Partnership Agreement (Fustāt, Egypt)

The following was testified before us, the undersigned witnesses, on the 7th day of the month of Elul, in the year 4852 from the creation of the world [August 12, 1092], in Fustāt, Egypt, which is on the river Nile. The revered R. Tsedakah he-ḥaver [the fellow], the sage, the wise, our teacher and master, the son of the revered R. Muvḥar, our teacher and master . . . our teacher Nethanel, who is called Ḥibat Allah bar Yeshu‘a al-Muqaddasī, and they said to us:

Witness for us and acquire from us, from this moment and according to every term that expresses the idea of taking possession. Write for us and sign for us two documents, and hand over to each of us one of the documents in order to have it in our hands, in our favor, and as a proof. And all this is from our own will, without being forced to do so, but with a soul satisfied [with the transaction]. We asked God for proper guidance, and we made a partnership between us.

As for myself, Nethanel, I have invested fifteen dinars of my property, and I received from my partner, this Tsedakah he-ḥaver, our teacher and our master, fifty dinars, good golden dinars in cash. The sum of these, that is, sixty-five good dinars in cash, will be our capital, so that we might invest it in the industry of weaving, and I shall sell to the cloth merchants in the market according to weight and density, and the profit that God gives us has to be divided between us equally. Neither of us shall receive more than the other, not even a perutah [a coin of small value]. [It was stipulated also] that I shall do my utmost and be reliable in everything that I undertake in this partnership. I subject myself to this partnership so long as my partner, the revered R. Tsedakah he-ḥaver, our teacher and master, is benefited by it, and so long as he wishes to continue with the partnership. If he opts for separation, I am obliged to return his money gradually—until the last dirham—within two months from when I am asked for it by him. Moreover, if—God forbid—the capital decreases, the deficit will be divided between us equally, as well. The amount of the above-mentioned capital, the sixty-five dinars, is in my hand, that is, in Nethanel’s hand, and there is not even a perutah of it in the hand of my partner. I will recompense my partner, our teacher and master, Tsedakah he-ḥaver, for everything that I take from him to cover my expenses. I have declared [lit., made] him as reliable as two witnesses fit for testifying with respect to everything he says that concerns me about the capital and other things.

Source: CUL T-S 20.110.