Geniza Lab

Letter from Khalaf b. Yiṣḥaq about turmoil in Yemen and measures taken by Abu Zikri Kohen for ensuring Khalaf’s rights after the death of Abu Imran Nufay. Abu al-Yumn is also mentioned, and Khalaf further notes that the recipient of the letter, who was involved in the affair, had traveled from Egypt; Aden, fall 1138. (S. D. Goitein and Mordechai Akiva Friedman, India Book, 462) EMS

Letter from Maḍmūn b. Ḥasan to Avraham Ibn Yiju: freight jettisoned. Aden, ca. 1137–39 or 1145–49.

Business letter addressed to [...] b. Abū ʿAlī. In Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions saffron and various other commodities and prices and shipping logistics.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dating: Early 13th century, based on the regards to Eliyyahu the Judge. Same hand as T-S 10J15.23 + T-S NS 163.86.

Deed of sale. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: 1 Heshvan 5294 AM, which is 1533 CE. Yaʿaqov b. Moshe בכוש and his brother Efrayim sell a Torah scroll to Masʿūd b. David דוארה for 325 large medins (מאידי, not שקודי). Scribed and witnessed by Natan Sofer b. Avraham. Second witness: Ismāʿīl b. Avraham Sh[..]la.

Legal deed. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Tuesday, 2 Heshvan 5324 AM = 19 October 1563 CE. Doña Masʿūdī (the same Doña Masʿūda as in Moss. VII,41.1?), the widow of Avraham b. Ẓahal, leases her ʿaliya that is on top of the synagogue (בית הכנסת המדרש) to Avraham Baronito for a period of 5 months. Rent: 5 medins/month.

Legal deed. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Monday, 22 Adar II 5456 AM, which is 1696 CE. Currency: muayyadi/medin. The first few lines are lost/damaged. This may be a release which Esther has given to Moshe. But needs further examination.

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Quite damaged. Addressed to [... ha-Pa]rnas ha-Kohen ha-Ne'eman. On verso there are several lines of Arabic script.

Legal document. In Hebrew. Location: Rashīd (Rosetta). Dated: Thursday, 13 Heshvan 5311 AM, which is 1550 CE. Witnesses: Seʿadya b. Yehuda קוננטיני and Yosef b. Shelomo חימזו. This document is a testimony certifying the validity of a bill of divorce and issued at the same time. Husband: Shammas b. ʿAbd al-Karīm known as Muṣallī. Wife: Sitt al-Bayt bt. Yaʿaqov. The husband has appointed Yiṣḥaq b. שעדקי as his agent to deliver the bill of divorce to his wife in Cairo.

Literary work in Hebrew by Khiḍr/Eliyyahu b. Binyamin. Dated: Ziv (=Nisan) 5549 AM, which is 1789 CE. Location: "the city of Eqron." This fragment is written in rhymed Hebrew and contains some autobiographical information. ENA NS 5.13–24 are leaves of the work he composed, it seems a collection of kabbalistic sermons. Khiḍr's elaborate signature may be found on ENA NS 5.20.

Recto: Deed of debt. In Hebrew. Location: Salonika. Dating: Ca. 1578 CE, as this belongs together with ENA NS 5.30. There is a long list of people (including Yaʿaqov Leon; Daniel Baraza; Yeḥiel Kohen; Avraham de Narbona; Yaʿaqov de la Fe(?); Yosef Amarilio; [Yiẓ]ḥaq Amarilio; Avraham Guklil(?); and probably several others] who loaned money to Yiṣḥaq Navarro. It seems that the debtor fell on hard times. The creditors each reached an agreement with him regarding dates of repayment and postponements. Verso: Guarantee for a debt. Location: Salonika. The guarantors are Sulaymān [Serrano] and Yiṣḥaq Navarro (the debtor from recto). Also mentioned: Yehuda Serrano (also appears in ENA NS 5.30, dated 5338 AM = 1578 CE). Information from Avraham David via FGP.

Deed of debt. In Hebrew. Location: Salonika. Dated: 20 Tevet 5338 AM, which is 1578 CE. Involves the guarantors Yehuda Serrano and David אאילייון. Also mentioned: Yiṣḥaq Navarro. Witnesses: Shemuel de Medina; Ezra Barokas. Information from Avraham David via FGP.

Legal deed. In Hebrew. Location: Fustat. Dated: Wednesday, 1 Tevet 5416 AM, which is 1655/56 CE. Marḥaba the widow of Elʿazar(?) leases the large līwān to Seʿadya b. Marzūq for a period of 6 months. Rent: 30 muayyadis/medins per month.

Recto: Letter draft addressed to Seʿadya b. Natan(?) ha-Dayyan. Or perhaps just a poem composed in his honor. Verso: Rhymed praises for somebody in Judaeo-Arabic. Perhaps related to recto.

Letter from Shelomo [...], in Damietta (Kapotakia), to a certain Me'ir, in Fustat/Cairo. In Judaeo-Arabic. Dated: Perhaps Tevet 5569(?) AM, which would be 1808/09 CE. Needs examination for content.

Letter of friendship from Moshe, in Damascus, to Yosef b. Eliezer, probably in Jerusalem. In Hebrew. Dated: [5]148 AM, which is 1387/88 CE. See FGP for further information.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Cairo. May even give a year, but needs further examination. See PGP 20645

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Dreadful handwriting. The entirety of recto is occupied with praises for the addressee, whose father appears to be named Moshe. The addressee's own name might be Khalaf, as in the address. Verso might mention Aden, but this is unclear. The business has to do in part with dābiqī linen. Needs further examination.

Business letter in Judaeo-Arabic. Rudimentary handwriting. Involves pepper.

Letter addressed to Abū Saʿīd Ibn al-ʿAfṣī ("the gallnut merchant") al-ʿAṭṭār, in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic with the address in Arabic script. The addressee is known from several other letters. The writer calls him "my son." The writer also refers to "my house in Shubrā [=Shubrā Damsīs]." Mentions Khalaf in al-Maḥalla. Needs further examination.