Geniza Lab

See T-S 12.39.

Letter from Shūʿā b. Yūsuf. In Arabic script. Short. Fragment (missing the left half of recto and the right half of verso). (Information from Goitein’s index card)

Copy of a court record from Aden. Dating: Summer 1131 CE. Concerning a controversy over Jewish communal leadership in Yemen. Goitein thought that this copy was made in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Netanel ha-Levi, but Friedman doubts this. It is not a direct continuation of T-S 20.37, but it concerns the same controversy. Namely, a Persian Nasi who was a cousin of the Exilarch in Baghdad had come to Aden, and the Yemeni public received him with respect and handed over to him the synagogue and religious affairs. He annulled the practice of mentioning the authority of the head of the Palestinian Yeshiva (at that time Maṣliaḥ Gaʾon, based in the Egyptian capital) in prayer and legal documents. The foreign merchants, such as Ḥalfon b. Netanel, opposed this. (Information from Goitein, The Yemenites, pp. 67–68 and Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.) VMR

Medical prescription. In Arabic script. Ingredients include: "Indian"; borage; pistachio kernels; sugar. Diet: boiled young chickens (farrūj maṣlūq).

Recto: draft, probably, of a letter in Arabic. The opening few lines convey the writer's dismay at how the recipient makes light of death and how he must return to God. Verso: a Judaeo-Arabic letter in very rudimentary handwriting addressed to "my mother (?) Sitt Ghazal." After the blessings, the writer says he/she received Sitt Ghazal's gift, but does not understand why Sitt Ghazal was angry and does not know what fault he/she needs to beg forgiveness for. Then, "I sent you the notebooks, so send me the notbeooks." Then, "what you said to me that day... the head of the Yeshivah..." Needs further examination. ASE.

Recto: excerpts of Arabic poetry, transcribed into Judaeo-Arabic. The poem beginning in line 6 is credited to Qays b. al-Mulawwah (Majnun Layla) in some anthologies. Verso: extremely faded Hebrew in large letters. Needs further examination. ASE.

Hebrew poetic or liturgical text, probably.

Letter from Yaḥyā b. Meshullam to his brother-in-law. In Judaeo-Arabic. He has arrived safely; Rabbenu has treated him well; now he is just waiting for God to deliver him from Abū l-Ḥasan, and then he will come; "tell Abū l-Faraj and Abū l-Surūr to buy a half-dinar—or better a dinar—of wheat until I can come and repay him." Regards to various people. He offers to buy something for somebody with a dirham.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray (Alexandria) to Nahray b. Nissim (Fustat), ca. 1065. Mentions a silk cloak ordered by Nahray and shoes that were sent to him but did not arrive. Natan b. Nahray asks Nahray to send him some wine. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 426 and from Goitein notes linked below.)

A short, but complete note to Nahray from one of his brothers-in-law, ca. 1045-1096.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic probably from Ibrahim to Hayya ha-Kohen the teacher in Palermo (i.e. same writer and addressee as T-S 8J16.25). Nothing of substance is preserved, only the end of the introductory praises and the very beginning of the content. ASE.

Appears entirely literary - discussing various Shabbat and Havdalah-related blessings - but there are also scattered markings that may be an older stratum of writing. Needs further examination.

The upper part of a short Judaeo-Arabic letter in the handwriting of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. Written shortly before Hannukah. Moshe asks the recipient, probably a family member, to send him lamps for the holiday because he has none. He also asks to know if the kerchief pleased them, and they should hurry up and buy... It cuts off here. ASE.

Recto: The lower part of a letter mostly in Arabic (concluding blessings in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic) from a father to a son. He asks for a nice kerchief for a man in the family for the holiday. He says he is depending on him. He instructs him to look after his siblings at all times so that they don't have to depend on anyone else. Verso: accounts in Arabic. ASE.

