Geniza Lab

Recto: a letter from Elḥanan b. Shemarya to [Sahlān] b. Abraham ha-Mumḥe. Verso: various poems of praise, including one addressing Judah and his son Saʿadya (Information from CUDL)

Part of a poem of congratulations on the occasion of the circumcision of a child named Nathaniel. (CUDL)

Letter from Natan b. Shelomo b. he-hazzan b. Ya'ir, written on behalf of his community to Moshe Nagid b. Mevorakh in Fustat regarding two matters of conflict between two factions into which the community is divided, each with its own hazzan: disagreement over the prayer for the Nagid; and conflict between the two factions regarding a synagogue custom.

Letter from Daniel b. Azarya to Avraham ha- Kohen b. Yiṣḥaq b. Furat.

Awaiting description - see Goitein's index card.

Letter from one of the followers of Natan b. Avraham. Dating: probably 1042 CE. On verso there are astronomical calculations regarding the position of the moon. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from the Jewish community of Palermo to the Jewish communities of Qayrawān and al-Mahdiyya, specifically addressing Elḥanan b. Ḥushiel and the Nagid Yaʿaqov b. ʿAmram as heads of the community in Qayrawān. Dating: ca. 1030 CE. The writers praise the good deeds of Abū Saʿīd Khalaf/Ḥayyim b. Yaʿaqov ha-Sefaradi and his son Nissim. Thanks to their connections with the authorities, they saved many Jews from punishment after they did not pay taxes. They also saved merchants’ possessions after several ships sank in the water. In addition, they influenced the authorities to cancel a decision to expropriate part of the Jewish cemetery area. The letter mentions other individuals including a certain Natan, Avraham b. David b. Labrāṭ, Shemuʾel b. Moshe, Abū l-Faraj, who is on his way to Egypt, Moshe b. Yaḥyā the Perfumer, and ʿAmmar b. Yehoshuaʿ al-Ḥalabī. Signed by Shemuʾel b. moshe, David b. Levi, Shemuʾel b. [...], Sahlān b. Yehoshuaʿ, Yose[f] b. [...], [...] b. [...]el, Avraham b. Ḥayyim, Yehuda b. Eliyyahu, Eliyyahu b. Yona, Eliyyahu b. Avraham, [...] b. Yaʿaqov, Nissim b. Avraham, Mattityahu b. Yon[ah], [...] b. Yaʿaqov, Pappos (!) b. Shabbetay, Shabbetay b. [...], [...] b. Yehuda, Yiṣḥaq b. Yiṣḥaq the Cantor, Yiṣḥaq b. [...]. (Information from CUDL and Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #236.) Published by Jacob Mann, "The Responsa of the Babylonian Geonim as a Source of Jewish History," JQR New Series Vol. 9 (1918), 139–79.

Letter from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov b. ʿEli ha-Bavli Rosh ha-Seder to his brothers ʿEli and Yiṣḥaq. Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 1476 Seleucid, which is 1164/65 CE. The sender gives his name in several short lines at the top of the leaf, followed by a quotation from Psalms 121:2. Identification of the sender was made by Amir Ashur and Mordechai Akiva Friedman, who add that he signs with his motto/ʿalāma (the same as that of Shemuʾel b. ʿEli, whose disciple he was): הא̇ לא̇ למו̇ (Psalms 68:21). In the letter, Yosef reports that he has sent the requested book in his handwriting. As for what one of them said about his mother missing him, he misses her even more. The next part is the upbringing and education of Yiṣḥaq (evidently the younger brother). ʿEli had complained about how Yiṣḥaq constantly disobeys him. Yosef gives an instruction that may be about corporal punishment and which involves the word "al-muqallib." Then: "You must exert authority over him (tusalṭin bih) and remind him of what the Torah says, 'Honor thy father and thy mother....' As for what you said about him cursing you—his teacher!—I cannot believe that about him." He then cites a couple more biblical verses and tells ʿEli to try to forgive Yiṣḥaq. As for Sameaḥ(?) al-Qaṭṭān and his reneging on a (legal?) agreement and not giving the addressee anything—the addressee must go to him and demand an explanation. The sender is pained that the addressee has not told him what he and Abū l-Barakāt have been reading, nor about his livelihood, nor about "how much gold you have gathered for me." Yosef mentions a letter he received from their father and how he responded to both the addressee's and the father's letter in a single letter. He then rebukes the addressee for his bad handwriting (kawn khaṭṭik manḥūs) and how he botched the 5 quires (apparently homework) that he copied. He must do it again, and also also supervise Yiṣḥaq in this task. Yosef gives further instructions about the Torah portions that they must copy. There follow numerous greetings, including for: Abū l-Faraj al-Baghdādī, Moshe Rosh ha-Qahal, Yosef's mother, ʿEzra the judge, and Binyamin ha-Ḥaver. There is a postscript written with a different pen expressing happiness at the news that Yiṣḥaq recovered from his illness. The letter keeps going on verso with additional greetings. As for the instructions Yosef received to purchase a niqāb and large miqnaʿa (scarf or veil) for his mother in Erbil (ארבל)—it is too late, he has already left Erbil. ASE

