Geniza Lab

Writ of agency which was written in Tarablus al-Sham between 'Ulla Halrvi and Yeshu'a Pride of the Communities. Signed by Yehuda Hakohen b. Nathan, Halfob Hakohen b. Aharon, Ibrahim b. Salih, Nahum b. Yanai, Mushafir b. Zedaqa, Shelomo b. Halfon, Shmuel b. Aharon. The qiyyum is signed by Yater Levi b. Shilo, Shelomo b. Ishaq b. Meir Gaon, Saloh b. Yivhar ha-Haver, Ya'aqoc b. Yosef. AA

Fragment from the end of a legal document, dated Adar II 1366 (= 1055 CE), mentioning [...] b. Bahlūl and Joseph b. Jacob. Witnessed by ʿEli he-Ḥaver ha-Meʿūlle b. ʿAmram and Abraham b. Solomon b. Ezra. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index card)

Introduction to a letter, written in rhymed prose and addressed to Seʿadel "the 'sar." There are some large Hebrew letters at the top of the recto and at the bottom of the verso. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Letter from Hayya Gaon to Elhanan b. Shemarya, Fustat. February 7, 1018. The Gaon writes after he has been asked to write to Fustat on behalf of one of the community members in Baghdad, Ali b. Bishr, whose brother, Yosef b. Bishr, is in Fustat and needs help. The writer also informs Elhanan that the Sura Gaon Dosa b. Seadya passed away. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #39) VMR

Fragmentary business letter concerning the author's opponents. The writing appears to be in the hand of Avraham b. Natan. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Divorce settlement and release form between Ḥusayn b. Abraham and Sabā bt. Yiṣḥaq the dyer; witnessed by Shemuel b. Yaʿaqov and Shandar (?) b. Shabbetay. Dated: Kislev 1321 Seleucid, which is 1009 CE. (Information from CUDL; see also Goitein's index card.)

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Yehuda to an unidentified personality in Fustat, ca. 1025. This letter describes a difficult and very brief visit to Jerusalem involving a controversy about some Jewish captives. (Information from CUDL)

Betrothal (erusin) document. Location: Cairo. Dated: 19 Sivan 1418 Seleucid, which is 1107 CE. Fiance: Yosef ha-Levi b. Berakhot. Fiancee: Sitt al-Kull bt. Yefet. Wedding to take place two years later. Early marriage payment: 10 dinars. Delayed marriage payment: 30 dinars. One half of the early marriage payment is given at the time of betrothal. Witnesses: Seʿadya b. Shelomo; Avraham b. Shabbetay; Ḥalfon b. Dā'ūd. (Information from Goitein's note card.)

Legal document: partnership agreement. Dated: July 18, 1107. Location: Cairo. Partnership agreement between Nethanel b. Tiqva and Eli b. Mevasser in a clothing and tailoring shop. Nethanel and Eli will both sell the clothing, which Eli will sew. Nethanel contributes 10 dinars, expecting to contribute more once the shop is in operation, and is the shop keyholder. He will receive two-thirds of the profits and losses; Eli is to receive the balance. Lines 1 and 4 mention God’s role in guiding the partnership and in bringing about profit, which is common in such documents. Four diagonal lines run through the entire text; it is unclear whether this indicates that the partnership was terminated. The document is signed by Shelomo b. Mevorakh. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 210)

Court record dealing with a disagreement about a delayed dowry payment to the divorced wife of al-Qaysarani. Ten dinars were supposed to be paid in monthly installments of 2/3 dinar, but only 3.5 dinars had been paid over the last 25 months. Names mentioned in the document: Natan b. Phineas; Sedaqa ha-Levi b. Shelomo; Moshe b. Saadya. Dated 1107 (Iyyar 1419-Adar 1420). (Information from Goitein's index cards.)

India Book I, 9: Draft of court proceedings from Fustat dealing with the dispute between Yosef ha-Lebdi the India trader and Yequtiʾel b. Moshe, 'the representative of merchants' in Fustat. After seven weeks had past from the last session (see I, 8), it was clear that Lebdi and Yequtiʾel had reached no agreement between them. They returned to court and the trial continued. We hear that Lebdi was considering the desperate act of delaying the prayer in the synagogue (or appealing to Muslim authorities see p. 81 n. 1 in the Hebrew edition). The document is dated June 10, 1098.

