Geniza Lab

Fragment of a letter by Natan b. Avraham. 1354/1042.

Copy in Judaeo-Arabic of a decree (sijill) renewing the appointment of a Jewish physician "to the headship of all the Israelite denominations: the Rabbanites, Qaraites, and Samaritans." States that the order to write this document was issued by the caliph to the chancery (kharaja amr amīr al-muʾminīn ilā dīwān al-inshāʾ bi-katb hādha al-sijill bi-tajdīd mā kāna anʿama bihī ʿalayka min al-riyāsa ʿalā jamīʿ ṭawāʾif al-isrāʾīliyya min al-rabbānīn wa-l-qaraʾiyyīn wa-l-samara).

Late, formal, communal letter, likely from the community of Jerusalem, mentioning their shaliaḥ R. Ḥananya b. Barhūn (l.6), to a group of people including R. Moshe [the rest of his name is cut off]. The opening words of each line disappear into the crevice where this fragment is bound to the preceding one, so the original has to be examined. The writers strenuously contradict a claim of the recipients in a previous communication (l.7-8). The gist of the matter seems to be that the recipients used to send almonds and pomegranates to Jerusalem as charity for the sick and poor, in expectation of receiving certain blessings in return. Possibly they have ceased doing this, claiming that the blessings are not in order. The writers insist that they are not ungrateful, the blessings are in order, and they plead for the charity to resume. Signed by Yisrael Binyamin (perhaps Yisrael Binyamin Zeevi who died in 1688?) and three others whose signatures are stylized and somewhat difficult to read. Yiṣḥaq Ṣabāḥ adds a postscript reiterating the main points of the letter, also mentioning the merit of sending lulavim in this time. ASE.

Various chronological calculations ("from Adam to the flood... from the flood to the birth of Isaac... from the creation of the world to the receiving of the Torah... etc."), mentioning also that Jesus died at age 33. Opens with a citation from the work Kad ha-Qemaḥ by Baḥyā ben Asher (1255-1340) to the effect that Lamekh the father of Noah met Adam and that Avraham met Noah. The last two lines seem to give the date the fragment was written, albeit obscurely.

Letter fragment (lower right corner of recto). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dealing with business matters. Full of expressions of urgency (wallāh allāh al-surʿa. . . min kull bud). Mentions two waybas of something and various other commodities. Also mentions the oculist al-Kaḥḥāl al-Maghribī; either that name or the handwriting may allow eventual identification.

First-person narrative in Judaeo-Arabic. May be documentary. Needs further examination.

Literary work in Arabic script. Perhaps a tafsīr.

Recto: Medical recipes. In Judaeo-Arabic. The first includes ingredients such as Indian salt, anise, and chicory water. The second (for headaches and for excessive moisture in the head and the eyes) includes ingredients such as sugar, Socotrine aloe, turpeth, and myrobalan. Verso: Story about al-Ma'mūn and ʿĪsā. In Judaeo-Arabic. The page opens with some medical language—so it is possible that the recipes on recto are part of this story.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Abū l-Surūr Peraḥya b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner). Mentions: female dyers (? ṣabbāghāt); someone who had a bit of flax with him; and the small salted fish (ṣīr) which either Yefet or Peraḥya had requested.

Letter of condolence. In Judaeo-Arabic. The hand may be known. It is not out of the question that this could be a formulary.

Document with Arabic script. Possibly just jottings, possibly more. Needs examination.

Business letter, fragment. In Arabic script. "Have you sent me the maqṭaʿ (cloth) or not?"

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. "The matter is out of my hands. . . . the situation is rotten." The rest is quite faded but potentially decipherable.

Legal fragment (upper left corner). In Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Mentions [...] b. Shemuel and [...] b. Moshe. Either a will or concerning arrangements after someone has already died

Document in Arabic script. Probably legal. Dated (on verso): 1173 AH, which is 1759/60 CE. There is an addendum in Judaeo-Arabic. Needs examination.

A string of praises in Hebrew for an important man.

Dowry list (taqwīm). The groom may be Yeshuʿa ha-Kohen b. Ḥalfon. The bride may be [... bt.] Seʿadya. There are 12 items listed. There is also some practically illegible text on verso.

Letter fragment (top only) from Yisra'el b. Natan to Nahray b. Nissim. In Judaeo-Arabic. Yisra'el tells Nahray to add the dinars to the money he owes to some person who will 'enter' soon (Fustat, probably).

Cheque of Abū Zikrī Kohen.

Yemeni diwan. Containing poems attributed to Yehuda ha-Levi and Shalom Shabazi.