Geniza Lab

Letter from Yehuda ha-Kohen b. Ṭoviya to Moshe ha-Kohen Ne'eman ha-Soḥerim. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer was the muqaddam of Bilbays 1180s–1220. Damaged; little of the content remains.

Letter to Abū ʿAlī al-[..]n b. Sahl. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment. Dealing with business matters, probably. Mentions the Fayyūm (line 1 of verso).

Large legal document, probably a quittance. Mentions Moshe ha-Kohen, Abū l-Khayr, probably a woman named Munā (at the very end) and 7 dirhams. Faded. Unfinished and unsigned. On verso there is more writing in Hebrew script in a different hand, even more faded.

Legal query in the form of a letter to Yiṣḥaq b. Sasson, Maimonides' contemporary with his answer on the verso. The writter of the query is known to us from a letter he wrote to Maimonides, TS Misc. 28.98

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Not complete. Dated: 8 Tammuz יֿהֿ אֿבֿ כֿֿשֿ, which may be 5338 AM, which is 1578 CE. The writer is surely a Qaraite, since he refers to 'the damned bastards' of the בני משנה, that is, the Rabbanites. The letter contains a detailed description of a legal case. "They took the four fatwās/responsa and me to the Shāfiʿī (Muslim) judge. . . he is very important, and they showed him the fatwā of the Shafiʿī (jurisconsult?) and said, 'Judge this Jew. . .'" It seems that the writer had a Rabbanite enemy seeking his downfall, but the enemy failed and the writer triumphed. There are several lines praising God for His goodness and calling down curses on enemies and schemers and anyone who has pity on a Rabbanite—"may he taste his medicine." The letter concludes with various greetings. ASE.

Bill of sale for a female slave named חלל (Ḥalal? Ḥulal? In fact there is a vowel above the letter in the document, but it is not immediately clear whether a fatḥa or a ḍamma is indicated). Yosef ha-Kohen pays [..]ta bt. Shemuel either 23 or 26 dinars. Yosef may be identical with Abū l-Makārim. The buyer is Abū l-Makārim, who is purchasing the female slave for his sister (karīma), and the seller is Abū Saʿd al-Ṣayrafī. It is not clear how Abū Saʿd is related to the daughter of Shemuel. Abū Saʿd guarantees (ḍāmin) to the sister of Abū l-Makārim דרך אלחל of the female slave (whatever this means; as in T-S 8J8.4). The document seems to conclude with a provision that Abū Saʿd will reimburse the full price of the female slave to the sister of Abū l-Makārim in certain scenarios (אן יקים להא בתמן הדה אלגאריה . . . מתי . . . מן יעתרפהא או ירמי מלכייתהא ויסתכרגהא מן יד כרימה אלשיך אבו אלמכארם). The document is incomplete, and there are no signatures. Verso: Probably an archival note in Arabic script describing the contents of the document: يذكر فيها انه ضمن درك زوجته والصهر مسلم الى يده جامع عن حق السوق وجعل الدلالة. The buyer and seller may in fact be in-laws, e.g., maybe the sister of Abū l-Makārim is actually the wife of Abū Saʿd al-Ṣayrafī. Needs further examination. ASE.

Bible commentary or midrash

Bible commentary or midrash

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Long. Dating: Probably 13th century or later, based on the script, but this is a guess. Mentioning some problems in the family. The writer is a stoic: "maḍā alladhī maḍā. . . fāt alladhī fāt."

Letter from the daughter of the head of the Yeshiva to Nahray b. Nissim. Ca. 1060.

Note to the Head of the Jews. In Judaeo-Arabic. "עת לעשות וגו׳: These are the people who desecrated the Shabbat and did so publicly (? ועאמו פיה), and there are witnesses that they did so. Sayyidunā (yarum hodo) has ordered the witnesses to present themselves in his moshav." The names appear on verso (also headed עת לעשות וגו׳): Abū Saʿd Ibn al-Khādim Abū Naṣr, etc. On recto there is also list of goods possesed by people and their prices. Has nothing to do with the note and the other list

Letter from David b. Azarya (Gil: David b. Daniel) to a personality in Fustat asking him to settle the matter between Mufarraj b. Sulayman and his wife, who wants to divorce him.

Memorandum about a debt of partners and payment of customs in Fustat and Tripoly. The matter will be brought to the the Qadi bu al-Qasm. Names : Farah b. Ayyash, Mawhub b. Sa'd, Abu al-Khayr Sedaqa,

Letter from Mardūk b. Mūsā from Alexandria to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. August 10, 1047. Regarding shipments of goods and money. Mentions events related to the Bedouin in Egypt. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, p. 778.)

Letter from Bū Yaʿqūb(?) to ʿAmram (aka Bū ʿImrān) ha-Talmid, c/o al-Shaykh al-Nafīs. The addressee may be the brother-in-law of the writer (the address includes the word صهر). In Judaeo-Arabic, with the address in Arabic script. Many names are mentioned, including the officials Mushārif al-Balad and the Amir ʿAlā al-Dīn, and the women Sitt Nadd, Sitt Kāfūr, Sitt Ghuṣn, Sitt Suʿūd, Sitt al-Naṣr, and Sitt Zaynihim.

Letter from a communal leader to a Nasi. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports that he fulfilled what had been requested of him in the letter that the addressee had sent him with a certain woman. He accompanied her to the two synagogues and informed the two congregations about an error in a recent court session (majlis al-ḥukm). It seems that a ban of excommunication placed on this woman is being retracted, and that she is owed 4 sanja dinars from public funds. The writer accompanied her to the ṣarf, where it turned out that the money the Nagid (sayyidnā) had given her was 5 qirats short of the 4 dinars, and the writer had no money, whether rubāʿīs or dirhams, with which to pay the balance. Her brother-in-law and David al-Najjār then accosted the writer in the market and 'cried out' (istaghātha) against him, saying that they won't pay a penny until they see the woman's documents. The writer asks the addressee to send the documents with her—and possibly the remaining 5 qirats (verso)—so that everyone will be spared "their evil" (of the brother-in-law and David al-Najjār; this reading is not completely clear). Merits further examination.

Letter from Yeshua b. Ismaʿīl al-Makhmūrī from Alexandria, probably to Nahray b. Nissim, Fustat. Around 1056. In the handwriting of Yeshua b. Isma’il, with an addition in the handwriting of Musa b. Abi al-Hayy Khalila. Information about transferring money, including money that was hidden in a book cover. Also mentions different goods: lead, almonds, cloth, wood, camphor, cheese, Bible codices, flax, and incense. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 3, #311)

Poetical text, might be a draft of an opening of a letter

Letter In Judaeo-Arabic. Long and interesting. Mentions a certain פושע, i.e., a convert to Islam; the community of Sahrajt; and an oath (or ban of excommunication) on a Torah scroll or codex. The writer complains that no Jew will drink with him, and he refers to 'those pigs,' perhaps the people who excomunicated him. Abū Saʿīd Khallūf b. al-Ashqar is mentioned.

Letter, probably 11th century Babylonia. The content is unclear, It's probably dealing with a death of a Rabbi. The line spacing and the script is common to letter sent to and from the Yeshiva.