Letter of condolence on the death of the Nasi and Rayyis Sar Shalom (ll. 7, 38). Addressed to another Nasi (al-Rayyis al-Dā'ūdī), with blessings for his son Abū l-Ḥasan. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. It seems that the sender is asking the addressee to convey condolences on his behalf to al-Shaykh al-Thiqa, to Abū Isḥāq and his sons, to the dear brother Abū l-Barakāt al-Ṭabīb and his mother Sitt ʿArīb(?), and to the entire family of the late Rayyis (or of his widow?).

Letter from Yosef al-Muṣallī to Yeshuʿa the Cantor. In Judaeo-Arabic, with 14 lines of biblical quotations at the top. In between, the body of the letter is written in a smaller, semi-cursive script. Dating: No earlier than 13th century. The sender expresses his profuse gratitude for how the addressee aided Umm S[...] and accompanied her to the synagogues. In the next section, he greets the addressee's son Moshe, Peraḥya, the noble lady Mudallala, and ʿAlāʾ al-[...]. He conveys greetings from Farajallāh. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Yaʿaqov ha-Meshorer b. Yiṣḥaq b. David Maʿaravi, in Hebron, to Yehoshuaʿ, descendant of the Negidim. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Possibly Mamluk era. The letter opens with four short biblical quotations; extensive rhymed blessings follow. Yaʿaqov describes his devastation upon the death of ʿOvadya, descendant of the Negidim. He goes on to describe the poverty of the community of Hebron, and especially his own poverty. He receives 8 dirhams a month from Yeshuʿa al-Ḥakīm b. Menaḥem of Damascus, bu this hardly suffices (he cites the Talmudic idiom "a handful does not sate a lion"). He asks for charity from the addressee. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Khalaf b. Yiṣḥaq in Aden to Avraham Ibn Yiju in Dahbattan on the Malabar coast. Goitein dated the letter to after 1139, while Friedman to after 1138. The letter contains much information on commercial business and the report of a shipwreck in Bab al-Mandab.

Letter from Ṣadoq b. Yoshiyya, in a border town somewhere in the Levant, to the judge Yosef b. Avraham, in Fustat. Dating: probably the beginning of 1100 CE. In this document Ṣadoq, known from Megillat Evyatar and formerly the third of the yeshiva, describes his disgruntlement at having to be in this location, where he went to liberate captive children held by Crusaders in Antioch, including a little girl from his own family, who has now been released. He is still endeavoring to free his son-in-law (שרנו אדירנו חתננו שר בית ישראל), whom Goitein identifies with Abū Saʿd the son of the Tustarī woman (mentioned as a Crusader captive in T-S 10J5.6 + T-S 20.113). Ṣadoq has also sent a letter to the Nagid (Mevorakh b. Seʿadya) reporting on his efforts for the captives. Verso contains the address and, written inverted in relation to the text on recto, 8 lines of pen exercises in a different hand. (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Madmun b. Ḥasan to Avraham Ibn Yiju (Aden, 1133-1140). There is a second copy of this letter: T-S 13J7.13 + T-S K25.252.

