Letter found in the Cairo Genizah, from Salama son of Yosef al-Haruni of Ramla, addressed to "the Chaver" Shemaya Abu Faraj in Bab al-Maghara (the Cave Gate) in Jerusalem. [Ramla, May 1054]. Judeo-Arabic.
Complete letter. Ink on paper. One leaf, written on both sides. Oriental script.
The letter was written at the end of the Geonic era in Eretz Israel, at the time when the Rishonim era had already begun in other Torah centers (as an indication, at the time this letter was written Rashi was a youth of 14 years). The letter mentions two Geonim who served as heads of the Yeshiva of Eretz Israel: the Gaon Daniel ben Azariah (mentioned in the letter with the title "the Head") and the Gaon Eliyahu HaKohen (the Yeshiva of Eretz Israel, or Yeshivat Geon Yaakov, served from the 6th century until the 12th century as the center of authority and leadership for the Jews of Eretz Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt).
The present letter contains a wealth of information. The letter centers around the request of the writer, Salama HaKohen son of Yosef al-Haruni of Ramla, from "the Chaver" Shemaya Abu Faraj, to collect on his behalf the money he had lent to the tradesman Abu Sa'id Khalfa "the Maghrebian", son-in-law of Yachye al-Ammani, since the repayment of the loan was overdue. He relates at length how the loan, which in fact was a business partnership, came about: he had met Abu Sa'id while the latter was travelling from Jerusalem to Ramla on his way to Ashkelon, and gave him five dinars to trade with until the end of the year (the civil year), and later return the principal along with part of the profits. He adds that they drew up an official contract between them in the presence of "the Head" – the head of the Yeshiva (the Gaon Daniel ben Azariah). Abu Sa'id travelled from there to Ashkelon, purchased wares and brought them to Jerusalem. When he returned to Ramla, he informed Salama that he had profited one dinar over the past months, but didn't have the money available to repay him. He promised to repay the loan when he would next be in Ramla, after Passover. Meanwhile, that time had passed and Salama asks Shemaya, who was in Jerusalem, to collect the loan on his behalf. Before stating his request, Salama expresses his pain over the difficulties Shemaya was experiencing (perhaps with his son's illness), and also discusses other topics, which indicate that he was actively involved in matters of the Head of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva, and served as intermediary between him and various people in Ramla.
The name of the sender is not known from other documents, however the name of the recipient – "the Chaver Abu Faraj Shemaya" – is mentioned in other documents found in the Genizah: Abu Faraj Shemaya the Chaver Ibn Faraj (son of Yeshua) was the grandson of R. Shemaya Gaon, who lived at the beginning of the 11th century and served as Head of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva in Jerusalem. The name of one of the sons of the recipient, Avraham son of R. Shemaya the Chaver, appears in a document dated 1116 in Fustat, Egypt, and one can assume that this letter reached the Cairo Genizah through him.
The letter also mentions: "the Head" – in reference to the Head of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva, R. Daniel ben Azariah; R. Yosef [HaKohen], Av Beit Din in the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva (d. December 1053); and R. Eliyah "the Third" (R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon, who succeeded R. Daniel ben Azariah as Head of the Yeshiva in 1063). See below for more information about the Av Beit Din R. Yosef HaKohen, his brother R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon and the dating of this letter.
Also mentioned in the letter are Ibn al-Hasan Amar the physician (from the Karaite community in Ramla), Abu Ali Ibn al-Dabbab, and other figures.
Researchers differ regarding the address of the recipient – Bab al-Maghara: the name "Cave Gate" may refer to Zedekiah's Cave, close to Damascus Gate, though according to another opinion, "the Cave" was the appellation of the main synagogue in Jerusalem and the hub of the Jewish quarter in those times.
[1] leaf. 13X16 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears and wear, slightly affecting text.
The letter was part of the collection of Prof. Bernard (Eliezer Dov) Chapira (1880-1967). In 1910-1912, Chapira participated in the expeditions which the Société des études juives in Paris sent to Egypt, and on behalf of the researcher and collector Jacques Mosseri. During these expeditions, they discovered and catalogued thousands of fragments from the Geniza, which had been left by Sh.Z. Schechter. Most are found in the Mosseri collection, the largest private collection in the world of Genizah fragments, and some were sold to the National Library in Jerusalem.
