Geniza Lab

Responsum by Yosef Tawazi concerning religion and marriage

Letter from a certain Yosef, probably in Fustat, to Yosef b. Josiah. The writer expresses disappointment at the fact that the addressee has changed his mind and would not give a donation which he promised to give.

Letter from Yeshua ha-Kohen b. Yaʿaqov, in Dhu Jibla, Yemen, to Avraham Ibn Yiju regarding the renting of a house. Around 1150-51.

Letter from the sister of Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī, in Tripoli, Libya, to her brother Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī. In the handwriting of ʿAllūsh the shammash. Dating: ca. 1065. While Yeshuʿa is dealing with the import and export of goods, his sister asks for help because she is in a very bad situation. T-S 10J19.20 is another version of the same letter (differences are noted in curly brackets in this partial translation). "I have been waiting all year for a letter from you to learn your news. The fuyūj came, and I did not see a letter. {This increased the preoccupation of my heart.} I went out to inquire about your news, and they told me you were ill (ḍaʿīf). I went out of my mind. {I fasted and wept and did not change my clothing or enter the bath, neither I nor your sister.} I vowed not to eat during the day, not to change my clothing, and not to enter the bath, neither I nor my daughter, until your letter arrived with your news. The ships arrived, and I went down, with my hand on my heart, to hear your news. The men came down and told us that you were well. I thanked God who made the end good." Goitein, and later Krakowski, used this letter to illustrate the intense affective bonds between brother and sister, as well as the notion of fasting as an intercession for a loved one who is sick (Goitein, Med Soc V, p. 97). Yet it is also the case that their relationship has lapsed—the brother has not contacted the sister in a year, not even sending greetings in his letter to Tammām ("my heart was wounded by this"). In the meantime, she has fallen into terrible financial difficulties. Her vows of self-negation and insistent repetition of "I have nobody except God and you" are also a demonstration of how much the sister has suffered from the brother's behavior, how much she thinks about him despite his neglect, and an attempt to elicit a response from him at last. Regarding the specifics of her financial difficulties, see Krakowski, Coming of Age, p. 150, where the relevant passage is translated: "My brother, I have become embroiled in a quagmire from which I do not think we can be freed—I and a young orphan girl (i.e., her daughter). What occurred was that my son-in-law (i.e., the girl’s fiancé) wintered in Salerno and returned only with the Egyptian ships; then he said to me, “I will take the girl.” I said to him, “What are you thinking? As I was this year, I have nothing.” Then people advised me that I should borrow and incur debt (i.e., for a lavish dowry) and give her to him, because the Rūm (i.e., Normans) have burnt the world. Now . . . if free persons could be sold for dirhams, I would be the first to be sold, for I cannot describe my predicament to you . . . (I swear) by these lines that when Passover came I had not even a farthing’s worth of chard, nor even a dirham; instead I cut a nettle from the ruins and cooked it. . . . My brother, help me with some portion of this debt engulfing me—do not abandon me and do not forsake me." Yeshuʿa b. Ismāʿīl al-Makhmūrī, incidentally, was prone to illness: see also T-S 16.163 and T-S Misc.25.124 (as noted by Krakowski), and T-S 12.389 and BL OR 5542.20. (Information largely from Goitein, Gil, and Krakowski.) VMR. ASE.

Letter starting with extensive blessings for the recipient in Hebrew, including a biblical quotation (l. 7, Dt 30:1), and thanking the addressee for the great favor he extended to the writer.

Letter from Avraham b. Saadya to Moshe b. Avraham (Barhun) al-Taharti in Fustat, who is about to sail from Qayrawan to Jerusalem. The writer wants to meet his son-in-law Ishaq. The letter contains several biblical quotations (line 1, Ps 20:3; line 2, Gen. 24:7; line 7, Ps 91:4). (Information from Gil)

Letter from a physician to a Kohen expressing thanks for condolences. At the end he writes a prescription for the growing of hair on skin where none would grow. The letter is in Judaeo-Arabic, but he introduces the prescription with a line of Arabic. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, 253, 578.) "Let a black raven be taken. Let it be burned, pulverized, and kneaded with oil, and let it be applied to the spot on which no hair grows. It will grow with God's permission." Translation from Goitein's note card #27141.

