Geniza Lab

Informal note to Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm. The writer was amazed to learn of Abū Isḥāq's worry/fear (ḍuʿf al-qalb) and urges him not to worry so much ("the heart of a man should not be weak"). "Even if אהל אלתקלין all gathered together, they could not do except what God wills." Goitein's note card suggests that this might refer to demons, probably a deduction from context. It might also be "ahl al-thaqalayn," i.e., the people of the two weights (the Qur'ān and the family of Muḥammad), meaning Muslims. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.) ASE.

Letter from Yehuda b. Yosef of Qayrawān (active 990s–1030s), apparently sojourning in Alexandria, to the three senior Tustari brothers (Sahl, Yosef, and Saʿīd the sons of Yisraʾel), in Fustat. In the letter Yehuda states that he will bring all the letters except those for Abū l-Faraj Yosef b. Yaʿaqov (Ibn ʿAwkal), which he had already given to Abu Mansur Ghalib to deliver. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 239 and 572, and Goitein's index cards.) On Yehuda b. Yosef, see Menahem Ben-Sasson, "ראשי הציבור בצפון-אפריקה — הדמות והתדמית: היצירה הספרותית כמקור היסטורי," Peʿamim 26 (1986), 134f.

Letter of Perahya b. Yosef Yiju to his father in Mazara Sicily, probably June 1154. (India Book III, 45)

Fragment of the beginning of a letter from 'Ayyash b. Sadaqa in Fustat to Barhun b. Moshe Tahirti of Qayrawan in Alexandria. Dated to the 11th century.

Fragment of a letter from Malij in Lower Egypt to a Nagid informing him that Yosef the proselyte was received in town with due honor. He had left some codices with the Nagid and another scholar, which he now wanted back. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter (possibly a copy, as it is blank on verso and is set out more like a page of text than a letter) sending greetings to ‘ha-Sar ha-Niḵbad ha-Rav ha-Muv[h]aq [...] Moses’. Also refers to ‘Moses Sar ha-Alef’. (Information from CUDL.) NB: A previous description on PGP said "Letter to Abu al-'Ala and Abu 'Aja, written in Hebrew. The address on verso is in Judaeo-Arabic and contains instructions concerning personal matters and about the delivery of the letter." However, there is no address on verso, so this description (together with the transcription for verso) must belong to a different fragment. PGP also previously listed a transcription for the erroneous verso: לשיך אבו אלעלא ואגא פציצא בעד ארסאל האדא אלכתאב ננפדה מע מן נערף.

Letter from Mubarak ha-Levi b. Yosef to Alexandria concerning business matters. The writer calculates how much he has paid the addressee and how much of the account between them remains. The addressee is also ordered to borrow ten dirhams from a third person for trading purposes.

Beginning of a letter from Abu al-Faraj to Abu al-'Ala the glassmaker, containing eulogies and ending with an extensive list of greetings. On verso are some Arabic notes of amounts.

Letter concerning business matters in which the writer mentions silk and asks the addressee for further trade-related instructions to be sent to him in a future letter.

Memorandum from Maḍmūn b. Ḥasan to Ḥalfon ha-Levi b. Netan'el. Location: Aden. Dating: ca. 1135 CE.

Petition from Yusuf requesting help from the addressee, Natan, for a woman who has weak vision and a blind daughter. The sender also enquires after another woman.

Petition from Yaʿaqov b. Aharon, a man of some learning. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Unknown. The sender petitions the addressee for financial help and for an appeal through the addressee to the council of elders to arrange a public collection for him. He describes himself as 'naked and bare with nothing upon me and nothing beneath' and having three children and a wife. In the margin the sender offers to copy out for the recipient the 'prayer for rain,' a long and extremely difficult liturgy (recited on the concluding holiday of the Feast of the Tabernacles) which Yaʿaqov obviously knew by heart. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 90, 531.) Possibly in the hand of the clerk of Yehoshua Maimonides (d.1355).

Business letter concerning a trip of the addressee and a third person, and mentioning 80 dirhams in the possession of someone else and the arrival and news of yet another person.

Letter to Abu al-Faraj who is addressed with many honorific titles and is informed about the delivery of his letter to the sender.

List of names and amounts in Coptic numerals on back of a letter. After the list comes: 'Six days: Sunday -- 2; Monday -- 2; Tuesday -- 2; Wed[nes]day -- 2; [Th]u[rsda]y -- [2?]; Friday -- 2; Arabic words enclosed in squiggly brackets.

Letter fragment (lower part only). In Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning administration of a legal affair. The sender reports that Abū l-Ḥasan b. Ayyūb, who owned property on Zuqāq al-Lawwāzīn, requested the transfer of his property, including future purchases and sales, to his sister before his death. The sender asks the addressee to do what is required by Jewish law and protect the rights of the widow and the orphan. In a postscript, the sender adds that Umm Abū l-Ḥasan took nothing from the estate of her brother, excepting the value of half of a robe which she had deposited with him. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards.) EMS

Letter from a person who asks for a loan to pay his capitation tax.

Letter from Moshe b. Yefet to Avraham referring to a visit of the addressee to the sender and mentioning lodging for travelers on the top floor of a synagogue. The letter ends with a religious formula in Hebrew including a quote from the Bible. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 76)

Letter referring to the arrival of a third person called Sa'id b. Moshe who received something from the sender and brought something with him. Ends with greetings for family of the addressee ('the young and the old, sons and daughters').

Letter from Mordechai b. Simḥa who is in the Persian city of Kashan. In Hebrew. Dating: Possibly 17th century. The sender also signs his name Mordechai Ṣefati ha-Kohen. "I beseech the master to speak with the parnasim of the congregations to give me what they see fit, sufficient for the expenses of travel, for God willing, I plan to go to the land of Israel. Let them do for me at least what they did for the Indian gentile, the idol worshipper." (They provided him with a donkey and gave him money.) "Let them do for me what they did for the chelebi - many 'גרושו - even though he was going outside of the land, to Persia (ereṣ ha-ʿajam), in order to eat meat and drink wine..." On verso he adds a postscript about what happened with the parnas Yeḥezqel (some sort of conflict, with insults flying). Edited by Simha Assaf. (Information in part from CUDL.)