Letter to the Communities of Egypt

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; [may those who love you be at peace]. (Psalms 122:6)

Remember the Lord from afar [and call Jerusalem to mind]. (Jeremiah 51:50)

In the name of the Lord.

To [the people of] Israel residing in the diaspora—to the brethren who are in the land of their enemies, disconsolate in the land of exiles, in the hand of their captors, who force their fleeced troops like bleating flocks, downtrodden north and south like murky waters, repulsed, oppressed, going forth from wherever they rested, wandering to and fro, swallowed among the nations and forgotten, despised and neglected these many years, battered and tangled among thorns, mangled and consumed like slaughtered sheep, ensnared at the hands of the arrogant for days and months, conquered like slaves in the hand of the Casluhim [Egyptians], bought and sold hand to hand in servitude, drawn forth, plucked bare, oppressed, banished, neglected, abandoned, forsaken, tortured, slapped, sport of their enemies, faint, subjugated, bound as with hooks, fearful night and day, watching the gates; they cry out and scream, “O Rock, how long? [The enemies] rise and rage at us and light a fire in our midst. See and have mercy on our trampled, our shattered, our murdered ones! Turn back the exile of the forgotten, who lie low in the dust! Let the outcry of the mortal, crumbling prisoners come before You!” They are God’s people and inheritance, lost and wandering, exiled from their ancestral lands, banished and cast out, yearning for the salvation of the Lord. [ . . . ]

Receive greetings, our brethren, our redeeming kin,¹ our distinguished and beloved leaders, first, from the faithful God, ancient God and refuge; and [second,] from the faithful city, as well as from the patriarch, head of the yeshiva of Zion [i.e., Daniel ben ‘Azariah, who was gaon of the Jerusalem academy at the time]. [ . . . ] From it, Torah shall go forth to the innumerable nation, to explain everything hidden, to reveal everything concealed [ . . . ] to teach and instruct faithful testimony, to enlighten with Gemara and Mishnah. But today it is left like a widow, a helpless orphan, receding year after year, bereft, poor, and wretched. [ . . . ]

We, the assembly of rabbis, proclaim to you—we, the desolate few, who are considered as nothing, dwelling in front of the holy site, hearing blasphemies against it, seeing our disgrace before us all day, our faces hidden in shame, from the voice of the blasphemer and the avenging enemy—we have heard disgrace, and humiliation hides our face. For foreigners have come upon the site of our Temple, the house of the Lord. The shepherds of the non-Jews bearing iniquity, who have taken possession of the palaces of the Davidic kings and the habitations of the nobles of Judah and Benjamin, who suffered the arrogance of an unrighteous nation, who took possession of our Temple and glory. [ . . . ]

We have no comfort except to circle the gates, to bow down and request mercy and forgiveness, to return to Jerusalem in mercy, to purify our sanctuary and shake it free of its dust, to restore the divine presence to its midst, to hasten the Messiah of eternal righteousness, to gather the dispersed from among the nations [ . . . ]

Selah. And this is our plea, always, in our small sanctuary on the Mount of Olives, when our brethren the House of Israel gather to Jerusalem in the month of Tishri, which is the [biblical seventh] month of Eitanim [see 1 Kings 8:2], to beseech the stones and supplicate its earth, to circle the gates and prostrate ourselves in prayer and supplications. This is the Lord’s doing, for He inclined the kingdom of Ishmael to deal kindly with us when they stretched forth their hand and captured the beloved land—and with it, Jerusalem—from the Edomites. There were among them men from the children of Israel who showed them the place of the Sanctuary, and they dwelt with them from then to this day and negotiated conditions with them, that they should honor the site of the Sanctuary from any desecration and be permitted to pray at its gates, with none preventing them. They acquired the Mount of Olives, on which the divine presence rests. [ . . . ]

