Geniza Lab

Awaiting description - see Goitein's index card.

Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Refers to the arrival of two rubāʿīs(?). Mentions gum (ṣamgh). Not much else is preserved here.

Informal note. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer expresses his regret at the addressee's departure, and his distress at what the addressee will soon learn from ʿAfīf al-Dīn. The language is somewhat confusing but may refer to a secretary (kātib) working against the interests of the addressee (al-ʿāmil ʿalayka). The writer urges the addressee not to ignore his legal rights in this matter. Al-Shaykh al-Muwaffaq has also written to the addressee about this. ASE.

Probably Fustat; Maybe 1132 Hillel b. Ṣadoq Av Bet Din, one of the dignitaries of Egypt in the middle of the twelfth century, wrote Ḥalfon ('Ḥalfon b. Netanʾel). The very connection between the writer and the recipient is noteworthy. But we have before us only a small section from the beginning and the end of the letter, and until another section is found to join it, no essential details can be saved from it. (Information from Goitein and Friedman)

Letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he received the letter of Segulat ha-Yeshiva (the addressee?), which contained the news regarding the letter of the Nagid for the addressee which will be delivered by Thābit. The writer reports that in fact he received three letters (from the Nagid?), one for himself, one for the judge, and one for the addressee. Evidently the addressee has been taking too long in dealing with the matter of something (? מראעאה אמר אלגולה—four lines from the bottom). When Thābit departed, he took the two letters (for the judge and the addressee?) with him. "This is what happened." ASE.

Large account for a druggist (not in MS II). Includes item, weight, to whom sold, price. Information from Goitein's index card.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, perhaps. At the top appears the name Seʿadya b. Shelomo b. Yefet ha-Levi (all given titles such as pe'er and hod ha-leviim). There follow calculations regarding the proceeds from the sale of a kitchen (?). There follows a block of text describing the kitchen, naming [...] al-Lebdī, mentioning Dīwān al-Aḥbās in Fustat (the government bureau in charge of waqf properties), and ending with the line, "its fame makes its description unnecessary." There follow several lines of Arabic script in red ink, probably pen trials, including the word "waṣal" several times, then "fī yawm al...," then "Cancer rose." There are also two lines in both Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic on verso.

Business letter from Abū l-Surūr b. David to Abū l-Afrāḥ ʿArūs b. Yūsuf. Fragment. Mentions the late Abū Saʿīd and the Muslims who claimed they were owed money from his estate. Mentions the daughter of the late Abū l-Faraj. Verso was reused for a few lines of accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Legal document. Fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Involves an Ibrahīm and an Ibn Qays.

Letter opening (three lines) in Arabic script. ASE.

Legal document in Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment, left side only. Drawn up in Fustat, dated 1049/50 CE (1361 Seleucid). Signed [...] ha-Levi b. Yiẓhaq and Shelomo ha-Levi b. Yaʿaqov. ASE.

Letter from a community to a dignitary. In Judaeo-Arabic. They think the addressee for whatever it is that he sent a Parnas to tell them.

Deed of release. Written and signed by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Location: Fustat. Dated: Middle third of Shevaṭ 1447 Seleucid, which is 15–25 January 1136 CE. Abū Zikrī Yehuda (b. Yosef) ha-Kohen releases Abū Saʿīd Ḥalfon (b. Netanel) ha-Levi from all claims. (Information from India Book 4, Hebrew description below.)

Letter in Arabic script, possibly discussing paper and books. ASE.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment, only the end is preserved. He says he will come visit the coming Shabbat. He sends regards to Umm Faḍā'il, Faḍā'il, and his sister, and to Yāqūt and the children. Mufaḍḍal and the Kohen send their regards. ASE.

Communal records, perhaps defective, consisting in payments to specified persons (all in promissory notes, ruq'a), to three officials, for bread, and for the transport of palm branches (for Sukkot). Sept. 24, 1219, two days before the first Sukkot holiday. (b) Complete accounts of revenue and expenditures on Sept. 29, 1219, the eve of the concluding Sukkot holiday (officials, bread, some needy persons). (MR Cohen: hand of Shelomo b. Eliyyahu) [(c) = App A 152 an addition in Arabic characters in which a lazzām, or revenue farmer, leases a vineyard from the community against a weekly payment of 10 dirhams. Normally one would expect yearly or half-yearly, but in that period (1219), when the community was always short of funds, weekly revenue, even though small, was welcome (Mediterranean Society, II, p. 430)]. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 452, App. B 48)

List of ten donors, headed by the Raṣuy (see T-S K15.36), seconded by the Shāʿir (Poet, see BL OR 5566C.11 and 12), and followed by other names known from the beginning of the thirteenth century. All but the last gave 1, namely, one jug (of wine), as proved by the last contribution which consisted of 'half a jug.' Wine is required at the domestic Passover ceremony 'even from the poor' and is provided here in kind to those who had no adequate supply. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, p. 500, App. C 88)

Note from Abū Thābit al-Ṣayrafī to a certain Rabbenu Shemuel asking him to declare a ban of excommunication against whoever cast a spell on someone or willed him harm and does not reverse it immediately. Shelomo b. Eliyyahu makes the same request in ENA 4020.49, but without further evidence about the identities of Abū Thābit and Shemuel, there is no way to know if the two documents are connected. ASE

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. The first four lines are preserved. Probably a letter of appeal asking for charity or aid from the distinguished addressee. The latter's two sons are blessed. ASE

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic of sales of wine (sharāb) to various people, including Abū l-Ḥasan, Abū l-Faraj, and the scribe's mother. ASE.