Geniza Lab

Fragment (upper left corner) of a letter to Eliyyahu ha-Dayyan ha-Gadol.

Very faded and damaged text dealing with government and assistance, but the context is not clear.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, with a few words preserved from the Arabic-script address on verso. Mentions Menaḥem, someone whom the sender thinks is stingy (wa-qad raʾaytuh bakhīl) and a plan to pay or give something to R. Yaʿaqov the judge. "And if the other one says that he doesn't owe anything, we have no other choice except that which you see fit." The name of the sender may appear at the bottom, but it is damaged. At 90 degrees there are a few cryptic words in Arabic script (al-wayl ʿalayhim?). AA. ASE.

Few words from opening of a letter to our master and teacher ha-Haver.

Recto: Brief letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Concerning small sums of money and transactions in materia medica. Verso: A few lines in Arabic script, undeciphered. Maybe commercial and related to the letter on recto.

Letter of recommendation for a needy widow with two children from Damascus who, on recommendation of a letter from the muqaddam of Ascalon, had received what the community of Bilbays was able to come up with. Now she and her two orphans are recommended to Yiṣḥaq b. Sasson, the Cairene member of Maimonides' court, for more help. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 503)

Recto: Small fragment from a Hebrew letter of appeal for assistance for a poor person. AA Verso: Small fragment of a letter in Hebrew, in a different hand (Yeḥiel b. Elyaqim?).

Small fragment from the bottom pf a letter asking for reply. AA

Recto: Legal document/testimony of Abū l-Faḍāʾil and his brother Abū l-Barakāt the sons of the late 'leader' (rayyis) Abū l-Ghayth Yeshuʿa. The case involves a house (dār) and Ibn Abū Ṣāliḥ. Verso: The witnessing of the receipt of a bill of divorce by Sara bt. [[Avraham]] Yosef. (Information in part from CUDL)

Accounts with Coptic numerals. On margin formulae from a legal document. (Information from CUDL)

Small fragment (upper right corner) from a court record. In Hebrew. Dating: Probably 16th century. Involves [...] Pordonil/Fordonil (the family is sometimes called Perwho owes 13 Istanbuli gold coins

Letter mentioning names such as Abū Naṣr b. Hilāl, al-Dimashqī, Barakāt b. Sālim, Abū l-Faḍl b. Nath[an] and Musallam Ibn al-Naʿja. There seems to be an interlinear date, probably Tammuz 1465 of the Seleucid Era (= 1154 CE) (Information from CUDL)

Minute fragment from the bottom of a legal document. Only few signature: Shemarya Halevi, Sa'aday and Moshe. AA

Minute fragment, opening line of a court record. The name Ze[daq]a the elder is partially preserved. AA

Small fragment from a commercial letter or account. The term maṣabbāt (something to do with metal casting) appears twice. Also refers to al-ḥajar al-nuqra (ingots) and sabk (founding, casting) and suḥāla (filings). ASE

Legal document in the hand of Mevorakh b. Natan. Two brothers confirm in a Cairene court under the authority of Shemuel ha-Nagid (1140-1159) having received from a maternal uncle, the physician Elazar ha-Levi,12.5 dinars, representing the price of a maidservant called Sumr (for Sitt al-Sumr), left to them by another maternal uncle. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, 289, 491)

Letter, only a few words remain.

Letter to [...] al-Kohen al-Ḥaver. Only conventional content is preserved. (Information from CUDL)

Letter to Joseph al-Talmid from Elijah b. Zekharia. (Information from CUDL)

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Mention Yosef, Shubayl (who had ophthalmia, "kāna ramid"), Zayn, and Abū l-M[...]. Mentions 3/4 dinar and rose. Might be connected to the India trade, but needs further examination. AA