Geniza Lab

Recto: Two fragments of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Likely sent to Avraham Maimonides. Contains a tantalizing glimpse of drama: "'I said to her, 'I heard that you made up with [...] and that you intend to get married.' She said, 'Yes.' I said to her, 'How?! You claimed that the girl is your child from Ibrāhīm.' She responded and said, 'It's as if you doubt that the girl [...] that it is done."

Verso: Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. In a mixture of Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic script. The cantor al-Shaykh al-Makīn (=Abū l-Majd?) is to give 10 dirhams to the bearer, a judge. The judge Anaṭoli is also somehow involved. The money should come from the rent of the compound. Note that recto is a join with T-S K25.240.50. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Recto: Accounts? In Arabic script and Greek/Coptic numerals. The Arabic is unusually tidy and written with all the dots and vowels. Mentions 'the recitation of the prayer.'

Verso: Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to give 9 dirhams to 'al-Talmid al-Ajall al-Raṣuy' out of the rent of the compound. He explains: "aid for a deserving traveler." T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Verso: Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. The cantor Abū l-Majd is to give 5 dirhams to a certain Kohen, apparently as reimbursement for what was paid to the blind cantor. The next word has been transcribed as תספיר (bookbinding?) and a previous description said that the 5 dirhams were for travel (ספר) expenses, but it's not clear this word has been read correctly. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220.)

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to give 3 dirhams to 'the foreigner from Toledo' (al-gharīb al-Ṭulayṭulī). T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. The word used for the money (salaries) due to communal officials is mezonot, the same term used to designate bread distributed to the poor. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Al-Makīn (=Abū l-Majd?) is to give 3 dirhams to the relative of the Andalusī rabbi ("Toledan" is crossed out) and 2 dirhams to the old Persian man. This was written three weeks prior to T-S K25.240.20, which is also for the relative of the Toledan rabbi ("Toledan" was not crossed out there). T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Recto: End of a letter, or letter draft, from Abū l-Ṭāhir to Avraham Maimonides. All that remains is 4 lines of flattery (sent to accompany something else that was enclosed?). Interestingly the upper half of line 1 has been transposed to the bottom of the page (i.e., it was glued there and then the paper was cut open).

Administrative note in Arabic script. Unclear exactly how it is related to all the Avraham Maimonides material in this folder. Might be his own handwriting (should be checked against all the other examples), the handwriting of another Jewish official, or even a bulk receipt from a jahbadh? Registering an expenditure of 2005 qarārīṭ (=83.5 dinars) for the ground rent (ḥikr) for the poor Jews of Qaṣr al-Shamʿ for Ṣafar 615 AH (=April/May 1218 CE). T-S K25.240 ff.3–6 comprise one cluster (ḥikr receipts?) and T-S K25.240 ff.1, 2, 7, 9, and 10 comprise another cluster (jāliya receipts?). All need examination.

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. The noble cantor (=Abū l-Majd?) is to give 5 dirhams to the relative of the rabbi from Toledo (al-Rav al-Ṭulayṭulī). Cf. T-S K25.240.19. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Verso: Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to give the judge 20 dirhams apparently on account of the closure of the ritual slaughterhouse on the 9th of Av 1529 Seleucid (=1218 CE). T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Recto: Letter probably addressed to Avraham Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic. Wide space between the lines. Concerning an orphan, when he reaches puberty, a will, and a power of attorney.

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to pay the bearer, the judge, 10 dirhams out of the rent of the compound. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Bill submitted to Avraham Maimonides: the cantor 'al-Makīn' is owed 9 dirhams for 6 weeks, and Abū l-Ṭāhir is owed 1.5 dirhams for 3 weeks. Avraham Maimonides then wrote "the total: 7.5" and on verso "let it be paid from the rent of the compound." All this is on a reused scrap from an earlier Arabic-script document. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Verso: Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to give 10 dirhams to Yeshuʿa for teaching Ibn al-Ziftāwī through the end of Pesaḥ 1529 Seleucid (=1218 CE). T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Recto: Letter from Yehuda b. Ṭoviyya ha-Kohen, in Bilbays, to Avraham Maimonides.

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. In Judaeo-Arabic with some Arabic script. Abū l-Majd is to give 11 dirhams to Yeshuʿa as maintenance from the rent of the compound. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to give the bearer 30 dirhams from the waqf of al-Muhadhdhab for somebody for teaching poor and orphaned children. The late R. Yeshuʿa is somehow involved. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Verso: Autograph order in the hand of Avraham Maimonides. Abū l-Majd is to pay the bearer, Nissim the teacher, 6 dirhams for 6 weeks of teaching children. T-S K25.240 consists of small written orders, partly in Hebrew and partly in Arabic script, for monthly payments, made out of the rent-revenue from the pious foundation (waqf) 'Compound of the Poor' or from the pious foundation made by the physician al-Muhadhdhab. All dated orders are from spring and summer, 1218. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 420-421, App. A 48-92; pp. 449-450, App. B 39b [dated 1210-1225]; Cohen, Poverty and Charity in the Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt, pp. 218-220)

Recto: Letter probably addressed to Avraham Maimonides. Only flattering phrases in Hebrew are preserved.