Geniza Lab

Colophon in the handwriting of Evyatar b. Eliyyahu Gaon b. Shelomo Gaon b. Yosef ha-Kohen Av Bet Din. Evyatar was titled "the fourth" (ha-reviʿi) at the time he wrote this. Location: Fustat. Dated: 1 Av 4827 AM, which is 1067 CE. The book contains the commentary on Ḥagiga by Hayya b. Sherira Gaon, as well as Sefer ha-Dinin of the late Rabbenu Ḥananel (who was still alive in 1053 CE, fourteen years before this colophon was written) and kinnushim(?) and legal queries. There is an elaborate blessing for anyone who returns the book and a curse for anyone who does not. (Information from Gil.)

Letter to the scholar Yosef from Eliyyahu who expresses astonishment that the latter had not answered the Rayyis with regard to the Nile boat ('ushārī). Information from Goitein's index card.

Family letter from Meir b. Hillel b. Sadoq to his son. The letter reflects the personal and economic distress of the writer, who was far away from his loved ones. The second half of the twelfth century. (Information from Frenkel; The piece of paper was originally a letter of request written to Meir b. Hillel b. Sadoq. Meir b. Sadoq reused the paper to write the letter to his son. The text provided by Frenkel contains only the letter written by Meir. For the letter written to Meir see T-S NS J171 verso; For more information see Goitein, Med. Soc. Vol. 2, pp. 577-578, n. 45)

Detailed letter sent by Meir b. Hillel b. Sadoq Av, written in between the lines and on the remaining blank spaces of a letter he had received from another man (see also T-S NS J171), asking for assistance. This is a letter of appeal on his behalf, and it suggests that the man was a physician out of work. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, pp. 577, 578)

Letter from Shelomo b. Yehuda to Avraham Ha-Kohen b. Yiṣḥaq b. Furat.

Record of the auction of the library of the late al-Shaykh al-Sadīd Abū Saʿd al-Ṭabīb. The proceeds are at least in part for the widow. Dated: Tuesday, 13 Kislev 1502 Seleucid, which is 1190/91 CE. This is is a large and tremendously learned library, mostly of medical books, but there are also scattered titles pertaining to bibliography, philosophy, logic, geomancy, and other matters.

Legal document(s). Dating: Possibly 1168 CE, based on the fact that the document was written shortly after the pillage/burning of Fustat (nahb/nawba/ḥarīq Fusṭāṭ). On recto, the parnas Sālim al-Jubaylī makes a first-person declaration making a case for his lack of liability in the loss of the 10,000 dinars that many Jews had deposited in the synagogue ('miqdash') of Fustat under his stewardship. These Jews were apparently suing him to try to recoup some of their losses in the catastrophe. On verso, there is a declaration by witnesses in support of Sālim al-Jubaylī. "Needless to say, the great pillage of Fustat in 1168, nahb misr (referred to also as the affliction, nawba, or burning), the last notorious demonstration of Fatimid impotence, is reflected in the Geniza. The districts preferred by Jews for their homes seem to have been less affected. But a loss of deposits worth about 10,000 dinars, a sum unheard of in the Geniza, shows that the community was by no means spared during that infamous sack" (Goitein, Med Soc V, p. 525).

Letter probably from a woman, in Alexandria, to [...] b. Avraham, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. (The clue for the gender of the writer is the verb ending with "-ī" in line 28 of recto where she is quoting the addressee's words.) The sender may be the mother-in-law of the addressee's daughter, as the daughter is under her charge, and the addressee has been accusing her of oppressing his daughter. The addressee's sister also lives with or near the sender. Either the sister or the daughter has a son named ʿAyyāsh. This letter is a detailed report on the scandalous behavior of one of the women with a young male neighbor for the last year and the writer's efforts to intervene. At one point, the woman and the man vowed not to see each other for 10 days, but the sender nevertheless found them talking to each other at all hours of the night. At this point, ʿAyyāsh and his mother vowed not to speak to the woman in question any more, which led to a period of peace and quiet. But clearly matters are still tense, as the sender felt the need to send this strongly-worded letter exonerating herself of all misdoings. She urges the addressee to "act with her this time the same way as last time." ASE

See join for description and transcription.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Likely 11th century, likely in the hand of a known merchant.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Likely 11th century, likely in the hand of a known merchant.

An Abū Zikrī Kohen cheque. Khalīl is to give the bearer one raṭl of linseed oil.

An Abū Zikrī Kohen cheque. Khalīl is to give the bearer one raṭl of linseed oil.

Order of payment in which the merchant Abū Zikrī Kohen instructs Abū l-Khayr Ḵiyyār to pay the Rayyis half a dinar. Dated: Ḥeshvan 1454 Seleucid, which is 1142 CE. (Information from CUDL.)

List of beneficiaries of community charity consisting of about 125 names, mostly craftsmen, laborers, and foreigners (from Palestine and Syria). Each name is separated by a dot. Individuals include Hassan b. Kushik, Sa‘id al-‘Aqrabani, a lacemaker (al-‘aqqada) and a pastry chef (qaṭāʾifī). There are also two Karaites: Abū l-ʿAlāʾ and Ibrahīm al-Ghazzī b. Hārūn. Ca. 1050-1070 CE. (S. D. Goitein, Mediterranean Society 1:438, 447; 2:411; 3:428) EMS

Confirmation of transfer of money to Eretz-Yisrael Yeshiva.

Awaiting description - see Goitein notes linked below.

Awaiting description - see Goitein notes linked below. NB: This used to be listed on PGP as Moss. III,4.

Fragment of a mercantile letter, probably from Aden, concerning shipments of textiles, books, spices, and gems. (Information from Goitein notes linked below.)

Legal document, possibly a draft. Location: New Cairo. Dated: Kislev 1542 Seleucid (=November/December 1230 CE). Abū l-Ṭāhir Hiba b. Yosef the superintendent (al-qayyim) of the small synagogue in Alexandria (see Med Soc II, 77) has to return to his brother's son Sulaymān everything that he owes him, including some 60 jars of wine after the marriage (imlāk) of (Sulaymān with?) Abu l-Tahir's daughter, which had been concluded a long time ago, was dissolved. It is ambiguous whether the job title "qayyim" refers to Abū l-Ṭāhir himself or to his father. (Information from Goitein's index card.)