Geniza Lab

Letter fragment from Abū l-Faraj. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions al-Shām; 20 nuqra dirhams; dār sayyidinā in Fustat, and various people's names.

Recto and verso: Letter from Meir (b. Yakhin) to a certain Ḥalfon. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. The identification is based on handwriting. Dating: Early 13th century. Meir asks for the money that belongs to the shop and for a list of what should be bought. Verso: Apart from the address, some further lines in Arabic script, and a Judaeo-Arabic pen trial, there is the four-line response from Ḥalfon mentioning ḍarībat al-jumʿa ('the tax of the week'?). Ḥalfon has also gone back and fixed the titles from Meir's letter. In lieu of "his slave Meir" he writes "rather, his master" and in lieu of "the master Ḥalfon" he writes "his slave." ASE

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Possibly addressed to 'the dear brother al-Kohen Hadar ha-Soḥerim." Dating: Early 13th century. The writer mentions things that were lost during this travel (the ḥalīb/milk? and the 'qāriṣ'?). He advises the addressee to look after the boy and not to beat him (lā tasṭū ʿalayhi bi-ʿunf) and to tell him to look after his sister and mother (at least if "your mother" refers to the boy rather than the addressee). He complains about al-Raḍiyy. Regards to Samḥūn and his siblings and father; to Eliyyahu and his son; to Abū l-Faraj and Bū Mubārak and their wives. The letter ends: "Do not tell anyone our secret."

Sitt al-ʿAlā', the wife of Abu al-Fakhr, asks the court for her Ketubba, which was apparently given to R. Moshe.

Draft of of a legal document in which Sitt al-ʿIzz bt. Yeshaʿyahu b. Yefet appoints 'Amat al-Qādir' Sitt al-Milāḥ Turfa as her representative with regard to her share in the house in the al-Muṣāṣa quarter. Small note without signatures, though the names of the witnesses are mentioned in the body of the text: Kochav and Abū l-Munā. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

The names of the tribes of Israel transcribed into a cipher based on the alphabetic equivalents of Greek/Coptic numerals.

Order of endive seed (bizr hindibā') and purslane seed (bizr rijla) and unripe dates (busr) and sugar from al-Shaykh al-Makīn. On verso there is a very elaborate draft of the beginning of a letter addressed to Abū l-Majd. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Calendar in the hand of Yedutun ha-Levi. Cf. Nadia Vidro, "Muslim and Christian calendars in Jewish calendar booklets: T-S K2.33" (Fragment of the Month, March 2021).

Accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. There are only about 6 entries. On verso there are Hebrew pen trials.

Literary work on the calendar, in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. Bodl. MS heb. f 102/36 and Bodl. MS heb. f 102/38–39 may be in Moshe's handwriting as well (and Bodl. MS heb. f 102/32–35, also calendrical, is in the hand of his brother Yedutun).

Book list, probably. Late.

Memorial list.

Table of names. Perhaps a contributor list that was never filled out with numbers.

Legal document. Bottom part only. Dated: 14[.]7 Seleucid, probably 1407 Seleucid, which is 1095/96 CE. Signed by Ghālib b. Ḥalfon in massive letters.

Title page of al-Ḥāwī by David b. Seʿadya al-Ger ("the convert"). See David Sklare, ר' דוד בן סעדיה אלגר וחיבורו אלחאוי, Teʿuda 14, pp. 103–23. (Identification provided by Moshe Yagur.)

Letter from an unidentified Torah scholar. Dating: Likely 11th century. The writer mentions the city of Fez and people who have become affluent and are honoring him ('and the station of the Torah'). He very happily reports on the birth of a son to him—"may God keep him alive and preserve him and send him a speedy recovery(!)"—whom he named after his late father. The letter may be addressed to a woman, based on the verb endings in the margin of recto, but this part is difficult to read. On verso, it seems that the writer's brother had died without offspring. He prays that God will keep his son alive so that he can 'toil over him like my father toiled over me.' There seem to be blessings for a female family member around here (wa-razaqakum tanẓurū awlād awlādhā). The writer says he is always praying for the addressee during Birkat Kohanim. He greets Abū l-Khayr Ṣadaqa ha-Levi and his two sons Moshe and Yeshuʿa.

A few words in Arabic script mentioning Bū l-Faraj al-Jābī and ʿindahu and some Greek/Coptic numerals.

Letter addressed to the shop of Abū Ṭāhir b. Abū Naṣr al-Kohen Kelil ha-Yofi, in Sūq al-ʿAṭṭārīn, in Fustat. The writer inquires about news of his son and mentions Abū l-Barakāt Ibn ʿAmmār. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter in which the recipient is asked to collect funds, even if only 5 dirhams, for the holiday. (Information from Goitein's index cards)