Geniza Lab

Court record regarding inheritance, probably sent to a religious authority for approval.

Letter from Al-Mubārak b. Yiṣḥaq Ibn Sabra to his "father" (paternal uncle?) Abū l-Ḥasan Surūr b. Ḥayyim Ibn Sabra. He reports that Ibn Siman Ṭov (בן סימנטב) arrived and told him that the addressee had purchased a sack (tillīs) of wheat for 7 dinars, which saddened him, because Mubārak could have gotten him 2 sacks of superior wheat from his supply in Tinnīs. Indeed, Mubārak is struggling financially, and that would have helped him. He has been worrying so much about his goods in Tinnīs that he suffered an attack of yellow bile and broke out in pustules (fa-min kuthrat mā ḥamaltu ʿalā qalbī laḥaqanī khulṭ ṣafrāwī wa-ṭalaʿa ʿalayya bathr). People are in state of fear due to an unspecified situation. Mubārak had sent a letter with Maymūn al-Maghribī concerning garments that the addressee is supposed to send, because he hasn't even been able to afford a שראשי(?) to wear. He hasn't gone to the synagogue for several Shabbats (it seems due to his financial straits and lack of decent clothing). ASE

Letter from Khalfa to his 'brother' (brother-in-law?) Mūsā b. Sāmiḥ, in Cairo. Concerning various family matters. (1) No answer to letters. (2) Abū l-Faḍl came and informed the sender about the death of the little boy. (3) "My brother, I do not need to urge you concerning my sister... for I know that her character is difficult (akhlāqhā ṣaʿba)." She had not received her farḍ (a part in an inheritance, or perhaps alimony). (4) Mardūk brought the מסדיה but the אמשאט were impossible. (5) Greetings to Abū ʿImrān, the wife of the sender's maternal uncle, Abū Naṣr, Faḍā'il, Shibl, and Bū Saʿd. Abū Saʿd. (Information in part from Goitein's index card)

Letter in Judaeo-Arabic from a father to his sons, from India Book VII, 60 (unpublished). Note that Goitein calls this manuscript ENA 2739.16 in Letters of Medieval Jewish Traders.

Letter in the hand of Daniel b. Azarya, ca. 1051-1062.

Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (left side of recto). Mentions: giving or paying something to Yaʿaqov; the testimonies (al-shahādāt... shahādāt kathīr mukhtalifa...); an urging not to forget to add the validation (qiyyum), presumably on the same testimonies; the price of mandrake root (luʿāb); and Khalaf al-[...].

Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe probably sent to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (lower right corner of recto). Refers to a shipwreck (cf. ENA NS 77.148, which isn't a direct join) and two people who survived (Khulayf and Ibn ʿŪdī). Regards to Sitt Naʿīm (Ḥalfon's wife).

Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Mentions: dirhams; that Yaʿaqov has departed for Fustat; a Kirmānī commodity (indigo?); that Saʿīd b. Hiba will sell something for Ḥalfon; a commodity that is selling for 30 dinars a mann; and possibly cumin.

Letter from Moshe Barukh. In Hebrew. Dating: Late, probably 15th–17th century. Asking for monetary assistance.

Upper fragment: Letter possibly in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to [...]m ha-Parnas. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Mentions various good wishes, Saʿīd (or Abū Saʿīd), and cloves.

Lower fragment: Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe probably to his brother Ḥalfon or Peraḥya. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Essentially none of the substance of the letter is preserved.

Lower fragment: Letter in the hand of Yefet b. Menashshe to his brother Ḥalfon b. Menashshe. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper left corner of recto). Yefet brings up the fūṭa which he had previously written about. He asks Ḥalfon to do something for the sake (lit. "for the pupils (ḥadaqatayn)") of Yaʿaqov. It has been two months since [...].

Upper fragment: Letter from Yefet b. Menashshe to one of his brothers. In Judaeo-Arabic. Fragment (upper right corner of recto). Mentions business matters, including dealings in cinnabar (zunjufr).

Letter from Alexandria written by Zadoq from 1200. this is the upper part of a letter already published by Miriam Frenkel. The join was made by MAF in his article הרמב"ם ומינוי של אנטולי, תרביץ פג.

Letter in a Maghrebi hand on business matters. Names: Mawhub b. Amar, Abu Jacob al-Hakim, Abū ʿImrān. Location: Alexandria. NB: Goitein card for this document is under 2739.12

List of three bills of divorce, apparently notes of a court scribe. (1) Husband: Sālim b. Avraham. Wife: [...]b al-Dīn bt. Maṣliaḥ. (2) Husband: David b. Yaʿaqov. Wife: Shams bt. Ḥalfon. (3) Husband: Natan b. Mevorakh ha-Kohen. This one might be followed by a piece of a 4th entry.

Letter from Shelomo ben Halafta, in Jerusalem, to the Nagid Natan Sholal, in Cairo. In Hebrew. Dating: 1481/82 CE. - Mentioning events as far away as Tafilalt(?). Join: Oded Zinger.

Business letter. In Judaeo-Arabic. Addressed to somebody in Jerusalem. Dating: No earlier than 1425 CE, as values are given in ashrafīs. Commodities include tin (qazdīr), Yemeni alum (shabb Yamanī), either כאבלי (chebulic myrobalan) or כאכלי (potentially qāqullā = Salsola), saffron, and more. Needs further examination.

Letter from 'the representative' (al-Nāʾib), in Minyat Zifta, to the Nagid, presumably in Fustat. In Judaeo-Arabic. He reports on previous correspondence and messengers ([...] al-Ḥalabī, Ṭāhir, and ʿAbd al-Baqī) and confirms receipt of the Nagid's letter and orders. He says he will obey immediately. He may mention Tinnīs (Ḥanes) and someone titled Naṣir al-Dawla.

Letter addressed to ha-Dayyan ha-Maskil (unidentified). In Judaeo-Arabic, with some lines of Hebrew poetry on verso. The sender is unable to repay the 30 dirhams that he owes for food that he bought on credit. The addressee is asked to be patient and to have Abū Manṣūr try to sell the volume of the Torah and apply the proceeds to the debt.