Geniza Lab

Letter from Avraham Maimonides to Ḥayyim b. Ḥananel. An autograph. A previous description called this "Three drafts of a letter sent by Shelomo to Hayyim." Published by P. B. Fenton, ‘A Judeo-Arabic Commentary on the Hafṭārōt by Ḥanan’ēl ben Šěmū’ēl (?), Abraham Maimonides’ Father-in-Law’, Maimonidean Studies, 1 (1990), pp. 27–56

Qaraite ketubba.

Letter from the leaders of the community (qahal) of Jerusalem to Avraham b. Yiṣḥaq b. Furāt, Cairo, approximately 1055.

Legal deed in Aramaic. Dated: 1020 CE. Shemuel ha-Levi b. Avraham ha-Sefaradi is appointing Mevorakh ha-Kohen b. Yosef as his agent.

Literary text having to do with the restoration of Jerusalem, in the hand of the secretary of Shelomo b. Yehuda Gaon. (Information from Goitein's index card)

Legal deed, probably regarding business partnership, between Menashshe b. Moshe and Eli ha-Parnas. Signed by Nissim b. Nathan, Shelomo b. Shilo, Yehuda b. Saadya and Hillel b. Eli, who also wrote the document

Letter in Hebrew sent by Aharon b. Ḥiyya, a fishmonger, to the judge Shelomo b. Natan, saying that he is sending him a basket with fifty fish. (Information from Mediterranean Society, IV, 251, 443). Mostly in Hebrew.

Letter sent by Yosef b. Shemuel to 'his brother from father and mother', Ṣadaqa b. Ḥakmūn, congratulating him on the birth of his son. The letter is written in perfect Judaeo-Arabic and calligraphic Hebrew script. (Information from Mediterranean Society, III, pp. 226, 474.)

Letter in Hebrew by a poor person.

Legal deed from Damietta. Peraḥya ha-Kohen b. Yona and Netanel b. Ḥalfon ha-Levi appointing a Yaʿaqov b. Eli as their agent to collect a debt from Yiṣḥaq b. Maḥfūẓ from Tyre.

Small fragment of a legal document in the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe (1100–38 CE). Involves Netanʾel ha-Sar ha-Nikhbad, Abū l-Surūr, a sale, and orphans and their family.

Legal document faded and fragmented, mentioning Eli ha-kohen ha-parnas and Yefet ha-Kohen.

Letter from a prominent public figure in Alexandria to Fustat in the year 1200. The letter reports of terrible hunger as well as water and wheat shortage. This indicates that Alexandria suffered from severe food shortage before the great famine that struck Egypt in 1201/2. (Information from Frenkel. See also partial translation in Goitein, Med. Soc. 4:238-239, 5:550. Goitein notes on the document: Important letter dated September- October 1200, sent by a notable from Alexandria. The writer describes the great famine in Alexandria, orders ten irdabbs of wheat and gives personal greetings to Moses Maimonides and to the French Rabbi Anatoli).

List. Damaged. List of revenues from house rentals for unknown period. Also revenues for the months of Rabi’ and Dhu al-Qa’da. The names of houses and tenants are known from other lists. Also mentions expenses for renovations in dar al-Barqi (data from FGP by Ora Vaza). Written by Japhet b. David (See Bareket, The Jewish Leadership in Fustat, p. 262) Judeo-Arabic. AA

Small fragment from a list of contributions to the poor. In Judaeo-Arabic. Includes several Byzantines (rūmī); al-murtaʿish ('the trembler' = someone with epilepsy?); a guard (al-shomer); a sick man (ḍaʿīf); Maʿānī; al-ʿAkkāwī; Fahd; the wife of the son of Yosef; an acquaintance of Ṣāʿid al-Firnās (probably Abū l-ʿAlāʾ Ṣāʿid aka ʿUlla b. Yosef ha-Levi, active ca. 1100); the wife of a 'stricken' man (zawjat al-mubtalā); the wife of al-Fuqqāʿī; Shimʿon; the brother of Hillel; and someone's divorcee.

Legal document. A fragment from a bill of debt of 400 dirham, written by Mevorakh b. Nathan (active 1150-1181). Only partial names survived: [… b.] Shabat the elder; Zayn al-Kohen son of al-Kohen al-Dabah’s sister. Verso pen trials and a bismallah in Arabic script Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew. AA

Bifolium. Two of the pages contain rhyming and/or poetic Hebrew text, calligraphically written. Apparently the colophon to the book this used to belong to. It praises the man who composed the work for illuminating difficulties. Then gives the scribe's name: Yiṣḥaq b. Avraham (b. Me'ir b. ʿEzra?). Location: Baghdad. Dated: 1454 Seleucid, which is 1143/44 CE. Mentions Rabbi Netan'el "who from his mouth will read it, and he understands, and he writes it in his books" (?). On the facing page, in a different hand, and in Judaeo-Arabic, there is a recipe for good ink and a recipe for gilded līqa (the tuft of threads that lives in the inkwell). ASE. Go back to this*

Debt contract. In Judaeo-rabic. No signatures. Sulaymān owes Luṭfallah 288.5 kāmilī dirhams. He must pay 12 nuqra dirhams at the end of every month. If he misses two months, he must repay it 'to the Muslim courts' without 'mushāwara'. Dating: 13th or 14th century based on the use of the kāmilī dirham.

Letter of appeal for charity. In Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. The writer praises the addressee, expounds on his difficult circumstances, and asks for a loan of 2 or 3 dinars.

Legal document. A small fragment, written by Ḥalfon b. Menashshe Halevi, regarding a settlement between a couple, probably after their divorce (a bill of divorce is mentioned). A sum of 10 dinars will be paid in installments. The husband’s name is Abdallah known as al-mashtub (scar face?). On verso one line אתצל יאשיך אבו אסחק and an ink trial in a different hand. Judeo-Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic. AA