Geniza Lab

Letter concerning business matters. Deals with the forwarding of 15 dinars and an order for three ounces of ink and other smaller items. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from the teacher Abū l-Khayr, in Minyat Zifta to his brother Abū Naṣr Maḥfūẓ, the brother-in-law of Abū l-Bishr(?) Ibn al-Abzārī(?), in Darb al-Dahhān, Ḥārat Zuwayla, Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. The sender has partnered with Abū l-Munā b. Ḥiyya in teaching, but they are earning only 6 dirhams each every week. They wish to know if there are better prospects in Cairo. The addressee is urged to come quickly and to bring wheat with him. If he cannot find passage from his location, he should walk to Banhā and catch a boat to Minyat Zifta for 1/2 dirham. The sender asks about the prices of fleawort, purslane seed, and caraway. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards and CUDL)

Letter. Petition in Hebrew of which only the first 20 lines, containing introductory wishes, have been preserved. The letter contained a request for help. The letter is written by Tamim b. Tobias from Aleppo around 1036-1037. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Yiṣḥaq b. Asher Sefardi to the head Parnas Abū l-Faḍl Mevorakh b. Avraham, instructing him to make payments to needy people, ranging from one eighth of a dinar to half a dinar. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Manṣūr b. Sālim, in Alexandria, to Eliyyahu the Judge (Abū l-Faraj b. al-Rayyis), in Fustat. Manṣūr asks Eliyyahu to help find his son, who had run away, perhaps to the army, perhaps to Cairo or Damascus. Manṣūr asks Eliyyahu to urge his son to come home, reminding him of his obligations towards his mother, who is very sick on account of her son's actions. The son had taken several objects with him on his flight without the father knowing it(?). The sender requests a quick reply to his letter. See also T-S 10J14.12 and T-S Ar.18(1).137, letters by the same sender concerning the same matter. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 274, 468; II, pp. 379, 479, 610)

Letter from Avraham b. Natan in Tyre to Nahray b. Nissim. Dating: ca. 1090–93. During these years, Avraham b. Natan had to flee Tyre due to Munir al-Dawla's revolt. It was during these years that Avraham b. Natan tried to establish his position in Alexandria and al-Mahalla, an attempt reflected in this letter. On Avraham b. Natan's residence in Alexandria see M. Gil, 'Scroll of Evyatar,' p. 89 lines 29-30. See also Goitein, Med. Soc. Vol. 5, p. 596 no. 19. (Information from Frenkel).

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe ha-Levi b. al-Qaṭā'if to his brother Peraḥya discussing business matters, the illness and recovery of Abu al-Muna, a forwarded letter, and conveying greetings. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 239, 477, and Goitein's index cards.) The description of Abū l-Munā's illness is particularly vivid. "What he had turned out to be pure pus (? qayḥ kāmil). It ruptured (infajara), and there emerged from it what cannot be mentioned. Great pits (ajwār) developed in his thighs (or hips, awrāk). It flowed so much that his robe was changed two or three times a day. Then God willed. and the flesh began to build up, and he could walk and work again." ASE.

Letter of recommendation for the bearer, a certain Yefet, an inhabitant of Fustat, who is said to be a respectable man who fell on hard times and is ashamed and unable to speak for himself. (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, pp. 198-199, 563) On verso is a piyyut for the qaddish starting with עזרי מעים ייי and אודה לאל חי, followed by three lines in Arabic script. (Information from CUDL)

Letter (copy) from pietist disciples in Alexandria to Avraham Maimonides, complaining about persecutions by their co-religionists, who prevented them from practising their prayer rites. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Letter from an unknown writer, on his way to Alexandria, to an unknown addressee, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer apologizes for the delay in sending this letter, and explains that every time he began to write, he became sad and felt sick due to his separation from the addressee. He reports that he did not find the wool ʿarḍī garment in Fustat, but hopefully will find it in Alexandria and will send it to the addressee. He repeats at least twice more that the only reason he did not write earlier was his sadness and worry (ḍīq ṣadrī, shughl qalbī). (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, V, p. 191.) Verso: List of materia medica in Arabic script. ASE.

Letter to Shemuel ha-Hazzan with a long Hebrew poem and a few lines of Judaeo-Arabic containing a request for the Kitab al-Ansara by Ibn Ghiyath. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL)

Letter conveying greetings and relating that the community is expecting word from or about Yiṣḥaq who was obviously expected to come and visit. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Bū l-Karam to his brother Abū Naṣr. In Judaeo-Arabic. Rudimentary handwriting and spelling. Business letter in which the writer informs his brother about business matter but also inserts family news, notably about the health of his wife, who apparently had previously lost her little girl but had just given birth to a baby-boy. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 228, 474)

Letter from Mevorakh b. Natan to Elazar ha-Kohen expressing sympathy at the death of his father. The writer notes that he had already sent a letter to the same effect but was afraid that it had gone astray. He excuses himself for not attending the funeral because of his poor health. Second half of the 12th century. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL)

Letter fragment from David b. Moses Bonfat the Spaniard to Abraham the Spaniard.

Letter from Avraham Maimuni informin the Nasi that a certain document was not found among papers brought forth by a third party and that the matter would be followed up only if the recipient insists. AA

Letter from Yahya b. Sa'ada in Ascalon to Abu Nasr Yehuda al-Dimashqi in Tyre, informing him about payments he had made and regretting that he could not do much for Abu al-Fadl, whom Yehuda had sent to him. Yehuda's shipments were being withheld by claims of a third party. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 268, and Goitein's index cards)

Recto: Letter from Daniel b. Yaʿaqov apparently in Alexandria to Yiṣḥaq b. Yehuda ha-Kohen al-Dimashqi in Fustat. The writer requests that the recipient convey his greeting to his former student, Sa'd al-Mulk and to the teacher Suhayl, who are both in the building where Suhayl teaches boys. (Information from Goitein's index cards and CUDL). Verso: Remnants of an official Arabic document. (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Letter from (or written on behalf of) a woman to her son Avraham ('Rabbenu'). In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Probably no earlier than 14th century, and conceivably much later, based on script and vocabulary. Mentions an area called ḥawsh al-maghāriba in Fustat, where Avraham's sister lives. The letter contains cryptic exhortations about associating with Gentiles, directed at Avraham as well as a certain Raḥel (his wife?). The letter also informs him that his sister's daughter Ḥabība is "stricken" (maḍrūba) and is on the verge of death. "Every day brides and grooms go forth from the neighborhood. I do not wish to confound you by telling you who they are nor how many there are. My son, by God, by God, do not enter the neighborhood until God lifts this affliction from Israel." Is she referring obliquely to an epidemic, and to the victims as "brides and grooms"? Verso: Avraham's response to his mother. He expresses his distress at the death of his sister's husband Yaʿaqov and at the news of Ḥabība's condition. He also mentions the harrowing night he spent on a Nile boat after leaving Ḥayyim's house, which he thought he would not survive. Even in the morning, he [vomited?] from time to time and could not hold any food down until God had mercy. The particular words used to describe his symptoms are obscure, possibly as they are late colloquial Judaeo-Arabic. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 242, 479; IV, pp. 228, 431, and from Goitein's index cards.) It is possible that Avraham's letter came first and his mother's letter is the response. ASE.

Legal document with testimony concerning orphans and Isaac Horoshban (הורושבן), who died. Mentions various people including Isaac Shanji (שאנגו). Dated 1st Tammuz 1586 CE. (Information from CUDL)