Geniza Lab

Legal release from 1210/1 in which Abu al-Muna releases Abu al-Majd from any claim regarding some construction ('imara) carried out. A Muslim date is also given. On the back is a list of names and sums with R. Avraham as the title at the top.

Letter or monumental sign with a greeting text (ברוך אתה בבואך ברוך אתה בצאתך) and then the name Shemuel ashkenazi is mentioned from Qehilat qodesh ווארשילויקה dated to 1654. ווארשילויקה is Voroshilovka in modern day Ukraine.

Letter from a woman to a certain Yosef written in the hand of Shelomo ha-Melammed b. Eliya. The woman calles herself "his mother" but it is possible that she was not his biological mother and this is an attempt by her to show her closeness to him. In the letter the woman declares how much she misses and worries about him and asks him to come join her in Fustat. She promises that she will sell her own clothes to pay for his capitation tax. To show how serious she is, Shelomo ha-Melammed wrote a legal testimony on the back in which he testifies that this woman will pay Yosef's capitation tax (apperently she will pay the Shami rate in Egypt) on the conditions that he will come to Egypt. Another interesting point in the letter is that the woman mentions that Izz al-Din came to Egypt "Because the sultan called al-Kamil sent him" - a clear reference to the Ayyubid Sultan al-Kamil (1218-1238) giving us a dating for the letter. Finally, Shelomo ha-Melammed added a personal message to Yosef at the end of the letter: He asks him to send greetings to Shelomo's cousin (the son of Shelomo's mother's brother) Abu al-Faraj and his two sons Ma'ani abd Abu Majd. These relatives are also mentioned in T-S 10J7.2 and T-S 13J35.15 (OZ).

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic (FGP). Bottom part of a letter of condolence. The writer learned from Abu Salih that Rabbenu died. He regrets that he missed the shivah, but reports that he has prayed the tarhim (prayer for the deceased) over a Torah scroll and sends condolences to the family. ASE.

List of food items (mainly) and of names of persons. Interpretation uncertain.

Letter in Arabic script, it seems discussing financial matters and someone's absence. ASE

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic, asking for the addressee's help in sending something to the writer with the bearer. ASE

Prenuptial agreement of a previously divorced couple (a husband who re-accepts his divorcée). Eight lines survive on this fragment, probably in the hand of Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver (documents by him in the years 1128-1153). In the top of the fragment there is a dowry list followed by a list of conditions in Hebrew for future marriage. The husband reaccepts his previous wife, Baqiya. It is possible that this agreement was written to pacify the woman so that she will return to her husband. The conditions regarding his behavior suggest that his violent behavior towards her, or her mother, was the cause of their initial divorce. Lines 1-4 contain the dowry list, and are not transcribed.

Fragment of a letter from Isma’il b. Barhun al-Tahirti to Efrayim b. Shemarya, Fustat. After a disagreement that happened because of a business of selling indigo (it is not clear what the disagreement was about). The writer informs Efrayim, the judge and leader of the Jews in Fustat that Rav Hayya Gaon sent his answer and he supports the Tahirtis side. The writer writes his Hebrew name – Shemuel b. Rabbi Avraham. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #124) VMR

List of names in Hebrew.

Epistles in Hebrew and Judaeo-Arabic. Bifolium. This section includes the end of one letter, dated Tammuz 4867 AM (1107 CE), and the beginning of "his response to the city of Lucena, to its Rayyis Yehuda b. Yehuda."

Literary. Tafsīr on the Song of Songs. Verso: Also contains two lines in Arabic script, part or all of which is a name (Abū l-Riḍā. . . Abū l-Faḍl).

Responsum/letter regarding different versions of the Tosefta, mentioning Fustat, Damascus, and Babylonia. Verso: "This letter pertains to the venerable elder Shela b. Nissim." See FGP for further information by Amir Ashur.

Letter from Eliyyahu ha-Kohen “Beit Din” b. Avraham from al-Raqqah to Ya’aqov he-Ḥaver b. Yosef, Aleppo, ca. 1030. The writer thanks the addressee for taking care of the his son, Amram, while he visited Aleppo. Eliyyahu mentions his satisfaction from his status as a judge in three communities in his town (probably the Iraqis, Shamis, and Qaraites), from his acceptance by several heads of Yeshivas in Iraq and the Exilarch (Rosh ha-Gola), and from his good relationships with the Qaraite community and the town governor. (Information from Gil, Kingdom, Vol. 2, #73) VMR

Accounts in Judaeo-Arabic. Late. Uses the unit of measurement قدح (=keddah). Headed "raṣd al-aṭʿām," perhaps meaning the balancing of the accounts of food.

Marriage document. Small fragment. Mentions [...] ha-Levi b. Yeshuʿa al-Rayyis and [...] ʿAmram known as Ibn Ḥarīra. The delayed marriage payment is 40 dinars. On verso there is a separate document in Arabic script.

Legal testimony. Involving Khalaf b. Yaʿaqov and Qaljūrī b. Makhlū, as well as a certain Ṭayyib. Scribed and signed by Shelomo b. Meir. Also signed by Avraham b. David. Needs examination.

Letter to Yehuda b. Elya to Egypt (FGP). Image not available.

Children's exercises (FGP). Beautiful colored-in letters.

Prenuptial agreement. In Judaeo-Arabic. In the hand of Natan b. Shemuel ha-Ḥaver (dated documents 1128–53 CE). This document begins with a dowry list. Groom: Yeshuʿa b. Shabbat. Bride: Baqiyya bt. Avraham, who is the divorcee of the groom. The groom commits to supporting his mother-in-law. She will live in the same house as the couple, and he cannot insult her, or hit her, or disrespect her, or act domineering. There is unrelated text on verso, including titles for Elʿazar ha-Sar b. Shelomo ha-Kohen (ZL).