Geniza Lab

A combination of exegetical responsa and criticism of an earlier commentator. Polemical remarks about the ignorance in Hebrew and Arabic of a halakhic scholar in Spain. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Yūsuf b. Ismāʿīl in Alexandria to Abū l-Faraj b. Ṣedaqa al-Ramlī, announcing to him that five boats had arrived from Suwaydiyya, the port of Antioch, carrying gallnuts, jujube, raisins, walnuts, sumac and tragacanth gum, and specifying the prices of these goods. Yūsuf writes that because of the high price of the gall nuts he decided not to buy them. (Information from CUDL and Mediterranean Society, I, p. 213; IV, p. 405)

Letter from Abūn b. Ṣedaqa, in Jerusalem, probably to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fusṭāṭ. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1064 CE. Concerned with rent payments for a house belonging to Abū l-Aʿlā ʿAmram b. Levi Ibn al-Buhūrī. The sender describes his relations with someone who helped him in successful dealings with the government in Jerusalem. Mentions names such as Abū ʿImrān Mūsā b. Yaʿaqov Ibn al-Jāsūs, Abū l-Khayr the goldsmith (al-ṣāʿiḡ), and the cantor Harūn. (Information from Gil's edition and CUDL.)

Responsa numbered 69-72, on kashrut and family law. (Information from CUDL)

Account of the Qodesh: building expenditures and revenue from rent, ca. 1039. This record contains details about sums of rent collected from "the Estate of the Synagogue of the Palestinians" for A.H. 429 and 430. It was written at the end of 1039. The revenue list mentions the first period during which Dar Qutayt was inhabited whereas before it had been empty. The building expenditures refer in part to the synagogue. The three parts of the document have found their way into three different boxes of the Taylor-Schechter Collection. Written in the hand of Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 167 #11)

Record of a dispute between the proprietor and manager of a farm. The manager defends himself from charges of negligence brought against him after Bedouin raids. (Information from CUDL and S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society 1:118, 426.) EMS.

Recto: halakhic discussion (possibly a responsum) concerning testamentary dispositions. Verso: specimen text for קיום שטרות. (Information from CUDL)

Saʿadya’s formulary of legal documents. Discussing the halakha of legal witnesses and testimony, including the table of contents. (Information from CUDL)

Saʿadya’s formulary of legal documents (Information from CUDL)

Geonic responsa. (Information from CUDL)

Geonic exegetical responsa. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Moses the schoolmaster petitioning ʿAmram ha-Levi for a charitable donation. He had not earned any fees over the holiday period. He asks for a loan of wheat, or its equivalent in cash, as he had nothing to eat. He had previously written to ʿAmram describing his family’s dire financial situation, but had not received a response. He now reproaches ʿAmram ‘you should favour me without my having to turn to you’. (Information from CUDL and Mediterranean Society, II, p. 188.)

Letter draft from Hillel b. ʿEli, in Tyre to the Nagid Mevorakh b. Saʿadya, in Fusṭāṭ. Ca. 1094 CE. (Information from CUDL)

Record of the activities of the qodesh at the end of the 10th and the first half of the 11th century, up to 1034 CE. Written ca. 1040 CE. This record which was intended for public display, lists the achievements of the qodesh, as far as the properties dedicated to the Synagogue of the Palestinians are concerned. For each stage the names of the parnasim who were in charge of the qodesh are listed. At the end of the 10th century apparently only two or three compounds comprised the real estate dedicated to the Synagogue of the Palestinians. During the seven administrations of parnasim listed in this record, new compounds, apartments, and shops were added either by purchase or by construction, made possible by the revenue from the earlier ones. Several major repairs of the extant buildings and also repairs and improvements in the synagogue are listed. The main part of the document deals with the period of the persecuations under al-Hakim. The synagogues were destroyed and the materials they were made of sold by the Muslim authorities. Later, the period of reconstruction is recorded. The concluding part stresses the custom of giving full publicity to the accounts of the qodesh; also, the duty of any dissatisfied person to file his claims before the court, otherwise risking excommunication. Gil includes ENA 2738.1 as part of this join, even though it is a distinct manuscript containing a draft of the document, of which T-S Ar.18(1).35 + T-S 20.96 is an improved copy. The first word in line 1 of ENA 2738.1 is the last one in line 19 of T-S 20.96. All three fragments are in the hand of hazzan Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya (according to Gil). ENA 2738.1 may actually be in the hand of Efrayim b. Shemarya. (Information from CUDL and Gil, Documents, pp. 136-137 #3)

Responsa concerning various topics in civil law. (Information from CUDL)

Responsa discussing various topics, including parturient women and civil law. (Information from CUDL)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic dealing with the book trade. In a slightly crude hand with some orthographic features more usual for later Classical Judaeo-Arabic letter writing, although the formulae and vocabulary used points to the 11th-12th century. What remains of recto is almost entirely formulaic but contains interesting phrases such as "may your star shine opposite you (wa-yuḍī' kawkabuhu ḥidhāhu)." On verso, the writer mentions Sālim (?) and a sale of 50 dirhams' worth of books. Then, "Among the books that I found for you from him: Raḥamim (?), a grammar, a commentary on Job, a composition on love and companionship and passion, a nice siddur. . . ." The writer also discusses 8 maṣāḥif, and says that the dīwān was not among the books he found. Also mentions a dictionary, a Mishna, and a prayer book. (Information in part from CUDL.)

Letter from Ezra b. Hillel, in Alexandria, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. December 28, 1063. The writer informs Nahray about businesses he has in Alexandria, including one of medical herbs, which failed. Mentions selling goods that the money for them was late. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #774) VMR

F. 1r: Draft of letters, one to Abū l-Faḍl Sahl (maybe al-Tustarī?). Shelomo b. Aharon b. Abū […] and Shela b. Yehoshuaʿ are also mentioned. F. 1v: catena of biblical verses, such as Proverbs 9:10, 22:29 and 24:5, probably for epistolary purposes. F. 2r (unrelated to F. 1): Short note in a mixture of Judaeo-Arabic and Hebrew. “To my master the Great (Gadol [ha-Yeshiva]), from his slave Natan: Hey man, why did you forget about me and not talk to your parents on my behalf? May your peace increase.” (Information in part from CUDL)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Simḥa ha-Levi al-Nīsābūrī to Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Ṣāʿid aka ʿUlla b. Yosef ha-Levi al-Dimashqī. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1100 CE. The sender expresses concern about the lack of letters. He sent goods with Abū Zikrī Yaḥyā al-Fāsī. He heard that the addressee had arrived safely (in Fustat?) together with a group of other merchants in a letter he received from Abū l-Faraj Hiba al-Ḥamawī (whose letter was delivered by Wahb the relative of Naḥrīr). The lower part of the letter is missing. On verso there are jottings of accounts in Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals, mentioning fruit of the Syrian ash (lisān ʿuṣfūr), clove, saffron, and sugar among other items. Several other letters from Yiṣḥaq to ʿUlla are preserved in the Geniza, for example T-S 13J21.26, in which ʿUlla is asked by Yiṣḥaq to provide for al-Ḥamawī’s family while he is away on business. (Information in part from CUDL.)