Letter from a Jew in Jerusalem to His Son-in-Law in Fustat (Cairo)
The Cairo Geniza manuscripts also shine a light on the everyday joys and woes of family life.
One such letter gives us an amusing insight into in-law affairs and weighs in on the importance of living in Jerusalem.
In the letter dating to 1055 CE, Eliyyahu ha-Kohen ben Shlomo Gaon from Jerusalem writes to his son-in-law Efrayim living in Fustat, Egypt, requesting that Efrayim return home, insisting that it is better to “eat onions in Jerusalem, rather than chicken in Egypt.”
"Onions in Jerusalem" - A letter from a father to his son-in-law
Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York
Photograph by Ardon Bar Hama
Overview
Letter from Eliyyahu ha-Kohen b. Shelomo Gaon, Jerusalem, to Efrayim b. Shemarya, his son-in-law, Fustat, Egypt in which the sender requests that Efrayim return home to
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