The present letter was published by Chapira in 1953, in the anthology Yerushalayim: Review for Eretz-Israel Research, in his article: A Letter from Ramle to Jerusalem of the Middle of the Eleventh Century (enclosed). His article contains for the first time a transcription of the letter in Judeo-Arabic, full translation to Hebrew and information about the names and details mentioned therein. When it was published again by the historian Moshe Gil in 1983, Gil dubbed the letter "MS Chapira 1", and stated that the original manuscript was not available.
Literature:
1. Michael Ish-Shalom, Meir Benayahu, Azriel Shohet (editors), Yerushalayim: Review for Eretz-Israel Research. Jerusalem: Rabbi Kook Foundation, 1953. Pp. 118-122.
2. Moshe Gil, Palestine During the First Muslim Period (634-1099), Part III, Cairo Geniza Documents. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University and the Ministry of Defence, 1983. Pp. 319-322.
3. Joshua Prawer, The History of Jerusalem: The Early Islamic Period (638-1099) [Vol. I]. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1987. Pp. 40, 45-46, 63, 143.
4. Moshe Gil, The Jewish Quarters of Jerusalem (A.D. 638-1099) According to Cairo Geniza Documents and Other Sources. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 41, No. 4 (October 1982). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 265, 271-272.

Last Geonim of Eretz Israel – The "Lions Who Dwell in Jerusalem" Who Corresponded with Early Torah Scholars of Ashkenaz
"R. Eliyah the Third" mentioned in this letter is R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon (d. 1083), son of R. Shlomo HaKohen Gaon (the first), and father of R. Eviatar HaKohen Gaon, author of Megillat Eviatar; all three of them served as heads of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva in Eretz Israel. They were members of a family of Kohanim who trace their lineage to R. Elazar ben Azariah. R. Eliyahu Gaon was one of the last Geonim in Eretz Israel, in the times of Rashi.
"R. Yosef Av Beit Din" mentioned in the letter was the brother of R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon. He served as Av Beit Din of the Yeshiva, the second highest office after the Yeshiva Head.
R. Eliyahu is named "the Third" in this letter, since at the time of its writing, he held the third highest ranking position in the Yeshiva, after "the Head" R. Daniel ben Azariah and "the Second" R. Yosef HaKohen, the Av Beit Din. R. Yosef passed away on Chanukah 1053, and therefore when R. Daniel passed away (in 1062), R. Eliyahu succeeded him as Head of the Yeshiva (regarding the hierarchy in the Yeshiva and the titles of its heads, see: Moshe Gil, Palestine During the First Muslim Period [634-1099], Part I – Studies, Tel Aviv, 1983, p. 417).
Researchers established the date of this letter based on the fact that the writer requests that the loan be collected in the presence of R. Eliyahu "the Third", seeming to indicate that R. Yosef HaKohen was no longer alive.
Rashi's disciples refer to R. Eliyahu and his son R. Eviatar as "lions who dwell in Jerusalem" (see for instance Machzor Vitri, Goldschmidt edition, Part III, p. 709), and the latter responded to questions R. Meshulam son of R. Moshe of Mainz sent to them on several topics, such as what one should eat on Erev Pesach which falls on Shabbat (the responsum was published in REJ, 73, 1921, pp. 84-92; see also: Avraham Grossman, Chachmei Ashkenaz HaRishonim, pp. 391-392).
In 1071, Eretz Israel was conquered by the Seljuks and the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva was compelled to relocate to Tyre, where R. Eliyahu served as Head of the Yeshiva until his passing.
R. Eviatar, son of R. Eliyahu and his successor as Head of the Yeshiva, was the last Gaon of Eretz Israel. He composed Megillat Eviatar, where he describes his tribulations and the affairs of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva. He also portrays there the great honor accorded to his father R. Eliyahu upon his passing:
"He passed away in Kislev 1083 in Tyre, and the Jewish people carried him on their shoulders rather than on horses for a three-day journey to the mountain of the Galilee, to Dalton, where he was buried at the top of the mountain near R. Yose HaGelili, in proximity of Yonatan ben Uziel, Hillel and Shammai, Elazar ben Arach and Elazar ben Azariah our ancestor and many other Tzaddikim, and the Jewish people throughout Eretz Israel, Syria and the Diaspora eulogized him, tore their clothes, wore sackcloth and sat on the ground, since their crowning glory had been removed from their heads".
