Geniza Lab

Letter from Ḥalfon b. Menashshe's wife, in Fustat, to her brother Abū l-Ḥasan ʿEli b. Hillel, probably in Bahnasa (based on T-S 13J21.18). In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 1121–25 CE. She reports that the young son of Sitt al-Jamāl died immediately after ʿEli departed. They buried him in the 'desert' early on Friday, and when they returned, they found Sitt al-Jamāl's son Abū l-Mufaḍḍal sick as well, and he remains in a difficult condition (r6–11). She reports that later the same day, Abū l-Faḍl b. al-Ne'eman was fired from his post by the vizier al-Ma'mūn (1121–25) and was commanded to leave Cairo and take up residence in Fustat. Abū l-Faḍl cannot show his face now, and the rest cannot be explained in a letter (r11–14). "These things came to me upon emptiness of heart (farāgh qalb)" (cf. Quran 28:10)—perhaps she means that she could spare no attention for this matter, because she was so preoccupied on account of her children, who are still sick, as the addressee knows. "My heart became split, rising and falling, and if it weren't for your rebuke, I wouldn't have written you a single letter of all this" (r14–16). Abū ʿImrān is in the same state (probably of illness) that the addressee knows about (r16–17). She here describes the weaving of a shuqqa cloth and a complex deal involving al-Qazzāz and the addressee and money to be sent (r19–25). Goitein writes that the letter contains information about wages for silk weaving. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards; also Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 90, 404, 412; II, pp. 183, 345, 558; V, pp. 243, 574.) ASE.

Letter from a certain Shelomo to Abū Zikrī Kohen. In Judaeo-Arabic. Containing blessings for the Gaon Maṣliaḥ and the India trader Abū l-Barakāt Ibn al-Lebdī. Reused on verso for an elegy for a young man. (Information from Goitein's notes linked below.)

Letter from an unknown writer in Bilbays to Judge Eliyyahu, dated 1237. The writer complains about the meagre salary of public officials there.

Letter in which negotiations with pirates for the release of captives are described.

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Dating: Ca. 1062 CE (Gil). Topics: trade in oil, cumin, paper, books; the serious illness of ʿIwāḍ b. Ḥananel; and the dire situation in al-Mahdiyya. Nahray was very worried about ʿIwāḍ, but he ended up improving (lines 6–7). Cf. T-S 10J10.27, from 1060 CE, in which ʿIwāḍ himself writes to Nahray about his intestinal bloating and how he is scared and does not know what will happen.

Letter from the widow of a physician, a distant relative of the Nagid Shemuel b. Hananya (ca. 1140-1159), implying that she will be compelled to marry a man (apparently of lower status) unless the Nagid helps her redeem the half of her house that has been mortgaged against a debt. (Information from Goitein's index cards; also Mediterranean Society, III, p. 275)

Letter from Nethanel b. Ḥalfon to the Cairene notable ʿOvadya b. Benayahu. He asks for help for a learned man from Europe who has traveled to Cairo solely because he had heard of the generosity of the addressee's father. The request is urgent since the foreigner wishes to be on the high seas by Passover. On the verso, a similar letter by the foreigner himself to another notable, Maymun, in the Egyptian capital. Nethanel's letter obviously was returned to the foreigner by the addressee and was then used by him for a draft which, after having been copied, was thrown into the Geniza. Dated ca. 1170's. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 499)

Business letter to the writer's brother Shelomo. Two drafts of very late note. The man has difficulty expressing himself. He requests garments (jubab) for cover in one version and 10 qintar of raisins (zubab [sic]) in the other. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yehi'el b. Elyaqim to Yefet the teacher, giving instructions as to the method of teaching his son. On verso a short postscipt, and different accounts/memos in vairous hands.

Letter to a notable from Abraham Kohen Sholel (שלאל). (Information from CUDL)

Calligraphic letter requesting help for a man who is out of work and has a large family which would be satisfied with getting a mere piece of bread. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Draft of a petition in the handwriting of Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen, addressed to al-Malik al-ʿĀdil (aka the vizier Ibn al-Salār), asking that he release the estate of the Jewish merchant Abū l-Faḍāʾil b. Baqāʾ, which had been illegally sealed by the Mutawalli al-Maʿūna in Fustat. Dating: ca. 1150–51 CE. (Information from Khan and from Goitein, Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 269, 437; II, pp. 353, 513, 604.)

Personal letter sent by the court clerk Mevorakh b. Natan, apologizing for his younger brother Abu al-Fakhr Yehosef, who had made fun of the son of the Jewish government official (katib), Yehuda ha-Kohen b. Elazar. The writer says that Yehosef had been absent minded at the time. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 243, 574, and from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Moshe Yiju, [after leaving] Tyre, to his brother Perahya, in Fustat. Dating: 14 April 1155 CE. When Moshe sent his previous letters from Tyre, he was terribly ill, and people had despaired. On the 5th day, God acted for the sake of His name, and Moshe was cured. See 2 Kings 20:5 ("on the third day I will cure you"). India Book III, 46.

See PGPID 5530.

Business letter from Yosef b. Arah to Nethanel ha-Talmid b. 'Amram dealing with palm-fiber, books, pots, myrtle, silk, and other textiles. Dated early twelfth century. (Information from Goitein's index cards.) See also T-S 12.329 + T-S Ar.48.136, by the same writer, possibly to the same recipient.

Letter from a man on a journey in connection with his work, to his wife in Fustat.

Letter from Moshe b. Yefet to Tamīm b. Yaʿaqov ha-Kohen (apparently a merchant trading in the East). Dated: Monday, 8 Adar I 1421 Seleucid, which is 1110 CE. The hand is probably that of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe, who also sends his regards. The letter opens with a strong rebuke for failing to write and goes on to mention the arrival of merchandise/gifts, and greetings to and from various people.

Recto: Family letter in Arabic script, mentioning transactions and a Qāḍī. Verso: Late letter in Hebrew to R. Shelomo ha-Sofer from "your wife Dona Soro (=Sara?) and your daughters Reina and Raḥel and your son-in-law Moshe." They are dismayed at Shelomo's lack of response to their numerous letters urging him to return. They ask him to approach R. Shelomo ha-Rofe (David suggests this is the same Shelomo ha-Rofe who had access to the Nagid, mentioned in T-S G1.17, lines 15–16) and obtain an exemption from the tax. They have heard that the addressee plan to travel to Turkey, and they beg him not to do so. This would cause strife between his pregnant daughter Reina and her husband Moshe, it would cause bad luck to Rahel, who is grown and beautiful and good and modest, for the world will scorn the family and say, "look at this good, elderly, scribe who abandoned his wife and daughters after so many years. He must have gone mad, because he has traveled to a distant land," and you know what the verse says, "The eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth" (Proverbs 17:24). So please beseech R. Shelomo ha-Rofe that he obtain for you an exemption ('ketav') from the tax, and (even?) if you cannot, return. See also analysis in Zinger, "Long Distance Marriages in the Cairo Geniza," p. 28. ASE

Complaint submitted to the Nagid, quite possibly Avraham b. Maimonides (1205-1237), regarding Siba al-Faqusi who had interrupted the synagogue service. The writer apologizes for troubling the Nagid with such affairs. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, 490; Goitein index cards)