Geniza Lab

Court record from Bilbays in which an elder brother accepts the administration of a minor sibling's share in his deceased brother's inheritance and takes it upon himself to maintain the orphan until he reached maturity at thirteen. Dated Adar 1528/ February-March 1217. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 236, 237)

Court testimony from Bilbays in which Sulayman ha-Levi b. Shelomo states that his brother Barakat made his will at the beginning of Shevat and died on the 26th of Tevet, and that his widow had agreed to a reduction of the late marriage gift to thirty dinars, probably because two minor daughters had to be provided for. Dated Kislev 1530/ December 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 390, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter of request sent by the head of the yeshiva in Damascus, which was burdened with debts, to a notable in Fustat, who had pledged a donation for the academy, urging him to send his contribution of eight dinars immediately to prevent the whole sum from going for the payment of interest alone. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 257, 464, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yosef Ibn al-Lukhṭūsh, in Granada, to Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel ha-Levi, in Fustat. Dated: middle of May, 1130 CE. The sender, an Ifrīqiyyan merchant, writes with flowery rhetoric to send condolences on the death of a certain unidentified rosh yeshiva and of Ḥalfon's brother. The handwriting and layout are distinctively Maghribī or Ifrīqiyyan. The letter contains the only nearly explicit evidence thus known that Ḥalfon traveled to al-Andalus before 1130, but Friedman cautions that the reading of the date isn't entirely certain, and it may have been written in 1140. Ibn al-Lukhṭūsh asks Ḥalfon to write to him about his experiences in detail from the time he left al-Andalus until his arrival in Egypt. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter of recommendation sent by seven elders of the Jewish community in Minyat Zifta to the Nagid Avraham Maimonides, recommending Moshe, the son of a previous judge named Perahya, for appointment or confirmation, and describing his rival as the very opposite of the proposed candidate in every respect. Dated Tevet1531/ December 1219- January 1220. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 44; V, p. 199.) Alternate description: "Ruling from the Bet Din of Minyat Ziftā, addressed to the Nagid Abraham Maimonides, dated Ṭevet 1531 (= 1219-1220 CE). Despite vehement opposition from other parties in the town, Moses b. Peraḥya is cleared of charges against him and his appointment is recommended. Moses is reported to be 'extremely modest, bashful, humble, taciturn, forbearing, and inexperienced in trouble-making'. Signed by Ṣedaqa b. Šela, Solomon b. Benjamin, Solomon b. Yefet, Yefet b. Isaiah ha-Levi, Moses b. Ṭahor ha-Kohen, Moses b. Yefet, Ḥalfon b. Obadiah, and Judah b. [...]." (Information from CUDL)

Letter of congratulation after recovery from an illness, written in rhymed Hebrew prose by the court clerk Mevorakh b. Natan and addressed to ʿAzaryahu b. Efrayim the head physician. Dated: Nisan 1483 Seleucid (March/April 1172 CE). (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 110, 111)

Letter sent by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to his cousin Abū l-Barakāt al-Ḥarīrī b. Abū Manṣūr, discussing the marriage of their paternal cousin to Ibn al-ʿAmmānī. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 5)

Calligraphic letter sent by Yiṣḥaq b. Shemarya to Rabbi Benjamin, containing greetings to his two sons and describing how he fell from his wealth, lost his honor, and is ashamed, but needs help. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter addressed to Yosef ha-Kohen b. Simha, asking for help. In Hebrew. The writer was hit by a crisis that forced him into poverty and then this was complicated by debts. He wants to be on his way and to join Avraham al-Ger (the proselyte) on his journey to Ceuta, intending to make appeals (there). (Information from Goitein's index cards and Goitein, Med. Soc., x C. 1, n.35.) Written bt Berakhot b. Shmuel.

