Geniza Lab

Respectful note to Eliyyahu the Raṣuy of both Yeshivot, informing him of the writer's safe arrival, and how the first thing he did was to report to the house of the Nagid Mevorakh b. Saadya. Along with Mevorakh's usual impressive titulature, he is styled "sar ha-sarim" and "deputy of the king of Egypt" (I.e. the vizier al-Afḍal). "Quite likely, at the time of Mevorakh's restoration, al-Afḍal honored him with the high-sounding Arabic title, ra'īs al-ru'asā', held by the Coptic patriarch, and the Jews, taking cognizance of their leaders exalted status in the government, translated it into its Hebrew equivalent, sar ha-sarim." Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, p. 221. ASE.

Letter from הדוד(?) addressed to a certain Ṭahor. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1220 CE, based on the mention of Eliyyahu the Judge and Avraham Maimonides (sayyidnā al-Nagid). The letter was dictated, as it was nighttime and the sender could not see. Concerning a quarter of a house, 40 dirhams, Barakāt b. Bū ʿUmar, the addressee's son Ibrāhīm, a Nasi, and an Abū l-Ḥasan. Information from Goitein's note card.

Draft of sale contract for 12 out of 20 shares (the whole house constituted 24 shares) in the Qadi Badr alley of the al-Mamsusa quarter, at a price of 1000 wariq (silver) dirhams (exchange rate of 1:40). Dated ca. 1230. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 278)

Testimony regarding the proselytizing of two sisters. A new edition with English translation to be published by Amir Ashur

Letter in Hebrew giving a detailed account of a dispute, apparently in the Muslim courts, regarding the flax trade, a legal document, and the validity of its witnesses. Protagonists include Naḥman, his son-in-law Sulaymān b. Ḥasan b. Rabīʿ, someone's son (perhaps Sulaymān's), and Abū l-Ḥasan ʿAlī b. al-Qāsim known as al-Kāmilī. The writer's group received a power of attorney (ketav ha-harsha'ah), and the authorized person went to the official (ha-paqid) who gave an order to do something with the flax. There follows a lengthy description of arguments over whom to give what money to and which documents can be trusted and whose signatures. After all this talk and trouble, "they could not save even a penny from his hand. Now you should come, and there is nothing to it except that he should come and take his money, or . . . he should draw up a sheṭar for the Ishamelites... all of the Ishmaelite elders..." The location of the events and protagonists is uncertain but may be named somewhere in the letter. The writer may refer to an official who is in Sinai (?! הפקיד שבסיני). There is also a question of long distance flax shipping, as highway robbers are mentioned. ASE.

Letter from Ṭoviya b. ʿEli, probably in a provincial town, to his cousin Natan b. Shelomo ha-Kohen, probably in Fustat. Dating: 1122–50, based on the addressee's dated documents. Ṭoviya opens by expressing concern for his sister who is sick (as in T-S 12.298). Either Ṭoviya or somebody else in his household was ill with a fever, and is now feeling better. Recto is devoted to an intricate tale of levirate marriage (which merits further examination). Ṭoviya seeks Natan's advice and asks him to consult a legal authority regarding the matter. He asks for a bible (muṣḥaf), a loan of a parchment scroll (גביל = גויל), and several piyyutim. He concludes (starting in v13, middle of the line) with an account of the mysterious illness of his wife, whose name may be Bahā' (although בהא is an extremely common word, "in it" or "in her" does not seem to fit here). Natan must be somewhat familiar already with the illness. Ṭoviya here describes the 'tremor' (? rajīf) of her face, and the 'fever chill' (bard ḥummā) that makes her 'shake' (nāfiḍ kathīr) from her waist to her head. Ṭoviya asks Natan to obtain a prescription from a good physician. See Bodl. MS heb. d.66/141 (which contains the most detailed description) and T-S 13J25.15 (in which she is starting to feel better) for the next two installments in the story of his wife's illness. Information in part from Goitein's index cards. ASE.

Three sundry accounts written by Avraham Ibn Yiju. Yemen, apparently 1140-44, 1149-1152.

Letter from Yosef b. Avraham in Aden to Avraham b. Yiju. Goitein thought that the letter was sent to Zabbid, a coastal town in southwestern Yemen. Friedman claims that Ibn Yiju was still in Yemen and understands the reference to Zabbid differently. Goitein dates the letter to 1150, while Friedman to 1148-9. The letter contains many commercial details.

Letter from Yosef b. Avraham, in Aden to Ben Yiju, in Zabīd (Yemen).

Letter of appeal for charity from a Byzantine man named Mosqos (=Μόσχος). Dating: ca. 1090 CE. The scribe, also a Byzantine, has been identified by Ben Outhwaite. This scribe wrote T-S 12.237, T-S NS 325.184, T-S 13J13.16, and T-S 8J16.29.

The opening of a circular letter for "all the cities of the Rīf" in the name of Moses Maimonides. BL OR 5533.1, T-S 12.238, and T-S 16.9 are all versions of the same letter.

Letter from Tiberias considering appointments which were made in one of the communities in north of Palestine or in Syria.

Begging letter, prefaced with a rhyming poem, from Isaac the blind ("bereft of all the pleasures of the world"), asking for assistance from Ismaʿīl b. ʿAdāya. See also Goitein's note cards (attached and #27116). On verso is a fragment from a liturgical treatise in Judaeo-Arabic, discussing which blessings to say over drinks other than wine (either בורא פרי העץ or בורא פרי האדמה). Information from CUDL and Mediterranean Society, IV, p. 447.

Letter of complaint in Hebrew. At least one side is rhymed. Might be a formulary. Might be related to T-S 12.330 (per Ezra Chwat on FGP) but is not a join. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Ya’aqov b. Salman al-Hariri, from a port city in Syria (maybe Ladikiya), to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1050. The writer describes the hardships of the ship’s journey from Alexandria, when for 8 days the passengers had to draw water that entered the ship and damaged the linen that was there. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #660) VMR

Letter of a local Jewish leader to his superior in the Egyptian capital. The first part of the letter is irrelevant to polygyny, thus it is excluded from the work.

Letter from Nissim b. Ḥalfon, from Munyat Samanhud, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1056. Regarding wheat and flour. It is hard to get wheat, and the writer tries to provide wheat to his family, and asks Nahray for his help. Also mentions lacquer and silk. The writer is worried about his family and asks that his son, Abu al-Husain will keep studying at the “Mualim”. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #594) VMR

Fragment of a letter in which a proselyte (from Christian Europe), probably named ʿOvadya, expresses in beautiful Hebrew his thanks to a distinguished woman, who looked after him, for the fine bread she had sent and gives her instructions on how to bake certain cakes. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 129, and from Goitein's index cards) Verso. (Goitein put the verso before the recto)

Letter in a Spanish hand to R. Yiṣḥaq al-ḥaver al-jalīl. The sender was in great anxiety until Abū Zekharya b. Yūnus and Abū l-[...] al-Khaybarī reported about the addressee's health and safety. They send him a legal query which is copied neatly (but partly effaced), in rabbinical script, on verso. A case of partnership (sharika) where one party claims that the money involved was 'salaf' not 'raʾsmāl' or ribḥ. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Letter from Nissim b. Ḥalfon, from Tinnis, to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1057. The first part contains greetings for Nahray’s marriage. The writer wishes him to have a son soon. The other part is regarding debt for cloths and pearls. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #592) VMR