Geniza Lab

Responsum of Moses Maimonides, concerning river travel on Shabbat. (Information from CUDL)

A page from Hanane'l b. Shmuel Sefer ha-Mitzvot. An autograph. For joins see the long list in FGP. (AA)

Fragment of a notebook of a trustee, in which he lists collaterals and belongings of a foreigner from Sicily. (Information from CUDL)

Anonymous responsa on various topics, headed מסאלה לבעץ‫'‬ אלעלמא. (Information from CUDL)

Legal queries, one of them apparently concerned with sharing in partnerships. (Information from CUDL)

On of relations who are ineligible to serve as legal witnesses. F. 2v contains jottings and pen trials. (Information from CUDL)

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

Geonic responsa, quoting R. Ḥananel. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: list of the first and last words contained in each of a number of pamphlets or quires. Verso: pen trials. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Araḥ b. Natan (aka Musāfir b. Wahb), in Alexandria, to the Nagid Mevorakh, in Fustat. The sender and addressee are not named in the letter, but Frenkel identified them on the basis of handwriting and content. Dating: toward the end of Mevorakh's tenure as nagid (1094–1111; Frenkel). This long letter, written between the lines of the Arabic text on recto, mentions disputes in the Jewish community, especially an ongoing dispute with the Maghribi community over the payment of the capitation tax. The Banū Naḥum family is involved (a well-known family from Alexandria). The letter also expresses the dissatisfaction of the community with its muqaddam. Araḥ functions in the letter as the 'nā'ib' (deputy) of the Nagid in Alexandria. (Another interpretation of the word niyāba in line 31 would be that "they [Araḥ's enemies] have destroyed the community in the name of representing you.") In a postscript, Araḥ reports to the Nagid how he dealt with a case of a widow who was exploited. Araḥ complains in passing about the severe illness that he contracted while traveling (lines 14–15), perhaps to support his self-presentation as someone who takes care of the community despite all that it costs him. Information in part from Frenkel. Note that this letter is written on an enormous sheet of paper that originally contained an Arabic state document, subsequently reused for a copy of Shemuel b. Ḥofni's Kitāb al-Shurūṭ on verso, and ultimately torn up and reused for this letter and other documents. Joins: T-S Ar.18(2).193 + T-S Ar.30.306 + T-S Ar.30.314: Marina Rustow. T-S 24.21: recorded in FGP from the Sussman Talmud catalogue.

Letter from Avraham b. Saadya the Hebronite, (the muqaddam of?) Bilbays, to Yiṣḥaq b. Shemuel the Sefaradi, Fustat, beginning of the twelfth century. Discusses in detail the communal problems that arose around the proposal of tearing down the synagogue and rebuilding it. The Muslm governor said that a synagogue may not be built under the reign of al-Mawla al-Afḍal. Verso has been reused for drafts of Arabic medical writings. CUDL description: Recto: letter in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic from Abraham b. Saʿadya he-Ḥebroni, on behalf of refugees from Hebron that are now in Bilbays. Abraham writes to Isaac b. Shemuʾel ha-Sefaradi (active ca. 1090-1130 CE) in Fusṭāṭ, concerning the building of a new synagogue in Bilbays, replacing an old synagogue that had been torn down. The entire community joined forces to dismantle the synagogue and rebuild the new building. The letter lists the donations given by members of the community, and describes in detail the surrounding properties and their owners. A muslim judge initially objected to the construction of the new synagogue, so the community tactically rebranded their construction as a ‘home’, to which the judge had no objection. Verso: jottings of an Arabic philosophical text. (Information from CUDL)

Bottom of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic addressed to an unidentified community (al-jamāʿa). Mentions the intention to build or rebuild "al-qodesh" but 100 dirhams are still wanting. "If the opinion of the community is behind what we have written, send us your signatures to the effect that you are happy with this." Dating: Probably ca. 13th–15th century, based on handwriting and some late linguistic features (e.g., תעתאז instead of תריד). (Information in part from CUDL)

Part of a letter explaining various talmudic sources and referring to a collection of responsa(?) which the recipient had sent to אדוננו שר השרים יחי לעד. (Information from CUDL)

Responsum concerning a problematic partnership, with an excursus on valid and invalid partnerships. (Information from CUDL)

An Arabic literary work. "The ʿulamā' of the Arabs informed us of ʿUmar b. al-[...] al-Tamīmī who said, 'There was a drought in the lands of Banū Tamīm. . . ."

Fragment of a report in Arabic script about fiscal matters (fishy accounting?). Mentions the large figure of 1,000 dinars. Some tentative readings: اخذ كتابه وحده عنده قد قدر لما لم يكاتبه عبده به الا... قدر ما يحتاج اليه... سعر الف دينار... في حساب عمارات سنة اربع واربعين من مال سنة ثلث واربعين جمل المال... لعبده لا ... يدعي انفاذه... وقد عاد بهذا الفعل يكشف... Needs further examination. On verso there are a few very faded words in Judaeo-Arabic.

Biography (sīra) of the Prophet Muḥammad in beautiful Arabic script. Bifolium.

Medical treatise in Arabic script, probably. Needs further examination.

Letter from a family member to a son or brother. In Arabic script. Dating: Probably late Mamluk or early Ottoman-era (based on handwriting, format, linguistic features). Mentions al-muʿallim Ibrāhīm Ibn al-Ṣawwāf and Ismāʿīl; the addressee's mother sends her greetings and says "by the [breast?] which you nursed, don't let her die in the presence of [...]." The addressee's sister Laṭīfa has had a baby boy, and she sends her greetings. As for the letter which the addressee sent concerning Jumayʿ(?) and the ghulām of the qāḍī Shams al-Dīn, "nothing of what you said is true." The letter concludes with greetings to various people, including the addressee's wife (zawjatak) and family (ahl baytak).

Deed of sale. In Arabic script. Abū l-Faḍl al-Muḥassin b. Saʿīd b. ʿUthmān, the merchant, buys part of a ruined house (which he already owns the rest of) from Jumān b. ʿAbdallāh b. Ṣāliḥ al-Anṭākī, the miller. Dating: ca. 11th-12th century. Verso: ink transfer of a Hebrew text. (Information from CUDL and Khan.)