Geniza Lab

Mysterious fragment, probably in Judaeo-Arabic. Needs examination.

Accounts in Ladino and western Arabic numerals. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (horizontal piece from the middle). Dating: Possibly 12th century based on hand, but that is a guess. The sender reports on some conflict probably involving public prayers. "...[they said] they would tell the judge and the teacher, but they didn't... the 9th of Av... pray, and I was shocked, because I had already reconciled with them—since for a long time I have prayed [...] and there was a great dispute between us, and we agreed that I would [...] but they I could not do the mufāsara(?)... the door until he prayed, and then..." On verso (labeled recto on CUDL), he writes at length about his sorrow at being parted from Rabbenu, and how Rabbenu said he would honor him with a letter, but he has received no letter from him since Purim. He asks for a letter from the addressee. He mentions his dead father (ואלדי נע). Regards to Abū Saʿd. The text in the margin mentions Rabbenu again and the judge Yosef. (Information in part from CUDL)

Legal document referring to various sums of money and individuals, such as Abū ʿAlī, Abraham ha-Sar the doctor and elder, Abū l-ʿAlā, Abū Naṣr, Abū l-Ṯanā (known as Ibn ʿAmmār) and a certain Nathan. (Information from CUDL)

A damaged fragment from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov to Sar Shalom b. Hiyya. Contains mostly blessings.

Small fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions a Sabbath garment (thawb al-sabt).

Small fragment with part of a list of names, including Yosef Hibat[allāh], Ḥalfon b. Y[efet?], ʿUthmān, and referring to the Palestinian Yeshiva (Geʾon Yaʿaqov). (Information in part from CUDL)

Earlier document: Small fragment of accounts in Arabic script. Possibly a state document? Needs examination.

Later document: Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, listing materia medica and their weights. Or possibly a prescription in tabular form (which would be atypical). On verso there are further instructions about what to do, which are more typical of a prescription.

Recto: list of names from a family, possibly for tax purposes, under the heading ‘the house of al-Malījī, the teacher’, mentioning Abū l-Ḥasan Yefet; his children; his brother ʿImrān and his son Mufaḍḍal; Shela and his brother Fakhr; Joseph and his son Yeshuʿa. Verso: List in Arabic script with a similar layout. Mentions Sharaf al-Dīn; 1/4 raṭl of some commodity; and apples. Written in the margin: "in the hand of the leader (al-raʾīs) Abū l-Bahāʾ from..." (Information in part from CUDL)

Bifolio from a ledger of accounts. Dating: Perhaps 18th century, but conceivably 17th–19th century. The script is entirely Hebrew, with western Arabic numerals. The hand is reminiscent of solitreo. The language(s) are not fully identified, and there is a strong likelihood that this is an argot specific to a certain trade, or even code words specific to this merchant. In one instance, the numeral 1 is written out as אונו = uno (presumably from Spanish/Ladino). There are approximately 16 discrete entries, with a few words floating in between the entries, including one instance of טיפיטירדאר = defterdar = bookkeeper or treasurer (from Turkish). Each entry is followed by a pair of numbers; the first is usually labeled ראיש or עורא, and the second is usually labeled נואיבא or חומשו. It is clear that חומשו (from Hebrew) means 1/5, while נואיבא (= nueva = new) means 1/50 of ראיש and 1/10 of עורא. The word עורא, despite the unusual spelling, may be derived from oro = gold, and may refer to a denomination of money. The word שולטאני appears twice, which may be Arabic sulṭānī, which may also refer to currency. The word דוראקא (Arabic for "peach") and the phrase דוראקא מחרוקא (Arabic for "burnt peach") appear, but presumably not referring to actual peaches, burnt or not. The entire document remains very mysterious.

Probably legal document. Tiny fragment. Mentions Yaḥyā ha-[...] and perhaps [ha]-Sar ha-A[dir]. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter, possibly a query concerning the slaughtering of a chicken. Mentions "al-ṣāḥib," then "the slave (=I) said to him," then "I/you slaughtered all the chickens." (Information in part from CUDL)

Part of a trader’s notebook or accounts. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment of a letter. (Information from CUDL)

Order of payment for Abū l-Surūr’s wages (6 dirhams), signed by Abū Zikrī Kohen. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment, possibly from a letter or draft. Mentions informing Sayyidnā about something and the sender's desire to serve him.

Probably a list of some kind, mentioning a certain Isaac. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment with barely legible text.

Probably part of a letter. (Information from CUDL)