Geniza Lab

Letter probably from Yedutun ha-Levi, in Fustat, to his brother Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, in Qalyūb. (Identification is tentative, based on handwriting and typical phrases and names.) Someone, possibly ʿImrān (but not their paternal uncle of the same name), recently died in or around the addressee's location. The 'kabīra' (old woman?) has arrived back safely. Abū Zikrī (=Sar Shalom??) is making a big fuss and swearing that he saw Moshe in Cairo on Wednesday with two baskets of apricots. Yedutun complains about how everyone repays him with ingratitude, and he seems to refer to his activities as a physician (although Goitein read יטבהם in line 9 as יכצהם). Yedutun had to swear to Abū Zikrī that he must have been mistaken about seeing Moshe in Cairo and that Moshe doesn't know Ben Shaʿya either. Abū Zikrī apparently gave an exceedingly long sermon (דראש) on Shabbat. Tāhir is asking about Moshe's news and wants him to know that the new wālī is a relative of the old wālī, and he will take revenge on people who defy him (or defied his predecessor?), so Moshe should watch out. Moshe should also pass on Yedutun's prescription to Yaḥyā al-Khuḍarī, because Yedutun owes him a favor. He is very sad about ʿImrān and can't even eat bread (a standard phrase to express grief). He asks Moshe to pass on condolencees to ʿImrān's brother. And if Moshe wants the family to come visit him at the end of the month, he should let them know with a day's notice. Previous description: Warm letter by a man in Fustat to his brother in the countryside, mentioning an old woman, probably the bearer of a message, best not confided to paper. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 338). ASE

Calendrical text in Judaeo-Arabic.

Bill of divorce (get). Location: Fustat. Dated: Tuesday, 13 Shevat 1442 Seleucid, which is 1131 CE. Husband: Ḥalfon b. [...].

Letter of recommendation for charity for the judge Avraham b. Yosef. The addressee is on a boat and about to set out for a voyage. The poor scholar likely carried this note with him to the boat. The addressee and his companions on the boat are all asked to contribute, and it is suggested that this good deed will increase the likelihood of a safe trip. (Information from Goitein's notes.)

Account for funeral expenses of a poor (travelling?) man who had lived in a pious foundation belonging to the community. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal record in the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan. On 27 Kislev, the blind woman Sitt Ṣāfī receives from Abū l-Makārim Jābī l-Rubʿ 10 dirhams that are due to her for Elul and Tishrei of 1159 CE. Signed: Nissim b. Shelomo; Simḥa b. [???]. The money was handed over by Tiqva b. David. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document, small fragment. Location: Fustat. Involves Sasson b. Efrayim.

Petition in Arabic script. Fragment (the beginnings of 4 lines from the bottom). Requesting the addressee's help to "stop the harm from him" (kaff al-ḍarar ʿanhu). More specifics might be preserved. Reused in the lower margin and on the back for a mystical text in Hebrew, with instructions about numerology and (angelic?) princes.

Letter from Ibrāhīm to his 'father' Nissim b. Shemarya. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Not much of the body of the letter remains.

Order of payment. In dreadful handwriting. On verso there are jottings in both Hebrew and Arabic script.

Letter or 2 letters. The handwriting is different between recto and verso, which suggests that one might be the response to the other. The letter on recto is very damaged. The writer reports on items that he sent with Avraham, including a fūṭa. He mentions Sulaymān and Abū l-Ḥasan and Yosef and Abū Saʿīd. The letter on verso is from Bū Saʿīd b. Yefet to his son Abū l-Ḥasan (even though this is not the usual placement of the address, the handwriting matches). Mentions a woman and some codices and perhaps paper (if כאגץ is an alternate spelling of كاغذ). This side was later reused for Hebrew poetry.

Postscript to a letter, probably. The addressee is asked to continually convey greetings to Abū l-Faḍl al-Ṣayrafī al-Kāzarūnī.

Letter addressed to 'Sayyidnā.' in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 13th century, based on the handwriting. There is not much by way of content; it is heavy on the flattery and seems to be encouraging the addressee to come visit.There is a response on verso.

Copy of a letter from Yehuda Zarqo (a 16th-century Hebrew poet of Rhodes and Salonica) to the physician Yosef Hamon on the occasion of Hamon's wedding. This copy may be much later, perhaps 18th or 19th century.

Copy of an ornate Hebrew letter, mentioning R. ʿImmanuel Yoel. Late. From the same volume as Bodl. MS heb. f 105/17, but it is not immediately clear whether it is the same letter or not.

Legal document, fragment. Mentions [Avraham?] b. Natan Av Bet Din and seems to be some sort of release. There is a list of items covered: silk, flax, codices, furniture, clothing, taʿlīq. Then "Avraham his son" and something about 3 dinars.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely 12th century, based on handwriting. Mentions red sulfur (kibrīt aḥmar), the estate of the addressee's dead brother, and perhaps Jibla in Yemen.

Letter in Arabic script. Some kind of (state?) report on agricultural activities this year? وقد زرع في هذه السنة... وجميع الفلاحين فيها فلاحين السلطان... احد العسكرية هذا سوا ما يزرع فيها من الارز... باطلاق عمارة في الضياع ال... وانكشفت جميع الناس. On verso there is a Hebrew literary text (as well as between the lines on Bodl. MS heb. f 107/34).

Undertext: Halves of two lines of a chancery document. Overtext: Hebrew liturgical poem (seliḥa?)

Letter in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Addressed to someone important, possibly the Nagid, and possibly specifically Maṣliaḥ Gaon (based on some flattering phrases that also appear in other letters to Maṣliaḥ). He is writing to seek help on behalf of a man named Isḥāq b. T[hābit?] who has been arrested.