Letter from the teacher Bū l-Ḥusayn Yehuda (b. Aharon?) Ibn al-ʿAmmānī, in Alexandria, to his third cousin and brother-in-law the physician Yeshuʿa b. Aharon Ibn al-ʿAmmānī, in the hospital in Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 12 Elul [4800+]168 = 4968 AM, which is 1208 CE (although Goitein's index card says 1217 or 1228 CE, maybe because he was working from a photostat). First section (r5–34): Yehuda specifies the steps he has taken to ensure the addressee's success in the study of medicine in Fustat/Cairo in order to begin practicing in Alexandria. (The pronouns are somewhat confusing in this letter, and it is not out of the question that 'my brother' refers to someone other than the addressee.) Yehuda previously sent instructions with the boy Muhadhdhab b. Merayot al-Kohen. Yehuda advises the aspiring physician to present letters of recommendation to the wālī, to the qāḍī, to al-Muwaffaq, to Ibn Tammām the supervisor (al-mushārif), and to Ibn Ṣadaqa (Goitein says this is a well-known Samaritan physician). Whoever wishes to study with them must study in Fustat and gain his 'certificate of good conduct' (tazkiya) in Fustat. He should strive for nothing but the tazkiya and spare no expenses, because if he obtains the tazkiya, then he will have obtained everything, and he will quickly recover the money that he lost. Yehuda has also enclosed three additional letters with the bearer of the present letter, one of which is a letter from Ibn Alqāsh to al-Shaykh al-Sadīd the aspiring physician's professor (ustādh). Yehuda has also sent 5 letters with the gentile Manṣūr al-Ḥarīrī who is, a relative of the wife of Ibn al-Tinnīsī. 3 of these are from the faqīh Ibn ʿĪsā: the first is a response to the letter from the aspiring physician, the second is a letter of recommendation to a man called al-Sharaf in the hospital, and the third is a letter to the son of the faqīh Salāma Ibn al-Aʿmā (this one is unrelated to the aspiring physician). The other 2 of the 5 letters are from Yehuda himself, one addressed to the aspiring physician and one to the professor al-Sadīd. Yehuda wants to write a letter to al-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq Ibn al-Dimyāṭī but doesn't know his Hebrew name (Goitein understood "fluency"), so he asks the aspiring physician to send a letter with that information. There are further instructions about Ibn al-Tinnīsī and obtaining a ruqʿa in the hand of the judge (al-dayyān) from the Qaraite al-Shaykh al-Thiqa. Second section (r35–48): Yehuda has sent several additional letters with ʿUmar the animal driver (al-mukārī) because he was worried about his brother. Yehuda is in distress from the capitation tax. Ibn Ruzayq told him that the addressee had guaranteed it for Yehuda. Yehuda argued with Ibn Ruzayq about this, and Yehuda secretly went to the Christian tax administrator (ʿāmil) and obtained an 10-day extension. It seems that the question is whether they ought to pay Yehuda's brother's capitation tax in Alexandria; Yehuda thinks the money would be wasted, since he can't believe that it hasn't already been paid in Fustat, a month in a half after the deadline. The Christian told him that he heard from someone that Yehuda's brother had already paid it to the treasury (bayt al-māl) and that the receipt (wuṣūl) should arrive soon. Yehuda is desperate to know soon, because they are already 'under threat' (taḥt al-tahdīd). Third section (r49–end): Yehuda describes a shameful matter in Alexandria, namely, how the government banished the scholar and merchant Yosef al-Baghdādī as a result of false accusations made by associates of the judge Anatoli. Yehuda had previously sent an update on this matter with ʿUmar al-Baghdādī. There was an initial denunciation to the Jewish judge somehow involving a convert and a claim that Yosef threw watermelon rinds and urine at someone (v3–4). Then there was a scene in the synagogue involving the tearing of clothes and Yosef either genuinely fainting or pretending to faint. Anatoli, Seʿadya al-Ḥasid, Hilāl (probably the brother of Meʾir b. Yakhin), and the allies of Anatoli were also there. Yosef was then denounced to the amir Ḥusām al-Dīn as someone who curses the Jewish law and who must be banished from the city. So the amir sent 'the black slave' and his attendant (farrāsh) to search for Yosef, calling out, 'Where is the foreigner who is cursing people and their ancestors?' Yehuda attempted to conceal Yosef from the search party by saying, 'This is a humble scholar and teacher who would never do such a thing.' But their informer Ṭāhir al-Dimashqī told on Yosef, and Yehuda received a reprimand for obstructing the government's justice. There follows a detailed description of the expulsion of Yosef. (Information in part from Frenkel, Goitein's index card, and Goitein, Med Soc II, 250.) ASE

Fragment of a marriage contract (ketubba). Dating: Likely 10th century, based on handwriting. This fragment begins toward the end of the dowry list. Groom: Saʿīd. Bride: Malīhā, a virgin. The dowry amounts to 456 1/3 dinars. The items are listed in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Hebrew, and the document preserves the complete text of the divorce clause. (Information from Friedman, Jewish Marriage, vol. 2, 53–54.) On verso there is the Hoshaʿnot liturgy for the end of Sukkot. (CUDL)

Qaraite marriage contract (ketubba). Location: Cairo. Dated: 1315 AM, which is 1003/04 CE. (In fact, Goitein points out that this is one of the oldest known documents from Cairo, which had been founded only ~35 years prior.) Groom: Shelomo b. Mevasser b. Sahl al-ʿAni. Bride: Sara bt. Yeshaʿya b. Sahl al-ʿAni. (Groom and bride are first cousins, abnā' ʿamm). The groom had already paid 100 ʿAzīzī dinars and promised another 50 at the wedding. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index cards.)

Recto: Bill of release. In Hebrew. Granted by Aharon b. [...] to [...] b. Mevorakh ha-Shulḥani (the banker), upon receipt of 7 dinars, somehow related to the inheritance of his grandmother Samāna, the mother of his mother Azīza. Written by [...] b. Shemuel, and witnessed by Shemuel 'the lesser' (זעירא) b. [...], [...] b. Aharon, Yefet b. ʿEli ha-Kohen, and Yosef b. Efrayim.

Verso: Unidentified text in Arabic script. Probably poetry or at least literary. Beautifully written. Needs examination. (There are also two lines in Arabic script on recto, which say "to my noble master" followed by blessings.)