Geniza Lab

Letter from Jalāl al-Dawla, in Cairo, to Shelomo b. Yishai the Mosul Nasi, in Bilbays. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Ca. 1240 CE. The writer had sent a pair of red woolen children's shoes with Muʿammar al-Dimashqī intended for the addressee's son Yishai. He devotes much of the letter to a vivid description of his illnesses. “As for my state, I inform the masters that I came down with diarrhea, and I endured it. When it increased and multiplied, it became an illness. A physician was treating me, al-Rayyis Sulaymān al-Ḥakīm al-Fāḍil of the family of Rabbenu Menaḥem (ZL). They concocted the medicine in the house of Rabbenu (ZL): every day, roasted seeds and the like, and a pullet, and he visited me frequently. And R. Eliyya the Judge was also generous. When I recovered after some days… [I came down] with what was worse than it… ophthalmia in my eye on the night of Shabbat Shoftim… a painful scream, against my will, all night…. May God afflict my enemies [with what I was afflicted with]. The illness became public. What I suffered cannot be [described].” In the continuation, he sends regards to the judge Peraḥya and praises him as the most learned and powerful judge in the country. He concludes, "As for my eye, fog and darkness were upon it." There is a postscript in the same hand but in the third person (perhaps meaning that a secretary wrote this letter for Jalāl al-Dawla or that somebody later copied it): "After he wrote this letter, he entered the bathhouse (meaning, he was fully recovered) on the 26th of Elul, so be glad of heart." ASE

Request for judgment in a case involving two partners, one of whom traveled to Malīj in the Rīf. The partners' dispute concerns transport costs, specifically, a donkey worth 5 dinars. It was lost on the trip to Malīj. The borrower wanted to pay only 2 dinars. After his death, his son who inherited his father was supposed to pay. Information from Goitein's notes.

Letter addressed to R. Nissim. In Judaeo-Arabic. He is to ask Ibrāhīm al-Ḥaver al-Kohen b. al-Ḥaver to appear before the court in Fustat to answer a claim of 2 dinars resulting from a partnership in tax farming (ḍamān) with Abū l-Makārim. This Ibrāhīm had previously been asked to appear in the moshav of Avraham Maimonides, but had failed to come. There were additional claims concerning a piece of qumāsh, a family heirloom. The letter concludes, "Sayyidunā muwaqqiʿu ʿalā hādha l-khaṭṭ," which seems to mean: written with the Nagid's knowledge, or at his order. Information from Goitein's notes.

Fragment from the top-right of a ketubah. The bride's name is Sitt-al-Bayt. Part of the dowry list is preserved. AA

Letter of notification by a senior of the academy, probably Nahray b. Nissim, written by Yehuda b. Yosef ha-Kohen, saying that the Nasi (David b. Daniel) had temporarily withdrawn his ban of excommunication of Yosef b. Elazar, who against the orders of the government had made mention of the head of the Jewish community in public. Dated to the second half of the 11th century (between 1082 and 1092). (Information from Mediterranean Society, V, p.538, and from Goitein's index cards)

Qaraite marriage contract. Some details of trousseau are preserved. Bride: Malika/Malka. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Ketubba, Metropolis, probably 927/8 or 1027/8.

Probably Granada; Summer of 1138 - Spring of 1139 It is possible that the writer Shemuʾel b. Yiṣḥaq is from the b. al-Fakhr family.1 Besides a polite acknowledgment of receipt of Ḥalfon’s letter, he mentioned his sorrow over the recipient's illness, as he learned from there, and wished him a full recovery. He apologized for not being able to write in an eloquent style like Ḥalfon’s: 'I can't walk in these because I haven't tried' (1 Samuel 17:10). This motif repeats in several of the letters from Spain and even the escapees in them. The writer asked for assistance and sent blessings to 'the most glorious rabbi, the greatest genius', that is Rabbi b. Migash, his son Rabbi Meir, his brother's son Rabbi Meir, his 'comrade' Ya’qub, and the rest of the 'brothers'. The writer's brother also blessed Ḥalfon, and it is possible that he is the author of certificate ח43.2 (Information from Goitein and Friedman, India Book IV)

