Geniza Lab

Document in Ladino. Unclear what it is. Needs further examination.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, probably no earlier than 17th century.

Legal testimony. Mainly in Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Heshvan 136[2?] Seleucid, which is 1051 CE. Involves Abū l-Ḥasan Yoshiyya ha-Nasi and Daniel ha-Nasi; also mentions Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya; someone known as Ṣahrajtī; and Ibrāhīm Ibn Sughmār. Signed: Ḥalfon b. Shabbat; Shelomo b. Natan. The content of the legal case is not immediately clear; needs further examination and transcription.

Letter of recommendation sent from Ramla, presumably to Fustat. In Hebrew. On behalf of Moshe b. Shemuel. His father Shemuel died this winter, as there was a great epidemic (dever) in Ramla this winter, in which many died 'of our Jewish brethren.' Shemuel left a widow, his son Moshe, and a 7-year-old daughter.

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Large and well preserved. Release granted by Yaḥyā ha-Kohen to Abū l-Waḥsh Sibāʿ, the husband of his sister's daughter. Consists almost entirely of legalese, including 12 lines of wa-lā X wa-lā Y wa-lā Z.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 18th or 19th century.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic.

Guide for the Perplexed. In Judaeo-Arabic. Likely 13th century, based on handwriting, which may be known from other documents. Looks like the hand of Yedutun ha-Levi but has a different aleph.

List of names with some numbers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late. Spanning four columns. Alphabetized.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 11th or 12th century. Large and fairly well-preserved, but missing the beginning. Possibly a conditional divorce if the event that the husband does not return to Egypt/Fustat within 2 years from the date of this document. The husband is named ʿAmram and the wife is named Sitt al-Ḥusn bt. Moshe. Several different sums of money are named, including 56 1/6 dinars plus a qirat. Signed: Yosef b. Neḥemya b. Binyamin; Yeshʿya b. Elʿazar(?); Sulaymān Ibn Yūsuf; Meshullam b. Yefet.

Letter from Barakāt to his father. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably 12th or 13th century. The letter consists entirely of flowery expressions of sorrow on account of separation. "May God prolong your life... for you are our healing... I have had no peace in your absence, just as when the doctor is absent, the patient perishes. As the prophet said, 'My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof!' (2 Kings 2:12 and 13:14)." Regards to the congregation and the writer's mother and his sister and her daughter and the children.

Letter from an unknown man, in Damietta, to his mother, probably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. Dating: Perhaps 13th–15th century. The writer assures her that he is doing even better in Damietta than he was in Fustat. He sends regards to numerous family members. He discusses payments for the capitation tax. There are several interesting colloquial forms, including: טציקי for תציקי; the phrase "māshī l-ḥal" for "it's going well" still used in modern Arabic; אלך (ilik) for אליך (ilayki); and אלסלים for אלסלאם.

Letter fragment from Shelomo ha-Kohen b. Nisan to multiple addressees. In Judaeo-Arabic. Concerns Yūsuf al-Zayyāt b. Ṣadaqa and the legal question of whether or not he divorced a certain woman and/or if he is still married. There is additional note in a different hand: "... divorced the sister of Mawhūb ṣaḥīḥ(?) Shelomo b. Yiṣḥaq"; perhaps this line was written in support of the contents of the main letter.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Likely from Abū Sahl Levi to his son Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi; identification of the writer is based on handwriting and typical format of the letter. This is a brief note chastising the addressee for his delay in responding and telling him not to send anything with Abū Khalaf any more.

Recto: Legal query addressed to the Avraham Maimuni. Written by Shelomo b. Elya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning Levi who gave Yaaqov a copy of Ketuvim ("muṣḥaf ketiv") to be sold in an auction on an agreed price. Verso: Informal note addressed to R. Mikha'el. In Judaeo-Arabic. Inviting him to lead the prayer tomorrow, Thursday, because the writer plans to copy 'the ḥibbur', that is Maimonides' Mishne Torah. (AA)

Recto: Draft of a court record from the court in Fustat. 1042. In the handwriting of Yefet b. David Shekhanya. See join (and Goitein's translation there) for further details about the case. This part of the document requires transcription and further examination. Verso: Numerous text blocks in Arabic script. Accounts? Jottings? Other documents?

Informal note. In Judaeo-Arabic. Detailing the items and their colors that the writer has sent to the addressee and asking him to pass this information on to Abū l-Fatḥ.

Letter from a man, in Rashīd, to Umm Binyamin. Dealing with business matters. Dating: After 1425 CE, as the ashrafī is mentioned.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The writer is recovering from illnesses and is in difficult financial straits. He asks for a loan of 62 dirhams.

Letter addressed to Aharon. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, perhaps 14th or 15th century. Alexandria is mentioned at the bottom, but it is not immediately clear if that is the writer ot the addressee's location. Needs further examination.