Geniza Lab

India Book I, 6–7: Court proceedings dealing with the dispute between Yosef ha-Lebdi the India trader, and Yequtiʾel b. Moshe, 'the representative of merchants' in Fustat. This Monday morning session of the Fustat court followed immediately that of document no. I, 4-5 which was held on the preceding Thursday. In this session the questioning of Yosef Lebdi was concluded. The document is written in the hand of Hillel b. Eli. Dated: Monday, 8 Iyyar 1409 Seleucid, which is 12 April 1098 CE.

India Book I, 13: Draft of a letter from Yosef Lebdi, the India trader, to Ḥasan b. Bundar, 'the representative of merchants' in Aden, dealing with the dispute between Yosef ha-Lebdi and Yequtiʾel b. Moshe, 'the representative of merchants' in Fustat. This letter, as Lebdi makes clear, was composed under the instructions of the court of Fustat. Lebdi informs the recipient that the court has instructed him to write to Aden and request an official account, approved in court, of the dealings made with Yequtiʾel's share of the property. The letter can be dated to 1098 and was written in the hand of Hillel b. Eli. The letter begins in the verso of Bodl. MS Heb d 66/66 and then continues to Bodl. MS Heb d 66/67 (recto and then verso).

India Book I, 12: Court proceedings from Fustat dealing with the dispute between Yosef ha-Lebdi the India trader and Yequtiʾel b. Moshe, 'the representative of merchants' in Fustat. These are the proceedings of the eighth session. With no news from Aden, Yequtiʾel and Yosef came up with the idea of sending a man to Aden to fetch the disputed goods. After some discussion, however, the parties retracted their proposal. No signatures are attached to this deed. Dated: Dated: Wednesday, 18 Elul 1409 Seleucid, which is 18 August 1098 CE.

Document (a): Book list. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 13th century, as it mentions the Mishneh Torah and Guide for the Perplexed.

Document (b), written in the blank space underneath the book list, at 90 degrees: Draft or copy of a legal document. Looks like the same hand as the booklist. In which ʿIzziyya(?) the daughter of Barakāt al-Qalyūbī ratifies a settlement (ṣulḥ) with (or on behalf of?) the wife of her recently deceased father. The widow is owed money from belayot (i.e., wear and tear on her trousseau). The widow (or the daughter?) will receive 15 dinars, and the daughter relinquishes her right to the two half-ruins and the half-schoolhouse that Barakāt owned in Qalyūb. At the end of the entry, it states that her husband Hillel b. [...] al-Malījī was also present and in agreement. This is probably not the same case as DK 239.1 + T-S AS 151.31 (a petition featuring an Umm ʿIzziyya(?), a dead man, a widow, and two ruins), but it is tempting to consider that possibility.

Letter from Natan b. Avraham to Perahya b. Muʾammal, spring 1039.

Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Location: Fustat. Dated: 5 Av 1443, which is July 1132 CE. Connected with the same case as T-S 8.131, namely the divorce arrangements of Ṣedaqa b. Semaḥ (called ha-Meshorer, the poet or singer) and Sitt al-Kull bt. Berakhot ha-Levi. The separation took place three months earlier (8 Iyyar 1443/1132). By the decree ("marsūm") of Maṣliaḥ Gaon (probably after the request of the woman's father: see T-S 8.131), a committee of eight elders (all undersigned) was appointed in order to confirm and fix the alimony for Ṣedaqa's wife and child. The committee gathered in the synagogue of the Palestinians. It was suggested that one and a half dirhams per day would suffice to provide for their living expenses (ll.7-8), but after the recommendations of some people attending (l.4), it was decided to decrease the payment, and fix the alimony at one dinar per month (l.14), arguing that the aforementioned sum was overrated (ll.12–13). This sum was intended to cover all her expenses for food, lighting, public bath and rent. Witnesses: Avraham b. Shemaʿya; Natan b. Shelomo; Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver; Peraḥya b. Ḥalfon ha-Ḥaver; Menashshe b. Yaʿaqov; Avraham b. Shelomo; Meshullam b. Menashshe; and Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. (Information from Weiss's edition and Goitein's index cards)

Fragments of the minute book (Pinkas) of the Jewish community of Cairo (testimonies), 1436. [Goitein (on photostat) reads different date: 1236 and recognises handwriting of Yehuda (Ha-Melammed b. Aharon al-Ammani)].

