Geniza Lab

Legal document from Fustat dated 24 April 1798 (8 Iyar 5558), stating that Me'ir ben Naʿim has invested 5500 muayyadis with the Karaites ("bnei mikra") Moshe Kagicha (?) and [blank].

Late account in Judaeo-Arabic, mentioning silk and paper.

A curious fragment of a late calligraphic legal document (though the date does not survive), possibly appointing Avraham b. Uri Shabbetay Ashkenazi as someone's agent (or vice versa?) for some purpose in the locales of Azemmour and the Casbah of Settat, presumably those in Morocco. One of the more elaborate signatures is that of Yaʿaqov Toledano. Needs further examination.

Late account in Judaeo-Arabic, mentioning Hajji Ali Bek.

Substantial accounts in Judaeo-Arabic, late.

The text of a sermon for parshat Aharey Mot, late.

Letter from Yedutun ha-Levi to somebody he calls 'brother.' In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The letter consists mainly of poetical greetings and blessings for the upcoming high holidays. Regards to: Abū l-Faraj and his son; Abū ʿImrān; Hilāl and his son Abū l-Faḍā'il; the addressee's mother and brother; and Abū l-Yusr.

Fragment from a legal manual or formulary discussing protocol for the writing of conditions attendant to a debt agreement, including procedure when a debt document is lost. Includes a slightly-modified citation from the Mishneh Torah, Laws of Debts 23:11.

Fragment from a legal manual or formulary discussing protocol for the writing of a receipt for payment of a debt.

Fragment from a late Hebrew literary work, discussing oneg shabbat.

Fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic letter, probably mercantile, sent from al-Mahdiyya. The addressee is Abū l-Surūr [...] b. Natan.

Fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic letter, quite damaged.

Images 1 and 4: Parshat Naso. Image 2: Small fragment of a letter in Arabic script. Image 3: Fragment of a Judaeo-Arabic business letter mentioning flax, turbans, two dinars, other garments, and something the writer has in the house of Rabbi Binyamin.

The beginning of a Judaeo-Arabic letter to an important woman addressed in hyperbolic terms: she who confounds minds and blinds gazes, al-mutafaḍḍila, al-ʿazīza, al-rashīda, al-mufīda, al-sadīda, Sitt al-Umanāʾ Umm al-Kull (?) wa-l-Ḥusnā' . . . There are also jottings in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic on recto and verso.

Fragment (left side of recto, left side of verso) of a letter in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. Not enough remains to make sense of it, but there are interesting phrases: "I had pity on the two of them. . . the two of them were fit for it and they pawned/deposited. . . because her poverty. . . I traveled. . . the witnesses, the Jewish neighbors. . . inform them about the sale. . . my dhimma (?) and the rahniyya (?) of the house. . . the qumāsh that is in their keeping. . . [something] for 9 dinars. . . four dinars. . . what is fitting for my cousin [=my wife]. . . the price of the house of Mūsā. . ." ASE.

Fragment of a letter in Judaeo-Arabic, mostly asking for news and wishing the recipient well.

Very faded bifolium in Hebrew script, probably literary.

Late account in Judaeo-Arabic and Arabic.

Late list of foodstuffs and amounts in Judaeo-Arabic, it seems with some Hebrew too. Items named include oil, honey, taḥina (? spelled with a tav), garlic, coriander, pepper, saffron, differnt kinds of sugar, sesame ("shumshum"), anise, cinnamon, and clove.

Image 4: Probably an account, using Arabic script for people's names and Hebrew script for the numbers. Image 5: A few words in Arabic including "Allah."