Geniza Lab

Letter probably from one of the later Maimonidean Nagids (less likely Avraham Maimonides himself). In Judaeo-Arabic. There is an 'emet' motto at the top, with the tail cutting through the first lines of the text. The sender tells al-Shaykh al-Makīn to tell the congregation that he misses them and urges them to be diligent in the matter of the lavish siyyum(?) for the poor(?). He also reminds them to pay the sums pledged from specific collections (Purim and another day?).

Unsigned copy of a contract between Abū l-Bahāʾ b. Abū l-Mufaḍḍal and Abū l-ʿIzz (all called 'al-rayyis,' probably meaning physician here). Concerning 91 + 9 = 100 jars of laṭaf wine and 657.5 "broken" dirhams of Egyptian currency. In the damaged part, something about becoming vinegar when clay seals are not broken. Dating: ca. 1220 CE. Handwriting of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu? (Information in part from Goitein's index card and Ekaterina Pukhovaia.)

Left fragment: Court record. Very faded and damaged. In the handwriting of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Settlement of a martial dispute after the intervention of 'righteous elder' between a husband Shelomo ha-Kohen known as Ibn Abī Raghīf (cf. T-S 13J33.5 for this family name) and his wife [... bt.] Berakhot.

Right fragment: Letter addressed to Eliyyahu b. Zekharya the Judge. In Judaeo-Arabic. Only the introductory blessings are preserved here.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic, in a cursive hand

Letter from a woman to an unknown addressee. Around 1060. Mentions details about Nahray b. Nissim’s family. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #293) VMR

Letter from Ḥananel b. Shemuel to al-Raṣuy. In Judaeo-Arabic. Short but complete. The content is vague and allusive, but it seems that the writer is complaining about the addressee treating him like a stranger.

Lament in Hebrew. This document consists entirely of expressions of grief in eloquent Hebrew. Possibly it was intended as part of a letter of condolence.

Legal deed written by Avraham b. Natan Av. Probably a bill of release. Unsigned. On verso there is a piyyut also written by him

Petition in Arabic script, in a chancery hand. The sender is saying, to paraphrase, "I am your most devoted servant, so don't force me to file a complaint with a higher authority over such a little matter" (...fa-yakūn al-mamlūk mamlūk mawlānā ʿumrī kulluh yuḥrijunī an ashtakī li-l-sulṭān ʿalā hadhā l-miqdār wa-mawlānā...). In the last two lines, he mentions 'the land' and 'its planting' (zirāʿatuhā). On verso there is a Judaeo-Arabic literary text. Possibly containing some dream interpretation, but there is also other material (e.g., "...on the holiday they say, there is nothing more forbidden to us than wine...).

Letter with a long Hebrew prologue, followed by Judaeo-Arabic. Written in an elegant square book hand, and indeed this sender seems to be a professional scribe. He reports that before the holiday, he borrowed a quarter dirham to go to the bathhouse (ḥammām). He may be implying that he is sick. When the letter resumes in the margin, he is making excuses, "...I was unable to do it... this work, and please help me in accordance [with your beneficence] and send me a dinar for this work, and I will do it right away. (Verso) And send me paper for the diverting epistles that I told you about, for they are among the delights of the world." He emphasizes that he will do the work quickly, and that the addressee doesn't strictly speaking owe him anything, but the dinar would really help.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very deferential. Addressed to "our master" with regards to "our master David"—potentially Avraham Maimonides and his son. Much of recto consists of blessings and complaints about the evils of fate ('bitterer than colocynth/ʿalqam'). On verso the sender apologizes for not presenting himself in person; his excuse is a debt that he owes in Cairo. Then he gets to the point: he wants to get married, and he is seeking approval from the addressee, "for I have no father or lord or master except for you, and I cannot even move without your permission."

Letter. The writter mentions the fast and asks for forgivness

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Instructing the addressee to send a ream (dast) of 25 pieces of paper, and also to sell some quires (dafātir) on behalf of the sender. The document concludes with the motto yeshuʿa ("salvation") at lower left.

Fragment from a woman's deathbed will. This was mistakenly attributed to Maimonides by Ratzhaby (Sinai 111, p. 214). On verso there is a list of seemingly random Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic words.

Ownership note on a folio that came from a volume containing texts by Yehuda Ḥayyūj; Ibn Gikatilla (d. after 1305); and Kitāb al-Tajnīs by Yehuda ibn Balʿam; and perhaps other works. The teacher Ḥasdeʾel b. Moshe purchased the book, and Shemuel b. Yosef ha-Levi wrote the note.

Addendum to a letter. Addressed to a woman. The sender reports that after finishing the letter, al-Bazzāz al-Ḥajj arrived and insisted that the sender's son owes him 11 dinars and that he knows that the son arrived in Damascus. The sender is asked to write to her own son and tell him to send whatever he can. The sender is ashamed to ask this and says that (s)he shouts at Barakāt to write an Arabic letter to the son who owes the 11 dinars. The entirety of this document is devoted to this issue, and the sender is worried.

Account of the Qodesh: building expenditures, ca. 1040. List of expenses, beautifully written by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. Materials for the construction of a ceiling are being prepared. Work on a "wind catcher," plastering, supplies of clay, and sewage work are also among the items listed. Clay is paid for after having been weighed by "the Christian," obviously a Copt, the Copts being much involved in building work. Mentions a wind catcher (bādhanj). (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 187 #18)

Legal documents, drafts recto and verso, in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya. Concerning a gift given to a young woman named Sitt al-Dār.

Letter from Aryana (? אריינה) to her sister Shurbilliya (? שורבלייא), the wife of Avraham al-Ḥadīb. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, plausibly 16th century, which is Avraham David's assessment. The writer thanks the addressee for the cheese and insists on paying for it, "for our love does not depend on gifts." She reports that the son of Naftali left his father 13 "cintas" (שינטאש) in בית הבאגילירא(?). These should be collected either by a woman called שנייתי or by the addressee. The addressee is asked to purchase with them one אולייא and one דריאדא that should be larger than the ones sold 'by the French Ishamelite." Needs examination. ASE.