Geniza Lab

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Yiṣḥaq ben Naʿim, Damietta, to Me'ir ben Naʿim, Cairo/Fustat.

Two letters of recommendation in Italian for a certain rabbi Barukh Löb Heilpern, apparently the former head of the old Universita Israelitica in Livorno, the first signed and dated in Livorno, 28 October 1852 (15 Heshvan 5613), the second signed and dated in Torino, 17 December 1852. There is also the remnant of a binding and a fragment of a facing page, with more Italian writing.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic, complete. Merits examination.

Letter in Italian addressed to Seid Barda et Abram Amram, Cairo, 1719 CE. Livorno is mentioned in the first lines. There are also sums and a single line in Hebrew: "Today is the 18th of Tammuz .. 94."

Letter in Spanish from Abram Nunez (?) to Sehid Barda, Cairo, dated 1712 CE (4 Nisan 5472). The letter is on Page 1 and the address on Page 4.

Fragment of a letter (?) in a European language, bearing a seal. Tricky to read.

Letter of recommendation in German for Rabbi Barukh Löb Alpern, mid-19th-century. The place name appears to be Agram, which turns out to be the German name for Zagreb in the Habsburg era. Bears a red wax seal. See AIU VII.E.239 for the LORs Rabbi Barukh collected in Livorno and Turin.

Family letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Sent from Rome. Addressed to 'my son' Barhūn Naqqāsh. Dating: Likely late Mamluk or early Ottoman-era. "I remained in Sardinia (צרדאניא) for several months..." Further down, mentions Tripoli (טראבלס) and Cairo (אלקהרא). Greetings to various people. The first part of the letter concludes here, and then there is a new section (in the same handwriting) in the voice of Umm al-Banīn addressing her brother Nissim. She bemoans her prolonged separation from all her siblings and her isolation. She then addresses Umm Asʿad and gives her condolences on the death of her son. Many more greetings follow. ASE

Fragment (lower right corner) of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably medieval. The subject is difficult to discern... things mentioned are sayyidnā, never entering the synagogue with somebody, somebody slaughtering in his house, and al-Shoṭer Ḥalfon.

Image not available. According to Schwarb Catalogue: Appeal from the prisoners in Tiberias, to R. Yeshuʿa and R. Shelomo. AA

Letter from a certain Yehosef to Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm. Written on parchment in a crude Maghribī hand. In Judaeo-Arabic, with ~7 lines of possibly unrelated Arabic script on verso (some of this might be part of the address, though there is also an address in Judaeo-Arabic). Dating: Probably 11th century. The letter opens with sympathies for the addressee's illness ("Your letter arrived... and it was like seeing your dear face. When I heard you were sick, I went out of my mind, until I received your letter and was reassured") and continues with various business matters, e.g., small quantities of garments. Mentions Abū Yūsuf. Further notes in Judaeo-Arabic, possibly in a different hand (accounts of the addressee?) on bottom of verso. Recto is hair side.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from David ben Naʿim, who also wrote JRL Series L 205. ASE.

A few lines of a late document (letter?) in Hebrew. Several names are mentioned.

Letter to Moshe Bunān in Cairo. Exact dating is not possible because the letter's heading is torn and missing from the recto but the name of the letter recipient is also attested in the nineteenth century (for example JRL Series B 2925). Taking the handwriting into consideration, this letter likely originates from some point between 1750–1850CE and may perhaps be addressed to the same Moshe Bunān in JRL Series B 2925. In the portion of the letter that remains, a certain Rafael is mentioned twice (l. l. 8r, 4r in margin). MCD.

Image not available. According to Schwarb Catalogue: Letter in Ladino from Masud Bonan to Judah Asio, Cairo 1764. AA

Letter fragment (first few lines) addressed to ha-Nasi ha-Gadol Rosh-ha-Gola ʿAmaẓyahu Yosef. In Judaeo-Arabic The addressee also appears on the memorial list of Karaite Nasis, descendants of Anan, on T-S 8K22.3. Verso preserves a few lines in a different hand: "our master should not send a letter unless it has on it [..." ASE.

A letter in Ladino, possibly to Ya'aqov b. Habib, however, not the same person as the famous author of 'Ayn Ya'aqov. A Ya'aqov b. Habib is also mentioned in the Ladino letter 13J7.30. This letter is dated 1718 CE (5478). The address is then somewhat confusing: "to the sages Alpalas y Sahalon (?), Mitzrayim." It also says "Zurich" (?) in latin characters along with the date. Needs further examination. See "Alpalas y Sahalon" tag for other documents from the same group. ASE.

Image not available. According to Schwarb Catalogue: Letters: Public issues. AA

Image not available. According to Schwarb Catalogue: Letter in Arabic or Judeo Arabic to a woman in Kairouan, Oshtak Elia b. Ibrahim. AA

Note to Barakāt b. al-Dayyān (probably Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) from Khalaf b. Nāṣir, requesting that he send quickly the pair of anklets that belong to Khalaf, the pair without the lawālib (springs? coils?). Barakāt is to give the anklets to the bearer of the letter, Sālim b. Ibrāhīm the brother of Ṣadaqah. ASE.