Geniza Lab

Fihrist (book list) of Shemuel b. Ḥofni Gaon (ZL).

Epistle from Shemuel b. Ḥofni, in Sura, to Yosef ha-Ḥaver b. Berakhya in Fustat. In Hebrew. Dating: Probably copied in the 11th century. It discusses a conflict, it seems now resolved, over monetary donations between the yeshiva of Sura (under Shemuel) and the yeshiva of Pumbedita (under Sherira). Still, some donations are appropriated entirely by one person, and others, if they do not have a specific address or are addressed to the Sages of the Yeshiva in general, are divided 50/50 "between us and our Ḥatan." It goes on on this vein and mentions a specific donation of 150 dirhams sent by a now deceased rabbi. Shemuel urges more donations (addressed correctly this time) and tells the recipient to write to someone named Yosef b. Yaʿaqov. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.) ASE

Official memorandum with the signature of an official called al-Ḥasan b. Muḥammad. Belongs together with ENA 2697.8 + ENA 2697.9 + T- S Ar.31.58 + T-S Ar.30.245, but it's not clear precisely how. Join: Marina Rustow.

A folio from a Judaeo-Arabic epistle/treatise on Hebrew grammar, listing the Masoretic pedigree of Aharon b. Moshe b. Asher, also mentioning R. Moshe Moheh and Moshe ha-'Azzati ha-Naqdan, and then going into a discussion of rules of sheva and dagesh. The exact same text (though not from this manuscript) appears as an appendix in several editions of Diḳduḳe ha-ṭeʻamim easily found on Google Books, but the author does not appear to be known (one Russian edition from 1886 speculates Dunash b. Tamim ha-Bavli). ASE.

List of Talmudic sages.

Formularies for legal documents, including for a Palestinian-style ketubba. Location: Probably Tyre. Same scribe as T-S NS 243.28. See M. A. Friedman's edition for further information.

Letter of appeal, probably. In Hebrew. Addressed to an important personage and narrating the writer's woes. There is a large, calligraphic "I speak so that I may find relief" (אדברה וירוח לי) dividing the two blocks of text. The lower block appears to begin with self-abasing phrases such as "trample my neck with your foot," and the writer conveys his deep regrets (?) over the death (?) of the recipient's son (?) 'Amram in Tevet of the year 1187/8 CE (1498 Seleucid). ASE.

Legal document from Damietta [אי כפתור], dated the [2]7th of Tishrei 1155 CE (1467 Seleucid), narrated in the voice of a woman (judging by ואנא קאעדה in the last line of recto). The writer tells how she returned from the synagogue and found the daughters of the sister of Abū l-Faḍl b. al-Ṣabbāgh in her house. One of them (her brother's widow?) claimed that the Dāʿī told her that the writer's brother had left three notebooks in her house (belonging to him?). The next day, the writer went to the wife of Abū l-Riḍā, who told her, "my husband the Dāʿī is a good man, don't hide anything from." So she handed over the key, and the Dāʿī and Abū ʿAlī [b.] Ḥassūn went up and ransacked her library and made off with 17 notebooks. BL OR 5554A.48 is either the continuation of this document or a different document related to the same case (mentions several of the same names and is also dated the 27th of Tishrei 1155 CE). ASE.

Legal. The will of Shela b. Yefet known as Ibn al-Sukkari. No date is preserved, but it mentions the Rayyis Mevorakh. It mentions an orphan daughter and 300 dinars. The Alexandrians Abū Hārūn and Abū Saʿīd Khulayf b. Qays (?) and 'Ezra b. Hillel will be the executors.

Recto: A gripping tale of King Solomon battling the demons. Verso: Judaeo-Arabic poetry, probably related to the same story (lots of precious gems are mentioned on both recto and verso). ASE.

Account for a sale of flax, probably in Tripoli (Libya), 1025. The flax is sold by bale, of unequal weight. The bales arrived to Tripoli by sea, and some got wet. The flax belongs to members of the Al-Tahirtī family. Accounts in the same hand and possibly from the same book are also found in CUL Or.1080 J291, T-S J1.54, Moss. VIII,476.1-2. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, p. 370.)

Formulary for letters to distinguished addressees. In Judaeo-Arabic. The second form is for begging for forgiveness on behalf of somebody. The writer switches into Arabic script for the "in sha allah" at the end of each letter; he also writes "forgiveness" as עפר rather than גפר, perhaps suggesting that these are meant to be transcribed directly into Arabic. ASE.

A folio possibly from the same original work as Or. 5554B.12, though the subject matter appears different. Recto: possibly the conclusion of a form of a letter for asking for financial assistance for places of worship. But this is very tentative - it needs further examination. It concludes, "for the Jews have hayakil, the Christians have kana'is, and the Muslims have manabir." It then switches into a passage attributed to Hunayn b. Ishaq about Aristotle and Plato and the King פסטאנס who hired them to tutor his son פסטאפורט. ASE.

A panegryic in honor of a Babylonian dignitary. (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Letter in Hebrew with ~25 lines of flattering praises for R. Nehoray. There is then a single line of content: "I inform my master that I am trying to leave this place."

Genealogical list with the heading : 'Bayt al-Kohen'.

Petition or report. Fragment, three lines preserved. Requests intervention in a dispute between someone and ʿImrān b. Lāwī (ʿImrān b. Levi, possibly Abū ʿImrān Moshe ha-Levi b. Levi before the birth of his son and his adoption of the kunya Abū l-Bayān) by means of support of strengthening his hand (shādd). Requests clarifying the matter or seeking help (or gaining the upper hand? wa-li-yastaẓhir) in whatever way is appropriate for the dīwān. Some of the phrases in this document (iṣlāḥ aḥwālihimā, al-shadd min…) are similar to phrases in T-S 8J38.11, a note from the Jewish court ca. 1100 instructing a delegate to try to resolve a marital conflict. On verso there are liturgical notes in Hebrew concerning Purim and the special shabbatot around Purim. (ASE/MR)

Astrological text in Arabic script. Reused for Hebrew liturgical text.

Contract of lease for an irrigation channel on the jazīra of Fustat (the Nile island later known as Rawḍa). Dated: 18 (or maybe 28?) Shawwāl 407 AH (March 1017 CE). The lessees are Maḥāṣin b. Sayyidihim b. ʿAbdallāh; Muḥammad b. Abdallāh; Abū l-Faraj b. Sayyidihm; Khalīl al-Naṣrānī; Sulaymān b. Maḥāsin b. Naṣr al-Naṣrānī. The lease is for a period of 5 months, beginning on 23 Shawwāl 407. The lessees are to pay 600 dirhams paid in 5 monthly installments (munajjama) of 120 dirhams. The property borders that of the town (Fustat) and contains an orchard of date palms, strawberries, sycamore. No signatures are preserved. Reused for Hebrew poetry.

Decree. Portions of two lines are preserved: ...bi-sumuwwi l-ʾamri... qabla l-tadbīri(?).... Reused for Hebrew poetry/liturgy.