Geniza Lab

Children's alphabet

Alphabets for children

Alphabets for children

On one side there is a Shiviti amulet on striking pink paper. On the other side there is a clue to the original use of this paper, a stamp in Chinese: "輍〇盛記巖茶肆兩足重 = Yu [illegible] Sheng brand bohea tea, Four taels, full weight." Bohea is the traditional English term for tea produced in the Wuyi mountains (which are Bú-î-soaⁿ in Hokkien, hence the name). "Sheng" literally translated means "succeed" or flourish; in this context it is likely part of the brand name. The word translated to as "brand" 記 means "mark" and is traditionally translated to as "chop" in English. The tael 兩 is a traditional Chinese unit of measurement; a package of 4 taels would be about 160 grams of tea. Note that this fragment is unlikely to be from the Cairo Geniza, as this entire folder appears to be from a Persian or Central Asian milieu, where Elkan Nathan Adler made many acquisitions. (Information on the Chinese stamp kindly provided by Edward White; information on the Hebrew fragment and its likely provenance provided by Noam Sienna and Ofir Haim.)

Accounts or donation list in Hebrew. Late. The handwriting and the names are unusual, possibly pointing to an Iranian origin for this fragment. E.g., Samarqandi; Ben Baba; Baba Jan; Yaqubi spelled יאקובי rather than יעקובי; Zion Irani; Qalandar. The rest of the folder (literary fragments) is very possibly of Iranian origin as well. At least ENA 2330.10 and ENA 2330.15 have Judaeo-Persian. Merits further examination.

An almost entirely 'egalitarian' list of contributors from the first half of the eleventh century' (Goitein) Forty-four persons pledge 1/2 (dirham), nine parties, of whom six consist of two or more numbers, 1, and only one pledges 2 (dirhams). Almost all the names appear in abbreviated form: Abu Kathir is Efrayim b. Shemarya, the leader of the Palestinian congregation of Fustat (1007-1055), Sahlan (b. Avraham), the head of the Babylonians. Hillel hpns, that is, ha-parnas.. Others are referred to simply by nickname: 'Son of the Mule,'The Philosopher.' Dated to ca. 1035 recto has a letter from the orphans (girls) of Dosa, seeking help claiming their inheritance Ed. Gil, Eres yisrael, II, pp. 402-403; trans Mediterranean Society, II, p. 324. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 504, App. C 121).

Complaint of the daughters of the Dosa family who were deprived of their rights to the community, perhaps from Jerusalem or another place in Palestine.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic and Coptic numerals.

Sums of money donated by members of the Jewish community in Cairo. One of the names is Ibn al-Abraṣ, who may be the grandfather of the physician in the qāḍī-court document T-S Ar.38.131+T-S Ar.42.212. Another is Shemuʾel ha-Levi Khashāʽ, who appears in the qāḍī-court document as Shamīl b. Naṣr b. Ṣedaqa, known as Ibn al-Khashāʽ. (Information from Dotan Arad.) The list must therefore date to around 1460.

Legal document. Dating: Late 18th century or early 19th century, based on the mention of Me'ir b. Naʿim. Yaʿaqov Ḥasūn attests that he received a three-month investment from Me'ir ben Naʿim of 45 reales, one real being equal to 90 silver medins. Half of the monthly profit that accrues from this money, up to 67 medins, shall be paid to Me'ir ben Naʿim, and Yaʿaqov will retain the other half.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic (and eastern Arabic numerals). Dated: 5582 AM, which is 1821/22 CE. Mentions the mustaʿrib congregation in the header. All the documents in this folder appear to be in the same hand, though this one pertains to the mustaʿrib congregation and the next to the sephardic congregation. Needs examination.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic (and eastern Arabic numerals). Dated: 5582 AM, which is 1821/22 CE. Headed: "The expenses (maṣrūf) of the Sephardic [congregation] in Fustat/Cairo for the year 5582." Many names familiar from other Geniza documents of the period feature in this list. Needs examination. VMR. ASE.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic (and eastern Arabic numerals). Dated: 5582 AM, which is 1821/22 CE. Mentioning R. Petro and Se. Shemuel, and the holidays of Sukkot, Purim, and Pesaḥ. VMR. ASE.

Manuscript, well-preserved, of Taqwīm al-Adyān by Daniel ibn al-Māshiṭa, of the generation of Avraham Maimonides. Pertaining to the 'Maimonidean controversy.' See FGP for detailed identifications and bibliography.

Two fragments of a Fatimid order/decree to a lower official. Mentions the caliph's estates (probably mentions its overseer). Repurposed as two folios for Hebrew liturgical text. Mentions appearing before the majlis al-khidma of the amīr Sayf al-Mulk Layth al-Dawla wa-Shujāʿuhā. . . the ṣanīʿa of the caliph, the military commander (mutawallī al-ḥarb). It is possible that there is a gap in the text between lines 3 and 4. The official in question could be al-Amīr al-Muẓaffar Sayf al-Mulk Maʿadd l-Mulk Layth al-Dawla ʿAlī b. Ishāq b. al-Sallār, who was the governor of Alexandria during the time of al- Ẓāfir, hence this document could be dated to that period, i.e., post 545/1150. (See al-Maqrīzī, al-ittiʿāz, pg. 196).

Document in Arabic script; needs examination. VMR. ASE.

Informal note in Judaeo-Arabic regarding a business matter. VMR. ASE.

A drash written by Shemuʾel Ben Sid on the occasion of the birth of his son (דרש שדרש החכם השלם מורי ורבי כמחה׳׳ר שמואל ן׳ סיד נר׳׳ו כש נולד לו בן). The fragment continues across eight folios and is dated on f.1r in the year 5375 AM which is 1614/15 CE. Based on the dating this may be the same Shemuʾel Ben Sid listed in a wide variety of other contemporary fragments such as: ENA 1822a.102 and ENA NS 39.14. (Fragment discovered by Prof. Eve Krakowski 08/18/22). MCD.

Documentary text: There are three text blocks in Arabic script, probably remnants of accounts. "With Ismāʿīl. . . ." Literary (and main) text: A kabbalistic essay on something involving the books of the Torah (divination? achieving your heart's desire?). Dating: Late. VMR. ASE.

Blessings for Emperor Francis II of Austria in Italian and Hebrew. The Italian portion reads in part: "Dia Sempre Gloria e Vittoria al Nostro Sovrano Imperator Francesco Secondo D'Astria Con Tutta la sua Real Famiglia astriacha(?)." Dating: 1792–1835 CE. Evidently to be included in the prayer service as a 'misheberach,' because the text indicates that the misheberach for the congregation should follow.