Geniza Lab

Deed of sale of one half of a house in the al-Musasa quarter in Fustat, in which one owner sells his half to the other owner for 300 dinars to be paid in three installments. Dated Tishri 1451 Seleucid, which is September 1139 CE. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 288)

Account and agreement between the Qodesh and a partner, ca. 1156. A certain al-Nadiv, otherwise known as the perfume maker, tenant of a compound partly owned by the qodesh known as al-Burj, carried out repairs (probably in that compound) for which the qodesh owes him 19.5 dinars. He had previously received 9.75 dinars from the qodesh and owes 3 dinars representing his rent for four months. Thus, the qodesh still owes him 6.75 dinars. His expenditure of an additional sum of 10.5 dinars is approved, for repairs to be made in his brewery. As the qodesh will pay half of this, its total debt will come to 12 dinars. Also, some minor improvements in the compound will be made jointly. The debt of 12 dinars will be returned to him by counting it as his rent for 16 months. For this purpose, a deed of lease will be written in a Muslim court also. This arrangement is made toward the end of January 1156, one month before the former lease expires on the 24th of February. The new lease will start on the 25th. Coptic numerals are used. Mentions a wind catcher (bādhanj). (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 287 #59)

Certificate of the Qodesh in Alexandria, ca. 1253. The leaders of the community of Alexandria grant Elazar b. Shelomo the right to receive bread from the qodesh as well as the sum needed for the capitation tax. The right is granted to him by reason of his poverty, old age, and membership in a family of scholars. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 477 #144)

Bill of divorce. Location: Cairo. Dated: 15[..] Seleucid, which is 1188–1288 CE. Probably in the second half of this range, to judge by handwriting (which is likely known). Husband: al-Rayyis Yaḥyā [...] al-Levi. Bride: Sitt al-[...]. Signed: Pinḥas ha-Kohen; ʿOvadya b. Yehuda ha-Dayyan. On verso, apart from the note that the wife received the get in front of witnesses, there is a list of three men somehow related to the case: Abū l-Riḍā b. al-Nagid; [...]r b. al-Sukkarī; and Abū l-Majd b. al-ʿAwwād. This part is also signed by ʿOvadya b. Yehuda ha-Dayyan and one other person.

A representative appointment deed. Deed in the hand of Ḥalfon ben Menashshe ha-Levi (there are documents in his hand from 1100-1138) in which the bride appoints her father as her representative for the arrangement of marriage. In other appointment deeds, such as T-S 13J25.20 + T-S AS 153.12, the wife appointed her father or another agent to choose for her any groom he sees fit. However, in this deed the bride appointed her father to arrange the marriage with a specific groom. The deed is without signature and might be a draft. Edited in Friedman, Jewish Marriage in Palestine, 1:218-19.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic. Reconciliation between al-Muʿallim Manṣūr al-Dajjājī (same as in T-S NS 297.76?) and his wife, in which Manṣūr submits to various conditions concerning his wife's property. Mentions the 'waraqa' that is 'against him' in the Muslim courts. The name Shemuel al-Amshāṭī appears in the margin. Signed: ʿOvadya b. Shemuel; Yehuda b. Moshe.

Letter addressed to al-Rayyis Abū l-Najm and/or Hillel ha-Sar and/or Yehuda ha-Sar. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he met with the addressee's cousin (ibn ʿamm ) al-Rayyis Abū Manṣūr and complained about his difficult circumstnaces. The whole letter has the feel of a letter of appeal for charity, but it seems somewhat more complicated than the writer asking for money. (Information in part from Amir Ashur and from Goitein, Med Soc II, pp. 228–29)

Colophon draft for a muṣḥaf (Torah). The scribe is Shelomo ha-Levi b. Shemuel b. Seʿadya b. [Yiṣḥaq?] b. Yaʿaqov. The same man appears in T-S 8J6.9 (1231 CE); his brother Yosef b. Shemuel was also a well-known scribe and judge; and their father Shemuel was a judge in Maimonides' court. (Information in part from Amir Ashur and from Goitein, Med Soc II, pp. 228–29)

Bill of sale for a female slave. Dating: ca. 1100 CE (based on Med Soc II, p. 601 n. 18). The name of the female slave may not have been preserved. Parties to the transaction: Ḥalfon b. Seʿadya and Netanel ha-Levi b. Ḥalfon. The document and the qiyyum (validation) are scribed and signed by Avraham b. Natan Av ha-Yeshiva, apparently in the same session. Witnesses for the main part of the document: Moshe ha-Levi b. David; Menaḥem b. Shemuel. Witnesses for the validation: Aharon ha-Kohen b. Ḥalfon ha-Ḥaver; Mevorakh b. Natan. Information mainly from Goitein's note card.

Calligraphic letter from (the cantor) Thabit b. al-Munajjim to Maṣliaḥ Gaon begging for charity from Maṣliaḥ Gaon, complaining about poverty and his dependents. Information from Goitein's note card.

Letter from David b. 'Ammar and Musa b. al-Hayy from Alexandria to Yeshua b. Ismail al-Makhmuri in Fustat. The letter describes a situation of insecurity in al-Mahdiyya and mentions matters related to currency and to silk and pepper. Dated ca. 1065. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 541)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda (the famous one?). In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Shavuʿot and previous letters sent from Alexandria. Mentions several people: Efrayim al-Ḥaver; a Rayyis; Yosef; Avraham al-Ḥaver; ʿEli ha-Kohen. Little else of the substance remains.

Letter from Fustat to al-Mahalla with an urgent order to buy a turban in Damira and various other business related matters. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal testimony. Location: Alexandria. Dated: Sunday, 11 Tammuz 4912 AM, which is 1152 CE. Under the reshut of the Nagid Shemuel b. Ḥananya. Witnesses (=judges): Mevorakh ha-Kohen b. Natan; Shelomo ha-Kohen b. Ṭahor ha-Kohen; Yiṣḥaq b. Yosef. Shemuel b. Yehuda Ibn Asad and ʿUlla b. Yeshuʿa Ibn al-ʿIrāqī are the two litigants (mutashājirīn). They appear before the court together with a messenger of the Muslim qāḍī, and all agree that they will annul a previous agreement made before a Jewish court and make a similar agreement in Muslim court. Information in part from Goitein's note card.

Letter from Yehuda Pinto and Moshe Ḥaddād to Karo y Frances & Company. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 22 Av 5568 AM, which is 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from [Shelomo] Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 22 Av 5568 AM, which is 15 August 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 4 Tishrei 5569 AM, which is 25 September 1808 CE. There is also a postscript in Ladino signed by Avram al-[...], clearly relating to the main content because Karo y Frances are mentioned in this part as well. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 9 Tishrei 5569 AM, which is 30 September 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 1 Kislev 5569 AM, which is 20 November 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter from Shelomo Cesana & Company to Karo y Frances & Company, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: 3 Kislev 5569 AM, which is 22 November 1808 CE. Needs examination for content.