Geniza Lab

Form letter from the community of Safed, for the shaliaḥ Yaʿaqov b. Avraham to carry with him in his fundraising. Bewails the destruction of synagogues and Torah scrolls. Dating: Late, probably 18th or 19th century.

Note to Seʿadya the cantor. Dating: Probably 12th or 13th century. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Asking him to list the contributors to a collection (pesiqa) made the day before and to cash in the sums promised. (Information from Goitein’s index card.)

Letter from Ismaʿīl b. Faraḥ (Alexandria) to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat), 9 September 1056. Confirms the arrival of goods and letters and sends information about the arrival of ships from Palermo and about some terrifying events in the Maghreb, especially in Susa (see details in Goitein notes linked below). Includes orders for goods that are expected in Alexandria, where many foreign traders are present, as well as details of money transfers. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 628.)

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreeement. Fiance: Yosef b. Yehuda Menaḥem. Fiancee: Esteta (?) bt. David (?) ha-Kohen. Currency: Venetian ducats (פרחים זהב בנאדקה). Location: Fustat/Cairo. Dated: 12 Ḥeshvan [5]330 AM (יקיר), which is October 1569 CE.

Ketubba for Yosef b. Yaʿaqov Saragosi and Sara bt. Nissim Messina (?). Currency: medin. Dated 6 February 1792 (13 Shvat 5552), Cairo. ASE.

Ketubba for Yiṣḥaq b. Moshe ha-Levi known as ʿŪraybī and Sammūḥ bt. Yehuda Ḥaddād. Currency: medin. Dated: 7 October 1805 (14 Tishrei 5566), Cairo. See BL OR 5543.5 for the engagement agreement of Yiṣḥaq's sister ~8 years earlier. ASE

Ketubba for Yiṣḥaq ha-Levi b. Shemuel and Sara bt. Aharon Ḥedef (חידיף). Currency: esedi guruş. Dated 23 May 1831 (11 Sivan 5591), Cairo. ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreeement between Efrayim b. Shemuel and כואנדה bt. Eliyyahu Sūsī, in a beautifully illuminated frame. Currency: medin. Dated 1720 CE (1 Elul 5480), Fustat. Goitein notes and index card linked below belong to a different shelfmark. ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreement between Nissim Zeraḥya and Miryam bt. Shelomo ha-Levi. Dated 1749 CE (21 Heshvan 5510), Rashid. Currency: the gold zeri maḥbūb coin (זהובים מחבובים), apparently first minted by Maḥmud I 'the hunchabck' in 1740. Goitein notes and index card linked below belong to a different shelfmark. ASE.

Ketubba for Yosef ha-Levi b. ʿOvadya and Bayda (?) bt. [...] Bibas. Currency: real. Dated 1790 CE (16 Sivan 5550), Cairo. ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreeement between Avraham b. Yosef Mammon and Bayda (?) bt. Moshe ha-Levi known as ʿŪraybī. Currency: real. Dated 4 January 1797 (6 Tevet 5557), Fustat. See BL OR 5543.11 for the ketubba of Bayda's brother ~8 years later. ASE.

Ketubba for David Farāshī known as Kawuqji (?) b. Avraham and Esther bt. Yaʿaqov Medina (?). Currency: medin. Dated 2 April 1802 (29 Adar II 5562), Cairo. ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) agreeement between Eliyyahu b. Moshe de Man (?) of Manṣūra and Raḥel known as Kuḥla bt. Ḥassūn. Currency: real. Dated September 1803 CE (Tishrei 5564), Fustat. ASE.

Legal document dated April 1822 (beginning of Iyyar 5582), Fustat. Probably a partnership agreement between David Dayyan and Moshe אלפרון.

Ketubba for Yosef b. Aharon Shunina and Esther bt. Avraham Shunina. Currency: medin. Dated 22 May 1716 (1 Sivan 5476); the place is Damīr (identical with Damīra?). ASE.

Letter from a Spanish community to Egypt concerning an impoverished and aging man from Rhodez, France, who appraoched the ruler of his land for redress after his son was murdered; the ruler instead expropriated his possessions. Wants to go to Jerusalem to spend the rest of his life there. Recto after a long alphabetical exordium.

Document containing phrases of praise. No orderly arrangement. (Information from Goitein's index card)

Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: 2 Heshvan 5320 AM, which is 1560 CE. Regarding the will of the late Avraham Castro. Stating that the entire inheritance will be divided evenly between Avraham's sons Moshe Castro and Yaʿaqov Castro. However, Moshe will not receive anything for two years, and in the meantime, Yaʿaqov will be free to do business with the money. During this period, Yaʿaqov will also have to pay for the maintenance and the wedding of Moshe, "the same amount he spends on himself" plus an additional 10 Venetian ducats (peraḥim) each year. Scribed and signed by Eliyya b. David חברייה. Signed also by Makhlūf b. Avraham עקאב.

Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Tuesday, 20 Tishrei 5440 AM, which is 1679 CE. Concerning Yaʿaqov Re'uven who had employed Yaʿaqov Maṣliaḥ b. Yiṣḥaq known as Canpanṭon in the collecting and changing of מאל אלכרובגֿייה (unclear what this is) for the last year (though it later turns out that the period of employment has been three years). Mentions a contract dated Friday 14 Tishrei from the previous year (5439 AM = 1678 CE) that was signed or drawn up (? the word looks like ומדיו) by Yaʿaqov Alpalas the scribe and Avraham b. Moshe ha-Kohen the scribe. The present document seems to be a release, stating that the two parties have fully fulfilled their responsibilities toward one another. Along the way it is mentioned that Yaʿaqov Re'uven has been involved in loaning money to al-Jināb al-ʿĀlī al-Amīr Ṣāliḥ Effendi (line 12). This is a long document; merits further examination.

Letter from Saʿīd Bardaʿ, possibly in Safed, to Daniel Cafsuto (דניאל קאפסוטו) and perhaps his son (? the word looks like ומשרתו) Shemuel Cafsuto. In Hebrew. Dating: Probably 16th or 17th century; the writer is The writer complains about the lack of letters. He seems to mention (line 6) a sum of money to be brought to the writer in Safed, and then a sum of 100 reals (line 8). He mentions several people including Natan b. Efrayim; Levi [...]; She'eltiel Canpaton (שאלתיאל קאנפטון). On verso there is the address and remnants of a red wax seal.