Letter from a man who has been seized with unbearable chills to Mevorakh b. Yiṣḥaq, appealing for his help. The letter ends with extensive prayers to God to protect the recipient and his family. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Natan b. Nahray, in Rashid, to Nahray b. Nissim, in Fustat. Around 1061. The writer writes about purchasing wheat before Passover. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #414) VMR

Letter from a father in Cairo to his son, Abū Manṣūr, in the Fayyum. The recipient is told not to get involved in any banking deals with the government. The writer illustrates his warning with examples of people who had suffered physical torture because of their dealings with the diwan. Addressee is advised to pursue a modest, safe living as a moneychanger. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, pp. 240, 269, 460, 467; IV, p. 161)

Letter from Avraham to the sender's brother mentioning a bill and conveying greetings to the recipient from all his family members who are with the sender. 15th-16th century. (Information from CUDL)

Letter from Shelomo (Abu l-Barakat) in Alexandria to to his brother, the physician Abu Zikri son of Abu l-Faraj (Eliyyahu the Judge), in Fustat. Only the introduction of the letter has been preserved.

Letter from Sahlān b. Avraham perhaps to Efrayim b. Shemarya. Dating: ca. 1030 CE. Written in a calligraphic hand and beautiful biblical style. Only the right side of the letter is preserved. Sahlān refers to his illness, a physician, and going to the synagogue. Information from Bareket and from Goitein's index cards. ASE.

Legal document. Court records made by Abū l-Khayr and Peraḥya about a physical argument between the leader Abū l-Bahā and Abū l-Wafā in front of the Babylonian synagogue in Fusṭāṭ, during which Abū l-Wafā beat Abū l-Bahā repeatedly, tearing his clothes and uncovering his head. Attested by the notary Efrayim b. Meshullam (12th century). (Information from CUDL)

Recto: Letter from Elʿazar b. Abraham b. Elišaʿ to Elijah the judge b. Zechariah, concerning a dispute about rent payments. Mentions Abū l-Faraj the glazier, Hārūn, and Manṣūr b. Abū l-Surūr. Greetings are sent to the Nagid, the judges Ḥananel and Yeḥiʾel, and to Abraham and Joseph. Verso: Legal document (unfinished draft) concerning a financial agreement between Ibrahim b. Abū l-Faḍl and Abū l-Ḥasan b. Abū l-ʿAlā. (Information from CUDL)

Autograph letter from Avraham Maimonides to his "dear son" (i.e., congenial pupil) Yosef. In Judaeo-Arabic. Avraham excuses his absence from a student's recent wedding, saying, "The night of your wedding was the night of my turn to be on duty at the hospital, and I could not at that time put it off for reasons it would take too long to explain" (translation from Mark Cohen, “The Burdensome Life of a Jewish Physician and Communal Leader,” p. 135).

Letter from Asad to Yoel. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Likely ca. 13th century. Asking him relay a message and greetings to ‘the wonderful and exceedingly wise judge’ with many Hebrew citations. Long and calligraphic, with many biblical quotations and expressions of longing for the addressee. The letter mentions Yoel ha-Melammed (cf. T-S 20.148 and Moss. II,121.1) and his wife, probably a cousin, which would explain the identity of the names. (Information in part from CUDL and Goitein's index card.)

Letter. Left lower side of a letter perhaps to Nahray b. Nissim. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter consisting of a long list of Ḥanukka greetings and well-wishes to dozens of people, including Abū l-Riḍā and his siblings, the recipient’s mother, the paternal cousin of the recipient and her child, her sister, to Sitt al-ʿAyyāl and her child, Sitt al-Jalīla, Sitt Yāqūt, the recipient’s maternal uncle Abū Saʿd, Abū l-ʿAlā and his father, Abū l-Faraj and his father, Jacob and Ṭāhir. On verso are jottings of Coptic numerals. (Information from CUDL)

Toledo; Probably August-September 1138 In this short letter of Yehuda ha-Levi to Ḥalfon, there are three issues. The first, and it is the main one, is the completion of the balance of the money needed to redeem the 'prisoner'. The reference is probably to the same 'captivity' that the poet Ḥalfon wrote about in document ח35. Here Yehuda ha-Levi turned to Ḥalfon and asked him to write 'persuasions and requests' to two, one called צהרי נעמתך׳׳” (my in-laws/relatives who depend on your grace) and one called ‘צאחב אלשרטה ' ('Chief of the Police') Abū Ibrāhīm b. Barūn, so that they would hasten b. al-Jiyani to pay off the money he promised to redeem the captive. The second matter is a request from Ḥalfon to help the subject of the letter, a Jew who lost his property, lost his health, and his eyesight, and distanced himself from his family and country. The third matter was added casually in the paper, but it is of great interest. Yehuda Halevi asked for Halfon's help in obtaining for him from Rabbi b. Migash the answer to the question asked by the Jews of Toledo, where the poet probably lived. Hence, at that time Ḥalfon was living in Lucena, the rabbi's seat. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)