Geniza Lab

Letter fragment in the hand of Natan b. Shemuel he-Ḥaver at his best. Wide space between the lines. Addressed to ha-Ḥazzan ha-Meʿulle. Someone had borrowed from Zakkay ha-Talmid the book Tiqqun Sofrim and traveled. Now, Zakkay needs it and the sender asks for it to be returned. On verso there is poetry by Yehuda ha-Levi. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Natan b. Shelomo the hazzan b. Ya'ir to the Nagid. Fragment mentions conflict over prerogative to circumcise.

Recto: letter addressing a Nagid (Negid ha-Gola) with many titles and flattering epithets. The opening is extensive and rhymed, and only the letter’s oratory remains. Verso: address, similarly flattering. (Information from CUDL.)

Recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (lower right corner). Asking a dignitary for help on behalf of a group of people, by loaning them money or sending them a small quantity of wheat or grain. Verso: Poetical Hebrew text, possibly intended for the beginning of a letter. At 180 degrees, a rhymed Arabic letter that consists entirely of flattery and good wishes ("may God guard your shoulders(?) and protect your middle and your flanks(?)"). Underneath there are some additional jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script (al-raʾīs al-[...]). (Information in part from CUDL)

Maybe Lucena; July 1, 1138 A section from the middle of another partnership deed between the two, in which Yosef agrees to hand over the profits by Passover of the year 1139. If he violates the agreement, Yosef must pay twenty mitkals 'to the poor of Almeria and the captives'. Apparently, the passage is from the beginning of the note. The deed was written by a professional scribe, but the truncated addition at the end of the 12th is by Ḥalfon himself. Just as document 826 opens with the statement of the active partner, Yūsuf b. Shuʿayb Ibn al-Naghira, who received money from Ḥalfon to trade in, so it is told at the beginning of this page that Ḥalfon gave money to Yosef to trade in. If so, we have before us two partnership deeds that were written in the West between Ḥalfon, the investor, and a 'dealer' named Yosef, and it turns out that this refers to the same partner. Since it was agreed that if Yosef broke the agreement, he will give twenty mitkals 'to the poor of Almeria and to the captives', it turns out that certificate ח29 was written in Spain, and there was presumably at the time when Ibn Al-Naghira visited Ḥalfon, presumably in Lucena, at the beginning of July 1138. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Business letter from Mūsā b. Isḥāq b. Nissim al-ʿĀbid. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: 11th century. Mentions merchants such as אבן אלטבני, Mūsā Ibn al-M[ajjānī?], and ʿAmmār b. Mevasser. The commodities mentioned include two bowls (qaṣʿa) and pearls. The sender's brother Abū Isḥāq sends regards. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards)

Recto: Letter from a certain Daniel and his friends to a certain Yeshuʿa. In Judaeo-Arabic with the introduction in Hebrew. Dating: Probably no earlier than 13th century. Asking the addressee to "continue his favors as he has done in the two preceding nights." Verso: Letter from Yeshuʿa to al-Muhadhdhab. Possibly the response. Quotes a verse of poetry (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Halakhic treatise by Ḥananel b. Shemuʾel, concerning laws of divorce. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from a merchant addressed at least in part to his mother ('wa-yā ummī'). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 12th century. He complains about the wretched quality of his food and drink and sleep and how 'nobody suffers what I suffer from [long]ing.' He mentions the towns of Minya and Qūṣ and repeatedly mentions the price of wheat and bread. The mother should borrow the money she needs to purchase wheat, and he will pay it off when he can. (Information in part from CUDL)

"A scribe informs his father that a piece of parchment which he acquired was sufficient for four quires less one leaf. But the ink with which he had written one quire was bad, he either had to "cook" another one or to buy one. He asks his father to meet Manṣūr the agent of the judge in an urgent matter connected with a partnership. (Information from Goitein's note card)

Part of a ketubba, with only a few words preserved. Part of the shemaʿ has been written between the lines in faded ink and a different hand. (Information from CUDL)

Ketubba fragment. Dated: Ḥeshvan 136[.] Seleucid, corresponding to the range 1048–57 CE. For the remarriage of a previously divorced couple. Bride: [...] bt. Sahl. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter sent from Sicily by a widow to her son, Abu Sulayman Dawud b. Na'aman in Barqa, asking him to take care of his brother who is staying with him. The mother mentions friends asking about her son and others who criticize his behavior in public. (Information from M. Ben-Sasson, Yehudei sitziliya, p. 189)

Header of a beautifully illuminated ketubba, with micrography in the border.

Part of a ketubba, with no names or date preserved. Between the lines, a different hand has practiced writing the Hebrew alphabet. Verso: part of a letter in Arabic (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Part of a letter in Arabic. Recto: ketubba (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Ketubba fragment. Bride: Sitt al-Maʿālī, a virgin. Location: Fustat. Date: Tammuz 14[..] Seleucid, corresponding to the range 1099–1187, under the authority of Moshe ha-Rav ha-Gadol. (So either Moshe b. Mevorakh or Moshe Maimonides.)

Part of a ketubba preserving only a few lines in large characters and the name of a witness, Saʿadya b. David. Verso: letter. (Information from CUDL)

Letter. Recto: ketubba (see separate entry). (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment from the end of a ketubba, referring to the bride’s immersion (טבילה). Ca. 13th century. (Information from CUDL)