(For further detail about R. Daniel ben Azariah, the Geonim from the family of Kohanim and the history of the Yeshiva in that period, see Gil, ibid, pp. 583-606).

Ramla – A Torah Center During the Fatimid Rule in Eretz Israel
During the Fatimid rule in Eretz Israel, Ramla became the capital of the Filastin (Palestine) district (which also included Jerusalem). It was a large and prominent city, home to a Jewish community and Torah center. As it lies on the route to Jerusalem, it served as a gathering point for pilgrims, and at certain times boasted a larger Jewish population than Jerusalem. In the 1020s, the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva relocated for a time from Jerusalem to Ramla, and at various points some of the Torah scholars and heads of the Yeshiva of Eretz Israel resided in Ramla.

Doresh Tov LeAmo – Jewish newspaper in Judeo-Arabic. Bombay (Mumbai), 1855-1866. Lithographed. Eleven volumes of issues from all the years of the newspaper's publication.
The English subtitle "The Hebrew Gazette" was added with the eleventh issue.
The newspaper serves as a rich and unique source of information on the history of Iraqi Jews who immigrated to India. The first page of the issues features announcements of births, Brit Milah, weddings and deaths in the community. The newspaper offers reports of local communal events, general and commercial news items, with some news items about the Jewish world beyond India, and historical articles. In the first two years of its circulation, the newspaper usually appeared biweekly, yet later, beginning in 1858, it began appearing weekly. Some issues cover the events of the Great Indian Mutiny.
The newspaper was handwritten mostly in Judeo-Arabic, with some Hebrew, in cursive Baghdadi script, and reproduced in lithograph. The first two issues in 1855 were handwritten by Sassoon son of David Sassoon (see below). The rest of the issues were written by David Chaim David (his signature appears at the end of each issue). The issues were generally 4 pages long, but occasionally, 8-page issues were published, and for special occasions a several-page-long supplement was added (the supplement to issue 26 of year 4 featured a long proclamation issued by the rabbis and notables of Baghdad, containing regulations against extravagance, with over 60 clauses, announced in the synagogues in Tevet 1859 – see full translation in: Avraham ben Yaakov, Minhagei Yehudei Bavel BeDorot HaAcharonim, vol. II, Jerusalem 1993, pp. 180-193).
The front pages have a set layout. Details about the weekly portion and haftarah, and readings from Neviim and Ketuvim, appear below the newspaper title. On most front pages, illustrations of ships sailing, with the inscriptions: "London" and "to China", alongside information on ship departures to these places (a few issues note departures to other cities, such as Liverpool, Marseilles, Basra and others). Several issues offer further handwritten details (such as dates, references to Torah portions and Haftarot, and more).
These volumes of issues were in the possession of the wealthy collector David Solomon Sassoon (his bookplates appear in some volumes).
On 4th July 1908, David Solomon Sassoon published an article in The Jewish Chronicle entitled "A Unique Jewish Newspaper", containing a review of Doresh Tov LeAmo. At the time of writing the article, Sassoon only possessed two volumes of the newspaper, and he writes of his efforts to obtain more issues. Sassoon also mentions that the newspaper only had some twenty-five subscribers, who paid a monthly subscription of two rupee, and he quotes a testimony according to which subscribers would generally destroy the last issue as soon as the next appeared "so that they should not become food for insects!" (a newspaper clipping with this article was pasted on the endpaper of volume III; a galley proof of the article is also enclosed).
Eleven volumes:
• Year 1. Bombay, 1855-1856. Issues 1-27.
• Year 2. Bombay, 1856-1857. Issues 4-11, 13-26. Parts of issues 1-3, 12.
• Year 3. Bombay, 1857-1858. Issues 1-50.
• Year 4. Bombay, 1858-1859. Issues 1-51.
