Letter to the Jewish Community of Minyat Zifta

In this Judeo-Arabic letter, Moses Maimonides appeals to the community of Minyat Zifta, Egypt, in the Nile Delta, to assist an individual named Isaac al-Dar‘ī in paying the poll tax, an annual tax that frequently imposed difficulties on the poor. It is possible that Maimonides encourages Isaac to pay the tax in Minyat Zifta because the taxation rate was lower in smaller provincial towns. Isaac’s status as a “newcomer” denotes that he had not yet paid the poll tax in another area. The Cairo Geniza preserves countless similar requests made to business and communal leaders for financial aid. Payment of the poll tax on behalf of a poor Jew was frequently regarded as a pious act.