Kyiv letter - a letter of recommendation issued by the Khazar Jewish community in Kyiv. The document contains a request to the Jews of other cities to donate funds for the redemption of Mar Jacob Ben Hanukkah, who vouched for his brother, who took money from the Gentiles. As a result, the robbers killed his brother, and Jacob was imprisoned for his debts. The community ransomed him for 60 coins, but for the complete release of Jacob, another 40 were needed. With this letter, Jacob went to collect the missing amount.
According to the discoverers, this letter is the oldest authentic document written on the territory of Kyivan Rus and can date back to the 10th century. The document is written in Hebrew and contains the first mention of Kyiv in the form Qiyyōb. The letter was discovered among a collection of Hebrew manuscripts at the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt, in 1962. The manuscript is currently kept in the library of the University of Cambridge (Great Britain). It is a piece of parchment measuring 22.5 x 14.4 cm. The text occupies 30 lines.
"Kyiv letter" is the 23rd art object from a series of urban mini-sculptures of the Shukay! project. Installed on the main facade of the Brodsky synagogue. Its opening took place on November 17, 2019.
Author: sculptor Yurii Biliavskiy.
Address: 13 Shota Rustaveli Street.