That is the place where we pray on the holidays, opposite the Sanctuary, on the day of Hoshana [Rabbah]. And there, all the House of Israel is blessed, each land and its communities, its elders and benefactors. Whoever remembers Jerusalem and whoever sets it on his heart will be remembered in prayers and blessings. And whoever remembers its inhabitants is credited as remembering her. [ . . . ]

It is therefore proper for all who fear God to imitate the pious of the House of Israel in every generation and to remember Jerusalem, for whoever remembers her is counted among her lovers who will merit to rejoice in her rejoicing. [ . . . ] For the curse is upon her [Jerusalem]; her provisions are distant, and her sustenance is meager. Many came to her wealthy but became impoverished and lowly. You, our brethren of the House of Israel, there come to you those who are worthy and unworthy, those who are proper and improper, and you deal with them as befits your kindness. All the more the case with ourselves, your impoverished brethren, who pray for you in the holy city of the living God. Know that the shepherds of the non-Jewish nations dwell in it. And were it not for the mercies of our God [ . . . ] we would not be able to dwell there with them, [ . . . ] for they are very troublesome. They are a beast of the marsh, who come cringing with pieces of silver; their throat is like an open grave. Were it not for that, we would not be able to circle the gates, to stand on the Mount of Olives, and to pray aloud with none preventing us. All this could not be arranged except with a generous bribe. It is not hidden from any inquirer that when Jerusalem dwelt in quiet and serenity, with its suburbs surrounding it, its inhabitants were ever reliant on the sacred objects of the house of Israel. We find this to be the case among the worthy kings of the House of David, such as Asa and Hezekiah, that they used the sacred objects of the house of Israel to bribe the foreign kings who rose up against them, as in the passage: At that time [Hezekiah] cut down the doors [and the doorposts of the Temple of the Lord, which King Hezekiah had overlaid, and gave them to the king of Assyria] (2 Kings 18:16). In the present time, we have no sacred objects available, and we have nothing to rely on but the mercies of heaven and our brethren, the house of Israel.

Therefore, we write to them to let them know that we are left few in number, and that we have suffered a great deal in these days from high market prices and wars, [ . . . ] including wars that we cannot make public [ . . . ] and taxes and laws imposed on us. Whether we are many or few, we must borrow at interest to the full, so that [tariffs] are not imposed on those who come to the Holy City, as they are in every [other] place. Because of the heaviness of the debt and the interest, we had to write to remote places, pleading, “Be gracious, help us!,” for we keep it on your behalf for anyone who will come. It is proper for you to assist us through your freewill offerings and tzedakah contributions and gifts, so that the stake planted in the faithful place will not be moved. By ourselves, we cannot sustain ourselves or bear the burdens of the city. Therefore, now, our brethren and redeeming kin, remember the inhabitants of Jerusalem and raise them up on your hearts. For we have already told you of our nakedness and lack of means. Do not turn your eyes away from us! Do not harden your hearts from your brethren, the sons of Jerusalem! When you act on our behalf, you do it for yourselves as well, to earn for yourselves a portion and memorial in Jerusalem.

Our faithful emissary is R. Jonah the Elder—the pious and God-fearing son of R. Judah ha-Sefaradi (may God’s spirit give him rest!)—who has put himself out and risked his life to show compassion for the remnant that is found in Jerusalem. He will tell you what cannot be written. It is right that you pay him attention when you receive him and accompany him on his way.

Send him speedily and not tardily! Whatever you do for him is done for us. When he arrives back with us, he will inform us about every man’s rank, contribution, and virtue, and that person’s name and family members will be written in the memorial book, so that he will be remembered on the Mount of Olives in front of the Temple of the Lord, with blessings and prayers that will be received on behalf of him and on his descendants forever. Give generously, with an open hand and a favorable eye, for if you do good, He will do good, and if you are generous, He will be generous! [ . . . ]

Receive greetings, and may you merit five types of honor. You shall be carried on shoulders and dandled on knees.

Written the 2nd of Marḥeshvan, year 1369 in the Era of Documents [1057 CE].