Geniza Lab

Two bifolia containing several items of interest. First: A glossary of Spanish/Ladino words from Judaeo-Arabic, including a great number of foods, but also numbers, days of the week, colors, and miscellanous terms (malīḥa --> hermosa; sūq --> plaza; saḥab --> nube; ramād --> ceniza). Second: Drafts of beginnings of letters, including one apparently addressed to Shūʿa Levi Abū לייה ha-Levi al-Marḥūm (but this can't be completely correct, because marḥūm generally means "dead"), and another addressed to the apparently nonsensical תומוסל כא ן זֿירה and יאקות ן תלזֿם. Third: Writing exercises. Dating: Probably 18th or 19th century. Needs further examination.

Accounts in the hand of Abū Zikrī Kohen. See Goitein's notes for further information andt ranscription.

Private account by Nahray b. Nissim. Around 1045. Mentions shipments, probably of flax, types of cloths and fabrics. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #269) VMR

Literary. Judaeo-Arabic word-by-word translation of Psalms 5.

Treatise on geography in Judaeo-Arabic. See Yossi Ben-Artzi and Esther-Miriam Wagner, "Geography in the Genizah," Genizah Research Unit, Fragment of the Month, December 2010.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. There is also one page of a medical treatise in Judaeo-Arabic, discussing the factors to consider (temperament, strength, habitus, age) in deciding how to evacuate the patient. On the facing page there is a brief booklist, including a commentary on Ketubbot, a large Maghribī aqrābadhīn (pharmacopoeia/medical formulary) and two volumes of Shemuel b. Ḥofni. The remaining accounts require further examination.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script written in red ink and black ink.

Official report or petition in Arabic script. Calligraphic, wide space between the lines. Approximately 7 lines are preserved. Dating: Likely 12th or 13th century. some phrases: "... min al-mustakhdamīn bi-ḥukm istiʿmālihim(?) fī ʿaml al-[...]... al-sadīd al-kāshif fa-innahu... al-shaykh al-ṣāliḥ...." Reused for Hebrew literary text.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentioning 'the consul.' Currency: ashrafī. There is also a list of the months of the Franks along with how many days are in each. It is unclear which European language these correspond to, but perhaps it is Italian ("ottobrio" as given here seems to be an archaic form of "ottobre").

Letter fragment from Barhūn b. Yiṣḥaq al-Tāhirti. The letter is addressed to someone who is younger than the writer (he calls him “my son”). Mentions a big loss in business because of goods that got wet. Also mentions his brother ʿAṭā, his cousin Yūsuf b. Mūsā, and the ship al-Laki. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #386) VMR

Medical prescriptions/recipes in a striking mix of Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic, sometimes alternating in the same sentence. Two of the recipes are taken from al-Malikī (of al-Majūsī) and one from al-Tadhkira (=Tadhkirat al-Kaḥḥālīn).

Letter from a man to his son. In Judaeo-Arabic. In rudimentary handwriting and orthography. He reports that the 10 dirhams have arrived and that he is in good health. The only reason he didn't write before now is that he was waiting for the money. He reports that he is hoping to purchase or redeem (? אשתריה או אסתרהנה) 5 pawned books (asfār, later tafātir for dafātir), in which case he would need more money. The tragacanth (kathīrā') is with Muslim. The father objects to the son's order to purchase gallnuts (ʿafṣ), perhaps because Muslim has some already that are neglected (? muhmal). The letter is addressed to the dyer (אצבג = אלצבאג) in נוא (= No Amon = Alexandria? or maybe פוא for Fuwwa?). The Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic jottings filling the remainder of verso are mysterious; the bottom four lines in terrible handwriting are roughly the same as the first lines of the actual letter.

Dense jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic. All of these appear to be a mixture of religiously and erotically inflected panegyric, addressing "the king of the world, the caliph of creation, Righteous son of Perfect," etc., but presumably not the actual caliph, as the references to wine and union would seem out of line. Then again, ʿĀdil b. Kāmil could be a reference to al-ʿĀdil II (regent 1232–38, reigned 1238–40). There are also some (nonsense?) strings of similar-sounding words.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. From Yehuda b. Shelomo, the cantor of Damsīs, to an unidentified addressee, who is asked to induce Abū Zikrī to make a gift of provisions for the holiday. On verso there are four lines in Arabic script, possibly a note from the addressee to Abū Zikrī or somebody else, trying to fulfill the request of Yehuda: "What will the noble masters do for Yehuda...?" ( ما يتفضل السادة الاجلا على يهودا ال. . . . . ). (Information in part from Goitein’s index card)

Account ledger filled with Arabic script and Judaeo-Arabic entries. Several pages. Merits examination. Includes on one page an Arabic poem transcribed into Hebrew characters: He who doesn't wear the garb of piety is naked even when he's clothed. A man's best clothing/trait is obedience to God, and there is no good in he who disobeys Him. إذا المرءُ لم يلبسْ ثيابًا مِن الـتُّقَى تقلَّبَ عريانًا وإن كان كاسيَا وخيرُ لباسِ/خصالِ المرءِ طاعةُ ربِّه ولا خيرَ فيمَن كان للهِ عاصيَا

Literary text in Judaeo-Arabic. The main legible part consists of prayers citing God's blessings for the patriarchs and prophets (e.g., 'save us like you saved Daniel from the lions' den').

Account register of Yiṣḥaq b. Yeḥiel, a dealer in carpets (tappeti = טפיטי, טאפיטי) as well as numerous other luxury commodities (nuts, drugs/perfumes, sugar from Crete, books, and more). In Hebrew, with many words in Judaeo-Italian and several phrases in Yiddish. Notably, there does not appear to be any Judaeo-Arabic. Location: Probably Fustat/Cairo (Miṣrayim). 3 bifolia. Dated: spring of 5310 AM, which is 1550 CE. Currencies: peraḥim, muayyadi (medin). The merchant makes purchases from various craftsmen (חרשים) in places like Venice, קאפרה, and אכיין. Very rich with details on 16th-century trans-Mediterranean trade, networks of merchants, demand for specific books, and more. The identification of the merchant's name is based on a letter that he sent earlier in the year 5310 AM (fall of 1549 CE): Moss. IIIa,9 + T-S AS 212.54–55 + T-S AS 214.40. Information in part from Avraham David's publications.

Synagogue/communal document. Dated: 5554 AM, which is 1793/94 CE. Lists of parshiyot and names (e.g. Frances, Yaʿaqov Aripol, Ḥayyim b. Hini, and dozens more).

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. The hand may be known. Dating: 11th or 12th century. Some of the pages are crossed out with vertical lines.

Hebrew poetry (rahaṭim).