Geniza Lab

Letter fragment from the Palestinian Academy to the community of Fusṭāṭ, mentioning Yeḥezqel b. ʿEli ha-Kohen he-Ḥaver. Dating: ca. 1080 CE. (Information from Gil via CUDL.)

Poetic introduction in Hebrew for a letter addressed to a Jewish courtier (sar ve-naeh li-serara).

Opening of a letter full of eulogies for the Nagid Yehosef (d. 1066), doubtless the son of the Nagid Shemuel b. Nagrela of Muslim Spain. Dated to the 11th century.

Legal document concerning the community in Alexandria sending a sum of money to help repair an old synagogue in Jerusalem. There are five signatures on the document. Dated 4971 of the Era of Creation (= 1211 CE). (S. D. Goitein, Palestinian Jewry, 334-335) VMR

Letter pertaining to business.

Letter of recommendation concerning one of the chief people in Sunbat, who had to flee because he could not afford to pay his own and his son's capitation tax. (Mentioned by N. Golb in Journal of Near Eastern Studies 33 [1974], p. 142)

Recto: Letter to a man in Qalyūb. The writer excuses himself for not coming to Qalyūb, for he thought the addressee would not be there, but now a certain Abū Saʿd has informed him that the addressee had returned. Also mentions business matters relating to a shop, and the names Barakāt and Ibrāhīm. Verso: Letter fragment in Arabic script. (Information from CUDL.)

Letter of appeal for help, mentioning a recent death, apparently of a husband, leaving the writer (the widow) without livelihood and unable to live with the 'dowager (al-kabira)' (her mother-in-law probably), who is demanding she move out. The lower part of the letter refers to a woman who died in the seventh month of her pregnancy. There is a gap of at least a line or two between the two fragments that comprise this document. It is conceivable that the two fragments belong to two different letters, but they are certainly by the same scribe. Join by Oded Zinger. ASE.

Letter of appeal for charity/help from a man who is housebound on account of his illness and poverty (wajaʿ, ḍuʿf, ḍīq ḥāl). Mentions Yiṣḥaq ha-Rav, Yeshuʿa, and Yosef.

Letter from the people of the Palestine Yeshiva to the community (qahal) of Fustat, probably approximately 1080.

Recto: Letter criticizing someone's behavior.

Verso: List of names with numbers, distributions to individuals, followed, in another hand, by a list of arṭāl of some beverages (speficially: syrups/ashriba, including of quince/safarjal). MRC. ASE.

An Egyptian Jew traveling to Sicily testifies that he owes money to an Italian Jew called Ser Mishael from Trapani. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 256)

Letter conveying greetings for a wedding.

Ethical work discussing the world to come and evil inclinations. Late. (Information from CUDL.)

Draft of legal document; the merchant Nahrir b. Mawhub appears before the rabbinical court of Fustat in the fall of 1127. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, 553)

The Rosh ha-Seder of the Yeshiva invites Saadya b. Khalaf to attend his sermon in the synagogue. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter of warning regarding a dispute involving a debt. Dated 1152. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter to a father from his son, reporting business troubles he is having with his brother. The son requests a small loan from his father. Also mentions Abu'l-Tana. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL)

Fragment from the Babylonian Jewish magical text Pišra de-Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa. (Information from CUDL.)