Geniza Lab

Book list, probably. Late.

Memorial list.

Table of names. Perhaps a contributor list that was never filled out with numbers.

Legal document. Bottom part only. Dated: 14[.]7 Seleucid, probably 1407 Seleucid, which is 1095/96 CE. Signed by Ghālib b. Ḥalfon in massive letters.

Title page of al-Ḥāwī by David b. Seʿadya al-Ger ("the convert"). See David Sklare, ר' דוד בן סעדיה אלגר וחיבורו אלחאוי, Teʿuda 14, pp. 103–23. (Identification provided by Moshe Yagur.)

Letter from an unidentified Torah scholar. Dating: Likely 11th century. The writer mentions the city of Fez and people who have become affluent and are honoring him ('and the station of the Torah'). He very happily reports on the birth of a son to him—"may God keep him alive and preserve him and send him a speedy recovery(!)"—whom he named after his late father. The letter may be addressed to a woman, based on the verb endings in the margin of recto, but this part is difficult to read. On verso, it seems that the writer's brother had died without offspring. He prays that God will keep his son alive so that he can 'toil over him like my father toiled over me.' There seem to be blessings for a female family member around here (wa-razaqakum tanẓurū awlād awlādhā). The writer says he is always praying for the addressee during Birkat Kohanim. He greets Abū l-Khayr Ṣadaqa ha-Levi and his two sons Moshe and Yeshuʿa.

A few words in Arabic script mentioning Bū l-Faraj al-Jābī and ʿindahu and some Greek/Coptic numerals.

Letter addressed to the shop of Abū Ṭāhir b. Abū Naṣr al-Kohen Kelil ha-Yofi, in Sūq al-ʿAṭṭārīn, in Fustat. The writer inquires about news of his son and mentions Abū l-Barakāt Ibn ʿAmmār. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter in which the recipient is asked to collect funds, even if only 5 dirhams, for the holiday. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter probably from Yedutun ha-Levi, in Fustat, to his brother Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. (Identification is tentative, based on handwriting and typical phrases and names.) Someone, possibly ʿImrān (but not their paternal uncle of the same name), recently died in or around the addressee's location. The 'kabīra' (old woman?) has arrived back safely. Abū Zikrī (=Sar Shalom??) is making a big fuss and swearing that he saw Moshe in Cairo on Wednesday with two baskets of apricots. Yedutun complains about how everyone repays him with ingratitude, and he seems to refer to his activities as a physician (although Goitein read יטבהם in line 9 as יכצהם). Yedutun had to swear to Abū Zikrī that he must have been mistaken about seeing Moshe in Cairo and that Moshe doesn't know Ben Shaʿya either. Abū Zikrī apparently gave an exceedingly long sermon (דראש) on Shabbat. Tāhir is asking about Moshe's news and wants him to know that the new wālī is a relative of the old wālī, and he will take revenge on people who defy him (or defied his predecessor?), so Moshe should watch out. Moshe should also pass on Yedutun's prescription to Yaḥyā al-Khuḍarī, because Yedutun owes him a favor. He is very sad about ʿImrān and can't even eat bread (a standard phrase to express grief). He asks Moshe to pass on condolencees to ʿImrān's brother. And if Moshe wants the family to come visit him at the end of the month, he should let them know with a day's notice. Previous description: Warm letter by a man in Fustat to his brother in the countryside, mentioning an old woman, probably the bearer of a message, best not confided to paper. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 338). ASE

Calendrical text in Judaeo-Arabic.

Bill of divorce (get). Location: Fustat. Dated: Tuesday, 13 Shevat 1442 Seleucid, which is 1131 CE. Husband: Ḥalfon b. [...].

Letter of recommendation for charity for the judge Avraham b. Yosef. The addressee is on a boat and about to set out for a voyage. The poor scholar likely carried this note with him to the boat. The addressee and his companions on the boat are all asked to contribute, and it is suggested that this good deed will increase the likelihood of a safe trip. (Information from Goitein's notes.)

Account for funeral expenses of a poor (travelling?) man who had lived in a pious foundation belonging to the community. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal record in the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan. On 27 Kislev, the blind woman Sitt Ṣāfī receives from Abū l-Makārim Jābī l-Rubʿ 10 dirhams that are due to her for Elul and Tishrei of 1159 CE. Signed: Nissim b. Shelomo; Simḥa b. [???]. The money was handed over by Tiqva b. David. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document, small fragment. Location: Fustat. Involves Sasson b. Efrayim.

Petition in Arabic script. Fragment (the beginnings of 4 lines from the bottom). Requesting the addressee's help to "stop the harm from him" (kaff al-ḍarar ʿanhu). More specifics might be preserved. Reused in the lower margin and on the back for a mystical text in Hebrew, with instructions about numerology and (angelic?) princes.

Letter from Ibrāhīm to his 'father' Nissim b. Shemarya. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Not much of the body of the letter remains.

Order of payment. In dreadful handwriting. On verso there are jottings in both Hebrew and Arabic script.

Letter or 2 letters. The handwriting is different between recto and verso, which suggests that one might be the response to the other. The letter on recto is very damaged. The writer reports on items that he sent with Avraham, including a fūṭa. He mentions Sulaymān and Abū l-Ḥasan and Yosef and Abū Saʿīd. The letter on verso is from Bū Saʿīd b. Yefet to his son Abū l-Ḥasan (even though this is not the usual placement of the address, the handwriting matches). Mentions a woman and some codices and perhaps paper (if כאגץ is an alternate spelling of كاغذ). This side was later reused for Hebrew poetry.