Letter to Jacob ben Nissim of Qayrawān

1006

About This Entry

Hayya Ga’on sent this letter, written in Hebrew, to Qayrawān, Tunisia, most likely to Jacob ben Nissim, head of the rabbinic academy in that city, whom he calls alluf, an honorific title granted to supporters or leading members of the geonic academies in Baghdad. The text itself survives in two separate Geniza fragments that were rejoined in the twentieth century. It is still very fragmentary, and only excerpts from it are presented here. The extant copy is not original but was made by Hayya’s frequent correspondent, Shemariah ben Elḥanan of Fustāt (d. 1011). Many geonic letters were intercepted and copied along their journeys. In the letter, Hayya urges the recipient to salvage a connection to the Andalusi Jews and to renew his support for the geonic academies. He also conveys his condolences on the death of the recipient’s son. The exchange of responsa in return for financial support is a common theme of such letters. Unbracketed ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.

. . . Indeed it is so, with regard to faith, for who knows the essence of things as He does, to discern them . . . surely He understands how to weigh hearts [see Proverbs 21:2]; would not God search this out? (Psalms 44:22). We mention . . . he who does this, and his humility, as he does not ascribe credit to himself; an excellent attribute . . . this reward will be greater than the first. And we do not have to tell him what we have related . . . as we have now retold the story of his kindness and goodness. For it is not proper to say them [i.e., his praises] in his presence [but only part of them, and all of them] not in his presence, as the sages taught us:

R. Jeremiah ben Eleazar said: One may say some of a person’s praise in his presence and all of it not in his presence, just as the Holy One said to Noah in his presence, “For you have I seen righteous before Me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1), and when not in his presence, the verse testifies about him: Noah was a righteous man and perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9) [see b. Eruvin 18b].

And now, let our great alluf undertake to renew his kindness with the renewal of this matter. This letter that we are writing to Qayrawān, may he read it out in public, and just as he wrote what he did on the first occasion—that he sent copies of our letter to several places—may he do so now as well. We hope that the earlier ones bore fruit, and that these will likewise be effective.

Now, there has come before us the letter from our dear one—the delight of our heart, our mighty colleague and friend, my master and my teacher—Joseph ben Mari, and the master, Jacob, the alluf, son of ‘Awkal, may our Holy One sustain him, give him courage, and protect him. May the memory of his father be a blessing, for the alluf—may he live forever—assured us with great promises, which we hope to see fulfilled. Certainly, this should be so, through the righteousness of the alluf, a man who received his God’s favor . . . a man of favor (Isaiah 3:3) is one for whose sake favor is shown to his generation, either above [such as R. Ḥanina ben Dosa,¹ or below,] such as R. Abbahu, in the house of the emperor [see b. Ḥagigah 14a].²

So, may this be fulfilled in him forever: for the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly (Psalms 84:12). [ . . . ]

[Regarding] R. Bahlul ben R. Joseph, the alluf, we are saying that our souls yearn, even pine (Psalms 84:3) for his letters, for his pleasing words and his marvelous studies. We have received two volumes of questions from him after many years, and we have written the responses to both of them together and sent them to the master and teacher, Shemariah, for they were sent with him.

Regarding one of the volumes, he wrote to us that he had received it, but as for the second one, his letters ceased after we sent it, as he joined a group that went off to the [pleasant] land [i.e., Israel], and we do not know what happened to it . . . and let him inform us that it reached him, to ease our worries. If not, we will quickly send another copy of the responses. We are also puzzled about the master, R. Bahlul, how he was able to refrain from writing his reservations and his scholarship all these years, as it was a merit . . . for the good . . . may it come from heaven to him and all his relatives and colleagues of that holy group, and . . . we have been informed that in your place there is a very wise man, a mountain of Torah, who is expert in all topics of [law]. His name is the master R. Ḥushiel ben Elḥanan. We are puzzled as to how he was able to refrain from [sending] his studies to the gate of the academy, so that others can participate in its review, as was done . . . [his] strength in his chamber and his tremendous questions, and explain them to the students, and this will increase the . . . [May the] alluf grant him from our mouths thousands of wishes of peace and myriads of blessings, and let him know that we [are thirsty] to imbibe his words and rejoice in his sayings. And if he encounters them [referent unclear], the alluf will resolve them, for he is our brother and is our precious delight. Let the alluf take his letter and send it to us, for it is a sweet [tribute] and a gift that will find favor with us. Let him do so, and may the Lord fulfill all his requests.

Now, we have petitioned the alluf to focus on this matter and advise the master, R. Ḥanokh, regarding the responses to the letters that were written to him from our prince, the great gaon, our father, may he live forever. Let him not rest from the matter until he has accomplished it. We rejoiced in the words of our dear, precious one, the master, R. Joseph ben Berekhiah, and his pure, pleasant sayings, which he utters, thereby increasing knowledge before our very eyes. We recognize his insight, and we apply to him the verse: The wise in heart is called a man of discernment, and the sweetness of the lips increases learning (Proverbs 16:21). Who would befriend the alluf other than such a person, and who are his peers if not the greatest in the world?

Behold, we have sent with this letter two open communications to all of the West—may he do as we have demanded of him, to send copies of them to various places—and the responses to the questions of our brothers, the residents of Fez, who are blessed to the Lord and the two open letters addressed to them. Let us know that they have arrived.

Regarding our precious, our beloved, our friend, master Naḥum the ḥazan [a synagogue functionary], son of Joseph the great ḥazan, please inform us, alluf, of his whereabouts and his welfare, for he is a dear brother to us, and he grew up with us from his youth. He is also an honorable man, who is learned in the Torah, and we are in great need of him here, for the elderly have passed on, and he is now in charge of all the ḥazanim of Babylonia. His son, who is well liked, has a position in the great synagogue of Baghdad.

May the alluf reflect upon all that we have written to him, act accordingly, and apprise us of his welfare, and may all his desires and requests, as well as the peace of the alluf and his life and days, increase forever.

14th Elul, 4766 [1006]; [may you receive] great salvation

Source: CUL T-S 10G5.8 + T-S 20.100.

Translated by Avi Steinhart.