Geniza Lab

Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, in Greek language but in medieval Latin Beneventan script. Published by H. Omont in 1921: https://www.persee.fr/doc/bec_0373-6237_1921_num_82_1_460704.

Poetry and prose about wine. In Judaeo-Arabic. Includes the phrase "just like the Jews do it" and refers to a holiday celebration "on the night of the 10th."

Letter from Naḥum b. Yosef al-Baradānī (Qayrawan) to his master Shemuel b. Ḥofni gaon; 7 August 999. The sender, whose family is in Iraq, has been travelling for a long time for an unnamed unpleasant reason. Qayrawan and al-Mahdiyya are among the places that he visited. The writer asks for forgiveness for writing the letter in Arabic (rather than in Hebrew) which was easier for him since he was writing in a hurry. Mentions Shemuel b. Ḥofni’s earlier letter about a difficult situation in Baghdad. Mentions a number of deaths in his family. Asks Shemuel b. Ḥofni to make sure that a certain Abū Manṣūr studies Mishna and Talmud even though he is already burdened with earning a living. The original fragment is lost; shelfmark as in Gil. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol.2, p. 158 and Goldziher, Mélanges Judéo-Arabes, REJ 50 (1905), pp. 182-183. See also Goitein notes, p. 1.) One clue that might help resolve the mystery some day: PGP at one time had a partial transcription listed under T-S 12.822v.

Fihrist copy of Saadya Gaon’s works sent to Fustat by the gaon’s sons Sheʾerit and Dosa in 953. The copy is dated 2 October 1113. In the fihrist the exact date of Saadya’s death is given as Sunday, 26th Iyyar, 1253 of the Seleucid Era, corresponding to 15th May 942 CE. Another copy of the same fihrist is found in T-S NS 298.27. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 30 and Allony, Frenkel, The Jewish Library in the Middle Ages, p. 312.)

Copy of a letter from Hayya Gaon to Qayrawan, probably to Ya’aqov b. Nissim. (Part of the same letter is T-S 20.100r). The original letter was written in August 11, 1006. Handwriting of Shemarya b. Elhanan. The Gaon writes to the Yeshiva and asks to copy letters and send them to other communities in the Maghreb. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #37) VMR

No. 1: Letter of condolence from a Gaon on the death of the addressee's son. (Bamerkazim, pp. 69-72); No. 2: Letter from Hayya Gaon to Qayrawan. In No. 1, T-S 20.100 begins at end of verso line 22. No. 2 begins with T-S 20.100 and continues on T-S 10G5.8 on line 53. Rotulus, written by the scribe known as Ibn Buqra (early 11th century)

Letter copy from Sherira Gaon to the Maghrib, ca. 970. The writer describes the importance of the Yeshiva (Pumbedita) and asks to renew the communities’ support for the Yeshiva. The letter was written soon after Sherira became the Gaon. (Gil, Kingdom, vol. 2, Doc. #23) VMR

Letter fragment addressed "to the esteemed members of the holy community who live in [...]." The paper is almost entirely preserved, but the text is nearly too faded to read. Isolated phrases: "...they changed the traditions of the people of... Hoshaʿna (Rabba?)... the congregation, they excommunicated... Israel... rather it/he [m]oved to Ramla... a Torah scroll...." (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq, evidently of al-Maḥalla, to Abu Saʿd Hibatallāh (aka Netanʾel b. Yefet Rosh ha-Qahal), in Cairo. The beginning is in Hebrew ("twelve lines of exquisite Hebrew proem"), and the body of the letter is in Arabic script, except for two phrases. (On verso there are also a few lines of accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals.) This is a letter of recommendation for the bearer, one Yakhin ha-Meshorer ("the poet") who had settled in al-Maḥalla but fled from there and abandoned his family,when the superintendent of revenue (ṣāḥib al-Maḥalla) "harassed him" by demanding from him the capitation tax (al-kharāj). The letter presupposes that Yakhin was entitled to tax exemption because he was a Khaybari, a Jew descended from an Arabian clan that asserted it had received special privileges in the time of Muḥammad. The addressee is asked to help Yakhin sort out his documentation. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 386, 611, MR, OZ, NV, ASE.)

