How to Write a Desperate Letter

This article presents editions and a comparative structural analysis of six Cairo Geniza letters in Judaeo-Arabic which were written by Manṣūr b. Sālim, a father in early thirteenth-century Alexandria desperate to bring home his runaway son Abū l-Naǧm. Three of Manṣūr’s letters are addressed to communal leaders in Fustat and three to the runaway son himself. The letters to communal leaders are shown to be more regimented, with underlying patterns of organization beneath the apparent disorder and freneticism. By contrast, the letters to the son are more varied, the father giving himself free rein to improvise, hector, and impart wisdom. This article contributes to bridging the gap between the disciplines of Cairo Geniza studies and Arabic papyrology and proposes a methodology for analyzing the balance between structure and spontaneity in the process of letter composition. It also offers the edition of: 1. P. Cambr. UL Inv. T-S 10 J 13.10. Letter to Eliyyahu the Judge; - 2. P. Cambr. UL Inv. T-S 10 J 14.12. Letter to the most venerable elder (al-šayḫ al-aǧall); - 3. P. New York Jewish Theol. Sem. Inv. ENA NS I.2. The letter to the venerable scholar (al-talmid al-ǧalīl); - 4. P. Cambr. UL Inv. T-S 12.415. Possibly the earlier complete letter to the son; - 5. P. Cambr. UL Inv. T-S Ar. 18 (1).137. Possibly the later complete letter to the son; - 6. P. Cambr. UL Inv. 13 J 28.17. The end of a third letter to the son

Arabic · Genizah · Judaism · Linguistics · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy

• The Fire in My Heart and the Pain in My Eyes”

  Alan Elbaum•Speculum•2023

  Add to list