• Year 5. Bombay, 1859-1860. Issues 1-48 (issues 5, 11, 15 may be lacking end).
• Year 6. Bombay, 1860-1861. Issues 2-3, 18, 42, 44-48.
• Year 7. Bombay, 1861-1862. Issues 1, 10, 12, 16, 20-24, 30, 34, 36, 44-45, 48.
• Year 8. Bombay, 1862-1863. Issues 2-6, 9-10, 14-21, 23-27, 29, 35, 38-39, 45. Part of issue 46.
• Year 9. Bombay, 1863-1864. Issues 1, 9, 15, 18-21, 24-28, 30-31, 33-35, 37-39, 46-48, 51. Parts of issues 11, 16, 17, 23, 36 (several other unidentified leaves enclosed).
• Year 10. Bombay, 1864-1865. Issues 4-7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 22-26, 29-31, 33-36, 38, 42.
• Year 11. Bombay, 1865-1866. Issues 10,12, 15-20.
11 volumes. Approx. 32-34 cm. Some issues printed on blue paper. Condition varies. Most issues in good condition – stains, tears and wear. Several issues in fair condition and several issues in poor condition – open tears and significant worming, with extensive damage to text, repaired in part with paper and tape. Original bindings from the Sassoon collection, vol. I with a fine, gilt decorated leather binding. Bookplates of David Solomon Sassoon in several volumes. Leaves with handwritten notes and newspaper clippings enclosed (some handwritten by David Sassoon).
A particularly rare newspaper (as mentioned, according to Sassoon, it was printed in several dozen copies only). The NLI catalog only records four volumes: 1, 2, 4 and 5. Recorded in Yaari (HaDfus HaIvri BeArtzot HaMizrach, II, Jerusalem 1940, p. 95) based on the present Sassoon copies. The British Library holds vols. 1, 3, 4, 5 and two issues of vol. 11. Apart from these, we know of no other copies.
Provenance:
1. Sassoon Collection.
2. Valmadonna Trust Library.

Hebrew Passages in Doresh Tov LeAmo
Most of the newspaper is in Judeo-Arabic, yet it occasionally contains passages in Hebrew, including some interesting contents not known from any other source.
Some examples include:
Vol. 3, issue 12, contains the text of the dedication inscribed on the cornerstone laid by David Sassoon for the first synagogue of the Baghdadi community in Bombay – built by David Sassoon.
Vol. 4, issue 38, includes a transcript of a halachic ruling regarding funerals in Bombay.
Vol. 4, issue 43, includes a prayer poem in honor of Queen Victoria (an acrostic of her name), on the occasion of the end of the Great Indian Mutiny.
Vol. 10, issue 5, includes a lamentation poem on the passing of David Sassoon – 6th Marcheshvan 1865.

The Beit David Society of the Sassoon Family
Doresh Tov LeAmo was published by the Beit David Society, founded by Iraqi Jews and named after R. David Sassoon. The society was headed by David Sassoon and his sons. The newspaper was one of the society's important undertakings. It was established by Sassoon, the son of David Sassoon, who wrote the first two issues himself (lithographed on blue paper). In the main article of the first issue, Sassoon son of David Sassoon explains that the newspaper was established to serve the small Baghdadi community in Bombay, whose members were not fluent in English, and its objective was to increase knowledge and education amongst the people and to inform of important news.
Two lithographed leaflets (on blue paper) were bound at the end of this vol. I of Doresh Tov LeAmo. The first leaflet, dated 7th Adar 1855, contains the regulations of the Beit David Society – 22 clauses defining the goals of the society: assistance to the needy, to emissaries from Eretz Israel and boys' schools, supervision of religious matters, taking care of any matter relating to the nations of the world which involves Kiddush Hashem. The regulations are signed (in lithograph) by 11 leaders of the society, headed by David Sassoon.
The second leaflet, dated 21st Adar 1855, contains the society's decision regarding the porging of meat in Bombay. This leaflet is also signed by the 11 leaders of the society (some signatures lithographed and some handwritten).
For more information regarding the Beit David society and the contents of these leaflets, see: Avraham ben David, Yehudei Bavel BaTefutzot, Jerusalem 1985, pp. 60-63.