Letter to al-Andalus

This Hebrew letter, found in the Cairo Geniza, was addressed to the Jewish community in al-Andalus, perhaps to the leader of Andalusi Jewry, Ḥasday Ibn Shaprūṭ (ca. 915–ca. 970). The author, writing from Baghdad, asks for financial support on behalf of the Pumbedita academy and Jewish scholars in general, given what was apparently a reduction in the funding sent from abroad. Perhaps most significantly, the author recounts the (legendary) origins of Andalusi Jewish learning and notes connections between Andalusi scholars and Paltoy, who was gaon of Pumbedita between 842 and 857, providing an important account of the spread of the Babylonian Talmud beyond Baghdad. This letter uses two different terms for the Iberian Peninsula, Aspamya (from the Latin Hispania) and Sefarad (from the Hebrew).