Geniza Lab

Communal letter(s) or possibly responsa in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Perhaps 13th century. There are two different handwritings. Both the upper and the lower text blocks seem to be issuing instructions and include the wish that God will make the end good (wa-l-Ḥaqq taʿālā yajʿal al-ʿāqiba le-shalom). The lower one refers to "the collector" (al-jābī) collecting payments of 10 dirhams. Needs further examination.

Short letter from Bū l-Majd (Meir b. Yakhin), Fustat, to Bū l-Futūḥ (Yehuda b. al-ʿAmmānī), Alexandria. Meir reports that he received the letter containing the two qawls and apologizes for having sent a letter complaining about not receiving them shortly earlier. He bolsters his apology by saying he was sick when he sent the previous letter. He then addresses the complaint of Yehuda's cousin, Bū l-Maʿālī, that Meir has not been sending him letters. Here the letter is torn off horizontally. The verso is more faded but probably mostly decipherable. Meir inquires whether his cousin ("ibn khali") Manṣūr b. Maʿālī is in Alexandria with Yehuda, because he heard that he had been in Minyat Zifta ("May God guide his perplexity"). ASE.

Love poem in Judaeo-Arabic in a popular register. Headed "nashīda." The last line refers to "my shafīfa" and "my sirwāl." Needs examination.

Letter of recommendation for a poor man with a family from the office of Yehoshua Maimonides.

Legal query addressed to Maimonides, whose autograph responsum is written underneath the query. The question regards an elderly widow who accused a teacher of asking her to sleep with him. The writer insists that she is merely trying to destroy the reputation of a man who would never do such a thing, and he asks how the man should proclaim his innocence. Maimonides responds that her claim should not be believed without witnesses, that anyone who has been slandered can excommunicate his slanderer by name, but may not obtain a blanket excommunication against all who accuse him. However, still better in this case is to put an end to the gossip and avoid any kind of public discussion or excommunication. The handwriting of the questioner closely resembles that of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi (see also ENA 2808.16 in which Moshe b. Levi asks the recipient to obtain an answer to a fatwa that he had previously sent to Fustat). ASE. Ed. Joshua Blau, R. Moses b. Maimon: Responsa, (Hebrew; 3 vols; Jerusalem, 1957–1986): Vol. 2, pp. 522-3, #274.

A Hebrew maqāma. Mentioned in the literature (Schirmann, Fleischer).

Bottom 5 lines of an official letter in Arabic script. Ends with either a request or an instruction, ويفعل بذلك ما عهد من همته والله يوفقه ويعضده ان شا الله, followed by a ḥamdala and ṣalwala. Reused for Hebrew poetry/piyyut.

Recto: Poem in Hebrew by Shemuel ha-Nagid. Verso: Love poem in Arabic script.

Court notebook. #1 (fol. 1r): Goitein summarizes the case as follows: Fāʾiza bt. Shelomo b. Netanel (aka Kathīr) was about to be divorced by Barhūn b. Sahlān, another banker. (Goitein does not believe this man is identical with his contemporary and compatriot, the communal leader Avraham aka Barhūn b. Sahlān who died in 1032 CE.) Part of her dowry, especially utensils of silver and copper, as well as some textiles, had been given by her husband as collateral and had to be redeemed. Other items formed the object of a lawsuit. The first document (T-S 8J4.3.2v), undated, deals with these matters. After they had been settled and Barhūn delivered the other objects still kept by him, he would receive the desired release. On 23 January 1028 CE, Barhūn declared (in T-S 13J5.1c) that he had received a release but could produce it only in the next session of the court. Three months later, however, on 28 March 1028 CE, Fāʾiza declared (in T-S 8K20.1, fol. 1r) that she was prepared to accept the divorce only if and when her husband delivered the sums and objects still owed by him. (Goitein, Med Soc III, 248, 486.) #2 (fol. 1v): Barhūn b. Sahlān continues to owe Menashshe b. Yosef 30 dinars which he will pay over a period of 10 months, beginning on 1 Nisan.

Court notebook (continuation of T-S 8K 20.1.1). Record #3 (fol. 2r): Maḥfūẓ b. Yiṣḥaq al-ʿAzāzī (i.e., from ʿAzāz, north of Aleppo) sues Yosef b. Avraham for a sum of money. They are each questioned, Yosef denies that he owes that much, and Maḥfūẓ says that he will come back with witnesses. They make an appointment for 30 Nisan (~1 month later). No signatures. #4 (fol. 2v): Yeshuʿa b. Ṣadaqa sues Yosef b. Seʿadya for a dinar. "Long story short: they compromised at 1/2 dinar." 1/4 is to be paid now and 1/4 at the time of 'travel' (i.e., when they are next together). #5 (also on fol. 2v): Mubāraka bt. Ḥātim ha-Kohen sues Abū Yaʿaqov Yosef b. Yefet for 22.5 dirhams, and she presents a witness. Yosef pays up and even releases her from having to take an oath. Then he sues her for some bedding (firāsh), but she takes an oath that she owes him nothing, and he gives up.

Memorial list. At least three families are listed: that of Nafīs al-Sharābī(?), that of the in-law of R. Yeḥiel, and that of R. Yeḥiel himself, including several men named Elyaqim—so probably this dates to the 13th century.

Memorial list

Verso (original use): Three verses of (Judaeo-)Arabic poetry on homesickness written by Shemuel b. Elʿazar Ibn [...]sh, a physician from Alexandria who lived in Qūṣ. With a long colophon. "Yearning has not left me any endurance, but visits me day and night. My endurance is dead, entombed deep in the bottom of a grave. The boats of my longing have thrown anchor on the shores of yearning." (Information from Goitein, Med Soc II, 258–59 note 98.)

Verso (original use): Legal document in Arabic script. Concerning the renting of an upper-storey apartment (ṭabaqa). One of the conditions specified is about the renter building a new storey. Needs further examination.

Recto (secondary use): Medical recipe or prescription in Arabic script. Underneath, in Judaeo-Arabic, there are mnemonics for calculating the dates of new moons and holidays given in the name of Yoshiyyahu b. Mevorakh (the writer?).

Karaite Nesiim. A memorial list.

Memorial prayer for Karaite Nesi'im, the descendants of Anan.

Genealogical list of Fustat families, beginning with the Nānū family. Also mentions Abū l-Maʿālī ʿOvadya b. ʿUlla "the Nagid of the land of Israel and Judah," for whom the Geniza also preserves an investiture of appointment as Jewish communal leader in Damascus, Syria, and al-Salṭ from the son of Saladin, al-Malik al-Afḍal: T-S Ar.38.93 (Khan, Arabic Legal and Adminstrative Documents, doc. 121; see there p. 465 for reference to this document together with ENA 2592.??). In the Arabic document he is called Abū l-Maʿālī ʿAbdallāh b. Abū l-Riḍā b. Faraḥ.

Booklist. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe? (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Booklet containing liturgical poetry. One page refers to Raḥamim b. Yaʿaqov b. Yaʿish ha-Kohen. Then: "And it is in the handwriting of our teacher and rabbi and master Yehuda b. Yosef b. Elʿazar ha-Kohen... of the great Bet Din of Yeḥezqiyyahu."