Geniza Lab

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Not a lot of content remains. On verso there are writing exercises of the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets.

Recto: Letter fragment in the hand of Moshe b. Levi ha-Levi. In Judaeo-Arabic. Little of the content remains. Verso: Document in Arabic script; only a small, faded portion of the original document remains.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Involving silk.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Expenses for construction and repairs; mentioning a carpenter several times.

Recto and verso each contain a separate document in Arabic script with plenty of lacunae. On verso, there is also Hebrew literary text. Needs examination.

Legal document. In Hebrew and some Aramaic. In the hand of Yefet b. David. Attests that Fā'iza bt. Yaʿaqov received as a gift a portion of a house (dira) that is close to Qaṣr al-Shamʿ.

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Late.

Letter fragment. In Judaeo-Arabic. The writer reports on receiving authorization (al-ʿalāma) to collect the kharāj tax from the official in charge of estates (ʿāmil al-mawārīth). The number 15 (dinars) is mentioned, as are Abū l-Mufaḍḍal and the tax farmer (al-Ḍāmin) Ibn Ḥabīb. Information from FGP.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions Abū l-Faraj b. al-Kallām (a man of the same name appears in the 1140s in T-S 10J17.22 and T-S NS J422), al-Shaykh al-Yesod (a man of the same title appears in many of Moshe b. Levi's letters ca.1190s), and Rabbenu Moshe. The writer seems to be impatient that the charity promised him by Rabbenu Moshe has not been forthcoming.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The addressee is called 'my brother.' The content is not clear; mentions someone fearing death and mentions the capitation tax (jizya).

Fragment of a will. Mentions 20 silvers. Last two lines mention that the testator is in sound health "la ʿilla wa-lā suqm wa-lā ḥāl yalzimuhu fīhi". The text in the right margin declares the responsibility and accountability of the testator and that he is on the right path "wahuwa dhimmatī wa l-ḥaq awwalan mā attabiʿu".

List in Judaeo-Arabic of at least seven of the "blemishes" (ʿuyūb) a woman can have, such as a bad odor, a propensity to sweat, a coarse voice, and at least two having to do with the breasts. Of documentary interest not least because there are a number of documents in which a man complains about the "blemishes" of his wife (e.g. T-S AS 147.17) or a female slave (e.g. T-S Misc.23.8). On verso is a medical text (literary) in Arabic script, and there are additional jottings in Arabic script filling the margins of each side. ASE.

Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. Mentions al-Ḥakīm Abū l-Barakāt and having received two letters containing matters of accursed magic (al-siḥr al-mayshūm). Regards to the writer's brother and mother and maternal aunt.

Recto: Letter fragment in Judaeo-Arabic. The same scribe probably wrote ENA NS 69.20 and T-S AS 156.42, based on the handwriting similarity combined with the presence of the relatively uncommon blessing "min dār al-fanā' wa-l-shaqā' ilā dār al-naʿīm wa-l-baqā' (from the abode of perdition and woe to the abode of blessing and immortality)." In this letter he conveys his terrible distress ('the waters have reached the seat of breath') on account of imprisonment and lack and inability to buy food. He is evidently asking for money. Verso: Recipes in Arabic script. The first is for a laurel-based ophthalmic (ṣifat kuḥl al-sādhaj al-ḥāfiẓ) that strengthens the vision. The second is for a coolant (barūd) that the caliph al-Ma'mūn purportedly used to preserve health and strengthen eyesight. ASE.

List of names. In Judaeo-Arabic. May be a memorial list or a list of mourners(?).

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, 1128. Sefaradi-influenced hand. See Hebrew description below.

Legal document(s). In Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Ḥalfon b. Menashshe ha-Levi. Recto may be a deathbed will. Mentions a house; a man named Shemarya; oil for the synagogues; willing something to someone; a mutual release; and 'the shroud and such things.' Verso may or may not be related. Mentions: 3 witnesses; a man named Kalev(?); a man named Shemuel; 'the other one is Ḥasana, called [...]' (perhaps listing a man's daughters); someone 'now alive'; Wednesday the 29th of a month. AA. ASE.

Responsum? Small fragment from the bottom of the page, written by the hand of Menashshe b. Ya'aqov (1116-1132. Compare with DK 187, p. 6r, where he signed his name). To the best of my knowledge we don’t have legal documents written by him. Also, the format of the fragment is identical with those of his responsa. Judeo Arabic. AA

Letter. Damaged fragment from a left part of a letter. Contains mostly regards to family members, but no names survived. Judeo Arabic. AA

Legal document. Probably from an agreement between husband and wife regarding their domicile in Cairo. Torn and damaged, only few words have survived. Aramaic. AA