Geniza Lab

Letter in which an ophthalmologist blames his assistant who was also his relative for having left without giving him details about the various medications in the dispensary and asks him to return to work. (Information from Mediterranean Society, I, p. 97, II, p. 246, and from Goitein's index cards)

Instruction to Abū l-Bishr to deliver to ʿOvadya b. Shelomo ha-Kohen all that had been deposited with the court for him, after his 3 elder brothers had reclaimed their rights. A sum of 19 1/4 dinars after the boy had received maintenance. Location: Fustat. Dated: Monday, 21 Sivan 1410 Seleucid, which is June 1099 CE. Unsigned. "When the orphan came of age, the trustee was ordered to deliver to him the balance of the estate. This balance was substantiated by the acknowledgment of the receipt of the money deposited with the judge as well as by the riqāʿ (Ar.) bet din (Heb.), the orders of payment, issued by the court for the cost of the orphan's food and clothing. (Goitein, Med Soc III, p. 299 note 102.)

Letter fragment from Shelomo b. Yehuda to a personality in Fustat, approximately 1050. He quotes 1 Samuel 2:30 and signs his name with his motto at the bottom. (Information from CUDL)

Fragment of an opening of a letter from Yoshiyyahu Gaon to the communities.

Legal document. In Judaeo-Arabic and Aramaic. Involves Abū l-Surūr Peraḥya and Abū Farjūn. Needs examination for content.

Legal fragment. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Tevet 1438 Seleucid, which is 1126/27 CE. ʿEli ha-Ḥaver and Ada(?) ha-Zaqen b. Kawkab ha-Zaqen give a testimony regarding what they previously witnessed of the deathbed will of Abū l-Maʿālī Shelomo al-Dhahabī.

Legal document. In Arabic. Referring to a dispute over a power of attorney. The agent is Ṣāliḥ b. Yūsuf al-Yahūdī al-Ṣiqillī. Dated: 7 Rajab 495 AH, which is 27 April 1102 CE. On verso there is a Hebrew literary text. (Information from Shivtiel/Niessen catalog.) T-S Ar.41.65 is a power of attorney for the same Ṣāliḥ b. Yūsuf.

Letter to the judge Peraḥya (b. Yosef?). In Judaeo-Arabic. The sender (also a judge?) woke up sick, so instead of coming to work he sends this detailed report on an ongoing court case. Needs further examination for content.

Informal note from Eliyyahu, in Alexandria, to Yefet ha-Kohen ha-Ḥazzan. In Judaeo-Arabic. Urging him to heed the letters that have already been sent from Alexandria regarding helping a poor man. Verso: Informal note (response to recto?) from Aharon ha-Kohen saying that he will fulfill the addressee's request.

Letter from Shelomo b. Eliyyahu to his wife's uncle Abū l-Barakāt. He complains about lack of reply to his letters.

Distribution of 150 pounds of bread to 39 households, in the same hand as T-S Misc.8.61. The large number of households receiving 3 loaves was clearly attributable to some monetary shortage, when the normal ration of 2 loaves per person could not be maintained. The additional allocations (verso: ziyada fi al-'aniyyim) were certainly answers to protests. The symbol א following numbers for some names might be a Coptic fraction. (Information from Mediterranean Society, II, 452, App. B 47 [dated to1210-1225]).

Note by Shelomo b. Eliyyahu addressed to Abū l-Rabīʿ (in the note) or Abū l-Barakāt (in the address on verso). Accompanying payment for rose marmalade. Shelomo apologizes and says he has been ill and is writing the note while lying down (or "(half-)asleep). (Information in part from CUDL.) ASE

Minute fragment from a ketubah written by Yosef b. Shelomo Halevi (date: ca. 1170-1210)