Geniza Lab

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Very faded. Addressed to a notable (אלחכם אלנבון אלרייס אלאגל....). Mentions renting something, the word or name qaḍīb, and offers to fulfill any errands for the addressee. Mentions the name Abū l-Riḍā.

Much damaged and faded, seems medical or alchemy.

Letter from a certain Yefet to a certain Bū l-Ḥajjāj. In Judaeo-Arabic, in a childlike, large, square script. The address is in Arabic script on verso. He has sent two wariq dirhams and wishes to be sent good honey 'for the little one' (maybe the boy is sick).

Recto: Judaeo-Arabic poem for a groom in the hand of Nāṣir al-Adīb al-ʿIbrī. Verso: Poem by Bahāʾ al-Dīn Zuhayr (d. 1258) in lovely Arabic script. There are three inverted commas/teardrops at the end of each hemistich. The Arabic version of the poem can be found here: https://www.aldiwan.net/poem42448.html.

Late letter in Judeo Arabic. Much faded and the cursive hand makes it difficult to read. Few names are mentioned: Hasan(?) b. David (also partially mentioned in the address), Ishaq b. Pahima. Eretz Israel is mentioned, but the context is unclear.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The sender (al-mamlūk) refers to lawsuits and the high court (Bet Din ha-Gadol) and requests for help.

Probably a business letter. Some commodities are mentioned, such as oil and molasses.

Judaeo-Arabic poetry in the hand of Nāṣir al-Adīb al-ʿIbrī. Very faded. Mentions qalb... aḥbab...

Damaged, bi-folio. The content seems to be a letter, but the bi-folio format is usually used for literary material. On verso few words, written in 90 degrees to verso. Late.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Late, likely Mamluk or early Ottoman era. The part on recto is discussing a house and maybe the monthly rent. Mentions a sum of 300 "jadīd." Mentions Barhūn. Verso is mostly names and greetings: Zikrī and his son, Ḥabība, Esther and her husband Yom Ṭov. Moshe, the sender's mother, Ḥabība again, al-muʿallim Shemuel Kohen and his children, Simḥa, Yosef, Ḥubayyib, Yaʿaqov.

On verso book list written by Yosef b. Yaaqov Rosh Haseder. On recto Biblical commentary

Excerpt from a Gaon's responsa in Ḥalfon's writing A very small section of a genius answer. בע"א, written in Hebrew and Aramaic, remains of a halachic discussion in which it is quoted from the Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 31a-12b) regarding the joining of witnesses to each other and the matter of a court. According to the hypothesis, the subject of the discussion in this part of the answer is the joining of testimonies or evidence to maintain a yard. In the Hebrew text, remnants of the end of Gaon's answer letter, which includes a request for support for his yeshiva, as found in Gaon's Babylonian answers. Although little can be gleaned from the passage, it is published here in the hope that other passages connected to it will be discovered in the future. As with the other passages that were identified based on the writing alone as being written by Ḥalfon, the identification is certainly not complete, but in this case, it seems most likely. The passage adds, therefore, some addition to the character of Ḥalfon as a sage who copies the answers of the geniuses for his needs. (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Small note informing the birth of a son to Abu al-Surur and his wife. On verso, probably on a different hand, a note informing that the writer was able so save himself from a huge misfortune.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (lower left piece of recto). There are many expressions of longing. Mentions: dinars; Maḥāsin; a note (ruqʿa) in the hand of Manṣūr; [Saʿ?]īd b. Ṭāwūs the supervisor (mushārif) of the house of [...]; the death of Abū Saʿīd; and how 'the town/country is in the worst state.' The handwriting seems familiar (sharply angled גs and very tall טs for instance).

Much damaged fragment of a letter. Recto and verso are written by different hands. On recto some monetary issues.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment. Mentions Abū Saʿīd b. al-ʿAfṣī (the gallnut merchant).

Medical recipe (information from Isaacs Catalogue)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, probably. Small fragment but might contain some interesting details.

Small fragment from a letter. Besides the usual blessings, the writer inform that he arrived to Cairo

Small and damaged fragment from a book list written by Yosef b. Yaa'qov Rosh Haseder