Letter to ‘Alī Abu ’l-Barakāt ibn Rawḥ

During the conflict that arose when Nathan ben Abraham attempted to claim the position of gaon in Palestine in place of the member of the academy who would normally have inherited the role (Solomon ben Judah, here Shelomo b. Yehuda), Nathan wrote to a Karaite living in Fustāt (Old Cairo). A Rabbanite, Nathan hoped to tighten the bonds between himself and the Karaites in that city, whom he wanted to continue supporting him in his quest to become gaon. Despite the polemical arguments that sometimes engaged Karaite and Rabbanite writers, there were often strong personal relationships between members of the two groups. In this excerpt from the Judeo-Arabic letter, Nathan describes a Purim celebration, emphasizing the presence of Karaites at his evening event. A majlis was a kind of meeting room.