Left side of a calligraphic letter in Hebrew sent by Yosef ha-Kohen b. Gaon Shelomo to Efrayim he-Ḥaver, in the name of a widow, asking for details about the inheritance of her husband Mevasser b. ʿEli. (Information from Bareket)

Letter of appeal for charity. The writer lost his wealth "in an instant" and had to wander in search of help. He received it from people who knew his family and honor (hod) and saw the books and letters (iggerot) he was carrying, which were confirmed,with signatures from various communities in the east (Ṣova, Ashur, Adina). He is in great need, in spite of his "fathers," and seeks help. It is near a holiday and he has expenses and sick people to take care of (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Accounts on building repairs in a boy's script. Superscribed Abū Saʿd. Information from Goitein's index card.

Marriage contract (ketubba). Not completed (perhaps because of an error in lines 4 and 5). Location: Fustat. Dated: Elul 1552 Seleucid, which is 1241 CE. Groom: Yeshuʿa ha-Talmid b. Shemuel ha-Levi. Bride: Sitt al-Rashīda bt. Yeshuʿa ha-Talmid, an orphan and a virgin. The document also states that he 'betrothed' her, indicating that there was no formal betrothal which preceded this document. Marriage payments: 40 + 10 = 50. The script resembles that of ʿImmanuel b. Yeḥiel but is not identical. On verso there are jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Bill of divorce (geṭ). Location: Fustat. Dated: Wednesday, 22 Adar II 1472 Seleucid, which is 1161 CE. Husband: Yaʿaqov b. Binyamin. Wife: Sitt al-ʿIrāq bt. Moshe. Written by Peraḥya b. Yosef. Also signed by Nadiv b. Yeshuʿa. The agent to give her the geṭ (documented on verso) was Yaʿaqov b. Yosef ha-Kohen. (Information from Goitein’s index card.)

Lease of a ruin belonging to the Great Synagogue of Ramla, ca. 1038. The "people of the Great Synagogue," i.e. the representatives of the congregation of the Palestinians, in Ramla, lease one half of a ruin owned by the synagogue, to a certain Sedaqa b. Yefet al-Shiraji. The lease is for a period of 20 years, at the price of hald a dinar yearly, to serve for repairs and other needs of the synagogue. The lessee intends to repair the ruin. His investments in stones and timber will be considered as covered after that period. He will then have to decide whether he wants to live there and pay rent at the prices then current or to live elsewhere; in either case, if there is a balance from his investment which will not have been covered, the congregation will return it to him. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 147 #5)

Marriage contract of a ransomed captive woman, Damascus, possibly [10]82/3 or [11]82/3.

Court record written by Avraham b. Shemaya, concerning a settlement between Abu Surur b. Natan and Moshe b. Moshe. Dated 1099. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 452, and from Goitein's index cards)

One folio from a court ledger. Recto: Court record in the hand of Avraham b. Shemaʿya. Dated: End of Nisan, probably 1410 Seleucid, which is 1099 CE. Abū (l-)Surūr (Sason) b. Natan says that he previously sued Abū ʿImrān Moshe b. Moshe Ibn Majjān about various business disputes (maybe this is the lawsuit recorded in L-G Misc. 50), but now that he has found the relevant accounts, they can settle. He lists the commodities/values that he thinks he is still owed. Moshe b. Moshe says that they split up a long time ago and that he doesn't owe a penny, but if Abū l-Surūr takes an oath, he will pay. Verso: Court record in the hand of Hillel b. ʿEli. Dated: Thursday, 10 Sivan 1410 Seleucid, which is 1099 CE. Sason b. Natan appears before the court and asks them to summon Abū ʿAlī Yefet b. Sahlān al-Arjawānī. The court summons Abū ʿAlī, who acknowledges that his business partner Abū l-Ḥusayn al-Arjawānī had given him a vessel (fuqqāʿa) containing mercury (zaybaq) intended for Abū l-Surūr Sason b. Natan. Abū ʿAlī states that if Sason pays him the 12 dirhams which he paid for the mercury, he will give it to him. On the next page after this document, there is a fragment of a third court record, with the name Nissim b. Nah[ray?] at the bottom. (Information in part from Goitein’s index card.)

Court record containing an agreement between Abu al-Muna and Abu al-Fadl regarding a debt of 55 dinars, 35 of which were to be paid immediately and the remaining 20 at the middle of Kislev. Dated Heshvan 1410/ October 1098. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 512, and from Goitein's index cards)