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Middle Ages
Lesson plan | Grades 7–12 | by Zion Ozeri and Josh Feinberg
Cairo Geniza Collection, Cambridge University, London, UK, 2019
All images © Zion Ozeri. All Rights Reserved.
Opening
Project the photograph without revealing the caption or explaining what students are seeing. Give them 60 seconds to look closely in silence.
Then ask: At first glance, does what you see here look valuable? Why or why not?
Take a few responses.
Part 1: Reading the Photograph
Look closely at this image and discuss:
- What do you notice about the writing? What assumptions or conclusions might you draw about this document?
- Where do you think you might find a document like this?
- Why might someone want to preserve or hold on to an old document like this, rather than throw it away? What types of old objects would you, or do you, like to hold on to?
This manuscript fragment is one of about 400,000 written fragments found in the Cairo Geniza. A geniza is a storeroom for sacred Hebrew books and papers that are no longer usable. Rather than throw away or destroy old texts containing God's name, Jews traditionally placed them in a geniza, or buried them in the ground, out of respect.
Cairo was a center of Jewish life and learning for centuries during the Middle Ages. When the contents of the Cairo Geniza were first examined in the late nineteenth century, they were found to hold more than a thousand years' worth of documents from the Cairo Jewish community and from across the Jewish world. Among the most significant documents found in the Geniza were writings by the great medieval scholar Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, known as Maimonides or the Rambam, who lived in Cairo in the late twelfth century.
The Cairo Geniza also included letters and other documents sent by Jews around the world during the Middle Ages, including Jews living in the Land of Israel, reporting on events, seeking advice, and asking questions about Jewish law and practice.
Part 2: The Text
The following letter, written around 1100 CE, was found in the Geniza and is now held by Cambridge University Library. It was sent by the leaders of the Jewish community of Ashkelon, in the Land of Israel, seeking help for their community. Christian European Crusaders had just invaded the land and conquered Jerusalem. The Jewish residents of Ashkelon faced an influx of refugees and were forced to pay heavy ransoms to free Jewish captives and recover holy texts.
Cairo Geniza Letter - University of Cambridge
Letter from the Jewish Community of Ashkelon to the Jewish Community of Cairo
(Adapted from the translation by S. D. Goitein.)
News continues to reach us about Jews who were captured by the Crusaders. Some of those who were freed and reached Ashkelon are in danger of dying from hunger. Others remain in captivity. Still others were tortured and killed, sometimes before the eyes of fellow prisoners who were later killed themselves. We have not heard of a single Jew in such danger without doing everything in our power to save him.
God has given us opportunities to rescue some of the captives. One of our greatest sources of help has been the respected Abu l-Fadl Sahl, who has important connections and influence. He worked tirelessly to arrange the ransom of the prisoners. At first he was able to free only some of them, but eventually almost everyone who could be ransomed was released.
A few captives still remain in Crusader hands, including a boy about eight years old. Another captive was urged by the Crusaders to become a Christian. They promised that if he converted willingly, they would treat him well. He refused, saying that he could not become a Christian after his fellow Jews had spent such a large amount of money trying to ransom him. Some other captives, however, lost hope after remaining imprisoned for so long and converted because they no longer believed they would be ransomed or set free.
Some Jews reached safety by escaping in the days immediately after the battle. Others were captured by the Crusaders and later managed to escape. But these were few. Most of those who survived captivity were freed through ransom.
Sadly, freedom did not always mean the end of their suffering. Some left without enough food or clothing to protect them from the cold and died on the journey. Others died at sea. Still others reached us safely but arrived during a plague, and a number of them died from disease.
When Abu l-Fadl Sahl arrived with a large group of those who had reached Ashkelon, he traveled with them and spent Shabbat and celebrated Passover with them on the journey. He borrowed money himself to pay the camel drivers, provide food, hire guards for the caravan, and cover other expenses. He had already spent additional money of his own that he did not ask the community to repay.
We also borrowed money to recover 230 volumes, 100 other books, and eight Torah scrolls. These belong to the community and are now in Ashkelon.
The community has already spent about 500 dinars to ransom captives, support them, and recover the sacred books. Even after spending this enormous amount, we still owe another 200 dinars. This does not include everything we have spent caring for the refugees who have continued to arrive, including food, water, other drinks, medical treatment, and, whenever possible, clothing. If we could calculate everything that has been spent over this long period, the amount would be very great.
Normally, the amount of money available would have been enough to ransom only a small number of captives. Instead, with God’s mercy, we have been able to rescue many more of these suffering people.
Discuss:
- How do the writers describe the challenges faced by their community?
- The letter describes the help provided by the honourable sheikh Abu'l-Fadl Sahl, son of Yusha', son of Shay'a, an agent of the Sultan. How did he help? What does his assistance suggest about relationships among different groups at the time?
- What happened to those who remained in the hands of the Franks (Christian Crusaders, largely from what is now France)?
- Why do you think the writers of this letter were seeking help from the Jewish community of Egypt?
- Have you ever been asked to help Jews in other parts of the world? Do you feel a special need or pull to help other Jews? Why or why not?
Learn more about the Crusades here:
The Crusades - Jewish Virtual Library
How the Crusades Affected Medieval Jews in Europe and Palestine | My Jewish Learning
Part 3: Synthesis
- The fragment in the first photograph is most likely from a sacred Jewish text and has survived for centuries. How does seeing the actual fragment affect the way you think about the Jewish texts that have been passed down through generations?
- A geniza holds onto documents because Jewish tradition treats writings containing God’s name as worthy of respect. Why do you think a letter asking for emergency ransom money ended up preserved for nearly a thousand years alongside sacred texts?
Follow-Up Activity
A Document Worth Saving
What contemporary documents, personal or communal, tell stories worth saving?
Find an old document that's meaningful to you, at home, in your synagogue, or elsewhere, and take a photograph of it. For example: a grandparent's letter, a family recipe, a synagogue newsletter, a siddur inscription, an ancestor's ketubah, or a ticket or program from a historic event.
Along with the photo, write a short reflection explaining what the document is, how it's personally meaningful, and why it's worth preserving.