Responsum: On an Accusation of Sexual Harassment

This Judeo-Arabic responsum was preserved in the Cairo Geniza. An individual wrote his question on a piece of paper and submitted it to a rabbinic authority, in this case, Maimonides. Maimonides then wrote his answer on the same piece of paper and, presumably, gave it back to the inquirer. In this case, Moses ben Levi ha-Levi of Qalyūb, Egypt, a communal official, asked about a case where a normally trustworthy older widow accused a male schoolteacher of “jokingly” asking to sleep with her. Given that there was no additional proof and that both figures reportedly had otherwise sound reputations, Moses ben Levi asked for guidance about how to proceed. The first part, italicized and in brackets, added by the editor, is extant in another fragment found in the Geniza.