MOSSERI III.182.1 & V.201 Isaac Alfasi Topics of the responsum Sevenresponsaonthefollowingissues: . The responsum is fragmentary. A responsum concerning a legal document testifying to a debt, where one of the witnesses is a close relative [and therefore an invalid witness] of the owner of the document. The ownerofthedocumentgivesthedocumenttohissonwhoisnotconsideredacloserelative of the witness—is the document considered valid?1 . Part of a responsum concerning a legal document testifying to a deed of indebtedness. Concerning a debtor who admits that the debt itself exists but claims not to know the amount he owes.2 . Whether a creditor needs to swear under oath that a debt has not been repaid to him, when the debtor has at first denied the existence of the loan yet a document exists testifying to the loan.3 . Concerning the heirs of a creditor, who produce a legal document pertaining to the debt, and the debtor (or his heirs) demands the creditor’s heirs take an oath that the loan has not been repaid;4 similarly if the document contains a hatra§a of ne§emanut (‘faithfulness’)—a clause saying that the lender will believe the borrower if he asserts that the debt was paid without the presence of witnesses; and also defines the law where there is no collateral guaranteeing the debt testified to by the document. Concerning the obligation to give a bill of divorce in a child divorce case.5 Egypt; Judaeo-Arabic; oriental square script; th–th century. Physical description—III..: paper; torn, holes, rubbed; lines. Page dimensions:×.. Text area:×. [?]. Margins,upper:[?];lower:[?];inner:;outer: [?]. Physical description—V.: paper; leaf torn; + lines. Page dimensions: .×.. Text area:× [?]. Margins,upper:[?];lower:.;inner:[?];outer: .–. Content notes: The fragments in MS III.. and in MS V. are parts of the same responsum. 1 See Resp. Alfasi, §. 2 See Resp. Alfasi, §; MT Laws of Disputes between Plaintiffs and Defendants :; Sulˇ han. Aruk, Ho. ˇsen Miˇspat. :. ¯ 3 See MT Laws of Disputes between Plaintiffs and Defendants :, :; Sulˇ han. Aruk, Ho. ˇsen Miˇspat. :. 4 ¯ MT Laws of Lending and Borrowing :; Sulˇ han. Aruk, Ho. ˇsen Miˇspat. :. 5 ¯ The text from recto l. to verso l. is the same as that found in MS Copenhagen, –: Rotsh. tain,. Shut ha-Rif, pp. –). The words in square brackets derive from this manuscript. Headings for the responsa, on the basis of Maimonides’ MT, have been added in the margin. responsa of the rishonim – Bibliography: On the different printed editions of the responsa of Isaac Alfasi see Glick, Kuntress, , pp. –. no. –. Catalogues: CDLCJM, p. , n. III.., p. ; V.. The responsum äáåùúä (recto) §à ãö [...] . 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[...] êìî° îø[... ïòèù ïáåàø [ïééðòá øîàú äî [... {é}òãà §åàø {éô ìå÷ú 10àî} [... ùéù òãåé éð১ ºïåòîù åì áéùäå [ïåîîá ïåòîù ãâðë]. {êì} ïà° íìòà éðà §òîù äáåàâô {ìàîá §òîù éìò}. àìù àìà éìöà [óñë êì] {ñé}ì ïëì éãðò éî ºäáåùúä ?äæá áééç äî ¬§§øáãä [íåëñ éì øåøá . áàåâ{ìà} ê° ìã éô íæìé àî éù ìà ä{éîëá ÷÷ç}úà . 11[ïò]èðå ïòåè ïòåèù {ïò}èðå ïòåè àòãà ïî òãåé éð১ ºåøéáç åì øîàå ¬åäùìë íåëñá åøéáç ìò . ï{à} 12íìòð äáçàö äì ìà÷å àî äéîëá äáçàö éìò . éìöà óñë êì ùéù ìà° î° éãðò êì ¬åòáåúù äî ìë åøáçì ïúéé ¬[äîë] éì øåøá àìù àìà . ò{é}îâ äáçàöì éèòé {äéîëá íë}÷çúà ñéì° éðà àìà . äá äáì° èé àî ïëù ¬åì òéâî àìù äî [åðîî] ìèåðù éî ìë íùá íéøçéå . äìá÷° ä÷çúñ° éàìàîä{ðî} ãëà ïî íñàá íøçéå . ãîòîá àåä äìæð{îéô} äðàì øàùäå 14íäYD éãéá êì ùéù òãåé éðà øîåàù éî ìù . ò° {ð} àì äé÷á ìàå íäøã13éì{á}÷ êì ïà íìòð ìå÷é ïî . äæáå ®§§òãåé éðéà àãä éôå àäîì àìà éãéá êì ïéà øîå[àäì]äå ¬êãéá éì äð 15ºåøîà . àìà é°ã° éá êì ïéà §î{àäì}äå êãéá éì äðî åìà÷ . øàùäå ¬[í]éù[îç] øàùäå {íé}ù° î{ç} òáùéì ìåëé åðéà[å äòå]áù [áéåçî] äéì äåä òãåé éðéà . òáùéì ìåëé åðéà{å äòå}áù {áéåçî} äéì äåä òãåé éðéà . á° [éå]çîä ìëå á{éå}çîä ìëå øåæçé íàù íùëå ®§§íìùî òáùéì ìåëé åðéàå äòåáù . äáìèé òâø åì úéç ïîå ®íìùî òáùéì ìåëé åðéàå äòåáù . øàùä úà åðîî òáúéå ãéàæ ìà° á 6 =LawsofTestimony. 7 See BT Bava Batra a. 8 =LawsofCreditorandDebtor. 9 Or éñëðî. 10 Rotsh. tain,. Shut ha-Rif, §. It also appears in Pe"er ha-Dor, §. 11 = Laws of Claimant and respondent. 12 The first person singular future tense is marked here with ð rather than à, which is a known phenomenon among Maghrebi dialects. See also line . 13 It seems that there is a word missing, such as äàî. 14 Name of the currency. 15 BT Bava Mesi. #a a..