Legal document. In the (late) hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Shela ha-Levi gives a part of a house to his wife against her renouncing all her marriage portion. Detailed description of borders shows that the house is neighboring buildings owned by Muslims (e.g., al-qāḍī Thiqat al-Dawla Abū ʿAbdallāh al-Ḥusayn b. Ṣadaqa b. Abī l-Raddād al-Muʿaddal) and Christians (e.g., Abū Malīḥ who owns the renovated funduq). The house seems to have 4 doorways, opening on 4 different directions. Refers to ḥammām al-zayyātīn (the bathhouse of the olive oil maker/sellers). On verso there is a (filing?) note in Arabic script mentioning Abū ʿImrān. There are also further jottings on verso and in the margins of recto ("Galen said..."). (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Three legal documents from 1207 CE (a deed of guardianship, a will and a remission of debts). Names mentioned include Sitt al-Maʿānī bat Yešuʿa b. Hillel b. Yefet (wife of Abraham b. Solomon b. Josiah), her son Solomon, ʿAmram and Zechariah b. Nathaniel, Sitt al-Kitāb d. Aaron, the widow of Yešuʿa b. Hillel b. Yefet, Abū l-Najm, Abū l-Hasan, Hilāl Abū l-Faḍl, Ḥifẓ b. Joseph, and Abū Najm b. Abū l-Faraj. (CUDL)

Ketubba fragment. Groom: Berakhot b. [...]. Bride: [...] bt. Yaʿaqov. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Bill of divorce signed in 1222 by Eliyyahu ha-dayyan.

Small fragment of a ketubba. Location: Fustat. Bride: Jadīda. No details preserved. On verso there is one word preserved: "al-Dalāl" (a woman's name) or "al-Dallāl" (the broker). AA. ASE.

Letter from an unknown merchant, probably from the Maghreb, to Efrayim b. Shemarya, Fustat. Around 1036. Regarding goods and community matters, as a problem with inheritance. Mentions R. Hananel and Abu Sahl (probably Natan b. Avraham that was still in the Maghreb). (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 4, #631) VMR

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, headed by an Arabic-script basmala. Fragment (left side of recto, left side of verso). Dating: Likely 11th century. Sent from Fustat. Addressed to 'my brother' Abū l-Ḥasan [...] b. Sahl al-Yoʾavi(?). Mentions "the matter of the marriage of Mūsā." Speaks at length about family drama, an old woman, and another woman and a gift or inheritance she received from her maternal aunt. "She was gone for the month of the holidays and then returned.... We drove her away, which was difficult for her.... She said, 'If you do not give me my property (or dowry? raḥlī) [...]'... We had pity on her... and gave her her property... in Jewish and Muslim (courts) that there are no remaining liabilities between them... I cannot cut her off in this... he is currently the supervisor (al-nāẓir)...." Needs further examination. (Information in part from Goitein's index card.)

Legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. Probably a draft. In which David ha-Kohen gives to his daughter Sitt al-Dār, wife of Sason ha-Levi, 2 1/3 qirats (i.e., 1/9) of a mushāʿ (undivided) house. The gift will be entered in her ketubba. The house's borders are defined. Mentions rent. (Information from Goitein's index card.)

Draft of a legal document concerning a debt to Solomon b. Abraham from Ṣibyān. On verso: Arabic an earlier text (needs examination). AA

Recto: Blessings for notables, perhaps to be read aloud in the synagogue. In Hebrew. For the Nagid Mevorakh b. Seʿadya, his son Seʿadya, Netanel b. Yefet (ZL), and Abū Naṣr and his son Abū Saʿīd. Verso and margins of recto: Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Appear to be in the same hand as the blessings on recto. Asks the addressee to purchase something; mentions Abū l-Barakāt and [Abū] l-Maʿālī; mentions, obscurely, 'what you mentioned about' the Priestly Blessing at the time of the taking out of the Torah scrolls on Shabbat and holidays; then mentions the taking out of 40 Torah scrolls, and reports that on one day 40 Torah scrolls were taken out in honor of the Nagid Mevorakh b. Seʿadya. Information from Goitein's note cards and Cohen, Jewish Self-Government, pp. 128, 146, 149, and 268.

Testimony in the hand of Shelomo, dated 1229, about the dissolution of a partnership.

Ketubba fragment. Written and signed by Yefet b. David b. Shekhanya. Groom: ʿAmmār b. Thābit. Many signatures, including [...] b. Mawhūb, Shelomo b. Maym[ūn], and Khulayf b. Khalaf. On verso there is the signature of ʿEli b. ʿAmram, it seems beneath the rider (which is not preserved). (Information from Goitein's index card.)