Letter. Personal letter in which the writer reassures the recipient that he had acted according to his wishes and delivered five letters to his brothers-in-law but warns that he would not be able to accomplish much else until the holiday. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Nahum b. Mansur, in Malij, to the parnas Abu Kathir, in Cairo. The letter discusses the happy outcome of Nahum b. Mansur's daughter's marital dispute . Written around 1092, as indicated by a calendar for that year written on the free space of the verso. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 568; III, pp. 213, 471)

Letter from Abū l-Ḥayy b. Ṣāliḥ al-Ṣabbāgh, in Palermo, to Barhūn b. Mūsā al-Taherti. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1050 CE. The sender came to Palermo in order to travel on to Egypt, because conditions in the country (presumably Ifrīqiyya) were poor, and he was unable to provide for his family. He describes his wretched situation. He booked passage on a ship (qunbār) belonging to a man from Tinnīs, but he waited and waited, and all the other ships ("even the ships of Tripoli") set sail. At last, the night of sleeping on the ship (al-mabīt) arrived, but in the middle of the night, the government commandeered the ship and its goods and turned out all the passengers, including even Abū l-Ḥayy the Unlucky (al-ḍaʿīf al-najm) (is he referring to himself?). Thus the sender has been stranded in a foreign land without any money. "My arms and legs have been cut off, and I have left my son and my family (or: wife) perishing." Abū l-Ḥayy asks Barhūn for help. (Information in part from Gil and from Ben-Sasson.)

Letter from Avraham Ibn Yiju to his brothers and sisters after his safe return from India to Aden, 11 September, 1149. Alternate description: Letter written by the India trader Avraham Ibn Yiju after his arrival in Aden, to his brothers and sisters in al-Mahdiyya or anywhere else in Ifriqiya. This letter, from September 11, 1149, is primarily addressed to Avraham’s elder brother Yosef, although he also speaks to another brother Mevasser. Covered topics include the future marriage of Avraham’s daughter, consolation for the reported death of an individual, and encouragement for the recipient to pay a visit to his brother Avraham. (S. D. Goitein, Medieval Jewish Traders, 201–06) EMS

Letter. Draft or model of a letter expressing regret for having left the service of the recipient, a government official. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter fragment. Beginning of a solemn letter addressed to the community, apparently of al-Mahalla, probably by Mevorakh ha-Nagid b. Saadya (1094-1111). Verso: Arabic jottings including the basmala (twice). (Information from CUDL) (Some information from Goitein's index cards).

Letter. Family letter in which the writer discusses a dispatch of money to be used for wheat and clothing, and expresses desire to be joined by one of his sons. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 193, 467, and Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Umm Khalaf, in Sunbāṭ, to Shelomo b. Eliyyahu, probably in Fustat. About small debts owed to her by her cousin. She has not received the kohl that Shelomo sent. (Information from CUDL)

Unidentified state document, possibly fiscal.

Legal document: Bill of indemnity or deathbed declaration; fragment. Begins in Hebrew and continues in Arabic script. The subject declares that he has no assets, and has received sustenance from his nephew Yosef b. Yiṣḥaq. According to Goitein the deed was drawn up as a defense against potential government claims that the nephew had inherited something from the uncle, and thus should be taxed; exemplifies how common it was for uncles to bequeath to their nephews. (Information from CUDL and from Mediterranean Society, 2:126, 547) This transcription, probably by Goitein, was entered into PGP before the days of unicode and is thus entirely in Hebrew script.

Letter from Yosef b. Yaʿaqov of Hebron to Shela the cantor, urgently inquiring about the fate of the body of his brother David, who had died on the road. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 557-558)