Geniza Lab

Verso: Autograph letter from Moshe Maimonides to al-Shaykh al-Wathīq, i.e. Avraham b. Yaḥyā al-Najib, the tenant of a parcel of land near Dammūh belonging to the qodesh. Regarding both business and personal matters. Dating: ca. 1180 CE. The letter is written in a familiar style which indicates a close relationship between the two. Apparently, al-Wathīq, being on the spot, had to take care of the synagogue (removal of garbage and repairs are mentioned here), and of some other piece of land, apparently also adjacent to the synagogue. That land is farmed by a Muslim, whom Maimonides trusts. In his role of physician, Maimonides had apparently advised al-Wathīq to drink milk regularly, for which the latter rented a cow; he now advises him to give the cow up, since two cups a day are enough. (Information from Gil, Documents, pp. 321, #76.)

Well-written letter in which the writer asks the addressee how to act in an inheritance dispute involving a second-floor housing unit and the items found in it. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Calligraphic letter from Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq in Fustat to Yeshua b. Ismail asking whether Nahray b. Nissim had gone to the Egyptian country-side and sold the writer's goods. (Information from Gil, and Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Daniel b. Azarya (in his handwriting), 1051. He is worried for his status and thinks that people will prefer Yosef ha-Kohen b. Shelomo Gaon. (Information from Gil, Palestine, vol. 2 p. 643-645, #353) VMR

Letter from Eliyyahu b. Aharon Ha-Ḥaver b. Yoshiyyahu, the president of court, to Efrayim B. Shemarya, approximately 1030.

Yehoshuaʿ b. Natan ha-Sefaradi gives to his son, Shemuel, power of attorney to sue Aharon b. Yosef, known as Ibn al-Ghazzal (spinner) in Zawilat al-Mahdiyya and Susa. Dated 1047. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, 416, and from Goitein's index cards)

The beginning of a court record in the hand of Shemuel b. Saadya (1165-1203) of a settlement between the orphans of the katib Amid al-Dawla, Yahya b. Avraham, and Abu al-Ma'ali Shemuel b. Yehuda in the Diwan al-Salihi. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 278, 488, and from Goitein's index cards)

Small blurred fragment of a court record, signed by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (dated docs. 1100-1138) and dealing with a sum of money which had been mentioned in a letter. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Litigation in court between the two partners, Farah and Yosef, concerning a business deal for merchandise that was apparently imported from Buna (Bone, Algieria) to Alexandria. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal document. Marriage agreement in the hand of Yosef b. Moshe, son of the provincial judge. The agreement outlines the groom's approval of the tawqīm ("estimate") of the trousseaux for the bride, Sitt al-Suʿada ("Mistress over the Happy Ones") which is found at T-S 20.48. The judge had a preference for obtaining explicit acknowledgement of the contents of the document in simple Arabic in order to ensure everyone understood and was in agreement. This was because the official Rabbinate marriage contract, which also listed these details, would be in formulaic Aramaic. (Information Goitein's index card and Mediterranean Society)

Legal testimony (קבלת עדות). Location: the testimony was collected in Sunbāṭ and the document was drawn up three months later in Minyat Ashna. Dated: Middle decade of Iyyār 1459 Seleucid, which is May 1148 CE. Written by Ṭoviyya b. ʿEli ha-Kohen. Signed by Ṭoviyya and by Shela b. Yefet. Testimony of Berakhot b. Aharon ha-Mumhe ha-Kohen and Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq about the sequestering of the belongings of Rafāʾīl b. Abu Runa, probably a Christian, which were deposited with a Jew named Musallam b. Yiṣḥaq by a government official ("ustādh"). The story involves a mule and the denouncing of people to the government. (Information in part from Mediterranean Society, III, p. 488.) Join: Oded Zinger. OZ. ASE.

Recto: contract between two dyers (Abū l-Riḍā b. Abū l-Bahā and Abū Saʿd b. Ibrahim) about the sale of half of a house. The seller remains in the house for a yearly rent. Dated 1540 of the Seleucid Era (= 1228/29 CE). Verso: postscript to the document on recto in a different hand. (Information from CUDL.) NB: This used to be called T-S 10J21.17 on PGP.

Sale by two ladies, presumably cousins, in al-Mahdiyya, of a Bible codex worth 20 dinars. The ladies confirm their readiness to sell, accept receipt of the payment and acknowledge their and their heirs' responsibility to indemnify the buyer should his proprietorship of the book ever be contested. In conclusion, the husbands confirm the action taken by their wives.

Legal document. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Acknowledgment of debt? Concerns the late Abū Saʿd, who willed half of 50 bales (of flax) to his partner and brother Eliyya and the other half to the two children (Miryam and Abū l-Ḥasan) of his sister Sitt al-Ahl. Gershon Weiss (who did not know about the join with T-S 12.571) explains that Abū l-Ḥasan Eliyyahu, the nephew and likely partner of Abū Saʿd, testified that the latter's will instructed that his inheritance of bales of flax would go to Eliyyahu's mother and sister. Eliyyahu acted as executor of Abū Saʿd's will; he and the beneficiaries agreed that the inheritance would be paid in installments. There is a release from other responsibilities except for the debt acknowledged. (Information in part from Goitein's index cards and Gershon Weiss.) Join: Oded Zinger.

Legal document. A trousseau list likely in the hand of Moshe ha-Levi b. Dovid of Cairo, Fusṭāṭ. Dating: 1110. A detailed trousseau list labeled as al-tawqīm (estimate) that acted as a continuation of an engagement contract found at T-S 13J8.24. No names are mentioned, as this would have been included in the contract. (Information from Goitein's index card and Mediterranean Society)

List. Trousseau list. This trousseau list (taqwīm) includes "two rings, amber and gold" totaling one dinar. Overall the list totaled 26 dinar. (Information from Goitein's index card and Mediterranean society)

Legal document. Receipt. The receipt confirms that Sittuna b. Khalaf received 12 items from Umm Fuṣayl as an inheritance. Shabbat b. al-ʿAzar acted as witness and the receipt was signed by three people, including Yefet b. Mevasser, Yūsuf b. Yaʿaqov, and a teacher, ʿAmram b. Moshe. (Information from Goitein's index card, Mediterranean Society, and CUDL)

Cover letter for the Arabic-script letter on verso addressed to Eliyyahu, saying that Yosef b. Mukhtar had left with a friend a turban ('imama) worth 100 dirhams until he repays the amount in full. If he intends to travel he should swear that he would settle his affairs with Mufaddal b. al-Maqdisi in Bilbays immediately. Also mentions a company traveling to Jerusalem. Verso: Letter in Arabic script (not included in Goitein's transcription). (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Beginning of a court record dealing with a debt of thirty-three dirhams between Ḥasan b. Sahlan and Yahya b. Suwayd. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Dirge on the death of Saadya b. Yehuda the Nagid, styled 'Sar.' Dated to the end of the 11th century. (Information from Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, pp. 137, 138)