Geniza Lab

Complete, but very faded late letter in Hebrew from Jerusalem to ha-Ḥakham ha-Shalem ha-Dayyan ha-Meẓūyan Raysh Metivta Qedishta [...] Shemuel Sid[i?], Fustat. There are several letters in Ladino from a 17th-century Shemuel Sidi (see tag); unclear if this is the same person. This document would benefit from multispectral imaging. ASE.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from a man to a woman regarding the education of the writer's son, who either lives with or is merely the pupil of the addressee. He first thanks her for her care and attention that she has lavished on his son, which have fulfilled his hopes for this arrangment—and then transitions into his chief disappointment. He has tested his son several times and found that he cannot sing (fa-lam ajidhu yaʿrifu yulaḥḥin wa-lā ʿindahu khabar min al-laḥn) and that he can hardly even read (wa-lā yuḥsin yatahajjā ḥarf wa-lā ʿindahu khabar min al-hijā' ra'san). He states that he is not happy with this result, not least because of all the favor (karāma) and money (not only dirhams but dinars) that he has given her. "For the most important thing for me is a beautiful and correct melody and pronunciation (al-laḥn al-malīḥ al-ṣaḥīḥ wa-l-hijāya). Do not allow him to mingle with youths or walk with youths in the street." The writer concludes by demanding that she teach him how to sing a couple nice qinnot (?) with cantorship (qiṭʿatayn qīnā milāḥ bi-laḥn ḥazzānī malīḥ. . . . wa-yakūnū min aḥsan qawl wa-aḥsan laḥn). He must be prepared to recite them in front of al-Shaykh al-Kabīr. No bibliography. ASE

Probably a legal document in Judaeo-Arabic, late. Mentions an Amīr Yūsuf [...] and "all the demands and all the debts. . . " incumbent on somebody to somebody. There are several distinct sections of the document and two stamped seals. Needs further examination.

List of items-mainly futa (a piece of cloth to cover the bosy commonly found in India) - with prices. AA

List or accounts in Arabic script, used as a bifolio for Hebrew script. One of the readable items is lead (raṣāṣ).

Late family letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Khuḍayr to his brother-in-law in the Fayyūm. Possibly the same handwriting as ENA NS 35.2. The writer has been sick and bedbound for 15 days, but now he is better. He inquires about business matters: if the money has been sent, if all of it was spent on flax, whether flax is cheap or expensive, whether the addressee has any requests from the neighborhood. Mentions ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Zayyāt, who says no one brought him anything. The writer asks for money and wool and eggs and olives. Umm Qamar says to send her the flax belonging to her. The letter has several interesting colloquial forms such as ונכאן for وإن كان and the modern ולאלא for "or not." ASE.

Responsum regarding a cantor who mistakenly called to six readers instead of seven in Shabbat Hodesh. Published Glick, Seridei Teshuvot, II, p. 894-888.

Late letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Avraham Reuven, in Tripoli, to a business partner in Fustat.

Late letter in Hebrew, mentioning Avraham Castro (line 5). Needs further examination.

Late family/business letter in Judaeo-Arabic from Elʿazar Sadīd. He greets numerous people including Yūsuf Shoshan, Doña Najma, the boy Aharon Shoshan, the brother David Sadīd, Murayḥib, Maryam, and everyone else in the house. Needs further examination

Draft of a court record that was copied into the register of the court in Cairo. Regarding items sent from Salonika to Rashid (Data from FGP)

Tables of names and sums of money, ranging from 0.5 dirham to 1.5 dirham. Distribution list?

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic containing detailed accounting in the body of the letter. Mentions saffron and kundus (baby's breath).

Letter in Judaeo-Persian, probably late. Needs examination.

Fragment of a late letter in Judaeo-Arabic.

Palimpsest. The earlier text is extremely faded; it is in Judaeo-Arabic and at least partially deals with recipes or prescriptions. The later text is also Judaeo-Arabic, in a late hand. It is an elaborate recipe/prescription followed by a magical invocation ("I bind you, O Maymūn. . . Ehyeh bar Ehyeh. . .") ASE.

Engagement (shiddukhin) contract. Location: Alexandria. Dating: Perhaps 16th century. Bride: Parna(?) bt. Nissim Berakha. Groom: Khalīfa. Signed: Avraham Levi (witness); Matitya b. Shelomo de Leon (witness and scribe). (Information in part from A. David's edition on FGP.)

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic.

Business letter. Dated: 12 Tamuz 5559 AM, which is 15 July 1799 CE. Dealing mainly with shipments of silk. Niether writer nor addressee are named.

Right half of the end of a letter by Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi, Qalyub, to a family member in Fustat. Mentions: the coats (al-shuqaq); his paternal uncles Ta[hir] and 'Imran; a man named Ibn al-Musinn ("son of the stinkard," see Goitein's note card on T-S NS J32); Ibn Nu'man Fada'il; Mahasin b. Hibat [Allah]; and that he sent a copy of the Neviim with the bearer of this letter. ASE.