Saadya releases Eliyyahu b. Yiṣḥaq b. al-Qash'ami from an obligation. Dated Thursday, the 10th of Nisan 1046, written in Fustat. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

First part of an engagement document. Names mentioned in the document: Ibn Mahfuz. Dated Thursday in the month of Tammuz. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal document. Qaraite betrothal deed for Amat al-Qadar and Khalaf b. Mahfuz. Dated 1357 Sel. (1045 CE). Joins: Judith Olszowy-Schlanger (three fragments, 1998) and Mordechai Akiva Friedman (upper left fragment, 2006).

Letter fragment from Yosef Ha-Kohen Ha-Ḥaver b. Yaʿaqov, the head of the Jewish community in Tyre, to Efrayim b. Shemarya, in Fustat, approximately 1040, concerning two sisters from the Tyre Jewish community, who are trying to claim their inheritance after their father, Ḥalfon b. Taʿlab, died in Fusṭaṭ in 1040 CE. Most of the details, such as the names of the sisters, are not preserved, but the name of the husband of one of the sisters, Ṣedaqa b. Ezra, is preserved, linking this letter with T-S 10J12.25 and T-S 13J18.1, which is five years later, dealing with the same case, and preserving more details including the names of the sisters. (Information from CUDL)

Letter fragment from a group of Byzantine Jewish captives being held for ransom in Egypt (probably Alexandria), to the Nagid Yehuda b. Seʿadya. In Hebrew. Dating: Late 11th century. Requesting urgent help with payment of their ransom. Pirates, who had captured them at sea, had originally sold them to slave traders, but were forced to take them back as the sale was illegal, thus placing them in a precarious situation. (Information from CUDL.)

Verso contains greetings and the name of the addressee, Nehemiah b. Perahya. Recto also contains the name of the addressee. The letter may have been sent from the Yeshiva of Iraq to Fustat and from there to Damsis, which is mentioned in the address. (Information from Goitein's index cards)

Legal document. Concerning a betrothal (qiddushin). Mentions the witnesses Bū ʿAlī b. al-Faḍlī (or al-Faṣlī?) and Ṭayyib al-Ṣayrafī. Early portion of 5 dinars. The transfer of part of a building was executed. The currency is Muʿizzī dinars. Signed by [...] b. Efrayim and [...] b. Ṭoviyya. (Information from Goitein's index card and CUDL.)

Legal document. Acknowledgement of loan. Dating: February 1135, in (new) Cairo. Document recognizing a loan of 10 dinars from Yosef ha-Levi to Yefet b. Yaḥyā for the term of one year, to coincide exactly with the term of a partnership between them ("the beginning of Adar II", 1446). Per Maimonides, whenever one gives funds to another person to transact, half of the funds comprise a loan for which the active partner is fully responsible, even in the case of an unavoidable circumstance. The concurrent nature of the loan and the partnership to which the loan agreement alludes suggests the application of this principle, as does the fact that Yefet is responsible for the debt. (Information from Lieberman, "A Partnership Culture," 211)

Recto: Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Concerning the claims of Turfa Sitt al-Kamāl, the widow of Abū Sahl Mukhtār, to an estate. Mentions Abū Mūsā Aharon b. (Yesh)uʿa ha-Kohen and Abū Saʿīd. She has to get 100 dinars from her ketubba from her married daughter and another 50 dinars from another claim. Payment to be made in Alexandria. In Fustat, a guarantor (ḍāmin) stands security that he would pay in Fustat, if a letter from Alexandria to the court in Fustat states that the debtor had not paid within 15 days of his arrival in Alexandria. Verso: Receipts, acknowledging the payment of 15 dinars and 68 dinars (the latter apparently in Alexandria) to Sitt al-Kamāl, widow of Abū Sahl Muḵtār, witnessed by Yefet b. Ṣedaqa, ʿUla ha-Levi b. Joseph and Saʿadya ha-Levi (left side). Dated: left side Tevet of 1434 Seleucid, right side Shevat of that year (= 1122/23 CE). In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (left side) and another hand (right side), which was written in Alexandria. She received 15 dinars on 8 Tevet 1434/8 December 1122 and 68 dinars on 13 Shevat 1434/11 January 1123. (Information from CUDL and Goitein's index cards.)