Pen trials, probably. Mentions "these books arrived" and names such as Naṣr b. Shelomo b. Yosef ha-Kohen Av Bet Din and Elʿazar b. Shelomo ha-Kohen he-Ḥaver. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Bū l-Khayr to an unknown addressee. In Judaeo-Arabic. About the sending of garments and an artisan and other matters. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards.)

Letter of appeal for charity. In Judaeo-Arabic. Well-written. Refers to "three breads (akhbāz) a week." (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Nahray b. ʿAllān in ʿAydhāb to his son ʿAllān b. Nahray in Alexandria concerning shipments. Based on a letter from another India trader (ENA 4020.8) and the fact that the date on the letter is for the 8th of Sivan, the letter was probably written on May 16, 1141 CE. Nahray is frequently mentioned as a contemporary and associate of Maḍmūn, the merchant representative in Aden, and Abū Zikrī Kohen, the equivalent in Fusṭāṭ. Nahray writes that he is traveling with both Muslim and Jewish on the boat of al-Dībājī ("the brocade dealer"). In ʿAydhāb , the merchants sold part of their goods and otherwise traded them for products from eastern markets. He describes that they were nearing the time when they needed to set sail, and so the merchants broke up into two groups to cover more ground, with the Muslim traders making purchases at the pepper and brazilwood bazaars and the Jewish traders at the lac bazaar and otherwise selling off some of their goods for cash. Nahray purchased 330 pounds of lac (resin from the lac insect used in varnish, wax, and red dye), paid two dinars needed to arrange packing, canvas, and ropes, and made a few other purchases, including a sari that was to be a gift; all of this ultimately left him without cash for further shipments. Additionally, he paid Abu ʾl-Faḍl b. Abu ʾl-Faraj al-Dimyātī ("from the Egyptian seaport of Damietta") a dinar for expenses for the lac. al-Dimyātī was to deliver the lac, a copy of the account, and the distribution list to Abū Zikrī Yehuda, the Kohen, who will sell the shipment and distribute his portion to his partners before delivering the remaining balance and the account to ʿAllān. Nahray also mentions that Yaḥyā b. Sar Shalom ("Prince of Peace") was carrying a second shipment consisting of two bales of brazilwood weighing two bahārs (equivalent to 600 pounds) and 70 pounds, two bales of cowrie shells measuring one mudd (likely the Jerusalem mudd or similar, which was equivalent to 100 liters), five manā (equivalent to about two pounds) of ashbāh wood, and half a manā of old camphor. There were also ten Qaṣṣī robes that would be sold to cover customs dues and other related expenses. Yaḥyā was to write an account, deduct customs and other expenses, and then to sell as much as seemed appropriate, but then inform ʿAllān , who was to instruct as to whether they would sell the entire shipment or only part of it; he mentions, for example, that they might sell the cowrie shells in Spain. Nahray sends regards to ʿAllān, his grandsons, his own wife, ʿAllān's wife, his brother, and his nephews, and urges ʿAllān to take care of the family. He tellsʿAllān to hold onto letters that he had left behind, as they contained accounts. Nahray concludes by saying that he didn't expect the voyage to produce much profit; he ultimately sent 100 dinars to Maḍmūn with the hopes that it might more successfully return gains. He instructs ʿAllān to set aside 15 dinars for when he returns, and then to take a tenth of profit from the above shipments and use it to make further profits. (Information partially from Goitein's index card and partially from Goitein's Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders)

A note written by Avraham b. Farrāḥ Iskandrānī to Yaʿaqov b. Avraham on 21 June 1054, as an addendum to his letter written the previous day (see ENA NS 22/1). Complements the information in the main letter and provides additional details about the sale of the writer’s merchandise in a public auction. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 825-826.)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Most of the folio is preserved, but the text is faded and damaged. Probably concerning communal affairs. Mentions Abū l-Faḍl b. Pinḥas and "sayyidnā Av[raham?]." (Information from Goitein's index card.)