Letter addressed to R. Ḥananel, who receives about 10 lines of titles. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely early 13th century. Only three lines are preserved of the body of the letter. The writer alludes to a woman (or to the ḥaḍra=addressee?) who was staying with him in S[...]. The rest is missing.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Unknown writer, unknown addressee. Dating: Likely early 13th century. The writer asks for the copy of Seder Neziqim that has the gemara with the perush of Rav Shelomo (=Rashi?). The writer asked R. Yeḥiel (b. Elyaqim?) to 'read to him' (or teach him? yuqrīhu). "All that is delaying me is the copies." As for the rhubarb, the writer sold some pieces of it for 10 dirhams. He awaits further instructions.

Recto: Letter from Abū l-Faraj to Shemuel. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Wide space between the lines. The scribe uses ש instead of ס for س. The writer makes excuses for something ('it wasn't my choice') and apologizes and then discusses a financial matter involving 66 dirhams. Verso: Informal note addressed to Abū l-Faraj, presumably the response from Shemuel. Written in a hasty scrawl (a stark contrast from recto). He gives instructions about how much money to send.

Short letter from David b. Daniel.

Accounts in Arabic script. Reused for Hebrew poetry.

Letter of appeal for charity addressed to ʿEli ha-Zaqen the Parnas. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. There are interesting opening blessings, including the phrase "zohar ḥashmalim." There are also interesting phonetic spellings, with vowels, throughout. The body of the request is punctuated by erudite rabbinic and biblical references. These are prefaced by an apology for bothering ʿEli when he has so many strangers to take care of (wa-ʿalā annī aʿlam anna ʿalayh ʿā'ila kabīra min al-ghurabā')—it seems that عائلة is being used here in its broader sense of "dependents" rather than a literal family. ASE

Leaf from a court ledger. Probably belongs together with Bodl. MS heb. d 66/77 (and perhaps 66/78 as well). On recto, document (a) may be the end of a trousseau list. Document (b) is a record about a financial dispute between Faḍā'il and his mother-in-law. Among other matters, he accuses her of breaking a jar (zīr) that was worth 1 dinar by carrying it around from place to place.

Trousseau list for an upcoming marriage. Dating: ca. 1161 CE.The value comes out to 30 dinars. Bride: Milāḥ bt. Asʿad Ibn al-Amshāṭī. Groom: Abū l-Ḥasan Yefet b. Yiṣḥaq. Signed by Hillel b. Ṣadoq Av Bet Din and Mevorakh b. Natan. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 417)

Detailed court record of the court of Fustat about an oath given by Abu Mansur ha-Kohen concerning many claims dropped by Sitt al-Hasab against one of her agents who happened to be a tenant in one of her houses. Dated Heshvan 1473/ October 1161. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 326, and from Goitein's index cards)

Legal document. Location: Fustat. Dated: 27 Tammuz 1472 Seleucid, which is 1161 CE. The widow of Bunyān(?) b. Durra(?) testifies that she received 10 dinars collected on her behalf by by a well-known tājir, or big merchant, Abū l-Maʿālī b. Bū l-Ḥasan b. Asad. The contributions: 2 dinars from the Nagid Netanel ha-Levi; 2 dinars from Abū l-Maʿālī of al-Maḥalla; 1 dinar from Abū Naṣr; 1 dinar from Bū l-Faraj al-Ṣūrī; 2 dinars from Sālim al-Parnas Ibn al-Jubaylī; and 2 dinars from Ṣāf(ī) the ghulām/slave/business agent of the tājir on the very day on which the document was written. "The participation of the slave seems to indicate that the dead merchant had been connected with his master by partnership or otherwise. In any case, such a collection also represents some form of mutual help" (Information from Goitein, Med Soc I, 204 and 451 n. 65, where he erroneously cites the document as MS heb. d.66/76). Although the scribe is different, this shelfmark may belong together with the preceding 2 shelfmarks.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim in Fustat.

Sub-leasing agreement written in Damietta in 1106 in which the farmer of the dues from dyeing and selling silk in the district of Damietta sub-leases his rights regarding a small town named Ibwan to three partners for the duration of one year against a payment of two dinars per month. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 361, 362, 606)