Geniza Lab

Recto: Letter to the Gaon in Cairo (al-Muʿizziyya). In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer explains that he has not yet been able to find a riding animal to come visit (aftaqid) the Gaon in person, and in the meantime his heart is with him. Verso: Letter (draft?) in Judaeo-Arabic, addressed to a group of people (al-ḥaverim), it seems the writer's inferiors, mentioning the encouragement of good deeds (istinhāḍ al-thawāb). They are to investigate the matter of Ibn Sabra, regarding vows that he has taken. Possibly he vowed to marry a certain woman but now wishes to marry another. The addressees are to make a determination whether this is permissible or not, and in the latter case, a ruling should be issued (fa-l-yuftūh) after a 'flogging' (ḍarb malqot) and a fine, because this will be a lesson for others. The writer seems invested in strengthening the legitimacy/authority of fatwās (an yakūna li-l-fatwā bāb). Also, a letter should be sent to Ibn al-ʿAmmānī upbraiding him for his tardiness in writing. ASE.

Memorial list, probably.

Letter from the court to the community of Dhū Jibla in defense of Maḍmūn. Aden, ca. 1135.

Document in Judaeo-Arabic, probably late, possibly a letter. Needs examination.

Receipt in Arabic script (waṣala ilā bayt al-māl al-maʿmūr) in the name of Ibrāhīm b. Sunbāṭ al-Ṣayyāgh (the dyer), the Maghribī Jew, dated Ramaḍān 442, with the funds being delivered by Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā; ʿalāma on recto and a detailed registration in the dīwān al-jawālī of Fustat (!) on verso and witnesses' signatures.

Legal document in Arabic script. Needs examination.

Document in Arabic script.

List of names in Judaeo-Arabic.

Legal document dated Iyyar (4)812 (1052), regarding a business dispute between ʿAllān bar Avraham bar ʿAllān and Yaʿaqov ben Salmān concerning flax, al-Lādhiqiyya, Fustat, and Nahray b. Nissim, Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq al-Talmīd.

Letter from Shelomo b. Aharon to Natan ha-Kohen b. Yosef. Opens with a cryptic mention of the writer's departure for the sake of paying the capitation tax with the 'muʿāmilīn.' Reports on the silk that he had brought with him and that he had to spend Shavuʿot "outside" (Fustat? Rashid?) and only came in after the holiday. He reports on the price of wheat in the city. He spoke with the addressee's sister and told her all that the addressee had told him in Qalyūb. Namely, that their other brother had maligned her (akhūhā ẓālim) by saying that she had sued him for the addressee's sake (possibly - this is somewhat unclear). She was much relieved to hear that the addressee had not married in Fustat and thereby 'fallen in with the people of Fustat.' The remainder of the letter is mostly about business matters. The writer requests a shipment of wheat to Rashīd, to be delivered by camel.

Letter from a Qaraite, in Jerusalem, to al-Shaykh al-Rashīd Hārūn Ibn Saghīr, in Cairo. To be read to the whole Qaraite community. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably no earlier than 15th century. Very similar format to many of the Firkovich letters. The writer complains of great trials suffered ever since arriving in Jerusalem "on account of the ḥabash (Ethiopians?)." He clarifies that the conflict is about Ibrāhīm and Sulaymān who both insist on marrying Rivqa who 'belongs to' (? btāʿ) al-Shaykh al-Najīb Shimʿon. They had decided to marry her to Avraham, but she insisted that she would only marry Sulaymān, and Avraham said that he would kill someone if he didn't get to marry her. They feared something ('al-amākin' = the places?) and prevented her from entering either Sulaymān's or Avraham's house or from leaving her own house without a female escort. The story continues for much longer, becoming ever more convoluted and involving the Rabbanites and Islamic courts and a forged ketubba. Needs further examination.

Letter from ʿAllūsh b. Yeshuʿa (Qayrawan) to Ismaʿīl b. Avraham al-Andalusī (Fustat), ca. 1010. A cargo of best quality flax was stolen from a ship. The ship’s owner compensated merchants for their losses but received his money back when the cargo was found. The letter testifies to a wide-ranging commercial activity of traders from Muslim Spain. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 617-618.)

Awaiting description - see Goitein notes linked below. NB: This shelfmark no longer exists. Further information may be found at PGPID 853 (NLI 577.4/3 83), but the current shelfmark has not yet been found.

Four court records from Fustat, August - September, 1132. Record A: Complaint, followed by retraction thereof, about a load of caraway, which was deposited with the representative of the merchants Record B: Conclusion of a partnership of perfume sellers and doctors. Record C: An agreement by which Natan b. Shemuel promises to take care of an old woman and to arrange her burial as opposed to the gift she gave him. NB: The shelfmark is listed as NLI 4° 577, no. 83 in Goitein's publications (Med Soc V, 539, n. 410, and the Kirjath Sepher article).

Letter from Nahray b. Nissim to Yosef ha-Kohen b. Eli Alfasi, Tyre. Around 1067. Abu Yaakov Yosef b. Eli ha-Kohen is on a ship on his way to , and he is based in Ramla. From there he is traveling to Tyre to receive a shipment from the port. Nahray sends him instructions and asks him about the business. The letter was written in Heshvan 13, and mentions an Islamic holiday that is coming soon. It is probably 10 in Du al-higa that was celebrated in October, 1066-1068. The letter mentions important details about exporting goods from . (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 3, pp. 271-276, #508). VMR

Agreement in which someone rents half of a house he sold with the option to buy it back within ten years. Location: Alexandria. Dated: November 3, 1103 CE.

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Location: Fustat. Dated: First third of Elul 1444 Seleucid, which is 1133 CE. Under the reshut of Maṣliaḥ Gaon. Witnesses (both names in the hand of Ḥalfon): Natan ha-Kohen b. Shelomo and Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Needs further examination for content. FGP says that this long document was partially edited by Avinoam Yellin in 1925. Transcription awaiting digitization

Confirmation of a compromise agreement made before Masliah Gaʾon. Dated: Wednesday, 3 Shevaṭ 1444 Seleucid, which is January 1133 CE. Location: Not specified, either Fustat or New Cairo. The validation (qiyyum), beginning with the word בפנינו in line 55, is in the handwriting of Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon himself. Two witnesses, Natan b. Elʿazar and Sheraya b. Toviyya attest that 5 days prior, in the court of Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon in New Cairo, Shemuel b. Yehuda Ibn Asad and Shemuel b. Moshe Ibn al-Kharrāz ("the cobbler") reached a settlement. Shemuel b. Moshe agreed to pay 40 dinars in 40 monthly payments in return for release from all claims. One of the conditions is that the payments must be recorded on verso of this document (in fact they never were). This document is witnessed by ʿEli b. Netanel ha-Levi (the brother of the India trader Ḥalfon); Yosef b. Yaʿaqov ha-Kohen; and Yosef b. Yaʿaqov ha-Ḥazzan. See T-S 10J5.20 for another validation signed by Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon. (Information from Goitein's edition.)

Letter from Khalaf b. Yiṣḥaq in Aden to Avraham Ibn Yiju in Mangalore, dated July-August 1148. The letter contains information about their commercial dealings and some personal matters.

Letter from Thābit(?) b. Ibrāhīm to Abū Isḥāq Ibāhīm al-Kohen b. Yūsuf, probably in Alexandria. Dating: 11th or 12th century. Written in Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Deals with business matters. Mentions Abū Yaʿqūb b. Lukhtūsh (a Berber name). Needs further examination.