Geniza Lab

Deed of sale in which a father sells to his son a quarter of the apartment belonging to him in a house in the al- Mu'tamid passage of the Tujib quarter for seventeen dinars. Dated 1233. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 281)

Ketubba according to the Egyptian rite. Location: Fustat. Dated: 13 Nisan 1606 Seleucid, which is 1295 CE. Groom: Elʿazar b. Avraham. Bride: Sara bt. Elʿazar. Information from the Reif catalog via FGP.

Letter from a Jewish notable who had previously been minister of finance in Egypt, seeking assistance from the Jewish community in Constantinople. This very long letter begins with many lines of poetry and greetings to the Constantinople community, after which the writer describes his fall from favour and how he has now been supplanted by a new Christian minister of finance. The recently deceased Nagid Mevorakh b. Saadya's elevation by the Vizier al-Afḍal is described, and the very high regard in which he was held at court. The Nagid's death had presumably left the writer and other Jews in high positions exposed to court intrigue. Dated to soon after 1111 CE (when the Nagid died). Information from CUDL. The writer spells out Greek words in vocalized Hebrew script: "το πατριαρχη" (the patriarch) and "εἰστό Ταμίαθι" (in Tamiathi = Damietta = Kaftor).

Bottom part of a decree of a Fatimid Amīr titled Surūr al-Malikī to a provincial governor or fiscal official, dated 2 Jumâda II, no year. Concerns collection of the kharāj on the refining of sugarcane (qaṣab) and taro (qulqās) in the village of Jawjar, where there was a press. The men of a high official (amīr muntakhab) titled Dhukhr al-Mulk wa-Sadīduhā (Treasure and Bulwark of the Realm) should be allowed to collect tax as the latter sees fit, while allowing the iqṭāʿ holders their income. Glued at top to a Judaeo-Arabic letter (see separate entry).

Letter to Abū ʿAlī Yeḥezqel, the brother of Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel complaining in strong terms about Ibn Khulayf and Buraykh, but praying Bushayr. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 590, and from Goitein's index cards.) Glued to a report addressed from one Fatimid official to another (see separate entry).

Court declaration in which Moshe b. Yeshua testifies to having received all due him from Elazar Abu Ghalib b. Shelomo ha-Kohen, working for him in the jahbadha (office of fiscal cashier), and to having no claims against him, his sons or brothers. Dated December 1124. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 249, 250)

Marriage contract (ketubba). Possibly from Ṣanʿāʾ, like CUL Add.3338.2. The groom is named Saʿīd, and the bride is named [...]da bt. Muʿayyaḍ(?) b. Saʿīd. Needs further examination. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document. Location: Ṣanʿā', Yemen. In which David b. Saʿīd and Sulaymān b. Yosef promise not to curse each other. Dated: Adar 1946 Seleucid, which isJanuary/February 1635 CE. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

List of contributors. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter in which the writer announces he has delivered a letter to a third person containing some announcement the writer had mentioned beforehand to the addressee, as well as 'a thousand kinds of greetings.' He also mentions a case involving a partner of the addressee. The letter continues to mention grain deliveries, amongst others to the 'house of the dome' (bayt al-qubba).

Court record from Bilbays in which an elder brother accepts the administration of a minor sibling's share in his deceased brother's inheritance and takes it upon himself to maintain the orphan until he reached maturity at thirteen. Dated Adar 1528/ February-March 1217. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 236, 237)

Court testimony from Bilbays in which Sulayman ha-Levi b. Shelomo states that his brother Barakat made his will at the beginning of Shevat and died on the 26th of Tevet, and that his widow had agreed to a reduction of the late marriage gift to thirty dinars, probably because two minor daughters had to be provided for. Dated Kislev 1530/ December 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 390, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter of request sent by the head of the yeshiva in Damascus, which was burdened with debts, to a notable in Fustat, who had pledged a donation for the academy, urging him to send his contribution of eight dinars immediately to prevent the whole sum from going for the payment of interest alone. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 257, 464, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yosef Ibn al-Lukhṭūsh, in Granada, to Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel ha-Levi, in Fustat. Dated: middle of May, 1130 CE. The sender, an Ifrīqiyyan merchant, writes with flowery rhetoric to send condolences on the death of a certain unidentified rosh yeshiva and of Ḥalfon's brother. The handwriting and layout are distinctively Maghribī or Ifrīqiyyan. The letter contains the only nearly explicit evidence thus known that Ḥalfon traveled to al-Andalus before 1130, but Friedman cautions that the reading of the date isn't entirely certain, and it may have been written in 1140. Ibn al-Lukhṭūsh asks Ḥalfon to write to him about his experiences in detail from the time he left al-Andalus until his arrival in Egypt. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV; Hebrew description below.)

Letter of recommendation sent by seven elders of the Jewish community in Minyat Zifta to the Nagid Avraham Maimonides, recommending Moshe, the son of a previous judge named Perahya, for appointment or confirmation, and describing his rival as the very opposite of the proposed candidate in every respect. Dated Tevet1531/ December 1219- January 1220. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 44; V, p. 199.) Alternate description: "Ruling from the Bet Din of Minyat Ziftā, addressed to the Nagid Abraham Maimonides, dated Ṭevet 1531 (= 1219-1220 CE). Despite vehement opposition from other parties in the town, Moses b. Peraḥya is cleared of charges against him and his appointment is recommended. Moses is reported to be 'extremely modest, bashful, humble, taciturn, forbearing, and inexperienced in trouble-making'. Signed by Ṣedaqa b. Šela, Solomon b. Benjamin, Solomon b. Yefet, Yefet b. Isaiah ha-Levi, Moses b. Ṭahor ha-Kohen, Moses b. Yefet, Ḥalfon b. Obadiah, and Judah b. [...]." (Information from CUDL)

Letter of congratulation after recovery from an illness, written in rhymed Hebrew prose by the court clerk Mevorakh b. Natan and addressed to ʿAzaryahu b. Efrayim the head physician. Dated: Nisan 1483 Seleucid (March/April 1172 CE). (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 110, 111)

Letter sent by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to his cousin Abū l-Barakāt al-Ḥarīrī b. Abū Manṣūr, discussing the marriage of their paternal cousin to Ibn al-ʿAmmānī. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 5)

Calligraphic letter sent by Yiṣḥaq b. Shemarya to Rabbi Benjamin, containing greetings to his two sons and describing how he fell from his wealth, lost his honor, and is ashamed, but needs help. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter addressed to Yosef ha-Kohen b. Simha, asking for help. In Hebrew. The writer was hit by a crisis that forced him into poverty and then this was complicated by debts. He wants to be on his way and to join Avraham al-Ger (the proselyte) on his journey to Ceuta, intending to make appeals (there). (Information from Goitein's index cards and Goitein, Med. Soc., x C. 1, n.35.) Written bt Berakhot b. Shmuel.

Left side of a calligraphic letter in Hebrew sent by Yosef ha-Kohen b. Gaon Shelomo to Efrayim he-Ḥaver, in the name of a widow, asking for details about the inheritance of her husband Mevasser b. ʿEli. (Information from Bareket)