

Now, light of my eyes, our God has given you as a towering citadel to the scholars, a fortress to the academy heads, a refuge to the students, and a helping hand for those in need, a source of bread and water for a multitude of God’s people. Look with love upon the covenant that existed between my forefathers, the geonim, and your dear forefathers, and the fraternity and friendship between them, and follow the custom of your fathers with my fathers and remember me with a generous donation in my name. Do not neglect to acknowledge me as I desire.

Source: Oxford Bodleian Library MS Heb. f 34/39–44.