Record of Testimony (Jerusalem)

Joseph al-Sijilmāsī

ca. 1030

This testimony should be read in both synagogues

Commemorative testimony  Testimony of commemoration

In the name of God

The chief judge, Joseph al-Sijilmāsī, while in Jerusalem, saw in his dream himself walking in the old cemetery in Ramla and meeting three persons standing with three Torah scrolls on which there were black cloths. He passed over…

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This document, joined from two Geniza fragments, presents the record of a testimony offered in a Jerusalem court in 1030 concerning a miraculous dream shared by the chief judge of Ramla, Joseph al-Sijilmāsī, and his father. Joseph encountered the biblical prophets Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, who urged him to warn the community of impending disaster. The story that this text tells is replete with typological numbers and symbols. The text urges that this story be retold, but the outcome of these events remains unclear. This document suggests that Jewish society in the eleventh century was heavily invested in dream visions, and even presents them as official testimony in court.

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Related Guide

Documents and Inscriptions in the Early Medieval World

7th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

Joseph al-Sijilmāsī

11th Century

Joseph al-Sijilmāsī was the head of the synagogue of the Babylonian congregation in Ramla, Palestine. He sparked a controversy when he petitioned the leadership in Jerusalem, the caliph al-Ẓāhir, for investiture in an attempt to gain more power for himself in Ramla. His father likely hailed from Sijilmāsa, Morocco.

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